The Great Northern Team - RBC Wealth Management

Alex Rykken, CEPA®, CFP®, CRPC®

Managing Director - Financial Advisor, Senior Portfolio Director

Alex began his financial career in 2005 and joined The Great Northern Team and RBC Wealth Management in 2008. Getting a young start in the financial services industry makes him one of the most tenured investment professionals of his age anywhere—providing a rare combination of experience and long-term continuity with clients.

Alex’s industry thought leadership has been regularly recognized by well regarded publications. A capstone came in August 2024 when he was recognized by Forbes magazine and Shook Research as the #1 Advisor in Minnesota across all firms who is under 40 years old and #21 in the country. This came on the heels of 2022 and 2023 rankings in Forbes as one of the nation’s Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors, described in the article as the “future of the wealth management industry.” In Financial Planning magazine, he was ranked in the Top 40 Regional Brokers Under 40 in 2022, 2023 and 2024, including a #6 ranking nationally in the 2024 publication. He has also been named one of AdvisorHub’s “Advisors to Watch” in 2022, 2023 and 2024. In addition to his industry experience, Alex pursued advanced training, obtaining the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM designation, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification and the Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation. These designations place him near the top of the industry in terms of formal retirement and wealth planning education, with a specialized focus in retirement planning for business owners. All designations required completion of an extensive curriculum, rigorous tests and ongoing education.

Alex is a St. Paul native and a graduate of Minnehaha Academy and the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He lives in Independence, with his wife, Allison, and their two young sons. Alex is an active volunteer in local community organizations and was a 2017 graduate of the St. Paul Chamber’s Leadership St. Paul Development program.

He spends his limited free time reading, cooking and enjoying all types of endurance athletics. Alex is an accomplished ultra-marathon runner, and he is experienced in long-distance cross country ski, mountain bike and paddling events. He is currently training to complete the Coast to Coast race across New Zealand in early 2026. A favorite activity is mountain biking with his two elementary school-aged sons. The family’s home away from home is Minnesota’s North Shore—you can regularly find them exploring the parks, trails and beaches in that part of the state.

<p>The 2022 "Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors & Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State" award was announced August 2022. Data as of 3/31/2022. SHOOK considered advisors born in 1983 or later with a minimum 4 years as an advisor. Advisors have: built their own practices and lead their teams; joined teams and are viewed as future leadership; or a combination of both. Ranking algorithm is based on qualitative measures: telephone and in-person interviews to measure best practices, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC. The financial advisor does not pay a fee to be considered for or to receive this award. This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients. This is not indicative of this financial advisor’s future performance.</p>

<p>The 2023 "Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors & Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State" award was announced August 2023. Data as of 3/31/2023. SHOOK considered advisors born in 1984 or later with a minimum 4 years as an advisor. Advisors have: built their own practices and lead their teams; joined teams and are viewed as future leadership; or a combination of both. Ranking algorithm is based on qualitative measures: telephone and in-person interviews to measure best practices, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC. The financial advisor does not pay a fee to be considered for or to receive this award. This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients. This is not indicative of this financial advisor’s future performance.</p>