Many financial planners choose to work within a partnership structure to share the load of running a business.
Troy Theobald’s three-partner financial planning practice RFS Advice is in Australia’s retirement capital, the Gold Coast, and caters to retirees, high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs.
In the past six years, it has grown from $80 million to $500 million assets under management and from two to 19 staff with a self-licence.
The third iteration of a partnership, Theobald decided to draw from his experience as an accountant in an accountancy practice and place one partner in charge of running and growing the business.
“One of the partners doesn’t see clients, he just runs the business,’’ Theobald tells Professional Planner. “He has a background in management and the theory is to have someone to grow the business.”
Prior to that, Theobold says it was himself and accountants as business partners with an absence of anyone in management growing the business.
“I went from making all of the decisions to embracing others making decisions and I’ve gone from being a generalist to a specialist in pre and post retirement, aged care and wealth accumulation,” Theobold says.
RFS Advice recently outsourced marketing, engaging a company to market its expertise.
Unlike companies, partnerships have low set up and ongoing costs, distribute income or losses between partners who share control and management of the business and leverage the skills and resources of each to work towards a common goal.
According to company and partnership regulator, ASIC, a company pays 27.5 per cent tax and is its own legal entity whereas partners each are liable for the debts and obligations of the business.
Capital Advisory partner Michael Miller merged his sole operator financial planning business with the four-partner firm two years ago in response to retiring financial planners at his business.
The result was “relieving” for Miller who no longer made every decision or sole responsibility over every aspect of the business.
“I was the sole owner and it’s been a substantial change,’’ he says.
“It was apparent that if I was ever unwell when we were in the lockdown. I had to get it done.”
He adds it’s quite relieving to share decision-making.
“The cons would be there if I did join a 30-member business,” Miller says. “With a business that size, I would have lost autonomy.’’
The Canberra-based mid-tier professional services firm combines two accountants and two financial planners in its partnership structure providing “cross support” to clients.
“[Clients] get the best of both worlds – when they’re working with two of us some on will connect more with one person’s style,’’ Miller says.
“We have scheduled directors’ meetings you could go three months without discussing what you’re doing. It’s also a second set of eyes to pick up on different nuances.”
Capital Advisory managing director Kathy Martiniello says each director has a pillar of business management which they oversaw such as human resources, client services or IT processes, alongside their core skills and specialities while all client services and compliance work were done in house.
She adds the partnership structure made the merger of Miller’s business easier and created efficiencies for clients.
“When we talk about people and infrastructure its saving money. There are no corporate costs… even with [Miller’s business] merging, it has not been at an additional cost,’’ Martiniello says.
She expects more sole traders and smaller firms to think about partnership structures alongside an expected consolidation of the sector with financial planners, and corporates exiting the industry.
