This is the aggregate GPS profile — the pooled result across all 153 reporting agencies, and the line every revenue-tier and segment brief is read against. A tier metric only means something relative to this baseline: a 12% growth tier is fast because the aggregate is 10%; a 4% margin is thin because the aggregate is 10.66%. Each figure here is a segment benchmark; the companion GPS tier reference explains how the tiers fan out around it.
§ 01 · ProfitabilityProfitability & cost structure.
The baseline agency runs a 10.66% pre-tax margin on a 66.69% compensation load. Producer and office compensation are nearly matched — the signature of an agency that both sells and services at scale.
| Metric | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Pre-tax profit margin | 10.66% |
| Total expense ratio | 89.34% |
| Total compensation (% of revenue) | 66.69% |
| Sales (producer) compensation | 18.58% |
| Office (service) compensation | 22.93% |
| Executive / owner compensation | 15.98% |
| Total administrative expenses | 22.65% |
§ 02 · Revenue mixRevenue mix.
Commercial-lines-led at 50.45% with a meaningful personal-lines base — the balanced aggregate that the small tiers (PL-heavy) and large tiers (CL-heavy) average into.
| Line | % of revenue |
|---|---|
| Commercial lines | 50.45% |
| Personal lines | 27.08% |
| Life | 2.11% |
| Health | 9.25% |
| Contingent / bonus | 8.79% |
| Fees | 0.97% |
| Other | 1.35% |
Revenue mix, at a glance.
The balanced aggregate — half commercial, with a solid personal and health tail. Bar widths are exact percentages of revenue.
§ 03 · Growth & retentionGrowth & retention.
10% aggregate growth with retention in the high-80s to low-90s across all lines — the stable, well-serviced midpoint the tiers vary around.
| Metric | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue growth | 10% |
| Commercial-lines retention | 90% |
| Personal-lines retention | 89% |
| Life & health retention | 91% |
§ 04 · ProductivityProductivity per person.
The baseline agency runs 14.4 staff with 3.0 producers and $149,178 revenue per employee — the midpoint between the lean small tiers and the 40-person enterprises.
| Metric | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employee | $149,178 |
| Commission per employee | $132,604 |
| Compensation per employee | $99,481 |
| Compensation spread | $49,697 |
| Total staff (average) | 14.4 |
| Producers (average) | 3.0 |
§ 05 · Balance sheetBalance-sheet & book quality.
Mid-range balance-sheet ratios — a 2.32 current ratio, 3.59 trust position, and a 22-day receivable cycle — the reference values for reading any tier's working-capital profile.
| Metric | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Trust position ratio | 3.59 |
| Collection ratio | 0.85 |
| Current ratio | 2.32 |
| Days working capital | 58.1 |
| Average age of receivables | 22.0 days |
- The reference for everything. All GPS tier and segment comparisons are read against this 153-agency aggregate.
- Moderate growth. 10% annual — the midpoint the tiers fan out around.
- Healthy margin. 10.66% pre-tax on a 66.69% compensation load.
- Balanced book. 50.45% commercial / 27.08% personal, with a solid health and contingent tail.
- Strong retention. 89–91% across all three product lines.
- Mid-range working capital. 58 days, 22-day receivables.
The line you measure against.
GPS benchmarks don't value an agency — they're the operating baseline a valuation is built on, and this aggregate is the baseline of baselines. Before reading any single agency or tier, anchor to these numbers: 10% growth, 10.66% pre-tax, 66.69% compensation, 89–91% retention. A target that beats the aggregate on growth and retention reads as a premium book; one that trails it reads as a discount — and the spread between a specific agency and this line is exactly the case a buyer or seller argues in negotiation.
Use the per-tier briefs to place a specific agency by size, and the companion financial & transactional mechanics reference to translate operating benchmarks into a normalized earnings bridge.
What GPS measures. The Growth & Performance Standards study tracks growth, profitability, and stability across reporting independent agencies. This brief is the pooled aggregate across all 153 participants.
Percentages of revenue. Expense, compensation, and revenue-mix lines are expressed as a percentage of total agency revenue unless a dollar figure is shown.
Baseline use. Aggregate ratios are the standard reference for industry comparison and normalized-earnings analysis; individual-agency reads should be re-run against the relevant revenue tier.
Frequency. The GPS study publishes annually. Milly Books refreshes this brief with each new edition.