Jim Davis

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Jim Davis, CFP®, EA, Partnership Financial LLC

You might say ACP has been a game-changer for this career-changer from Columbus, Ohio. In the early 2000s Jim Davis was a client of ACP Advisor Rob Reed. Today Jim is an owner/partner at Partnership Financial, a financial planning firm with seven advisors/support staff serving 155 clients.

“I guess my story isn’t all that different from many ACP advisors,” said Jim. “A lot of us are here because we changed careers. What’s probably different is that I was a client first.” Rob and Jim had been working together for a few years when he started thinking this might be something he wanted to do. His Ah-Ha! moment came when he read Bert Whitehead’s book Why Smart People Do Stupid Things with Money. “I read the book and thought – this makes perfect sense.” Then he read it again. And again. Then he went to see Rob and told him he was thinking about becoming an advisor. “Rob was very supportive and encouraging. In 2005 I went back to school.”

Jim joined what was then Cambridge Advisors in 2007. ACP Member Joanne Paynter welcomed him on the community forum and offered to refer some clients to him. It wasn’t long before they realized they could help each other best as partners. In 2008 they became partners in Partnership Financial.

When asked what was different about sitting on the other side of the desk, Jim said, “How much the client views us as a coach. For me it is all about guiding the clients. In our particular firm, Partnership Financial, we are very much about having conversations and figuring out what it takes to help our clients achieve their goals.”

Since joining ACP Jim has been a dedicated volunteer, serving on the PR and Marketing Committee, the Student Membership Committee, and the ACP Board of Directors. Today Jim serves as the president of the organization that provided him with so much support and encouragement. “From day one I recognized the way we do business is the gold standard,” said Jim. “So many people have helped me, I just want to give back. That’s important to me. What also is important is the number of younger folks we have. I want to make sure this is still a viable organization for them in the future.”

Another change is on the horizon for Jim. In January 2019 one of the other owners/partners, Kristin Moosmiller, and three others are forming a new company as they each pursue their own goals and visions of building an ideal practice.