diff --git a/cpp/SubgraphSolver.h b/cpp/SubgraphSolver.h
index 8e9ea565e..da9127d26 100644
--- a/cpp/SubgraphSolver.h
+++ b/cpp/SubgraphSolver.h
@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ namespace gtsam {
   	 * the resulted linear system
   	 */
   	VectorConfig optimize(SubgraphPreconditioner& system) const;
+
+  	boost::shared_ptr<SubgraphSolver> prepareLinear(const SubgraphPreconditioner& fg) const {
+  		return boost::shared_ptr<SubgraphSolver>(new SubgraphSolver(*this));
+  	}
 	};
 
 	template<class Graph, class Config> const size_t SubgraphSolver<Graph,Config>::maxIterations_;