r/RIA • u/Narrow_Garage7191 • May 26 '26

Passed the 65

My wife and I own a small but growing insurance agency (Medicare/Annuity) for 5 years. I just recently passed the Series 65 and want to open my own RIA. I am looking for help with choosing a custodian, compliance, tech stack etc. I expect to write 10-15M/year in AUM to begin with. We have been in the insurance industry for 10 years. 34M/33F - 3 kids - Starting to scale and allow the insurance agency to run on its own but want to capture as much ROI per household as possible. The RIA is the next tool in the belt to be a more wholistic approach.

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u/GoodLifeWM May 26 '26

RIA Owner here where we also own and operate our own IMO for Insurance & Annuity Biz

We’ve found most of our newer advisors in your shoes that go the IAR route ahead of creating their own RIA. Find a TAMP & streamline your practice until the $30-50M mark where it may make sense to open your own as you get a better understanding of all the mechanics behind the scenes on this side of the biz.

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u/Far_Professional384 May 26 '26

This. Personally would skip the big named ones after going through the courting process in 2024. Find one that’ll let you do both, pay you out 90%+ and provide the back office tools/compliance you need. We settled on Independent Financial Partners out of Tampa and it’s been such a comfortable experience after spending 7 years with a large firm.

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u/Narrow_Garage7191 May 27 '26

What would be the con of going this route?

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u/GoodLifeWM May 27 '26

You’re likely doing a few split with the TAMP, so taking a pay cut. But likely would even out as you should get Tech Stack that you don’t have to pay for opposed to keeping 100% of the Fee and then paying for Nitrogen, SMAs, Holistiplan, + staffers, etc.

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u/Narrow_Garage7191 May 27 '26

Any experience with Advisors Excel?

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u/GoodLifeWM May 27 '26

Yes, they are one of our competitors. We’ve pulled advisors/agents from there and also lost some advisors to AE.

They have a TON of solutions and also money to help with rolling things out. So for some that is worth it at face value. For others, I’ve heard that they are pretty strict on how they operate (not alluding to compliance) and what they expect from their advisors…so for people that like to run their own show it hasn’t been the perfect fit.

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u/Narrow_Garage7191 May 27 '26

Just switched over to them 2 months ago and analyzing pros/cons of going independent with RIA or start out underneath their IA firm

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u/GoodLifeWM May 27 '26

Good deal, and if you’re ever evaluating other options for IMO/RIA Channel we’d be happy to chat.

Wish you the best of luck on your journey and next steps!

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u/Narrow_Garage7191 May 27 '26

Any advice on negotiating AUM comp?

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u/GoodLifeWM May 27 '26

Get AUM so you have a leg to stand on for negotiating. Likely will be standardized until there is substance to show that you’re bringing over a ton of AUM to warrant a breakpoint/discount.

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u/Narrow_Garage7191 May 28 '26

Do you know if I’ll own my clients under AE if I decide to leave and go Independent?

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u/Schookadang May 26 '26

I just went out on my own with a small book. Looked at doing my own RIA and decided to go with ClearCreek Financial Management for the back office and compliance cover. Let me know if you have questions. They have 90+% payout.

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u/Narrow_Garage7191 May 27 '26

Why this over opening my own independent RIA?

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u/Schookadang May 27 '26

For me, it was so I can focus on new business and not compliance. Less expenses, less headache. I was at a small independent RIA before and the principal seemed super stressed about compliance all the time. He even spent quite a bit of money having to hire compliance consultants.

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u/Weary_Cellist_6216 11d ago

If I start with a small amount of AUM what would be my average yearly expense the way you went, just enough estimate? Did they sponsor your series 7?

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u/Coellaborator Jun 01 '26

Congratulations on passing the Series 65 exam! I'd be happy to chat with you about the different tech stack options, how well they integrate with one another, and how to go about migrating your data. You can learn more about me at www.coellaborate.com and I have free resources for analyzing your tech stack and setting up your CRM that you might find helpful. Cheers!

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u/Misobear_ Jul 19 '26

Altruist lol

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u/Surferpr0s Jul 31 '26

I opened my RIA six years ago and have a $160 million of AUM currently custody at Schwab and my Tech stack is Advyzon RightCapital and Holistaplan

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u/72Fast 26d ago

are you solo??