Direct Affiliate

An equity partnership in a jointly-owned 401(k) practice — with a participant-to-wealth engine and a built-in path to succession.

Affiliation model Scroll

The Direct Affiliate model is a co-owned business — not employment, not a franchise. We form a jointly-owned entity that carries the Navigate 401K name in your market. We bring the infrastructure, compliance, 3(38) fiduciary status, and participant conversion engine; you bring the local relationships and business development. Both partners share the revenue, the profit, and the enterprise value you build together.

01 | How it works

How the Direct Affiliate model works

Form the entityWe form a jointly-owned LLC operating under our RIA. Equity is set at founding across four tiers — from an established $1.5M book to a networked launcher — and vests over four years.

We deliver the platformCompliance, E&O, 3(38) fiduciary status, an integrated technology stack, and operations — a ready-made practice instead of a blank office and a laptop.

You build the bookYou own new-business development and the plan-sponsor relationship. We run everything behind it, so your time goes to winning and keeping plans.

Build & transition valueYou are paid twice — production income plus an equity share of entity profits — and equity gives you a structured, planned exit when you are ready.

02 | What you get

Why advisors choose the Direct Affiliate model

Real, shared ownership

Vesting equity with growth ratchets, anti-dilution and tag-along rights — a genuine stake, not a comp plan.

Fiduciary risk transferred

We serve as 3(38) investment manager across both the plan and the wealth relationships, assuming the discretionary liability.

Two income layers

Current income from your personal production, plus long-term wealth from your equity share of the entity’s total profits.

Enterprise value that compounds

As margins widen and the participant pipeline deepens, equity value grows faster than revenue — the asset a buyer ultimately pays for.

TrailGuide turns every plan into a wealth pipeline

The Direct Affiliate model’s defining advantage is the participant-to-wealth engine. Real-time payroll data triggers personalized outreach at each life event, and our home office routes participants into the right service tier — so every plan you win quietly becomes wealth-management revenue you never had to prospect.

TrailGuide Guides $10K–$250K participants below traditional minimums — you earn participation fees without servicing them.

Navigate Wealth $250K+ participants convert to full-service relationships you share in.

40–60% participant engagement with integrated infrastructure — versus 5–10% for solo advisors.

Compounds participants age into higher-value segments and refer others, year after year.

03 | Who it's for

Is this the right fit?

The Direct Affiliate model fits advisors ready to build — and eventually transition — a real business.

Established advisors with a $1.5M+ book

Growth-ready advisors who need infrastructure to scale

Emerging specialists with a strong local network

Networked launchers starting a branded practice

Direct Affiliate

An equity stake in a jointly-owned practice — backed by institutional compliance, 3(38) fiduciary infrastructure, and a participant-to-wealth engine that turns every plan you win into wealth revenue you never had to chase.