When David Kline, CFP®, left Fidelity for Integrated Partners in 2014, he did so without the 600 clients he’d been serving for the past eight years.
Growth, for Kline, was non-negotiable.
“The first year was very scary with a mortgage and two kids and no clients,” Kline recalls.
But he took the leap of faith to join Integrated for a number of reasons. “I had a lot of confidence in the platform. It wasn’t just going to be me hanging a shingle,” Kline says. “There was a big team behind me with resources to help me grow.”
Leveraging Integrated Partners’ CPA Alliance
Perhaps the most significant resource for Kline was Integrated’s long-standing CPA Alliance, a program that enables ongoing partnerships between CPAs and financial advisors.
Through the CPA Alliance, Kline met Mark McGaunn, CEO of McGaunn and Schwadron.
And McGaunn, a former RIA himself who had experienced less-than-equal partnerships in the past with insurance professionals, found a true partner in Kline.
“[David] ramped up pretty quickly,” McGaunn remembers. “He has a lot of high-powered clients and a lot of high-powered value he provides me. It’s not just me helping him. We help each other, and I can’t ask for more than that.”
Together, Kline and McGaunn serve business owners, in particular veterinarians and dentists, and other sophisticated, high-net-worth clients with complex financial needs.
Building Future-Proof Firms on a Better Client Experience
The partnership hasn’t just accelerated growth for Kline and McGaunn, but it’s also been tremendously valuable for their clients.
“They have complete trust in us.” Kline explains that clients love knowing he’s working with McGaunn to address their unique concerns comprehensively because it makes them feel as though they have a full team behind them with their best interests at heart.
And because clients clearly see the value of what McGaunn and Kline do together, their referrals have grown. What’s more, their regular meeting cadence often morphs into proactive ideas for both clients they currently share and clients they serve separately.
“That’s really helped grow the practice, but more importantly, it’s really helped our clients as well,” says Kline. The joint revenue has enabled Kline to put money back into his business and expand his team to further improve the client experience.
For McGaunn, the partnership with Kline coupled with Integrated’s robust suite of resources, alleviates the operational burdens he was facing in business on his own. Compliance, for example: “I could spend 40 hours updating my ADV on an annual basis,” he explains. “That was client-facing time I was spending on administrative work.”
Keith Richard and Mick Jagger, Elton John and Bernie Toppin, and…David Kline and Mark McGaunn.
What makes an iconic partnership? For Kline and McGaunn, it’s more than just working well together.
“You have to respect each other. You have to like each other, and forget about work. You have to want to hang out with a person,” says Kline. “And there has to be trust, and no ego involved.”
So which famous partnership most closely mirrors Kline’s and McGaunn’s?
Integrated Partners’ Chief Content Officer, Matt Ackermann, has the answers on the latest episode of the Perfectly Integrated podcast. Tune in for more from Kline and McGaunn on the power of strategic partnership to drive powerful growth for their businesses.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. The Integrated Partners’ CPA Alliance is not affiliated with LPL Financial.