Independent financial planners (concentrated-client RIAs)New

What gets pre-loaded

• preferenceimportance 9/10

  Named-client meeting prep — every annual / semiannual review meeting opens with the named planning recommendation set + named open-question list + named client life-event review surfaced one business day before the meeting

  Independent financial planners running a concentrated book ($25M-$250M AUM across 30-150 households) live or die by the perceived quality of their annual/semiannual review meetings — clients whose review meeting opens with the planner asking 'so what's new with you?' instead of leading with the planning recommendations they prepared 48 hours earlier routinely re-evaluate the relationship within 12-18 months. The right practice rule is: every scheduled review meeting carries a named prep packet shipped to the planner one business day in advance covering (a) the recommendation set since the last meeting (rebalancing, contribution adjustments, withholding changes, named insurance reviews), (b) the open-question list (anything the client asked between meetings the planner didn't fully answer), AND (c) named life-event review (children's college timelines, parents' care timelines, named career transitions, named real-estate decisions). Surface a watch item on any review meeting whose prep packet isn't ready 24 hours out, AND any client whose last review meeting was more than 13 months ago without a logged outreach.

• preferenceimportance 9/10

  Suitability discipline — every recommendation that touches asset allocation, tax-advantaged account selection, or product placement is logged with the named suitability rationale + named risk profile reference + named alternative considered before the trade is placed

  Independent RIAs operate under fiduciary standards where every recommendation needs a documented suitability rationale that ties back to the client's risk profile + investment policy statement + named alternative considered. Practices that let recommendations land without the rationale documented in the client record routinely discover gaps during ADV-cycle reviews or client complaints, and a single suitability documentation gap can trigger a state-board examination that ends the practice's reputation. The right practice rule is: every recommendation touching asset allocation, tax-advantaged account selection (Roth vs traditional, taxable vs sheltered placement), or product selection (named ETF / mutual fund / annuity / insurance product) is logged with the named suitability rationale, named risk profile reference, AND named alternative considered with reason for rejection — BEFORE the trade is placed. Surface a watch item on any recommendation logged without a suitability rationale within 24 hours, AND any client whose investment policy statement is more than 18 months old without a refresh.

• lessonimportance 8/10

  Top-decile-AUM client concentration red flag — any single client whose AUM exceeds 8% of the practice's total book OR any top-five client cluster exceeding 30% of book is at near-certain risk of becoming an outsized retention liability

  Concentrated-book RIAs accumulate top-decile clients faster than they realise because referrals from a satisfied $5M household routinely become another $5M household. Practices whose top single client crosses 8% of total AUM, or whose top-five cluster crosses 30%, lose the ability to deliver consistent service quality (the top-decile clients absorb disproportionate planner attention) AND become structurally exposed to a single departure — a top client leaving on a 30-day notice can mean a 10-15% AUM drop overnight that the practice can't backfill in a year. The right practice rule is: track top-decile concentration as a quarterly metric, AND surface a watch item when any single client crosses 8% of book (warning) or any top-five cluster crosses 30% (red flag). The watch item names the action — run a structured business-development motion to broaden the book, OR have the explicit conversation with the top-decile client about retention + named succession + named contingency planning.

• lessonimportance 9/10

  ADV currency red flag — Form ADV Part 2 brochure that's more than 90 days past its annual amendment deadline puts the firm at near-certain risk of a state or SEC examination finding

  Independent RIAs file Form ADV annually within 90 days of fiscal year-end, AND must update the brochure for material changes promptly. Practices that let ADV updates slip past the 90-day annual amendment deadline routinely show up on state-board examination lists — ADV-currency findings are the single most common examination trigger for small RIAs because they're the easiest violation for examiners to spot from public filings. The right practice rule is: track the ADV annual amendment deadline + material-change deadlines as named tasks with 30-day pre-deadline warnings. Surface a watch item the moment any ADV amendment is 14 days late without a logged filing, AND any material change (new fee schedule, named conflict of interest, named affiliated party) more than 30 days old without an ADV update filed.