Skip to main content
401kROBSCheck eligibility
Provider comparison

FranFund vs IRA Financial: ROBS Provider Comparison

By Dennis Shirshikov · Updated July 31, 2026

FranFund is easier to evaluate from public pages if you want an itemized setup-and-administration package, employee administration detail, annual valuation support, and separately described business-loan help. IRA Financial shows the lower first-year ROBS price if the SUMMER200 promotion applies, but the checked public pages do not establish the renewal fee after year one or the same level of annual-administration detail. Neither provider is the default winner; the better fit depends on which scope gaps your written agreement closes.

Compare costs Questions to ask

Current public first-year math

FranFund: $6,975

$4,995 setup + 12 months of required $165 TPA.

IRA Financial: $4,500

$3,500 setup + $1,000 first-year display; renewal not established.

Bottom Line for Buyers

A ROBS transaction moves eligible retirement assets into a qualified retirement plan sponsored by a C corporation. The plan buys employer stock, and the corporation uses the stock-purchase proceeds to fund the business. The IRS page on ROBS highlights why the setup and annual administration matter: filing, participant, rollover, stock valuation, discrimination, prohibited-transaction, and promoter-fee issues can all become compliance problems.[1]

That makes this comparison less about a single headline price and more about what each provider publicly commits to handling. FranFund publishes a higher first-year cost but a more detailed list of setup, TPA, employee, filing, valuation, amendment, and notice tasks.[3] IRA Financial publishes a lower promotional first-year number and clear C corporation/qualified-plan setup language, but the checked ROBS page is less specific about recurring administration, employee tasks, valuation, and renewal price.[5][6]

Cost Comparison

FranPlan 401(k) Business Funding plus required TPA

FranFund

Setup

$4,995

Monthly

$165

First year

$6,975

Calculation: $4,995 setup + ($165 × 12) = $6,975 first year; $4,995 + ($165 × 36) = $10,935 over three years

This excludes FranFund's separately listed $2,500 Business Loans service and any written-contract pass-throughs not shown on the pricing page.

ROBS 401(k) promotional first-year display

IRA Financial

Setup

$3,500

Monthly

Not shown

First year

$4,500

Calculation: $3,500 setup + $1,000 first-year account-fee display = $4,500 first year

The checked page and promotion terms do not establish the renewal fee after year one, so no three-year IRA Financial total is calculated.

Keep FranFund Business Loans separate

FranFund separately lists Business Loans at a $2,500 one-time standard fee. The described scope includes loan package preparation, lender matching, lender coordination, and support through closing.[3] That can be valuable for a buyer combining ROBS with debt, but it is not part of the FranPlan plus TPA calculation unless a signed agreement bundles it.

The independent arithmetic is straightforward: FranFund is $4,995 + ($165 × 12) = $6,975 for year one, and $4,995 + ($165 × 36) = $10,935 over three years. IRA Financial is $3,500 + $1,000 = $4,500 for the displayed first-year promotional scenario. Because the checked IRA Financial sources do not establish the renewal amount, a three-year IRA Financial total would be an assumption rather than a sourced calculation.

Service Scope by Buyer Question

C corporation and plan setup

Included in published scope

FranFund

FranFund says FranPlan setup includes corporation establishment, organizational documents, federal tax ID, help establishing a new 401(k), attorney consultation, and stock certificates.[3]

Included in published scope

IRA Financial

IRA Financial says its ROBS specialists set up a C corporation and create a qualified plan for funding the business.[5]

What to verify: Ask both providers which documents they draft, who signs them, and which state filing or registered-agent costs are separate.

Bank, brokerage, rollover, and stock purchase

Included in published scope

FranFund

FranFund names corporate checking-account assistance, asset-transfer assistance, and stock-certificate issuance for personal and plan investments.[3]

Ask in writing

IRA Financial

IRA Financial describes rolling retirement funds into the new plan and having the plan purchase corporation stock, but the checked ROBS page does not spell out bank or brokerage-account tasks.[5]

What to verify: Get a written sequence for the trust/brokerage account, corporate bank account, rollover paperwork, stock subscription, and capitalization transfer.

Annual administration

Included in published scope

FranFund

FranFund's required TPA service lists contribution allocation and reconciliation, annual compliance testing, Forms 5500, 1099-R and 945, annual fair-market-value support, benefit statements, employee census support, amendments, restatements, audit assistance, transaction documents, and employee notifications.[3]

Provider says it coordinates

IRA Financial

IRA Financial says it provides ongoing maintenance and administration services to keep the plan IRS compliant, but the checked page does not itemize the same annual tasks or renewal cadence.[5]

What to verify: For IRA Financial, request the current annual fee, the complete fee schedule, and the exact annual administration checklist before comparing recurring cost.

Employees and participants

Included in published scope

FranFund

FranFund's TPA list includes employee census review, enrollment support, required employee notifications, benefit statements, and contribution reconciliation.[3]

Ask in writing

IRA Financial

IRA Financial's checked ROBS page does not define employee onboarding, eligibility determinations, participant notices, contribution allocations, or per-participant fees.[5]

What to verify: If the business may hire employees, this category can matter more than the initial setup price.

Valuation

Included in published scope

FranFund

FranFund lists annual fair-market-value support in the monthly TPA service.[3]

Ask in writing

IRA Financial

IRA Financial's checked ROBS page does not state whether employer-stock valuation support is included, coordinated, or separately charged.[5]

What to verify: The IRS names stock valuation as a ROBS compliance area, so valuation scope should be explicit before funding or exit.[1]

Audit help and professional boundaries

Included in published scope

FranFund

FranFund lists IRS and DOL audit assistance when necessary.[3]

Provider says it coordinates

IRA Financial

IRA Financial advertises guaranteed IRS audit protection, while its terms say IRA Financial is not a law firm and does not provide legal, accounting, or other professional services.[5][6]

What to verify: Ask both providers what audit help includes, who pays outside counsel, whether DOL issues are covered, and what conditions void the protection.

