XYPN Considers Launch of Corporate RIA

Kitces explained: “Most corporate RIA platforms are built around AUM models. They charge basis points for providing the service. And so our exploration is whether there is a corporate RIA model specifically for firms that want to do financial planning and charge for financial planning services who may not have significant or any assets under management because that’s not their focus.”

When prospective XYPN members “reach out and they’re learning about XY Planning Network, many of them think that’s actually what we already offer is a corporate RIA,” Moore said.

“If we do move forward with the corporate RIA, we want to be sure there’s very clear paths between the two,” Moore said. “If they’re a part of the corporate RIA and want to become independent, they can do that. If they’re independent and want to join the corporate RIA, they can.

“What makes XYPN unique in the marketplace compared to a broker-dealer is that we say you can leave at any time with 100% of your business, and that’s your clients, your revenue and your data. And we want to continue to honor that if we do have a corporate RIA structure.”

XYPN’s “goal is to make a decision by the end of this calendar year,” according to Moore. “We’ll spend Q4 evaluating and make a decision if we choose to move forward” with the corporate RIA and then “likely, in early 2024 we would begin to offer [that] service to members.”

They are “not so much worried about a demand problem as we are an execution for the demand,” Moore added, noting that, “if we roll something like this out … we need to slow roll it … I want to be very careful to not grow too fast.”

XYPN Live

This year’s XYPN Live is its “largest yet, with over 840 attendees,” representing 20% growth over 2022, the firm said, adding “members themselves shared substantial growth in their own practices.”

Among the key growth figures shared during the conference’s opening remarks, mostly from XYPN’s 2022 Benchmarking Study, XYPN members saw a five-year client household growth rate of 28.6%, compared with the 5.1% client growth rate in Schwab’s 2023 RIA Benchmarking Study, while average annual revenue for XYPN advisors who start from scratch surpasses $300,000 by year six.

Pictured: XYPN’s Michael Kitces and Alan Moore.