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At the 2025 Future Proof Festival, Vince Hockett, President of XY Planning Network (XYPN), shared a vision of financial advising that challenges industry norms, empowers independent planners, and provides clients with access to unbiased, fiduciary advice. For more than a decade, XYPN has built a reputation not just as a membership organization but as a movement that redefines financial planning for a new era.
“XYPN is a network that’s truly focused on fee-for-service, fiduciary financial planning,” Hockett explained. “It builds a visceral community of people who support one another. Even in my role, I feel that every single day.”
A Network Built on Independence
One of the defining aspects of XYPN is the independence it extends to its members. Advisors own their businesses, their clients, and their data. There are no restrictive contracts, no long-term lock-ins, and nothing that prevents an advisor from leaving with their entire book of business if they choose. That model, Hockett says, forces XYPN to earn member trust—and retention—on a daily basis.
“You’re a member of XYPN, but you still own your clients and run your business the way you want. Any month, members can leave and take everything with them. That makes us focus relentlessly on the value we’re delivering every single day,” he said.
This independence gives advisors the confidence to build firms that reflect their personal values, serve the niches they most care about, and establish service models that meet the needs of clients often overlooked by traditional firms.
Expanding Access to Financial Planning
The founders of XYPN, Michael Kitces and Alan Moore, were motivated by a realization that far too many people who needed financial planning couldn’t access it. Traditional methods that required significant investable assets left out large swaths of the population—young professionals with student debt, families just beginning to save, or wealth accumulators focused on building toward future goals.
“The core mission of XYPN is truly about bringing financial planning to those who need it,” Hockett emphasized. “In the traditional model, if you don’t have assets, you can’t get on someone’s platform. But the people who need planning the most are often the ones just starting out, with debt and cash flow challenges. Our members are serving wealth accumulators at a time when a massive generational wealth transfer is changing the landscape.”
This focus allows members to capture a growing—and often misunderstood—segment of the market. By helping people during accumulation years, XYPN advisors position themselves as partners for life, guiding clients as they move from debt management and income planning to wealth transfer and beyond.
The Strength of Community
Another hallmark of XYPN is the community it fosters among its members. Unlike some industry groups where competition discourages openness, XYPN advisors learn from and support one another without hesitation.
“We often hear, ‘I didn’t join XYPN for the community, but I can’t leave because of it,’” Hockett said. “Our members share every aspect of their business with each other. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to: ‘Hey, I’m experiencing this with a client. Have you seen it?’ And because it’s not competitive, they’re free to share everything.”
This peer-to-peer network is reinforced through mastermind groups, study cohorts, and informal gatherings. Hockett shared how one mastermind group of XYPN advisors independently organized a trip to Bozeman, Montana, where they bonded over shared experiences—not just as professionals, but as people. “That kind of connection is what sets XYPN apart,” he added.
Vetting Technology and Innovation
Technology adoption remains a critical challenge for independent advisors, many of whom are solopreneurs running lean practices. XYPN provides a valuable service by staying at the forefront of innovation while filtering out unnecessary complexity.
“One of the reasons we’re at Future Proof is to understand what’s happening from a technology perspective and bring it back to our members in a way that’s actionable,” Hockett said. “A solopreneur can easily get overwhelmed by trying to evaluate tech options while taking care of clients. We help clear out the noise and focus them on the tools that will actually make a difference.”
By vetting technology solutions, XYPN empowers advisors to adopt tools at the right stage of their growth. That focus allows advisors to maintain efficiency and scale sustainably, without wasting time or resources.
Overcoming Industry Challenges
Independent advisors often face significant barriers in gaining visibility with large vendors, service providers, or investment partners in an industry traditionally oriented toward large firms. But XYPN’s collective presence is changing perceptions.
“As our advisors accumulate more business, they’re gaining recognition for the actual size and impact of their practices,” Hockett noted. “That shift is helping us open doors that individual independents might struggle to push through on their own.”
XYPN positions itself as both an advocate and a liaison, elevating the collective strength of its membership. This role ensures members benefit from service access, competitive pricing, and partnership opportunities typically reserved for larger institutions.
A Fiduciary Future
At its heart, XYPN is pushing the industry toward a deeper embrace of fiduciary, conflict-free planning. Members commit never to take commissions, freeing them to deliver advice entirely in the client’s best interest.
“The impact our members have comes from being good planners for the right reasons,” Hockett said. “Sometimes the people with money aren’t the ones who need planning the most. Our focus is on bringing real financial planning to people who need it, and that moves society forward.”
By stripping away product-driven incentives, XYPN ensures advisors are focused solely on life-integrated planning—helping clients align their money with their values and long-term goals.
Why XYPN Matters
For advisors, XYPN offers a rare combination: the independence to serve clients and run a practice entirely on their own terms, alongside a community of like-minded professionals dedicated to support and collaboration. It also provides the operational scaffolding—technology vetting, compliance support, and vendor advocacy—that makes independence less daunting.
For the industry, XYPN’s model matters because it expands access to planning beyond high-net-worth households. By supporting advisors who work with accumulators, young families, and underserved segments, XYPN is helping reshape how and where financial planning is delivered.
As Hockett summed up: “We’re focused on the needs of people and families for the right reasons. That’s a unique place to be, and something I’m exceptionally proud of to be part of an organization that allows that to flourish.”
To learn more about XYPN, please visit their website here.
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