Key Takeaways:
- Selecting an investment adviser is a fiduciary decision about alignment. The goal is to find the firm whose experience, philosophy, and approach fit your organization’s structure, objectives, and governance model.
- A set of questions customized to your organization’s needs, sent to three to six qualified firms, is generally enough to support a sound decision.
- RFP responses can only be as specific as the information provided. Share your investment policy statement and describe your organization and the scope of services you are seeking.
- Ask for all costs, not just the advisory fee. Additional costs may include custodial and transaction costs, underlying fund expenses, and miscellaneous expenses such as travel.
- Consider asking whether the adviser will acknowledge their fiduciary status in writing, and whether any direct compensation comes from outside sources, to understand where conflicts of interest may arise.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The considerations described here reflect Raffa’s perspective as an investment adviser serving nonprofits and associations, and other advisers may weigh them differently. Raffa Investment Advisers is a registered investment adviser. Each organization’s financial situation is unique. Please consult with a qualified investment professional before making financial decisions.
Overview
Selecting an investment adviser is an important fiduciary decision, and most finance committees make it only once every several years. A Request for Proposal (RFP) asks every firm the same questions in the same order, so responses can be compared on the same terms rather than on the strength of a presentation or general proposals with varying pieces of information.
When creating and reviewing an RFP, the goal is alignment: finding the firm whose experience, philosophy, and approach fit your organization’s structure, objectives, and governance model. This article covers what belongs in your RFP, the investment adviser qualifications worth asking about, when to use an RFP, and how to decide which firms to include in the process.
What to Include in an Investment Adviser RFP
A nonprofit or association investment adviser RFP often begins with a description of your organization and the scope of services being requested. This is important, as this information, along with your investment policy statement, helps provide the insight necessary for firms to respond. Remember that investment adviser RFP responses can only be as detailed and relevant as the information you provide. Most RFPs also state the due date and the expected timeline, with some describing how responses will be evaluated.
“Investment adviser RFP responses can only be as detailed and relevant as the information you provide.”
Your Organization and Expected Scope of Services
Describe your organization, the size and structure of the reserves, and whether an investment policy statement already exists. If it exists, include it with the request for proposal. Then, provide a scope for the engagement, stating clearly how you expect the investment adviser to work with your organization. Be clear about whether you are seeking discretionary (OCIO) or non-discretionary investment management, whether you expect support developing or reviewing your investment policy statement and reserve policy, whether you are interested in education for your staff and board, what reporting you expect, and any other services you may be interested in.
RFP Timelines: What Details to Include
It is helpful to include the investment adviser selection timeline within your investment advisory RFP. The dates help set expectations on both sides, reducing follow-up calls or emails and allowing firms to prepare appropriately.
Key dates to include:
- When clarifying questions from responding firms are due
- If you plan to share your answers with every firm, when those answers can be expected
- The date and time, including time zone, that proposals are due
- The date by which finalists will be notified
- When finalist presentations will be held, and whether firms are expected to attend in person or virtually
- The date by which an adviser will be selected
Questions on Information Important to Your Board and Finance Committee
The questions you select to include in your request for proposals are important, as they define the information through which you’ll compare and contrast each advisory firm. Ideally, when you send a request for proposal, the selected firms will respond to what you ask for, in the order you ask for it, with your questions shaping the responses you receive. Before drafting your RFP, discuss what your board or finance committee needs to know about every adviser to comfortably make a decision. Consider your strategy, objectives, governance needs, and the support you expect an adviser to provide, along with what you may classify as a requirement, such as fiduciary status, independence from custodians or managers, how conflicts of interest are managed, and experience serving similar organizations
The length and level of detail are up to your board or finance committee. Long RFPs tend to produce long responses that can be challenging to review, so be intentional about what you include.
Download A Sample Investment Advisory Services RFP
Download a sample investment advisory service RFP created specifically for nonprofits or associations. Each template is fully editable in order for you to customize the RFP to your organization’s objectives.
