A Better Way Forward.
Business consulting for independent financial advisors. Our goal is to make advisory firms more profitable and more efficient, and to give the owner a real plan for what happens when they step back.
15 Years in the Business · Former Schwab, Merrill, Vanguard and Fidelity · Plano, Texas
What We Do
What a consultant costs, and what we charge.
Ritz Stevens is run by former employees from firms like Schwab, Merrill, Vanguard, and Fidelity. We do for an advisory firm what a business consultant does for any other small company. The expense audit, the positioning, the campaign build, the technology decisions, the back office, and the plan for who runs the firm after you.
$5,000 to $15,000
A fractional COO for a small business, per month.
$3,000 to $25,000
A general business consultant on retainer, per month.
$2,500
Ritz Stevens Full Desk, per month. Flat, three-month minimum then month-to-month.
The reason we can charge that is the network. We’re already doing the custodian research, the vendor comparisons, the campaign work and the succession matching across every firm in it, so the second firm costs a fraction of what the first one did. A consultant billing you by the hour has no way to spread that.
Consulting and fractional-executive rates are 2026 United States market ranges from published industry pricing surveys. Not a representation of results.
Three Engagements
Three engagements. Pick the one that matches where the firm is.
A generation of advisors is preparing to step back, and too many end up handing their life’s work to whoever writes the biggest check. Meanwhile a generation coming up is trying to build from nothing, and a generation in between has grown past the point their custodian pays attention to them. We work every side of that gap.
Succession consulting for owners passing the torch, and for their successors
Ritz Stevens Next Destination℠
We build the valuation, the deal structure and the transition plan, we find the successor, and we stay on after the closing. The goal is a handoff that keeps the doors open, the staff employed, and the clients cared for.
- Confidential valuation and readiness review
- Successor matching from a national registry
- We stay on after the handoff. We are not paid at closing and gone.
- $5,500 flat engagement fee, paid via a $550/month retainer credited to the total
Growth consulting for new, rising and breakaway advisors
Ritz Stevens Launch℠
Your name on the door, without building every system, finding every client, and solving every problem by yourself. The infrastructure of an established firm while you keep your book, your brand and your independence.
- Expense audit, positioning and campaign build, technology selection and back office
- Technology and compliance guidance, vendor-neutral
- AI implementation for your practice
- $1,100/month flat. No revenue share, no equity stake
Growth consulting for established firms
Ritz Stevens Full Desk℠
For firms that have stopped growing. A monthly retainer that goes deeper than Launch, built for firms your custodian has stopped paying attention to.
- Sales call coaching against your real client meetings, post-call, no recording
- A written sales process you keep, plus deeper vendor and custodian findings
- Annual valuation review and a standing monthly call with your consultant
- $2,500/month flat, three-month minimum then month-to-month
Looking for a financial advisor for yourself or your family? Find an advisor near you →
The State of the Handoff
The largest transfer of advisory practices in history is already underway.
These are not our numbers. They are the industry’s — and they are the reason all three of our programs exist.
37.5%
of U.S. financial advisors plan to retire within the next decade1
41.5%
of total industry assets sit with those retiring advisors1
1 in 4
advisors expected to transition are unsure of their succession plan2
72%
of rookie advisors wash out of the industry entirely1
1. The Cerulli Report — U.S. Advisor Metrics 2023: Specializing for Growth and Differentiation. Cerulli Associates, January 2024. 109,093 advisors, representing 37.5% of industry headcount and 41.5% of total assets, plan to retire over the next decade; the report cites a 72% rookie advisor failure rate.
2. Transitioning Your Practice the Way You Want, Cerulli Associates in partnership with Commonwealth Financial Network, 2022.
Third-party data is presented for general informational purposes and is not a representation of results achieved by Ritz Stevens or its members. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
Next Destination℠
Your practice deserves a destination, not an exit.
You spent a career earning trust that does not show up on a balance sheet. A roll-up buys the revenue and re-brands the rest. We find the person who will carry it.
- Know what it’s worth. A confidential valuation and readiness review before you talk to anyone.
- Meet real successors. Matched from our national registry on fit, not just price.
- Keep the terms human. Earn-ins, phased handoffs, and continuity for your staff and clients.
