We were confident that this would work for several reasons. First, Michael and I were members of a study group comprising practices that specialized in financial life planning. So we were confident that Michael would be comfortable with our service offering. In addition, Michael and Richard Busillo, RTD’s CEO, were mentors in the FPA residency program and knew and respected each other. So while we never put a “pin in the map” for Atlanta, we knew that Michael would be a valuable part of RTD.

He certainly has demonstrated that over the years. However, as successful as the relationship has been, remember that transitions are labor-intensive and that it will take time to coordinate investments, planning software, client management systems, portfolio reporting and many other areas.

Will it be worth the effort? We certainly believe so and recently added a second office in Johnstown, Pa., (again, not an area we would have necessarily targeted). Monica Garver, an experienced and capable financial planner, runs that office. About the transition, she recently wrote, “I do consider myself RTD, not MMG any longer.”

We want to share with you the decision-making process that we used with our newest office and how we incorporated the lessons we learned into a process that, going forward, we believe will significantly enhance our ability to attract and successfully integrate future practices so that both parties benefit. Of course, we understand that very few people embrace the financial life planning process as we do. However, the process for creating successful relationships will be similar; it is my desire to help those of you who may be contemplating a cooperative effort by sharing what we have found to be invaluable tools. The amount of time and effort that goes into joining two practices is very daunting and avoiding mistakes is crucial.

I asked Michael Smith to provide us with his assessment of why the cooperative effort has been successful for him. He wrote the following:

“One: Freed up time—I typically say it got me out of the “running a business” part of running a business. Before merging with RTD, I wore the following hats—payroll manager, accounting and tax returns, portfolio manager, compliance officer, marketing director, bill payer, financial planner and so on and so on. … Eliminating all of those activities freed up time to provide better client service, focus on marketing and the luxury to just sit and think about the broader picture of every aspect of our business.

“Two: To me, the camaraderie has been really important.

Having others who are all on the same train, moving in the same direction to discuss issues, strategize, commiserate, and just laugh and have fun has been HUGE!