Sources checked November 8, 2026. These primary sources inform the comparison framework. They do not supply numeric defaults, endorse BKLM or validate this calculator. Provider materials can have a commercial perspective.

[1] Schwab · RIA Economic Discovery Tool
Supports comparing income and expense scenarios across business models. We do not reuse Schwab’s proprietary model or assume its results apply to you.

[2] Fidelity · Four questions about independence
Supports reviewing operating responsibilities, support, autonomy, career priorities and cash-flow timing alongside the economics.

[3] FP Transitions · Mergers & Acquisitions
Supports examining cash flow, compensation, equity structure, governance, culture, client experience and integration when considering a partner.

[4] FINRA · Rule 2273
For covered broker-dealer transitions, customers receive educational information about asset transfers. This tool does not determine legal portability or replace required communications.

[5] SEC · Private Secondary Markets (September 4, 2024)
Private shares, including some employee-plan securities, can have resale restrictions. A stated equity value is not spendable cash or a guaranteed liquidity event.

[6] Cooley GO · Preferred Stock
Preferred economic and voting rights are negotiated; participating and non-participating structures distribute proceeds differently. This general legal explanation does not establish any RIA’s actual capital structure.

[7] IRS · Revenue Procedure 2001-43
Distinguishes partnership profits interests from capital interests and addresses specific nonvested grants. We use that distinction to avoid treating different awards as interchangeable; this calculator gives no tax determination.

[8] SRG · Equity Explained
Practitioner discussion of true versus phantom equity and grants, purchases and swaps in advisory firms. Actual award agreements control.

[9] Mercer Advisors · Employee equity program (June 26, 2025)
A dated example of direct equity purchases and grants alongside institutional capital. More than half of employees participating does not mean employees own more than half of the firm. This is not a current offer or a forecast.

[10] TPG · Creative Planning investment (September 30, 2024)
A dated minority-PE example: the release says Peter Mallouk would retain a majority stake. PE backing alone does not establish majority ownership, veto rights or an advisor’s equity terms.

[11] Aspiriant · Ownership structure (October 30, 2026)
The firm describes itself as 100% employee owned without an outside investor or PE firm. This illustrates a different ownership structure, not a finding that every employee owns shares or that this model guarantees better outcomes.

[12] Morgan Stanley at Work · Private-company liquidity perspectives (2026 report)
Company liquidity planning and employee ability to realize equity value are separate issues. Broader private-company findings are not RIA-specific exit probabilities.

[13] LPL Financial · 2024 financial statements, advisor loans
Company disclosure illustrates repayable and forgivable recruiting loans, continued-affiliation conditions and conversion to repayment on termination or changed terms. It does not establish your offer’s schedule.

[14] BTG Pactual US Capital · 2024 financial statements, page 7
Describes service and performance conditions for recruiting-loan forgiveness, and repayment when service ends early. We do not infer a universal interest or repayment rule from one firm.

[15] IRS · Topic 431, canceled debt
Forgiveness can have tax consequences. General canceled-debt guidance is not a determination of compensation treatment, withholding, imputed interest, timing or exceptions for a particular recruiting arrangement. No tax-free benefit is assumed.

Transparent arithmetic

Collected cash before additional costs = current revenue × revenue retained × effective cash share.

Annual cash = collected cash − additional annual costs − annual debt payments.

First-year cash = annual cash − collected cash × (billing-interruption months ÷ 12) − one-time costs + unconditional upfront cash.

Period total = first-year cash + annual cash × (years − 1). Cumulative comparisons use the same period for Stay. The retention threshold solves that period-total equation for retention; it is not a market forecast.

Loan and equity calculations

Loan forgiveness follows only the schedule entered: equal completed annual or monthly installments, a full end-of-term cliff, or cumulative custom annual percentages. Remaining principal = starting principal − forgiven principal. The separate departure estimate adds only any explicitly entered interest and charges. New loan proceeds appear once as financing; forgiveness is not another cash receipt. Existing balances produce no new funding. Optional estimated tax = principal forgiven in each year × your entered tax rate. After-tax forgiveness = forgiven principal − estimated tax; this is not additional cash and is not added to operating totals. Blank rates remain unknown.

Simple equity scenario = max(0, enterprise value − net debt − fixed prior-ranking amounts) × your share of the defined residual class × vested fraction × (1 − additional dilution). The downside reduces enterprise value while holding debt and prior claims fixed. Complex awards and waterfalls remain unvalued. Neither loan nor equity results are added to operating-cash totals or used to choose the leading path.

What this comparison leaves out

Revenue, pricing and costs remain flat after the initial retention assumption. No organic growth, market appreciation, inflation, tax, present-value discount, benefit valuation, salary floor or other contingent compensation is forecast. Optional equity scenarios use your future-value assumptions; they are not forecasts. Loan schedules model estimated tax only at your entered rate on forgiveness; they do not model tax law, amortizing cash repayments or multi-tranche awards. Annual financing payments are treated as flat cash expenses, not an amortization schedule. Negative outcomes remain visible.

For a partner path, enter only the economics attributable to your practice and your cash share; this does not value a merger exchange ratio or proceeds from selling equity. Salary-heavy, tiered-grid and multi-tranche arrangements need a separate cash-flow schedule.

Review actual legal portability, client interests, platform capabilities, ownership/control and contract terms separately. The tool does not establish permission to transfer clients or compliance with FINRA requirements. Use qualified professional advice for legal, tax, lending or transaction decisions.