Before the first piece of advice, there is the file. A wealth adviser gathers a great many documents before being able to recommend anything: who the client is, what they own, what they know about products, what they expect. Collection stretches over several weeks, by email, with an expired document here and a half-filled questionnaire there. Here is a working list and a way to keep track of it.
An adviser's obligations depend on their status, their professional affiliation and the products they offer. This list gathers the documents most often requested; it replaces neither your own client-knowledge procedure, nor the guidance of your professional association or regulator. If in doubt about a mandatory document, that is where to check.
The entry-into-relationship documents
These are the ones the firm produces and the client reads, approves or returns signed.
- The entry-into-relationship document, which presents the firm, its status and how it works.
- The engagement letter, which frames what you will do and under what conditions.
- The client-knowledge questionnaire, which gathers their situation, objectives, investment experience and attitude to risk.
These three documents share one thing: you must be able to say later which version the client received and when they accepted it.
The identification documents
Most often:
- valid ID for each person concerned;
- a recent proof of address;
- the latest tax assessment (avis d’imposition);
- a bank account details slip.
Think of the spouse or co-holder when the file is joint: each has their own documents, and a single file can hide two collections.
The asset documents
They depend on the wealth to be studied, and there is no point asking for everything on day one. Commonly seen:
- account and investment statements, with their date;
- existing contracts, for example life insurance or savings, with their latest statements;
- title deeds for real estate and, where relevant, loan amortisation schedules;
- the articles and latest accounts of a company the client runs or is a partner in;
- proofs of the source of funds, when your procedure calls for them for the planned transaction.
Ask first for what conditions the first recommendation, and the rest as you go. A twenty-document list sent at once discourages; three requests of five documents get handled.
Why collection stalls
The documents are not alike. A tax assessment is found in two minutes, an old contract chased from an insurer takes a week. Say from the start what will take long, so the client begins there.
The questionnaire is not just a form. A client filling it alone, in a hurry, often answers off the mark. Plan to go through it with them and note what changes.
Nobody keeps count. The firm tracks the list in someone's head or a spreadsheet, the client doesn't know what is holding them back. It is simpler to show them the list and the status of each document.
Making the file a base that stays useful
Once collection is over, the file doesn't stop. Before an arbitrage, a subscription or the annual review, the question returns: what situation did we record, what did we propose, and what did the client answer? Keep in one place the documents received, the proposal presented and the dated answer. Separate what the client reads from your internal notes, and only let asset documents be seen by people who need them.
With Kolinea
Kolinea organises this collection without claiming to make you compliant: it collects, stores and dates documents. The questionnaire and identification documents make up a document request: one line per document, an optional instruction, a deadline. The client, and their spouse or co-holder, each enter through a link, confirmed by an email code, with no account. You accept each document or reject it with a reason.
The engagement letter can be submitted as a sign-off, with the date and the name of the person approving; this is a simple approval, not a qualified electronic signature. Asset documents are published as confidential: the firm and the named client read them; a notary or an accountant added as a participant does not see them unless you name them. Reminders go out two days before the due date, on the day, the day after, then seven days later.
The wealth advisers page shows a complete folder, whose button opens the example folder. To open yours, go to the home page.