The weekly operations meeting: a 30-minute agenda for a small RIA
A small RIA can keep operations on track with one 30-minute meeting a week that walks the same list every time: open client requests, money moving in or out, new and transferring accounts, trades or accounts that need a look, compliance items due, and anything waiting on someone outside the firm. Each item leaves the meeting with one owner and a date, written down where everyone can see it.
In a two-person firm, operations usually run on memory and hallway conversations. That works until both people assume the other one sent the transfer form. A short weekly meeting with the same list every time is the cheapest fix there is. It also tends to be the first thing dropped in a busy week, which is exactly when it's needed.
The agenda
| Item | What to look at | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Open client requests | Anything older than a week, and why | 5 |
| Money in and out | Withdrawals due, deposits to invest, verifications pending | 5 |
| New and transferring accounts | Paperwork out, transfers in progress, accounts not yet linked to a client | 5 |
| Trades and accounts to look at | Exceptions, holds, cash above target | 5 |
| Compliance due | Reviews, logs, filings and deliveries coming up | 5 |
| Waiting on others | Custodian, clients, CPAs, attorneys | 5 |
The rules that make it work
- Same day, same time, same list.
- Pull the list before the meeting, not during it.
- Every open item leaves with one owner and a date.
- Write the actions where both of you will see them, against the client or account.
- Start the next meeting with last week's actions.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA that meets Mondays at 9. In the first month the meeting catches a withdrawal due Thursday that nobody had started, two accounts sitting unlinked after a transfer, and a brochure delivery that hadn't gone to three new clients. None of these were big. Each would have been a client call or an awkward question later.
What are the common gaps?
- No fixed list, so the meeting drifts into client stories.
- Actions agreed but not written down.
- The meeting skipped in busy weeks.
- Items carried forward for months with no owner.
When is this overkill?
A solo advisor can do the same review alone in fifteen minutes. The list matters more than the meeting.
How Advorra fits
Advorra keeps clients, households and communications together, shows custodian accounts not yet linked to a client, keeps trade holds and an exception queue on the trade blotter, and holds the compliance registers with a 36-month suitability clock, so most of the weekly list comes from one place. See the product page, or read about the monthly operations close and tracking client service requests.
One thing to do this week: put a 30-minute operations meeting on the calendar for the same time every week.
An operations routine, not legal or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
Who should attend?
Everyone who touches client operations. At a two-person firm that is both of you.
Why weekly?
Monthly is too slow for money movements and requests. Daily is too much for a small team. Weekly catches things before they age.
How long should it take?
Thirty minutes if the list is ready beforehand. If it runs long every week, the list is too big or items aren't being closed.
Where should actions be recorded?
In one shared place, against the client or account they belong to, with an owner and a date.
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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