Big changes are happening with my practice over the next few weeks. I will be reopening my doors in January, still as Swan Financial Planning but not the same Swan Financial Planning, LLC that I started back in October 2005. More on that in a moment. Until then, I am wrapping up a few projects and will be unable to start anything new or take on any new clients until January. You may also notice some changes to the Web site over the rest of December as I prepare to reopen in January.

So what’s changing?
Swan Financial Planning, LLC, a fee-only, New Jersey registered investment adviser firm, will soon cease to exist. I’ll be joining a group of my fellow Garrett Planning Network members as part of a new and unique multi-state, fee-only, federally registered investment adviser firm. My practice will still be known as “Swan Financial Planning,” but it will be a different registered entity. I’ll have all new forms, a new business entity, and access to several new tools.

What’s not changing?
My services, fees, and contact information will all remain the same. It will still be me, meeting with clients and providing advice. I’ll still be fee-only, no products will be sold, no commissions or referral fees will be received. My pricing won’t be changing anytime soon. I’ll still be in the same location with the same email and telephone number. This Web site is not going anywhere.

Why make these changes?
This was a business decision; I am free to maintain the status quo. Nothing is broken, but I spotted an opportunity for improvement. Closing my current one-man-doing-it-all practice and joining this new firm allows me to focus more on what I love – providing financial planning and investment advice – and spend less time on the behind-the-scenes, administrative tasks such as billing and regulatory compliance.

In addition, having several like-minded financial planners affiliated under a common registration creates economies of scale for easier access to financial planning and business resources for each of our practices. At the same time, we can preserve much of the independence that comes with operating a private practice.

Leading up to my January re-opening, you will see the links to a new Form ADV (the firm’s disclosure brochure) and the new privacy statement on my Web site. These documents will provide more information about the new firm. In the mean time, I am happy to answer any questions posted in the comments or sent to me by email. This new firm will be the first of it’s kind, and I am very excited to be a part of it.