Households, members and accounts: how a small RIA should structure client records
Most small RIAs get the cleanest records by using three levels: the household (the family or relationship you serve and usually bill together), the members (each person, with their own suitability details), and the accounts (each custodian account, linked to its owners, with the strategy it follows and its discretionary status). Decide the rules once, write them down, and apply them the same way to every client, so billing, IPS documents and custodian data all line up.
A couple has five accounts: two IRAs, a joint brokerage account, a trust and a custodial account for a grandchild. In the CRM they're one contact. In the billing sheet they're three lines. In the custodian file they're five accounts with four different registrations. Nothing is wrong, but nothing lines up, and every quarter someone has to reconcile it by hand.
What are the three levels?
| Level | What it is | What belongs here |
|---|---|---|
| Household | The family or relationship you serve | Billing grouping (if the agreement says so), review schedule, relationship notes |
| Member | Each person in the household | Contact details, suitability, goals, risk comfort, time horizon |
| Account | Each custodian account | Registration, owners, strategy followed, discretionary status, exclusions |
What rules should you write down?
- Who counts as one household. For example: people who share finances and are served under one agreement.
- Where suitability lives. With each member, not the household.
- How accounts link. Every account links to at least one member, and every member to a household.
- How billing groups. Exactly as the agreement says; nothing assumed.
- How changes are dated. Moves between households, new accounts and closures carry an effective date.
A worked example
The couple above, structured:
| Account | Owners | Strategy | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRA | Member A | Balanced model | Discretionary |
| IRA | Member B | Income model | Discretionary; different time horizon |
| Joint brokerage | A and B | Balanced model | Discretionary |
| Trust | Trust (A and B as trustees) | Balanced model | Authority noted |
| Custodial account | Grandchild (B as custodian) | Growth model | Billing excluded per agreement |
Hypothetical household, for illustration. Billing groups the first four under one household as the agreement allows; the IPS covers the household with member-level details; suitability sits with each member.
What edge cases should you plan for?
- Adult children who start their own accounts: separate household or part of the parents'?
- Divorce or separation: split households with effective dates.
- Death of a member: update ownership, beneficiaries and the IPS; record dates.
- Held-away accounts: note them, and whether they're billed or excluded.
- Accounts that arrive from the custodian unlinked: assign them to a member and household promptly.
Common gaps
- Suitability recorded once for the household, hiding differences between members.
- Billing groups that don't match the agreement.
- Accounts in the custodian file that nobody has linked to a client.
When is this overkill?
A firm whose clients are mostly single people with one or two accounts can keep it simple. The rules still matter the first time a household gets complicated.
How Advorra fits
Advorra is built around households with member-level suitability, accounts linked to them with the strategy each follows and its discretionary status, and custodian accounts that can be assigned when they arrive unlinked. See the product page, or read household billing and reconciling custodian data.
One thing to do this week: pick your most complicated household and check that every account links to the right member, strategy and billing rule.
A practical records structure, not legal or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
Should a household always be billed together?
Only if the agreement says so. Many firms group households for fee tiers, but it is the agreement that decides.
Where does suitability belong?
With each member. Two people in the same household can have different goals, risk comfort and time horizons.
What about trusts and entity accounts?
Treat the trust or entity as an account owner linked to the relevant members, and note who has authority. Your procedures should say how you handle them.
What happens when a couple divorces?
Split the household into two, move each account to the right household with an effective date, and review billing, the IPS and suitability for both.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a practical records structure. Ownership and authority questions belong with your attorney and compliance consultant.
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.
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