Keeping client details current: a small RIA's routine for contact and household changes
A small RIA keeps client details current by checking them at every review, verifying any change before making it, and recording what changed, when and who confirmed it. Pay most attention to the details other routines depend on: the phone number used for callbacks, email addresses, mailing address, household members and their roles, and who is authorised on each account. Never accept a change to contact details from the same channel you'd use to verify it.
Fraud prevention advice says "call the client on the number on file". That only works if the number on file is right. In many small firms it was right when the client signed up eight years ago, and nobody has checked it since.
Which details matter most?
| Detail | What depends on it |
|---|---|
| Phone number | Callbacks before moving money |
| Email address | Statements, brochure delivery, routine contact |
| Mailing address | Required notices and statements |
| Household members and roles | Who's included in reviews, billing groups and reports |
| Who can instruct on each account | Whether you can act on a request |
| Trusted contact or emergency contact | Who to call if you can't reach the client |
What's the routine?
- At every review: read the key details back to the client and confirm them.
- When a change is requested: verify it through the details already on file, not the new ones.
- Record the change: old value, new value, date, who confirmed it and how.
- After a life event: update household members and roles, with the document behind the change.
- Once a year: look for gaps, such as clients with no phone number or no review in two years.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA. A client emails to say he has a new phone number and email address. The assistant doesn't update anything yet. She calls the old number on file, reaches the client, and confirms both changes are genuine. She records the old and new details, the date and "confirmed by phone on the number on file". The next week, at the client's review, the advisor reads the details back and adds the client's daughter as a trusted contact.
What are the common gaps?
- Contact details changed on an email request with no check.
- Household members who left (after a divorce, or a child becoming independent) still listed.
- No record of when a detail changed, so you can't show what applied at the time.
- Different details in the CRM, the billing spreadsheet and the custodian.
When is this overkill?
It isn't. It's a minute per client per review, and it underpins every callback routine you have.
How Advorra fits
Advorra keeps clients, households, members and communications on one record, so a change is made once rather than in three places, and the household the billing and review routines use is the same one you just updated. See the product page, or read about verifying client money instructions and households, members and accounts.
One thing to do this week: pick ten clients and check you have a current phone number for each.
An operations routine, not legal or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
How often should client details be checked?
At each client review, and whenever a life event comes up. A quick "is this still right?" on the call is usually enough.
How should a change of phone number or email be verified?
By contacting the client through the details already on file, before making the change. A request to change contact details is a common first step in fraud.
What about household changes?
Marriage, divorce, a death, a child turning 18 or a new trustee can all change who's in the household and who can instruct you. Record the change with its date and the document behind it.
Who should be able to change client details?
Anyone on the team can note a change; making it should follow your verification step.
Is this compliance advice?
No. It is an operations routine.
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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