Alan Moore from XYPN Live on Entrepreneurship, Escape Velocity, and the RIA Fee-For-Service Revolution
Alan Moore on Building Advisor Businesses That Scale with Purpose
On this episode of the Modern Financial Advisor Podcast, I sat down in person with Alan Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of XY Planning Network (XYPN) and AdvicePay, during the XYPN LIVE Conference in Austin, Texas.
If you’ve ever wondered how to grow a financial advisory business that thrives without losing your soul—or your sanity—this conversation with Alan is a must-listen.
Over the last decade, Alan and his co-founder Michael Kitces have built XYPN into a community of more than 2,000 independent advisors who are redefining what it means to deliver financial planning. They’ve done it by empowering advisors to serve clients the way they want to be served—with flexible fee-for-service models, subscription pricing, and a focus on helping younger clients earlier in their financial journey.
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What You’ll Learn in This Episode
From Picking Up the Phone to Building a Movement
Alan shared how XYPN began with a simple idea… help advisors like himself who wanted to serve younger clients and build sustainable, fee-only businesses.
Alan credits Jude Boudreaux of The Planning Network, for inspiring him to "be the guy who picks up the phone” because Jude answered Alan’s call and was open to helping him when he was starting out.
When he launched his firm in 2012, few 25-year-old advisors were striking out on their own. But Alan’s willingness to share what he was learning quickly created demand. Within a year, he’d fielded 100 calls from other advisors asking for help.
That insight led to an email exchange with Michael Kitces, and by 2014, the two launched XYPN with a goal of onboarding 20 founding members in four months. They had 31 in the first week.
Today, more than 2,000 member firms later, XYPN continues to expand its impact on the profession.
Learning to Lead at Scale
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was Alan’s honesty about how much he has had to grow as a leader.
“I learned very early on that I am an awful people manager,” Alan said with a laugh. “So I surrounded myself with people who complement my weaknesses.”
That self-awareness led him to adopt the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework, giving his teams clarity and structure as XYPN and AdvicePay scaled to more than 100 employees combined.
Alan also credits the Working Genius framework for helping him and Michael Kitces understand where each of them adds the most value—and where they should delegate.
Treating Advisors as Entrepreneurs
At XYPN LIVE, Alan and Michael took the stage together for a live recording of the Behind the Advisor podcast, walking attendees through the Launching, Building, and Scaling phases of an advisory business.
It’s an entrepreneurial lens rarely applied to financial advisors, but Alan believes it’s essential.
“Running a financial planning firm isn’t a formula—it’s art,” he said. “You get to paint the picture however you want. The key is being intentional about what you’re building and why.”
Alan encourages advisors to think in phases, to expect those early years to be hard, and to make sure they have the financial and emotional runway to persevere until they hit “escape velocity.”
Why Fee-for-Service Models Unlock Growth
A core focus of XYPN and AdvicePay has been helping advisors adopt subscription and fee-for-service models.
Alan explained that most Americans don’t have enough investable assets to fit the traditional AUM model—and that’s a business-model problem, not a client problem.
“Fee-for-service unlocks the other 48% of Americans who make a solid income but don’t have a million dollars to invest yet,” he said. “It allows advisors to profitably serve clients they couldn’t have before.”
That insight led directly to the creation of AdvicePay, the compliant payment platform built by Alan and Michael to make subscription billing and one-time payments easy—and regulator-approved—for advisors.
Building Gravity as a Founder
Toward the end of the episode, Alan and I talked about influence—how leaders like him and Michael Kitces have created “gravity” that attracts advisors, partners, and opportunities to their orbit.
Alan shared that his secret isn’t self-promotion—it’s partnership.
“Michael and I have completely different Working Geniuses,” Alan explained. “He thrives on being out front and connecting with people. I thrive on running the business. Together, we create balance.”
It’s a reminder that building influence in this industry isn’t about being loud—it’s about being authentic and playing to your strengths.
Resources Mentioned:
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