The XY Planning Network, a virtual community for young financial advisors, announced a host of new compliance services and resources that it hopes will help the next generation of advisors open their own firms.
“The number one concern we hear from advisors looking to launch a firm is a fear of the compliance costs and challenges in getting started,” Alan Moore, co-founder of the XY Planning Network, said in a statement. Moore said the forms required by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority aren’t very intuitive and often trip up advisors trying to register a firm for the first time. Each state has unique quirks to the process, things that new advisors just don’t know about.
“I remember when I started my own RIA, I went through the whole process and nothing happened,” Moore told WealthManagement.com. “I sat around for about a month, wondering what was going on. It turns out I just didn’t hit a button. When I finally figured it out, I was able to open within a week.”
By partnering with the compliance experts at Financial Planners Assistance, Moore hopes he’ll be able to spare young advisors from a similar experience and get their RIA opened weeks and even months sooner. He also wants to save them the thousands of dollars they currently spend to ensure that the initial filings are done correctly.
“This is typically the largest single line-item expense for new advisors launching a firm, and those who try to save money by going at it alone often make mistakes that are even more costly in the long run,” Moore said.
The compliance solutions now come included with the XY Planning Network’s $397 monthly fee. Current members that already launched an RIA will get access to new compliance tools and ongoing support from FPA, helping to spare the cost of keeping a compliance expert on retainer.
Moore launched XY Planning Network in April with fellow advisor Michael Kitces to support younger planners who want to attract Millenial clients to their firms. Network members are required to be fee-only, have the CFP designation, offer a monthly subscription model, offer services online and sign a fiduciary oath. Kitces said that “nearly 50” advisors have joined the network in the first nine months.