Key Qualifications to Include in an Investment Adviser RFP
Key qualifications often include the following: who the firm is and whom it serves, who would work with your organization, how it invests and reports, how it is compensated, and how it handles conflicts of interest. The topics below are commonly covered in a nonprofit or association investment adviser request for proposals. The right sections and questions depend on your organization’s needs and objectives.
Sample RFP Sections:
| RFP Section | What it Should Cover |
|---|---|
| Investment Advisory Firm or Team | Year formed, ownership structure, assets under management for nonprofit clients, and the number of nonprofit and association clients served |
| Advisory Team | Who is assigned, what each person does, and what happens if the primary contact leaves |
| Custodian / Broker-Dealer | Who holds the assets, whether the advisory relationship is independent of the custodial one, and how the custodian is compensated |
| Fiduciary & Governance Support | Reserve strategy and investment policy development, board education resources, services beyond investment management, and whether investment restrictions can be accommodated |
| Investment Philosophy & Approach | How decisions are made, how portfolios are constructed, how managers are selected, and how risk is defined and managed |
| Performance Reporting & Communication | What the committee receives, how often, against which benchmarks, and how often you would meet |
| Transition & Onboarding | What the transition involves, the expected timeline, and what is required of your staff |
| Standards of Conduct, Conflicts of Interest, and Compliance | Fiduciary acknowledgment, SEC registration and Form ADV, regulatory and disciplinary history, code of ethics, and if incentives exist to promote one product over another |
| References | Comparable organizations the committee can contact |
| Fees | Advisory fee, what it covers, custodial and transaction costs, fund-level costs, and other miscellaneous costs |
| Distinguishing Attributes | What the firm believes sets it apart from other advisers or any additional information the firm feels is helpful but was not covered |
Investment Advisory Firm
Look for direct experience advising nonprofits or associations similar to yours in size, structure, and financial profile. Organizations with volunteer boards, committee-based governance, and board-designated reserves operate differently from individual or corporate clients.
Ownership matters as well. Whether the firm is independent or affiliated with a bank, broker-dealer, insurance company, or asset manager shapes some of the conflicts that need to be addressed.
The Advisory Team
A firm may have deep nonprofit experience overall, but that experience is less useful if it does not sit with the people assigned to your account. Look at who would serve your organization, whether each individual has experience serving nonprofit and association clients, what professional credentials do they hold, and how they are supported by a larger team. It can also be helpful to ask what happens if your lead adviser leaves or is out of the office, to understand how the firm addresses continuity in the relationship.
Custodian / Broker-Dealer
Confirm who holds the assets, whether accounts are titled in your organization’s name, and whether the adviser is affiliated with the custodian. Ask whether the advisory relationship is independent of the custodial one, and whether the firm could continue as your adviser without a change to your investment strategy if a change in custodian became necessary. An independent third-party custodian can be beneficial, and may improve transparency, strengthen internal controls, and support fiduciary oversight through independent reporting. Larger custodians may also offer account protection coverage, stronger cybersecurity infrastructure, and resources your investment adviser can draw on.
Fiduciary and Governance Support
When hiring an investment adviser, consider what support they offer outside of standard investment management, particularly support related to fiduciary and governance responsibilities. Firms that specialize in serving nonprofits and associations often offer additional services such as reserve strategy development, investment policy creation, education for the board and finance committee, and peer benchmarking. Understand which services a firm offers, which are included in your fee at no additional cost, and which are priced separately.
Investment Philosophy and Approach
A firm’s philosophy, and how it approaches nonprofit or association reserve management, should align with your objectives, time horizon, and policy. Look at how portfolios are constructed, how funds or managers are selected, and how decisions are made when markets move. Ask whether the firm uses an open-architecture approach to manager selection, meaning it is not limited to proprietary products and is not compensated by fund providers, and ask how managers are monitored and replaced once selected. Consider requesting sample asset allocations to see what to expect. Additionally, ask how the firm recommends segmenting reserves, and if they consider purpose in addition to time horizon.
Risk management deserves separate attention. For a nonprofit or association, risk is not only short-term market movement. It includes liquidity for operations, the ability to fund commitments on schedule, and whether a decline could force a program or staffing decision. Ask how risk is addressed in both policy design and portfolio construction, including how diversification, fixed income quality and duration, allocation ranges, and rebalancing are used to keep exposure aligned with your objectives.
