Who owns what at a small RIA: a one-page responsibility chart
A small RIA can avoid dropped tasks with a one-page chart: list every recurring job (billing, trading, IPS reviews, compliance logs, client requests, custodian files), name one owner and one backup for each, and note where the work is recorded. Review it when someone joins, leaves or changes role, and at the annual compliance review.
In a two-person firm, most jobs belong to "whoever gets to it". That works until one person is on holiday and a billing run is due, or until both people assume the other one sent the brochure update. A one-page chart showing who owns what fixes most of it in an afternoon.
What goes on the chart?
| Job | Owner | Backup | Recorded in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly billing run | Operations | Advisor | Billing record for each run |
| Trading and rebalancing | Advisor | Operations (holds and exceptions only) | Trade blotter |
| IPS reviews and updates | Advisor | Operations (scheduling) | IPS versions on the client record |
| Custodian files and new accounts | Operations | Advisor | Account list and assignments |
| Compliance logs and registers | Owner or CCO | Operations | Registers |
| Client requests | Operations | Advisor | Request list |
| Brochure delivery | Operations | Owner or CCO | Delivery log |
Your list will differ. The point is one owner and one backup for every recurring job.
How do you build it?
- List every recurring job, from the compliance calendar and your own week.
- Name one owner. Not "both of us".
- Name a backup who could do it next week if needed.
- Write down where each job is recorded, so the backup can find it.
- Check it against your written procedures.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA. Building the chart takes an hour and turns up two jobs nobody owned: checking for unassigned accounts after custodian file imports, and personal trading report reminders. Both get an owner. When the operations lead takes two weeks off in August, the advisor runs the billing check from the chart and the billing record, without a single phone call.
What are the common gaps?
- "Both of us" as the owner, which means nobody.
- No backup, so holidays stop the work.
- The chart says one thing, the procedures another.
When is this overkill?
For a solo advisor, the chart becomes a list of jobs and who covers each when you're away. It's still worth writing.
How Advorra fits
Advorra keeps the records each job produces in one place: billing runs on the billing blotter, trades on the trade blotter with an exception queue, IPS versions, the account list with unassigned accounts to match, compliance registers and the brochure-delivery log. So a backup can pick up any job from the same screens. See the product page, or read about covering the firm while you're away and written procedures.
One thing to do this week: list your firm's recurring jobs and write one owner next to each.
An operations tool, not legal or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
Why does a two-person firm need a responsibility chart?
Because in small firms, jobs drift between people and some end up with nobody. A chart makes ownership visible, and makes cover easy when someone is away.
What's the difference between an owner and a backup?
The owner does the job and answers for it. The backup can do it when the owner is away, and knows where everything is.
Should the chart match our written procedures?
Yes. Your procedures describe how each job is done; the chart says who does it.
How often should it change?
Whenever roles change, and at least once a year.
Is this compliance advice?
No. It is an operations tool. Your procedures and compliance consultant set required responsibilities.
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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