How to Create a Financial Advisor Client Review Checklist

Client account reviews are an opportunity to learn more about what your clients need from you as an advisor. Scheduling annual reviews with clients to discuss what’s changed in their financial situation over the past 12 months can help you chart out the year ahead. And using a financial advisor client review checklist to guide the meeting ensures that you make the most of your time together.

Ready to grow your client base? SmartAsset AMP can help you connect with leads, and automate and save time on your marketing efforts.

How Often Should Advisors Review Client Accounts?

At a minimum, advisors should consider conducting deep-dive reviews of their clients’ accounts at least once a year. A lot can change from January to December in a client’s life; they may lose a job or change jobs, get married or divorced, or make an addition to their family.

You might check in with your client regularly throughout the year, but there’s only so much that can be conveyed with a quick phone call or email. Sitting down with clients for an annual review, either at the beginning or end of the year, is a chance to take a deeper dive into their financial plan to determine what changes, if any, need to be made.

Client account reviews can also yield insights for benchmarking. Reviewing client accounts helps you track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as assets under management (AUM) per client, average revenue per client, retention and referral rates, and overall client satisfaction.

Those metrics can inform your decision-making as you grow your firm. For example, if your retention rate is lower than expected, that’s something to examine more closely to determine why clients are leaving your firm.

Financial Advisor Client Review Checklist

An advisor working on a client review checklist.

Having a checklist to follow can help you keep the conversation focused so that your meeting time isn’t wasted. Breaking your checklist down by topic can further help you stay on track.

Here are some helpful questions to use as a guide when reviewing accounts with clients.

Cash Flow/Budget

Has anything changed with your income or employment situation, or do you expect any changes in the next year?
Have you made any significant adjustments to your budget?
Are there any major expenses on the horizon, such as home improvements or college expenses?
How much have you contributed to your workplace retirement plan and/or an IRA?
Did you contribute anything to a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA)?
Have you made any changes to your retirement plan beneficiaries?
Have you begun taking distributions from any retirement plans yet, or will you do so next year?
What does your business cash flow and budget look like? (If applicable to your client.)

Assets/Debt

Have you made any changes to your overall savings rate, increase or decrease?
How much are you keeping in cash currently?
Have you acquired any new assets, or do you plan to acquire any in the year ahead?
Have you borrowed against any of your assets? For example, did you take out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC) in the past year?
What debts do you currently owe?
Do you anticipate any new debts, such as student loans you cosign for your child or a car loan?
Have you calculated your home equity and how much is remaining on your mortgage?
Did your business incur any new debts or acquire new assets in the past year? (If applicable to your client.)
Have you calculated your net worth recently?

Insurance

If you have health insurance, have there been any changes to your policy?
Are you considering making any changes to your coverage during the next open enrollment period?
Have you enrolled in Medicare? (If applicable for your clients.)
Do you have life insurance? (If the answer is no, that’s an opportunity to discuss life insurance policies to meet their needs.)
Do you have disability insurance and, if so, have there been any changes that might affect your coverage needs?
Do you have business insurance? (If applicable to your client.)
Have you had to file any insurance claims in the past year?
Have you made any improvements or repairs to your home that may require a review of your property insurance policy?
Do you need to review the beneficiaries for your insurance policies?

Investments

Has your risk tolerance changed over the past 12 months?
Have there been any changes to your goals?
Do you have any concerns about your current asset allocation?
How satisfied are you with your investment performance for the past year?
Do you have any assets held away that you’d like to discuss, or are you considering moving any of those assets to our firm?
Are there any market trends or issues that you’d like to discuss?
Are you considering any major changes to your asset allocation in the year ahead?

Estate Planning

Do you have an up-to-date will?
Have there been any major life changes, such as a marriage, divorce or birth of a child, which might necessitate an adjustment to your estate plan?
If you don’t have a trust yet, would you like to discuss where one might fit into your estate plan?
Have you established financial and medical power of attorney documents?
Do you have an estate plan for any digital assets you own? (For example, a client who runs a business may own a website or hold trademarks.)
Do you have a succession plan and/or continuity plan in place? (If applicable for clients who own a business.)
Does your business have key person insurance? (If applicable for clients who own a business.)

Taxes

Has your tax filing status changed?
Did you owe taxes or get a refund the last time you filed?
Have you checked your tax withholding recently?
Did you receive or do you anticipate receiving any one-time payments that could affect your tax situation, such as inheritance or a work bonus?
Do you have any unrealized gains or losses?
Have you or do you plan to make deductible charitable donations for the year?
If you have yet to fund an IRA, do you plan to do so for the current tax year?
Are you required to begin taking minimum distributions (RMDs) from an IRA and, if so, would you be interested in making qualified charitable donations?
Did you buy or sell any cryptocurrency assets in the past year?
Do you expect your income to increase or decrease next year?

Satisfaction/Client Experience

On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your satisfaction with the services you receive?
Do you feel that the fees you pay are aligned with the level of service you receive?
Have you had any issues navigating our website or your online account dashboard?
Do you feel that communication happens promptly and that you get the answers you need when you have questions?
How likely are you to refer our firm to friends, family members or colleagues?
Is there anything we can do to improve your client experience?

Note that this checklist may not cover every question you typically ask clients when reviewing accounts. It’s designed to act as a guide, and you may choose to add or remove questions when tailoring your client meeting plan.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What Is an Annual Client Review for a Financial Advisor?

An annual client review is an in-depth, yearly meeting to discuss your client’s financial situation, goals and plans for the year ahead. Conducting yearly account reviews is a helpful way to gauge your client’s progress in reaching their goals, any evolving needs they might have, and their overall satisfaction with your services.

What Should Financial Advisor Client Account Reviews Include?

A client account review should be comprehensive and span the entirety of a client’s financial plan. Some of the most important topics to discuss include cash flow and budgeting, changes to their assets and debt, investment planning, estate planning and tax planning. You can also ask clients about their overall experience and satisfaction level towards the end of the review.

What Do Clients Want From Financial Advisors?

Clients want to work with financial advisors who are empathetic, knowledgeable and passionate about helping them reach their goals. The most successful financial advisors are effective communicators and skilled at analyzing client portfolios to develop strategies that help them meet their goals.

Bottom Line

An advisor using a checklist to conduct an annual review with their client.

Regular account reviews can be helpful for both you and your clients. The financial advisor client review checklist included here makes it easier to get the conversation flowing.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

If you want to succeed in a competitive industry like financial services, you need a solid marketing plan. Working with an online marketing platform can help you build your brand and connect with leads, all while allowing you to automate parts of the process and save yourself time. SmartAsset AMP uses a holistic marketing approach to match you with prospects. Schedule a demo to learn how you can leverage it to grow your business.
If you don’t feel comfortable including client satisfaction questions in your account reviews, you could ask clients to complete a survey instead. You can set up a simple online form that allows them to submit their responses anonymously. A client experience survey is an excellent way to get feedback about what you’re doing well and where you firm could improve.