Performance Reporting and Communication
Performance reporting is central to your ability to fulfill your governance responsibilities, because reporting is what ties portfolio results back to your investment policy. Strong reporting connects results to your stated objectives, allocation targets, and policy benchmarks, so a committee can see both how the portfolio performed and whether it stayed within policy. Understand what reports you would receive and at what frequency, request sample reports, and confirm whether an online portal is available. For quarterly reporting, confirm whether the reports cover performance against policy benchmarks, allocation relative to targets and ranges, and liquidity considerations. Our article on whether your investment benchmark is doing its job explains what to look for in benchmarks.
In addition, understand the firm’s availability for meetings and communication outside of quarterly reporting. Ask whether the team will meet in person when desired, how responsive they are between meetings, and how they communicate during periods of market volatility or significant economic events.
Standards of Conduct, Conflicts of Interest, and Compliance
Standards of conduct, conflicts of interest, and compliance questions often help uncover whether a firm aligns with your organization’s requirements. If your organization wants an adviser serving as a fiduciary, for example, willingness to acknowledge in writing that the firm will act as a fiduciary to your organization at all times is significant. A written acknowledgment establishes the standard of care the firm is held to and whether that standard applies to the whole engagement or only part of it.
Additionally, confirming whether conflicts of interest exist, whether the firm has faced regulatory or disciplinary action, and whether the firm is an SEC-registered investment adviser may be important to your organization. What you are told can be verified against the firm’s Form ADV and the SEC’s adviser public disclosure records, and the SEC’s Investor.gov research tools provide additional background on firms and the individuals who work at them. Other questions we often see in this section include a firm’s insurance coverage, its code of ethics, and how it protects client data through cybersecurity and business continuity practices.
Investment Fees
To compare fees accurately and understand your total cost, ask whether the advisory fee is all-inclusive and what other costs apply, including custodial and transaction costs, underlying fund expenses, and miscellaneous charges. The advisory firm may receive only its own fee, but your organization pays all of the costs. If desired, ask each firm what your organization can expect to pay on an annual basis, along with whether a minimum annual fee applies, so the totals can be compared side by side.
Additionally, if not included in earlier sections, it is also worth asking whether the firm receives direct compensation from any source other than your organization. Revenue sharing, commissions, and incentives tied to recommending one product over another do not appear on your invoice, but can influence what a firm recommends. A firm compensated only by its clients tends to have fewer competing interests than one that is also paid by third parties.
When to Use an RFP to Hire an Investment Adviser
An RFP is most useful when a committee wants comparable information from multiple firms, or when the organization needs a documented record of how the adviser was selected. We often see organizations begin the process when reserves have grown beyond what the current arrangement was designed for, when an organization is unhappy with its current adviser, or when board policy calls for a periodic review of service providers.
What the RFP Process Usually Looks Like
A selection process generally includes the following steps:
- Hold a meeting to discuss your organization’s objectives, the expected scope of work for an advisory relationship, and the investment adviser qualifications you want.
- Provide a detailed request for proposals to a select list of three to six investment advisers, requesting written responses.
- Review the responses against a pre-defined set of criteria, and identify a short list of two or three firms for follow-up discussions or interviews.
- Hold finalist presentations, sending any remaining questions to those firms to answer before a selection is made.
Make a recommendation through the finance committee, with final approval by the board.
Alternatives to an RFP
Organizations looking to simplify the process may forego the RFP and request standard proposals from investment advisory firms, or move straight into presentations. Some committees start with a short questionnaire covering a few key questions.
The main differences are comparability and depth of information. An RFP takes longer and asks more of the committee’s time. In exchange, it makes comparing firms on a level playing field simpler, and it may surface information a standard proposal would leave out. There is no single right answer, and the best approach is the one that works for your finance committee and board.
