Key Takeaways:
- Defining scope in the RFP lets the finance committee compare proposals for the same work and sets clear expectations for what the advisor will deliver once hired.
- Discretionary or non-discretionary management determines who approves investment decisions.
- Services under the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) label vary by provider, so the RFP should list the services expected.
- An advisor’s role can extend to operating cash, keeping it liquid while making productive use of what is not needed right away.
- Spelling out expectations for meetings, education, policy reviews, and reporting makes fee proposals easier to compare.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. The considerations described here reflect Raffa’s perspective as an investment advisor serving nonprofits and associations, and other advisors may weigh them differently. Raffa Investment Advisers is a registered investment adviser. Each organization’s situation is unique. Please consult with a qualified investment professional, and with your legal counsel on legal or regulatory questions, before making financial decisions.
Why Define Scope in an RFP for Nonprofit Investment Advisory Services?
Defining the scope of work in your RFP allows you to receive proposals tailored to the services your organization requires. Nonprofit investment advisory services and fee structures can vary from firm to firm, and a defined scope helps you understand whether each firm is able to fulfill it and at what cost. Without it, firms may default to their standard offerings or leave off services that come at added costs, leaving the finance committee to compare proposals and fees for engagements that may differ in what they include.
Agreeing on scope also has value beyond the search itself: it requires the board, committee, and staff to decide what level of support is necessary and which responsibilities they intend to retain. Once an advisor is hired, a defined scope also sets clear expectations and accountability for what the advisor will deliver. Our step-by-step guide to writing an investment advisor RFP addresses the full RFP a board may create, from timelines to questions about fees and conflicts of interest. This article specifically focuses on the scope of services.
What to Include in the Scope of Services for Your Investment Advisory Services RFP
The scope of nonprofit investment advisory services describes the work you are hiring an advisor to do, and firms differ in what a standard engagement includes. How much your RFP covers depends on how much responsibility you want the advisor to take on and the expertise available within your organization. An organization seeking portfolio management may focus on a few areas, while an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) relationship can extend into reserve strategy, investment policy, governance support, board education, donor engagement, and more. Spelling out expectations area by area gives every firm the same basis for its proposal and makes the responses easier to compare. We have included some of the common areas to address below, but this list is not comprehensive, and should be customized to your organization’s needs.
Reserve Strategy & Investment Policy Support
Reserve strategy and investment policy support covers the purpose of your reserves and the policy that guides how they are invested. This can include assessing reserve adequacy and risk, along with developing or reviewing your investment policy statement (IPS) so it reflects those purposes.
In your RFP: define whether reserve strategy is part of the engagement, whether you want the advisor to assist in reviewing and updating your IPS and any spending policy for endowed funds, and how often the reserve policy and IPS should be revisited. Attaching both gives firms the context to respond specifically.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio management covers how investments are implemented and maintained, including asset allocation within policy ranges, investment selection, rebalancing, and ongoing monitoring. It also defines who holds decision-making authority. Under a discretionary arrangement, the advisor implements decisions within your IPS framework without requiring approval for each transaction. Under a non-discretionary arrangement, the advisor makes recommendations that your organization approves before they move forward, so changes generally wait until the committee can act. In both cases, portfolio oversight remains with the board.
In your RFP: if you already prefer a discretionary or non-discretionary arrangement, state it along with any known limits on the advisor's authority. If the committee has not yet decided, ask each firm to describe how it would work with your organization under each approach and which it would recommend; the details are generally set later in the IPS and advisory agreement. List the portfolio responsibilities you expect, such as portfolio construction, manager selection, rebalancing, and monitoring compliance with your IPS, along with any preference for active or passive strategies.
Reporting
Reporting is how the committee oversees the advisor’s work and is able to confirm continued alignment with the investment policy statement. It is generally helpful if reporting presents results net of fees against the policy benchmark, the allocation relative to policy targets, and whether the portfolio continues to support your organization’s financial needs.
In your RFP: specify how often you expect investment reports and what specifically they should include, such as performance and allocation detail, risk measures, and market commentary.
Fiduciary, Governance & Board Support
Fiduciary, governance, and board support covers the advisor’s fiduciary role and how it works with your finance committee and board. This can include attending committee and board meetings, orienting new members, providing ongoing education on topics such as reserve strategy and fiduciary oversight, participating in planning sessions on reserves or long-term financial sustainability, and reviewing the IPS and reserve policy with the committee. An advisor acting as a fiduciary is expected to put your organization’s interests ahead of its own.
In your RFP: state how many meetings the advisor should attend each year, including any special planning sessions, and in what format, the education you expect for staff, committee members, and the board, and whether orientation for new members is included. You may also want to state that the advisor is expected to act as a fiduciary at all times.