Financing beyond ROBS

Provider says it coordinates

FranFund

FranFund markets SBA loans and FranPlan as funding options and separately prices Business Loans at $2,500 for loan package preparation, lender matching, coordination, and closing support.[3][4]

Ask in writing

IRA Financial

IRA Financial's checked ROBS page compares ROBS with loans and investors, but it does not price or describe SBA loan packaging.[5]

What to verify: If the project needs both rollover funding and debt, compare ROBS administration separately from loan packaging.

Corrections, cancellation, data, and exit

Ask in writing

FranFund

The checked FranFund pages do not define plan-correction fees, cancellation/refund rights, data-export terms, provider transition, plan termination, employer-stock buyback, final valuation, or final filings.[3]

Ask in writing

IRA Financial

IRA Financial's promotion terms reserve the right to deduct the promotion value from any applicable refund if an account closes within the first year, but the checked sources do not define a full cancellation, data, correction, or exit scope.[6]

What to verify: These are contract questions, not marketing-page questions. Ask before signing, especially if a sale, shutdown, partner change, or provider transition is plausible.

Which Provider Fits Which Buyer?

If you want the more itemized annual administration page

FranFund: FranFund is easier to diligence from public pages.

IRA Financial: IRA Financial needs more written detail after the first-year display.

If your first-year provider cost is the main screen

FranFund: FranFund is higher on current public arithmetic.

IRA Financial: IRA Financial is lower if the promotional terms apply and no excluded fees change the result.

If you also need SBA or conventional loan packaging

FranFund: FranFund separately prices and describes loan packaging.

IRA Financial: IRA Financial's checked ROBS page does not establish comparable loan-packaging scope.

If you will hire employees soon

FranFund: FranFund names census, enrollment, notices, and benefit statements.

IRA Financial: Ask for employee administration, notices, testing, and participant-fee details in writing.

For franchise buyers or acquisition buyers using both retirement assets and debt, FranFund's public positioning around SBA Loans, FranPlan, pre-approval, and in-house funding teams may be easier to diligence.[4] For buyers who primarily want the lowest confirmed first-year public ROBS number and are comfortable requesting more contract detail, IRA Financial may remain worth evaluating.[5]

Risks Neither Provider Can Make Disappear

Retirement concentration

The plan exchanges retirement assets for private company stock. If the business loses value, the retirement account can lose value too.

Ongoing fiduciary work

DOL fee guidance says plan fiduciaries should evaluate provider services, fees, compensation, participant communications, cybersecurity practices, and ongoing reasonableness.[2]

Exit complexity

A sale, shutdown, plan termination, or stock redemption can require valuation, plan, tax, and corporate steps that are not fully described on the checked pages.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Ask FranFund

  • Does the $4,995 setup include all state filing charges and expedited filing charges for your state?
  • Which TPA tasks are included at $165 per month when employees become eligible?
  • What does audit assistance cover, and who pays outside counsel?
  • Are any valuation, correction, cancellation, data-export, or exit services separately billed?
  • If you also use Business Loans, is the $2,500 fee separate from or bundled with the ROBS agreement?

Ask IRA Financial

  • Is SUMMER200 still available for your account, and what conditions could remove the credit?
  • What is the renewal fee after the first year, and what other fee schedule items can apply?
  • Who handles EINs, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, stock documents, and money movement?
  • Which annual tasks are included: testing, Form 5500, notices, valuation, amendments, corrections, and participant work?
  • What exactly does guaranteed IRS audit protection cover given the terms' legal and professional-service limits?

Frequently Asked Questions

These answers repeat the same boundaries used in the comparison above so the structured FAQ matches visible reader-facing content.

Is FranFund or IRA Financial cheaper for ROBS?

On the reviewed public pages, IRA Financial shows the lower first-year number: $3,500 setup plus a $1,000 first-year account-fee display, or $4,500 before excluded fees. FranFund shows $4,995 setup plus a required $165 monthly TPA fee, or $6,975 for the first year. IRA Financial's renewal fee after year one was not established by the checked sources.[3][5][6]

Should FranFund's Business Loans fee be counted in the ROBS total?

No. FranFund lists Business Loans separately at a $2,500 one-time standard fee. It may matter for a buyer combining ROBS with debt, but it is not part of the base FranPlan plus TPA arithmetic unless a written agreement bundles it.[3]

Which provider is better for a business with employees?

FranFund's pricing page gives more public detail about census review, enrollment support, notices, benefit statements, contribution reconciliation, testing, and filings. IRA Financial may provide relevant administration, but the checked ROBS page does not itemize those employee tasks, so a buyer should request them in writing.[3][5]

Sources

  1. IRS ROBS compliance project

    Reviewed 2026-07-31.

  2. DOL: Understanding Retirement Plan Fees and Expenses

    Reviewed 2026-07-31.

  3. FranFund pricing

    Reviewed 2026-07-31.

  4. FranFund homepage

    Reviewed 2026-07-31.

  5. IRA Financial ROBS 401(k)

    Reviewed 2026-07-31.

  6. IRA Financial terms and SUMMER200 promotion

    Reviewed 2026-07-31.

Continue Comparing Providers

Provider directoryCompare ROBS providersProvider matching methodologyROBS provider fees and servicesProviders with audit supportProviders with valuation supportProviders supporting ROBS and SBA financingProviders without monthly administration feesFranFund provider profileIRA Financial provider profile