Questions to ask
Transition Process.
Owning Your Data
Before an advisor resigns or announces a move, they need a clear legal answer on what client information can be taken, what must remain at the prior firm, and what can only move after client authorization.
- Will transition counsel review my employment agreement, independent contractor agreement, team agreement, non-solicit language, confidentiality obligations, and privacy policies before I resign?
- Are both my current firm and destination firm covered by the Broker Protocol at the time of resignation, and does that limit me to the five permitted data points: client name, address, phone number, email address, and account title?
- What information is specifically prohibited from being copied, exported, photographed, downloaded, emailed, printed, or retained, including account numbers, Social Security numbers, statements, holdings, financial plans, CRM notes, cost basis, tax documents, beneficiaries, and performance records?
- What exact resignation-day workflow should I follow so the prior firm receives any required client list or account-number information, while my retained files do not include anything I am not allowed to take?
- If full client data, account history, statements, positions, or planning information can only transfer after client authorization, what consent form, timing, tracking process, and follow-up plan will be used?
Transition Timeline
A transition timeline should be specific to the advisor’s book, product mix, staff capacity, and client complexity — not a generic promise.
- What are the key milestones before resignation, during launch week, and throughout days 30, 60, and 90?
- What work needs to be completed before I announce the move to clients?
- Which parts of my book are likely to transfer quickly, and which parts may delay the overall timeline?
- What percentage of assets and revenue should I realistically expect to be transitioned by each milestone?
- Who owns each step of the timeline: my team, the transition team, operations, compliance, product support, or the client?
Client Communication Plan
Client communication is where transitions are won or lost. Advisors need a clear, compliant, confidence-building communication plan.
- What exactly can I say to clients before and after resignation, and what communication restrictions apply?
- Will the firm provide compliant client letters, email templates, call scripts, FAQs, and meeting talking points?
- How should I prioritize outreach across A clients, B clients, smaller households, complex accounts, and legacy relationships?
- What is the recommended cadence for calls, emails, meetings, reminders, and follow-ups during the first 30 days?
- How will we handle client objections around paperwork, platform changes, fees, online access, account numbers, and temporary disruption?
Account Opening Workflow
Account opening friction can slow down asset movement and frustrate clients. Advisors should understand the workflow before transition begins.
- Can accounts be opened digitally with prefilled information and e-signature, or will clients need paper forms?
- What forms are required for advisory accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, trusts, entities, annuities, and direct business?
- How does the workflow reduce NIGO paperwork, missing signatures, incorrect registrations, and rejected forms?
- Who tracks account-opening status and communicates missing items to my team and clients?
- What does the account-opening experience look like from the client’s perspective?
ACAT / Asset Transfer Process
The asset transfer process needs active tracking. Advisors should know how rejected transfers, delays, and escalations will be handled.
- Which accounts can transfer through standard ACAT, and which accounts require manual or non-ACAT transfer paperwork?
- What are the most common reasons transfers get rejected, delayed, or partially completed?
- How will transfer status be tracked and reported to me during the first 30, 60, and 90 days?
- Who handles escalation when assets do not transfer, cost basis is missing, positions are unsupported, or paperwork is rejected?
- What should clients expect regarding timing, account access, trading limitations, and temporary disruption during the transfer?
Complex Account Handling
Complex accounts often create the most transition friction. Advisors should identify these issues before clients are asked to move.
- How will annuities, alternatives, retirement plans, margin accounts, options accounts, trusts, estates, and direct-held accounts be handled?
- Which complex accounts need special review before resignation or before client paperwork is prepared?
- Are there product, custody, supervision, compliance, or operational limitations that could prevent certain accounts from moving?
- Will complex accounts require different forms, longer timelines, product-team review, or client-specific transition plans?
- Who will be responsible for resolving complex-account issues after the move if assets, revenue, or servicing are delayed?
Data Migration
Data migration affects client service long after the transition date. Advisors should know what will move and what may need manual cleanup.
- What client data can be migrated, including CRM notes, contact records, householding, beneficiary information, documents, and service history?
- Will account history, cost basis, tax-lot detail, performance history, and prior statements transfer cleanly?
- What data should my team export, organize, or back up before resignation?
- Who validates the accuracy of migrated data after the move?
- What is the process for fixing missing data, duplicate households, broken integrations, or incomplete client records?
Post-Transition Cleanup
The transition is not over when accounts start moving. Advisors should have a cleanup plan for residual assets, missing paperwork, and client follow-up.
- How will we identify residual assets, missing accounts, stuck transfers, rejected paperwork, and clients who have not completed the process?
- Who monitors unresolved issues after the first 30, 60, and 90 days?
- How are fee billing problems, missing advisory agreements, cost-basis issues, and account-linking errors corrected?
- What is the follow-up plan for clients who verbally agreed to move but have not completed paperwork?
- How do we confirm the transition is truly complete from an asset, revenue, client experience, and operational standpoint?
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