The breakaway advisor's first 90 days: what to set up before the first client moves
A breakaway advisor's practice foundation is the set of records a new RIA needs before its first client transfers: dated models, an IPS template built from them, a written fee method, the procedures your registration describes, and one place where client, account and compliance records live. Each of these takes an afternoon on day one and weeks to rebuild in month nine.
You've signed the paperwork, picked a custodian, and the first transfer forms are going out next week. For the next three months you'll be on the phone with clients, chasing signatures and answering custodian questions. That is also the stretch where your firm's habits get set. Whatever you build quickly now is what you'll be living with when the firm has twice as many households and someone asks to see the records.
What should a new RIA have in place before the first transfer?
Five things, each written down and each usable by someone other than you.
| Area | What "ready" looks like | The test |
|---|---|---|
| Models | Each model written down with its allocation, benchmark, rebalancing rules and a start date. | Could you show which model an account followed on a given date? |
| IPS | A template that reads from your models, with versions for simple and more complex mandates. | Does the IPS say the same thing as the model it points to? |
| Billing | A fee schedule, the balances you bill on, your exclusions and your proration rule, in writing. | Could someone else calculate a bill from what's written? |
| Procedures | The written procedures your registration describes, each with an owner and a review date. | Does each one describe what you'll really do, not a template's version? |
| Records | One place for clients, households, accounts, the strategy each follows and the compliance registers. | If asked for a client's file, do you look in one place or four? |
Why does the first quarter matter so much?
Because nothing breaks in it, so nobody fixes anything. Models live in a spreadsheet, the IPS template came from a former colleague, and billing sits in a file only you understand. All of that works on day one. It stops working when the firm grows, when someone joins, or when someone asks for the records and you have to reconstruct what happened from email.
The fix is doing the same tasks in an order that leaves a dated record behind each one.
What does a 90-day plan look like?
Split it into three months, with one job per month.
Days 1 to 30: foundations
- Write your models down and date them.
- Build the IPS template from the models, so the two can't drift apart.
- Write the fee schedule and billing method, including how you'll handle a client who joins mid-quarter.
- Set up your records system before the first transfer, not after.
Days 31 to 60: first clients
- As each client transfers, record the household, accounts, suitability and the strategy of record with a start date.
- Get the IPS signed and filed with its effective date, taken from the signature rather than the upload.
- Log brochure delivery as it happens, with the date and method.
Days 61 to 90: first quarter close
- Run your first billing cycle and reconcile it to what the custodian deducted.
- Review the procedures against what you actually did in the first two months, and change whichever one is wrong.
- Check the discretionary account list against your accounts.
What does this look like for a real-sized firm?
Take a hypothetical solo advisor leaving a broker-dealer, expecting about 60 households to follow over the first year, with one operations hire planned for month six.
In month one, she writes down three models, each with an allocation, a benchmark and a start date equal to the firm's launch. Her IPS template has a section that pulls from whichever model the client is assigned to. Her fee schedule fits on half a page and includes the line "clients joining mid-quarter are billed for the days they were with us."
By month two, 25 households have moved. Each one has a household record, its accounts linked, suitability recorded per spouse, a strategy of record with a start date and a signed IPS. Brochure delivery was logged the day each welcome email went out.
In month three, her first billing run includes 9 partial-quarter clients. Because the proration rule was written in month one, she applies it rather than inventing it. When the operations hire starts in month six, the files explain themselves.
Compare that with the same advisor who keeps all of this in her head for the first quarter. The work is about the same size. It just happens months later, from memory.
What gets skipped most often?
- Dating the models. Without dates, you can't later show what an account was managed to.
- Writing down the proration rule. The first partial quarter arrives sooner than expected.
- Brochure delivery records. Easy on the day, hard to rebuild later.
- Linking new accounts to the household. An account opened in week six and never grouped gets reviewed and billed on its own.
When is this overkill?
If you're launching with a handful of households you know personally, one model and a flat fee, a full records system on day one may be more than you need. A well-kept folder structure and a dated spreadsheet can carry you for a while. The parts that are never overkill are the dates: when each model started, when each IPS was signed, when each brochure went out. Those are the facts you can't recreate later, whatever tool you keep them in.
How Advorra fits a new firm
Advorra gives a new RIA one place for clients and households, versioned models and the strategy each account follows, IPS documents generated from the strategy, a trade blotter, quarterly billing in arrears and compliance registers, on top of the custodian you choose (working from your custodian's account files). Each firm is set up with The CollabHub, so the foundations are in before the first client moves. If you're planning a launch, see the product page, or read the billing guide and model versioning guide before you write your first models down.
An operational checklist, not legal, registration or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
Can I start with spreadsheets and move to software later?
You can, and some firms do. The cost shows up at the move: every household, account, model date and signed IPS gets entered a second time, and the history from the spreadsheet months rarely comes across cleanly.
What if my old firm's models don't fit the new one?
Write the new models down as new models with their own start dates. Don't backdate them to when the client first hired you. The strategy of record starts when your firm starts managing the account.
How many models should a new RIA launch with?
As few as you can explain and maintain. Every model is something you date, version, rebalance and reference in an IPS, so a short list is easier to keep accurate.
Who should check my written procedures before launch?
Your compliance consultant or attorney. This article covers the operational side: making sure what's written matches what you'll actually do.
Is this legal or registration advice?
No. It is an operational checklist. Registration, filings and legal questions belong with your compliance consultant and attorney.
See it on a demo firm
Advorra is practice software for independent RIAs: clients, models, IPS, billing and compliance records in one place, on top of the custodian you already use. Built by The CollabHub.
Get in touch