- We don’t disappear at closing. Ritz Stevens stays on to guide the firm through the transition — the reason our fee is a fraction of a broker’s.
Launch℠
Independence, without the isolation.
Going independent should not mean building every system, finding every client, and solving every problem alone. Launch gives you the infrastructure of an established firm and the counsel of advisors who have already done it.
- Marketing that fills your calendar. Campaigns and positioning built for advisory firms, not generic small business.
- Coaching from operators. People who have actually built and scaled advisory practices.
- A tech stack chosen for you, not sold to you. We don’t resell software, so the recommendation is just a recommendation.
- First look at succession. Launch members see retiring-advisor practices before they reach the open market.
Full Desk℠
Growth stalls right where your custodian stops caring.
Between $30M and $85M, most firms already have a good advisor and a decent book. What they don’t have is anyone selling, coaching the seller, or watching the vendor bills. Full Desk is that person.
- Sales coaching from real operators. Post-call debriefs against your actual client meetings, no recording required.
- A written sales process you keep. Not a slide deck — a process your team still runs after we’re gone.
- Deeper findings than Launch. Vendor quotes and negotiation scripts, competitor pricing, custodian fit, annual valuation review.
- A standing monthly call. One point of contact, every month, for $2,500 flat.
What’s it worth
See what your practice is worth.
Most advisors see a number for the first time when a buyer hands them one. This one’s yours. It takes about a minute and it shows you the math behind every adjustment, no email required.
Next Destination℠ · Successor Side
The National Successor Advisor Registry
Your name on the door — without starting from zero. We are building the first national database of successor advisors ready to step into established practices. Tell us who you are and what you’re looking for, and when a retiring owner’s firm matches your profile, you’re the first call.
First look, before the market
Registered successors see matching practices before they’re shopped anywhere else.
Confidential by default
Your interest is never visible to your current firm or broadcast publicly.
Earn ownership, don’t buy it
Our transitions are structured so successors build equity through performance, not a lump-sum purchase.
Inside Launch℠
One membership. The whole platform.
Every advisor in the Launch network gets the same backing from day one — one flat fee, no revenue share, no equity stake.
Marketing that fills your calendar
Campaigns, content, and positioning built specifically for advisory firms — so you spend your time with clients instead of chasing them.
Coaching from people who’ve built firms
Direct access to industry leaders who have built, scaled, and transitioned real advisory practices. Their playbook becomes yours.
A tech stack chosen for you, not sold to you
We don’t sell software — we help you choose it. Straight guidance on the right CRM, planning tools, and compliance providers, so your tech stack fits how you work.
Independence, with backup.
Keep your book, your brand, and your independence — with the infrastructure of an established firm and a community of advisors who share what actually works behind you.
First look at practices before the market sees them
Launch members are first in line when a retiring advisor’s practice moves through Next Destination℠ — ownership opportunities most advisors never hear about.
One flat fee. No revenue share. Ever.
$1,100 a month, flat. We take no percentage of your revenue and no equity in your firm — a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere.
AI Implementation
Put AI to work in your practice.
Ritz Stevens works with advisors on adopting AI the right way, from client communication and marketing to research and back-office efficiency, so you move faster than the firm down the street without betting on the wrong tools.
Start Here
Not ready to talk? Start with the guide.
Two short reads, no sales call attached. Pick the one that matches where you are, or browse everything we’ve written for advisors.
The Succession Readiness Checklist
The things that need to be true before you can hand off a practice cleanly — and what it costs you to skip them.
The Independent Advisor’s Launch Plan
What it actually takes to stand up your own RIA — the sequence, the real costs, and where new firms most often stall.
Our Commitment
What every advisor in our network can count on.
You work with the same people
Direct access to consultants who have built and sold advisory firms. No rotating reps and no ticket queue.
Your firm stays yours
You keep your book, your brand, and your client relationships. Our role is to strengthen what you’ve built, never to absorb it.
In it for the long haul
Our involvement doesn’t end at a signature. We stay engaged as your firm grows into its next chapter.
Start with a review of your firm.
Send us the firm name and we’ll put together a written review of it. What the public filings and the site say about how the firm is positioned, where the fee structure sits against comparable firms, and what we would change first. No charge and nothing owed.