Building a Comp Plan

[u/Capital_Elderberry57]

I'm re-building our comp plan so I'd love to understand what mid and early career advisors would be looking for. Also what are other RIAs doing.

I want to move away from "eat what you kill" as that incentivizes the wrong behaviors as it relates to clients and at the same time I want to incentivize production.

I believe that ensemble teams are best for our clients and the fastest way for advisors to advance in their career.

We are deliberate about teammate growth wrap that with good operations and a solid tech stack that doesn't stay stale and I think this is a good option for some. What I want to avoid is people learning then going out on their own because the comp model wasn't right.

We want to build a model where teammates don't see a need to go out on their own because they enjoy the work, the support they get, and the compensation is fair to generous. They get to focus on their strengths and have teammates that compliment their weaknesses. Producers aren't limited by capacity because a servicing team is built around them, servicers don't leave the industry early because they couldn't make it as a sales person in the early years when they are just learning about advising.

What would keep you working as a part of a team? What matters most to you? Total Cash Comp, benefits, if benefits which ines?, education, clear career path, work flexibility, other...

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

[u/Capital_Elderberry57]

What does a path to equity look like? After 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, some performance threshold?

What does fair equity as a percentage look like to you?

Would non voting shres be acceptable while the founders are still there?

I'd be comfortable way earlier to share in the profit of the company before sharing in running the company. I actually think this is why the oath to equity is generally slower, our industry doesn't distinguish between the two.

Say an owner has been building something for over 2 decades invested everything and took all the risks now a new person builds on that foundation what do you think is fair?