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Company Details
Founded in 2004, The Retirement Planning Group "TRPG" set out to build the premier RIA in the industry, with a mission to help clients achieve the financial well-being and confidence needed to live their best lives. The firm’s vision is to be the easiest firm to work with on the planet. Over the years, TRPG has experienced primarily organic growth, expanding from zero to over $2.5 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm’s first acquisition occurred in 2009 when it added an advisory team that had previously been with UBS. In 2010, TRPG acquired a local RIA firm in Kansas City. In 2013, the founders launched a separate robo-advisor RIA, which was sold to Morgan Stanley in 2022. The insights gained from this venture were integrated into TRPG, refining its approach to delivering a client experience that blends personal interaction with advanced technology. In 2018, TRPG expanded further by acquiring a tax firm, bringing in-house tax advice and preparation, along with bookkeeping and payroll services for wealth management clients. In 2021, TRPG acquired another RIA firm based in Colorado. In 2023, the firm merged with Cetera, becoming the dedicated RIA firm under their umbrella while maintaining its 100% fiduciary status as a standalone entity. Since then, TRPG has acquired six additional RIA firms.
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Company Videos
Acquisition Model
Full Acquisition
Equity is offered on a deal-by-deal basis, with a minimum deal size of $1 billion.
Yes
Max Cash: 100%
Max Equity: 50%
Standard retention terms are 30-50% held for 12-24 months.
Partners who join TRPG as Wealth Managers typically receive a salary based on the revenue they are responsible for managing. Compensation is set at 30% of the revenue collected, paid as a W2 wage. Partners who join TRPG in roles other than Wealth Manager receive a W2 wage, along with a bonus tied to the attainment of annual goals set by the firm. As W2 employees, all team members are eligible for full benefits.
Mandatory Points of Alignment
TRPG asks all partners to immediately adopt its brand.
Advisors must fully adopt TRPG's tech stack and centralize operations.
Partners have total control of their calendars.
TRPG maintains a centralized P&L.
TRPG has a client experience that advisors are required to adopt.
TRPG has practice management support that advisors are encouraged to utilize.
Partners are asked to divest to a central investment management team.
Advisor Value Proposition
Many firms that find TRPG to be a great fit often find themselves juggling multiple responsibilities—everything from client management, technology, and compliance to paperwork, trading, model management, billing, payroll, books and records, marketing, and staff management. Some may have built out a team to share these responsibilities but still find themselves overwhelmed, wearing as many as twelve "hats." At TRPG, those hats are taken away, allowing the founding advisor to focus on what they love most—helping clients, which is likely why they entered the business in the first place. TRPG provides the most valuable resource of all—time. This enables advisors to enjoy the financial rewards earned post-transaction, spend more time with family, or take a stress-free vacation, knowing someone else is handling the responsibilities in their absence. Additionally, advisors can focus on acquiring new business or reconnecting with clients more deeply, using their newly found time. In short, TRPG's departmental infrastructure reduces the number of "hats" the selling advisor wears, while its expanded service offerings make it easier to retain and attract new business.
TRPG ensures that its Wealth Management team has access to the best tech tools and ongoing training to address any client or prospective client situation. This is achieved through continuous education and collaborative sessions among all Wealth Managers, as well as by building a dedicated team around each client. In addition to the Wealth Manager, this team includes a CPA, Client Relationship Manager, and a member of the trading team. To streamline data updates and minimize time spent on administrative tasks, TRPG's Operations Team ensures that each client plan is updated daily with balances for all accounts under management. Additionally, TRPG leverages AI to take notes during all client meetings, summarizing them and generating a list of recommendations for the client. Each Wealth Manager is paired with a TRPG Client Relationship Manager who handles follow-up activities, allowing the Wealth Manager to stay focused on relationship building and client strategy rather than administrative duties.
Many firms that join TRPG are often overwhelmed by operational tasks. TRPG addresses this with a dedicated Operations Team, whose internal mission is: “Improve internal processes and systems to empower employees to better serve clients.” The Operations Team integrates all technology to create a seamless client onboarding experience. They manage updates to TRPG's tech stack, drive efficiency by overseeing billing, exploring and implementing new technology solutions, updating the CRM, improving the performance portal, and collaborating with marketing. This enables Wealth Managers to focus more on their clients, confident that a skilled team is handling the complexities of running a Wealth Management firm behind the scenes.
TRPG offers a comprehensive suite of in-office tax services, including personal and corporate tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll. In addition, the company plans to expand its offerings in defined contribution services. Over the next six months, TRPG intends to introduce in-house estate planning, document drafting, and diagramming to further enhance its service portfolio.
Shortly after closing, TRPG’s in-house marketing team drives organic growth by executing strategies that seamlessly support advisors and align with their wealth management objectives. To begin, TRPG creates a digital presence across newly acquired office locations and surrounding cities, designed to attract and capture prospective clients seeking financial assistance. Additionally, TRPG employs pay-per-click strategies and digital retargeting. The marketing team manages client and lead communications, oversees the firm’s website, creates content, and curates educational materials, including market updates from the Chief Investment Officer, Chris Bouffard, CFA. TRPG ensures consistency across social media, branding, and graphic design. Advisors benefit from automated lead generation, with a focus on immediate, automated text and email communications triggered as soon as a lead is assigned. These communications are designed to schedule a meeting with the Wealth Manager before the first call is made, streamlining outreach and improving timeliness. This enables the Wealth Manager to focus on current clients while the marketing team works to fill their calendar with new leads.
TRPG offers practice management support by helping partners define roles and responsibilities, conducting employee reviews and performance evaluations, recommending effective workweek structures, and identifying and implementing strategic growth initiatives. Additionally Chris Bouffard, CIO, hosts an internal webinar for advisors once a month covering markets and the macroeconomic landscape, investment performance, and practice management or industry topics.
AUM Growth
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