A New Path to RIA Affiliate Model Ownership with XYPN

The financial planning industry is evolving fast, and advisors are searching for better ways to build, grow, and run their firms—without feeling bogged down by compliance and operational headaches. Historically, starting an RIA meant tackling high startup costs, navigating complex regulations, and juggling every aspect of running a firm alone. XYPN changed that 10 years ago with our Emerald membership, offering support at every step, from registration and launch to ongoing practice management. However, over the years, we still got asked to provide advisors with more support and ways to do some of the work for them rather than help behind the scenes.

That’s where our new membership option and corporate-RIA affiliate model, Sapphire, comes in. We’re making owning your financial planning business easier than ever while getting the support you need to thrive.

What is XYPN’s RIA Affiliate Model?

Think of XYPN’s RIA affiliate model, Sapphire, as the best of both worlds. You get to run your firm your way—your brand, clients, your business—while we handle the heavy lifting on compliance and operations. Unlike a fully independent RIA, where you’re responsible for everything from tech due diligence to rebalancing to regulatory filings, our affiliate model lets you focus on what you do best: serving your clients. We’ve got the rest covered.

If you’ve looked at affiliate models before, you might wonder how we’re different. At XYPN, absolute independence is at the core of everything we do. From day one, we guarantee that if you ever choose to leave, you will take 100% of your firm, clients, and business with you—no strings attached.

Why Choose Sapphire?

So, you’re considering leaping into firm ownership and unsure where to start. Do you register your own firm, join a wirehouse or broker-dealer, or partner with Sapphire to accelerate your path to firm ownership? Here’s why RIA Sapphire may make sense for you:

1. Compliance Without the Stress

Let’s be honest: compliance (sometimes even just the thought of it!) can be overwhelming. XYPN’s Sapphire RIA Affiliate model provides end-to-end compliance support, taking the role of Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) off your plate. We handle regulatory filings, policy manuals, audits, and more—so you don’t have to.

Key Compliance Benefits:

• No need to act as your own Chief Compliance Officer—that job isn’t yours anymore! Our CCO is your CCO, which means you can spend your first year focusing on growing your firm rather than developing and refining your compliance processes. We take care of it.
• XYPN manages regulatory filings, due diligence, and marketing compliance for you.
• SEC registration provides consistent rules and greater flexibility over fees so you can serve your clients your way.
• No additional state-level reporting beyond notice filing–that we handle!
• A team in your back pocket to run any and all questions by. Rebranding and revamping your website, writing a book, or leveraging client testimonials and want a compliance expert to guide you? We’ll have your back.

Additionally, we know how much independence matters in running and marketing your firm. That’s why almost all of our compliance reviews are post-review, meaning you won’t be stuck waiting for days or weeks for our team’s approval of a tweet or Instagram post.

2. Faster Transition for Firms 

Registering and launching an RIA at the state level can take months. During that time, you aren’t able to communicate with your clients, putting those relationships at risk–and ramping up your stress. With Sapphire, you can be registered as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) within days with our RIA, so you can begin transitioning clients almost immediately. Our team also streamlines account transitions to ensure a smooth experience.

Key Transition Benefits:

1. You’ll be assigned a Transition & Onboarding Manager to work with you 1:1 from day 1 to ensure a seamless transition.
2. Our team helps prepare, send, and track all necessary forms and client transition documents.
3. We’ll project plan and take the load off your shoulders with your initial account transfers to ensure a seamless experience.

3. Less Admin, More Advising 

Running a firm takes more than just financial planning—it requires efficient operations. XYPN provides back-office support so you can focus on what you do best while getting your firm up and running. This includes:

Key Back-Office Benefits:

• Billing & Fee Management: We’ll handle your financial planning and AUM-based billing.
• Custodial Support: We manage all interactions with custodians like Schwab. Waiting on a support call to address a NIGO will be a thing of the past for you.
• Form Preparation: We’ll prepare and send you all your account opening and maintenance forms.
• Trade Execution: Our team will handle all trading-related tasks, including managing cash and regular rebalancing.
• Sabbatical & Vacation Coverage:  XYPN manages cashiering-related tasks while you take time off, allowing you actually to take time off and disconnect.

4. Plug-and-Play Tech Stack and Support

We provide top-tier financial planning and CRM software, trading tools, and client management platforms, and our team ensures you’re set up and confident in them. No more dealing with outdated tech scrambling to piece together solutions or spending weeks analyzing and selecting your tech stack. And as you and your firm grow, we’ll expand with you without you having to worry about paying for additional tech licenses. 

Technology that’s fully included with Sapphire is:

• Wealthbox
• Orion
• eMoney
• RightCapital
• Holistiplan
• AdvicePay
• DocuSign
• Elements
• PreciseFP
• fpPathfinder

Additionally, we know flexibility in your tech stack is important. If you want to use a technology tool we haven’t vetted, we have a compliance process for internal approval to ensure you have flexibility where it matters.

5. Run Your Business, Your Way 

Unlike traditional wirehouses or broker-dealers, XYPN gives you the freedom to set your own fees, structure your services, and tailor your client experience. We handle the back-office work so you can stay focused on growing your firm.

6. A Community of Advisors Who Get It

Going solo doesn’t mean being alone. XYPN provides access to a network of like-minded advisors, business coaches, and industry experts who are there to support you every step of the way. As an XYPN member, you’ll gain access to our wealth of support on launching and running a firm we’ve honed over the past 10 years and helping 2,000+ advisors successfully do it.

How to Prepare for Your Transition

Unsure what you need before joining Sapphire? The list is really manageable. To ensure a smooth launch, here are some key steps to take before joining the XYPN Sapphire model:

• Finalize Your Firm Name: Choose a name that aligns with your brand and resonates with your ideal clients.
• Establish Your Business Entity: Form your legal structure (LLC, S-corp, etc.) to protect yourself and your business.
• Create a Firm Logo & Brand Identity: A professional look helps establish credibility and build trust.
• Draft Your Fee Schedule: Define how you’ll price your financial planning and investment management services. Advisors charge everything from monthly subscription fees to AUM-only to a blended model. You just have to tell us what you want!
• Review your Non-compete/non-solicit. Ensuring you understand what your non-compete/non-solicit requires of you is extremely important. Engaging with a securities attorney before starting the transition process can ensure you know what client data you can and can’t bring.

Taking these steps ahead of time ensures you’re set up for success from day one.

Getting Started is Simple

We’ve designed the transition to the XYPN RIA affiliate model to be smooth, fast, and stress-free:

• Step 1: Schedule a call to see if we fit you and your situation.
• Step 2: If we’re a good match, we’ll collaborate with you to smoothly transition your client accounts and integrate the technology you’ll be using.
• Step 3: Register with us as an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) so you can start working with clients and get your website up and running in no time.
• Step 4: Work closely with your dedicated transition and onboarding manager to bring over any existing client relationships. We’ll handle the project management and the technical setup, so you can focus on your business.
• Step 5: You’re officially onboarded! You’ll continue to receive ongoing support in areas like compliance, investment management, and back-office operations, helping your business grow and succeed.

The Future of Firm Ownership is Here

The financial planning industry is shifting, and advisors need a new way to operate that balances independence with meaningful support. XYPN’s Sapphire model offers a streamlined, scalable, and compliance-friendly solution that allows you to focus on what you do best.

None of this is to say that launching your own RIA isn’t possible–in fact, we’ve helped over 1,250+ firms get registered and launch successfully with our Emerald membership. It comes down to calculating where you want to spend your time and what really matters to grow your firm and serve your clients. Whatever your decision, XYPN has Emerald and Sapphire membership waiting for you.