Selecting Investment Advisory Firms to Include in Your RFP Process
When selecting investment advisory firms to include in your RFP process, it is usually helpful to research applicable firms, then narrow your list to three to six qualified firms. Fewer than three can limit your ability to compare, while more than six often produces more written material than a volunteer committee can review with equal care.
Search engines and AI tools can help uncover investment advisers that specialize in working with nonprofits and associations, and reviewing a firm’s website offers a sense of whether its focus matches your organization before you invite a response. Look at whether the whole team specializes in organizations like yours, whether the firm hosts or speaks at industry events, and whether it publishes education geared toward nonprofits. Some firms list services for the nonprofit and association community while their primary focus is elsewhere.
In addition to online research, recommendations from industry peers, existing relationships, and online community boards are useful as well. Using several channels helps your committee reduce the influence of any one relationship and develop a better sense of which firm may fit its needs.
Download A Sample Investment Advisory Services RFP
Download a sample investment advisory service RFP created specifically for nonprofits or associations. Each template is fully editable in order for you to customize the RFP to your organization’s objectives.
Building an RFP That Fits Your Organization
We hope this information and our sample RFPs help your organization in creating an RFP and that you will consider including Raffa Investment Advisers within your list of selected firms.
If you have questions on what to include, or on what questions may be beneficial for more specific needs such as ESG investing, donor engagement, or restricted funds, one of our advisers would be available to assist.
Schedule a Meeting with Our Team of Advisers Experienced in Partnering with Nonprofits and Associations
Frequently Asked Questions: Investment Policy Statements
What is an investment adviser RFP?
An investment adviser RFP is a written request for proposal that a nonprofit or association sends to advisory firms, asking each firm the same questions about its background, services, investment approach, reporting, and fees. Written responses allow a finance committee to compare firms on the same terms and to document how the selection was made.
How many firms should a nonprofit send an RFP to?
A focused list of three to six qualified firms is generally sufficient. Fewer than three limits comparison, and more than six can produce more written material than a volunteer committee can likely review with equal care. Common sources for building the list include peer referrals, industry associations and listservs, and research focused on firms with nonprofit experience.
Do we need an investment policy statement before sending an investment adviser RFP?
It is not required, though it helps. If your organization has an investment policy statement, include it with the RFP so firms can respond to your actual objectives, time horizon, and risk parameters rather than describing a general approach. If you do not have one, describe your reserves and liquidity needs, and ask each firm how it would help you develop one.
What is most commonly missed in an investment adviser RFP?
Several items are commonly missed when developing questions for an investment adviser RFP. The most consequential are whether the firm will acknowledge fiduciary status in writing, whether it receives direct compensation from any source other than the client, and what the arrangement costs in total across advisory, custodial, and fund-level expenses. Committees also tend to ask whether reporting is available without asking what that reporting will show them.
What is the difference between an RFP and requesting standard proposals from investment advisers?
An RFP asks every firm the same questions in writing, so responses can be compared on the same terms. Standard proposals are faster and ask less of the committee, but they arrive in different formats with varying information, which makes side-by-side comparison harder. Some committees use a short questionnaire as a middle option.
About the Author
Dennis Gogarty, CFP®
President & Co-Founder
Dennis Gogarty, CFP®, is President and Co-Founder of Raffa Investment Advisers, a firm he purpose-built to serve nonprofit organizations and membership associations. For more than 20 years, he has advised nonprofits and associations on fiduciary-focused reserve strategy, investment policy development, asset allocation, and governance best practices. Raffa currently serves more than 188 nonprofit clients nationwide (as of June 30, 2026)¹. Dennis is a frequent speaker for nonprofit and association audiences and has presented for numerous organizations including the Council on Foundations, AICPA, BoardSource, and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).
¹ Client count is as of June 30, 2026, and reflects the number of nonprofit clients for which Raffa provides portfolio management, retirement plan advisory, or ongoing investment consulting services. Client count is based on unaudited internal recordkeeping and custodial data from Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Disclosures:
Raffa Investment Advisers is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. References to specific indexes are illustrative examples of commonly used benchmarks and are not recommendations. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice.
Portions of this article were drafted with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by Raffa Investment Advisers staff for accuracy and compliance.