Cash Management
Cash management covers how operating cash and short-term reserves are managed alongside the investment portfolio. It can include setting appropriate liquidity levels, investing cash that is not needed right away in short-term instruments such as Treasury securities, and coordinating transfers between operating and investment accounts. Our article on deciding when cash is ready for a long-term portfolio explores where operating cash ends and investable reserves begin.
In your RFP: state whether cash management is in scope, which accounts it should cover, and whether it includes coordinating transfers between operating and investment accounts.
Transition Support
When switching advisors, it is typical for the new advisor to provide transition support to assist in the transfer of your accounts and assets. Our article on what to expect when changing investment advisors explains the process in more detail.
In your RFP: state that transition support is part of the engagement and what it covers, such as onboarding, coordination with the current advisor and custodian, transferring holdings in kind where possible, custody arrangements, and any repositioning of the portfolio after the IPS review.
Additional Services
Additional services cover any work you want included that is not addressed in the areas above. Other services to consider include reporting to support the annual audit and Form 990, coordination with your accountants and auditors, donor engagement support, and investment advisory services for a related foundation or other affiliated entity.
In your RFP: list any other services you want included, and note whether a related foundation or affiliated entity is part of the engagement.
Questions to Ask When Changing Investment Advisors
When evaluating a nonprofit investment advisor, the questions worth asking about the transition are the ones that show who will coordinate it, how the existing holdings will be evaluated, and what decisions the committee will be asked to make. These questions are best asked during the interview process before signing a contract with the selected firm:
- Will you coordinate the transition from start to finish, and what will our staff and committee need to provide?
- Which of our holdings do you expect to transfer in kind, and which may need to be sold?
- Which parts of onboarding do you handle, and does that include a detailed review of our reserve and investment policies as they relate to our financial situation and objectives before you recommend changes?
- What is the typical timeline, and how will you keep staff and the committee informed?
These questions fit naturally into your request for proposals (RFP) or later in the process, during or immediately after finalist presentations.
Download our Sample Investment Advisor RFP Template
Our sample investment advisor RFP templates were created specifically for nonprofits and associations to help committees begin the search process. Each template is fully customizable and covers the organization’s profile, the services it is seeking, the selection schedule, and questions for prospective firms.
How to Write the Scope of Services Section of an Investment Advisory Services RFP
The scope of services section of an investment advisory services RFP is most effective when it gives every firm enough context to propose on the same work. Along with a brief description of your organization and its assets, attaching your current IPS and reserve policy shares much of that context, including each fund’s purpose, time horizon, and liquidity needs. The services can then be listed by area, noting which are required and should be included in the fee and which you would like priced as options. How you structure the scope is up to your organization; what matters most is that it is defined clearly enough for firms to provide comparable responses.
How Raffa Can Help
At Raffa Investment Advisers, we serve as investment advisor to nonprofits and associations, including in an OCIO capacity that pairs discretionary investment management with reserve strategy, investment policy development, and ongoing governance support. When your organization transitions to Raffa, your Client Service Manager handles the account paperwork and any in-kind transfers. At the same time, your lead advisor works with your committee to review and update your reserve and investment policies and, depending on your holdings, develop a plan for any assets that may need to be sold. After onboarding, a dedicated advisory team manages your portfolio and works with your staff, committee, and board to help keep your investments and policies aligned with your organization’s financial situation and objectives over time.
Schedule a meeting with our team of advisors experienced in partnering with nonprofits and associations.
Frequently Asked Questions: Investment Advisory Services RFPs
What Should the Scope of Services Include in an Investment Advisor RFP?
The scope of services in an investment advisor RFP should describe the assets the advisor would manage and the services you expect, such as reserve strategy, portfolio management, reporting, and board support. A defined scope lets firms propose on the same work, which makes their responses easier to compare.
Can the Scope of Services Change After an Investment Advisor Is Hired?
The scope of services can generally be adjusted after an investment advisor is hired as the organization’s needs change. Changes are typically reflected in the advisory agreement and, when they affect how assets are invested, in the IPS.
What Services Do Investment Advisors Provide to Nonprofits?
Investment advisors typically provide nonprofits with portfolio management, including asset allocation, investment selection, rebalancing, and performance reporting. A broader relationship can also include reserve strategy, investment policy development, cash management, and board and finance committee education. Our nonprofit investment advisory services page describes the services we provide.
About the Author
Dennis Gogarty, CFP®
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 nearly 200 nonprofit clients nationwide, as of June 30, 2026.¹ Dennis is a frequent speaker for nonprofit and association audiences and has presented for 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:
Portions of this article were drafted with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by Raffa Investment Advisers staff for accuracy and compliance.
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.
References to third-party organizations, regulators, and publications are for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement of or by Raffa Investment Advisers.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice.