Advisors, Partner With Us
Why Join CGN Advisors?
Join CGN Advisors, a Fee-Only SEC-registered investment advisor with a national footprint, and let us take many of the operations, billing, technology, marketing, compliance, and investment management functions off your plate so you can spend more time focusing on what truly matters: financial planning for your clients. Our vision is to provide a best-in-class turnkey RIA platform with superior advisor service that Fee-Only financial advisors leverage to provide superior client service.
Start Up Fast.
Become an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) in three weeks or less, assuming the Series 65 exam is satisfied or a credential is held for waiver of the Series 65. For comparison, approval for a new state RIA generally takes about three months.
Accelerate Growth.
Plug into our turnkey corporate RIA platform to focus on what you do best and let us take care of the rest. CGN Advisors is a “silo” structured advisory firm, which is defined as multiple advisor offices using a shared platform, technology stack, HQ staff and resources, but where each advisor within the firm has their own clients, for which they are individually compensated.
According to a Kitces research report, “…it is worth considering the value of siloing within a larger firm within the early days of growing a practice. By plugging into a larger platform, advisors may be able to better focus their time on the activities which truly drive growth.”
Leverage Enterprise Resources.
Use our extensive enterprise offerings to gain efficiency. Access our end-to-end technology stack, including additional tools such as a client confidential questionnaire, risk questionnaire, financial plan pricing tool, investment policy statement, etc. Obtain great enterprise pricing on Kitces.com Premier membership, NAPFA membership, DPL Financial Partners commission-free insurance, etc. Leverage our in-house paraplanner team and built-in business continuity plan. Plug delegator clients into our professionally managed portfolios.
Benefit From Our Experience.
Learn from our wins and challenges, don’t spin your wheels.
- Build relationships. Get involved in your local community through civic, church, and other organizations, because it’s the right thing to do and it builds relationships. Get involved in your professional community through organizations like GPN, NAPFA, etc., to collaborate with like-minded advisors and help further the Fee-Only movement.
- Diversify revenue. Offer hourly-based financial planning, ongoing financial planning, and investment management. Recurring revenue from ongoing client relationships is key.
- Resist “shiny object syndrome.” Don't research every shiny new software tool, service offering, marketing idea, etc., as it distracts you from taking care of existing clients and engaging new clients.
Current licensing fee to join CGN Advisors:
- $2,500 1-time affiliation fee ($500 non-refundable if unable to accept advisor into firm based on background check)
- $965/month ongoing fee (months 2+)
Advisor must:
- Offer Fee-Only, fiduciary, comprehensive financial planning and investment management
- Have CFP® certification (or CPA/PFS credential)
- Be growth-minded and/or interested in our Merge→Stay→Sell opportunity
For additional information, please contact Justin@CGNAdvisors.com.
Platform Component: RIA
Service Options
RIA Fee-Only financial planning and investment management service options include: hourly project fee, fixed fee, monthly ongoing, quarterly ongoing and AUM (see Investments section below for more information about AUM).Billing
Advisors are paid on the 1st and 15th of each month. Cost for AdvicePay is 2% of financial planning fees.Business Continuity
Access to built-in business continuity plan in case of death or disability, as well as planned sale (e.g. retirement).E&O Insurance
Professional liability (E&O) insurance is provided.
DPL Financial Partners
Access to commission-free insurance and annuity platform.Add-On
Access to in-house Paraplanner Services for $75/hour.
Add-On
Join our group Premier Subscription to the Kitces.com Members Section for $155/year.
Add-On
Join our NAPFA Corporate Membership for $300/year.Platform Component: Technology

CRM
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is provided.
Outlook Email and Microsoft 365
Email hosting is provided. 1 email address is included. In addition, Microsoft 365 is included (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
DMS
Document Management Software (DMS) is provided.
Secure Forms
Secure, online confidential client questionnaires, risk questionnaires, etc. are provided.
Portal
Access to Orion advisor/client portal.
Portfolio Risk Analytics
Access to Orion Risk Intelligence software is provided.
Financial Planning
Access to Orion Planning financial planning software is provided.
Add-On
Access to enterprise edition of MoneyGuidePro for $1025/year or MoneyGuideElite for $1575/year (includes firm-managed capital market assumptions and CGN Investment Strategies standard portfolio sets).
Add-On
Access to Income Lab for $1200/year.
Add-On
Access to Holistiplan for $17.50/household.
Add-On
Access to Jump AI for $110/month.Platform Component: Marketing
Streamlined Scrolling Website
Website design/setup is provided using a framework that is part of CGN Advisors, LLC main website.Find an Advisor Profile
Find an Advisor profile listing is provided on CGN Advisors, LLC main website.Add-On
Access to FMG Suite's marketing platform for advisors. Cost varies.Platform Component: Compliance
IAR Registration
Initial registration within about 20 days as an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) for 1 DBA office of CGN Advisors, LLC using Comply for RIA.Compliance Program
All ongoing compliance managed by CGN Advisors, LLC using Comply for RIA.Archiving
Email, website and social media archiving software is provided.Platform Component: Investments

Custodian
Access to institutional custodian is provided.
Custodian
Access to institutional custodian is provided.AUM
Offer Assets Under Management (AUM) via CGN Investment Strategies. Remain out front to manage the client relationship (choose 1 of 10+ tiered billing schedules) and we will work hard behind the scenes to manage the investments (for a low base fee).AUM Fees
Charge an asset-based fee of up to 1.00%, inclusive of our base fee of 0.25%, which tiers down.CGN Investment Strategies
4 series of professionally-managed, tax-smart portfolios, including: Strategic, Intentional, Select and Sustainable ESG. Custom management for low-basis stock and concentrated-stock positions. Custom indexing also available.Merge→Stay→Sell
Slightly different than the traditional "Sell and Stay," which is when an advisor sells their practice and then continues working with clients for a period of time, join CGN Advisors in a Merge→Stay→Sell arrangement.
MERGE.
First, transition your clients to CGN Advisors and maintain your brand as a DBA office of CGN.
STAY.
Then continue to serve your clients by leveraging our turnkey RIA platform, with assurance that a death/disability contingency plan is in place in case something happens to you. Let us take many of the operations, billing, technology, marketing, compliance, and investment management functions off your plate so you can spend more time focusing on what truly matters: financial planning for your clients.
SELL.
Finally, ensure continuity for your clients and realize the value in the business you’ve built by executing a planned succession to CGN.
BEST-FIT ADVISORS.
In our experience, advisors with these characteristics are the best fit for our Merge→Stay→Sell arrangement:
- Prefer to offload operations, compliance, and investment management to either achieve scale or simply work less
- Need to establish a death/disability contingency plan and/or a business succession plan
- Operate, or are ready to transition to, an independent, Fee-Only RIA
- Manage $10M - $150M of AUM
- Custody primarily at Schwab Advisor Services
- Overlap multiple CGN platform components
RECENT "MERGE" DEALS.
- Advisor with 325 client households, $220M of AUM, coming from National Financial Services (Fidelity's clearing firm) and American Funds
- Advisor with 120 client households, $155M of AUM, at Schwab Advisor Services
- Advisor with 10 client households, $30M of AUM, at Schwab Advisor Services
- Advisor with 40 client households, $40M of AUM, at Schwab Advisor Services
For additional information, please contact Justin@CGNAdvisors.com.
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Want to Learn More?
Let’s talk about whether joining CGN is the right next step for you.
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