--News Direct--
AdvicePay, the industry-leading platform for managing billing, payments, and compliance of fee-for-service financial planning, released its third annual Fee-for-Service Industry Trend Report. The findings, based on over 461,000 transactions processed in 2024, highlight a growing trend in subscription-based models – an increasingly popular choice for advisors seeking stable and predictable revenue streams amid volatile markets.
The report reveals that subscription-based models continue to dominate the fee-for-service landscape. In 2024, a substantial 85% of all invoices were subscription-based, up from 83% the previous year. This shift marks a continued rise in the popularity of monthly and quarterly subscriptions, as well as a notable increase in the fees charged for these services. Specifically, advisors raised their average monthly subscription fees to $278, up 4.9% from $265 in 2023, while quarterly subscriptions saw a 1.4% increase, and one-time fees grew by 2.9%.
The trend toward higher subscription fees and a preference for digital payments also reflects broader changes in client behavior. In 2024, over half (53.4%) of all transactions were completed using credit or debit cards, while 45.9% were processed through ACH transfers.
These findings underscore the growing adoption of subscription-based models across the industry. Despite common misconceptions, the report highlights that fee-for-service planning is not replacing assets under management (AUM) fees, but rather providing a complementary revenue stream. In times of market volatility, fee-for-service financial planning offers advisors a more stable and predictable income, akin to a "bond" in an advisor’s income portfolio. As AUM fees fluctuate with market conditions, advisors are leveraging fee-for-service models to reach new, underserved demographics and secure steady cash flow.
“Adoption of the fee-for-service model is no longer a niche trend, it’s a strategic necessity for broker-dealers and RIAs aiming to remain resilient and competitive in recruitment and retention of both advisors and clients,” said Alan Moore, Co-Founder and CEO of AdvicePay. “The sustained growth across key metrics signals that subscription-based planning is becoming a core part of financial advisory firms’ revenue strategies. It allows firms to expand their client base, offer flexible pricing, and mitigate the risk of market volatility.”
The increasing popularity of fee-for-service planning is further evidenced by the growth in transactions on the AdvicePay platform, which processed 461,000 transactions in 2024, up from 380,000 the previous year. Since its public launch in 2018, AdvicePay has processed over $838 million in financial planning fees, firmly establishing fee-for-service financial planning as a mainstream and essential business model.
Released just last week, the 2025 Trend Report already has over 400 downloads to date. To receive a copy of the full report, which includes analysis of over two million data points, please visit https://info.advicepay.com/trends.
About AdvicePay
AdvicePay is the industry-leading platform for overseeing the compliance, delivery, and payment processing of fee-for-service financial planning. Financial services firms and their advisors benefit from efficient workflows designed exclusively to support their fee-for-service financial planning revenue, including up-to-date compliance and data security management, all in one unified platform.
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