Sample Investment Adviser RFP for Nonprofits and Associations

Download an investment advisory services RFP template made specifically for nonprofits and associations and fully customizable to your organization’s objectives.

CREATING AN INVESTMENT ADVISER RFP

Selecting an investment adviser is a fiduciary decision, and one most nonprofit and association finance committees make only once every several years. As such, creating a request for proposal (RFP) that is thorough and requests the information your committee needs can be challenging.

Both our Sample Nonprofit Investment Adviser RFP and Sample Association Investment Adviser RFP were created to help you begin the process. Each is an editable document covering:

your organization
the scope of services you are seeking
your selection timeline
over 30 questions for the advisory firms you are considering

Use these templates as a starting point, customizing the language and questions to match your organization’s objectives.

Learn More:

DOWNLOAD A SAMPLE INVESTMENT ADVISER RFP TEMPLATE

What should an investment adviser RFP Include?

Organization Details

Describe your organization, objectives, and the size and structure of your reserves, including how they are segmented and whether any funds are restricted. If you have an investment policy statement, include it. Responses can only be as detailed as the information you provide.

Desired Scope of Services

State whether you are seeking discretionary (OCIO) or non-discretionary management, along with the services you expect. Services may include investment policy and reserve policy support, education for your staff and board, and ongoing performance reporting, among others.

Your Selection Timeline

Set your dates: when clarifying questions are due, if and when all answers will be shared, when proposals are due, when finalists will be notified, and when presentations will be held. Setting expectations up front helps firms plan accordingly and reduces unnecessary follow-up.

Questions and Requests

Ask a variety of questions on topics such as the firm's experience, services offered, the team that would be assigned to your account, custody of assets, investment philosophy, reporting, conflicts of interest, and fees. Include requests for samples, such as sample reports.

Key Qualifications & Details to Cover in Your Nonprofit Investment Adviser RFP

Key qualifications are the areas where advisory firms differ, and where those differences affect your organization directly. The areas below are the ones we often see in investment advisory services RFPs for nonprofits and associations:

The firm: Ask about the firm, including its relevant nonprofit or association experience, ownership structure, and assets under management for similar clients.
Your dedicated team: Understand the level of experience your dedicated team has working with similar organizations, and what would happen if your main contact were to leave.
Custodian/Broker-Dealer: As the custodian is often separate from the advisory firm, it is important to understand how it is compensated and to identify conflicts of interest.
Fiduciary and governance support: Does the firm provide desired support outside of investment management, such as policy development or board education?
Investment philosophy and approach: Investment management varies firm to firm. Understand how decisions are made, how portfolios are constructed, how risk is managed, and how fund managers are selected. Additionally, confirm whether the firm is accustomed to working within guidelines set by investment policies.
Performance reporting: Performance reporting is critical to your board’s ability to fulfill governance responsibilities. Understand what reports your committee will receive and if the information included in the reporting supports your ability to compare against defined benchmarks and your overall policy.
Conflicts of interest and compliance: Confirm the firm’s fiduciary status (requires it to act in its clients’ best interest) as well as its SEC registration, disciplinary history, and if any conflicts of interest exist.
Fees: Asking whether the firm is fee-only and requesting its fee schedule does not, on its own, show your total cost. Understand what services are included within its fee, what is billed separately, approximate fund manager and custodian fees, and if any other fees apply.

While this list offers a starting point, the information you request in your investment adviser RFP should align with your organization’s values, goals, and objectives. There is no single right answer, and the best approach is the one that works for your finance committee and board.

Get Assistance Developing Your Nonprofit or Association RFP for Investment Services

Schedule a Consultation with Dennis

If questions come up as you are developing your RFP, Raffa’s president, Dennis Gogarty, CFP®, is available for a complimentary consultation to offer guidance and answer questions.

Dennis can help your board or committee:

Determine what services should be included in the scope, allowing for more thorough and comparable responses
Develop questions to address specific needs such as ESG investing or restricted funds, helping your team feel more confident in the support you will receive
Align the RFP with the organization’s objectives
Understand if an RFP is the right approach or if a different approach may better fit your board or committee’s objectives and governance needs

Common Questions related to Nonprofit or Association Investment Adviser RFPs

Is a nonprofit or association required to issue an RFP to hire an investment adviser?

There is generally no external requirement to issue an RFP. The requirement, when one exists, comes from your own bylaws or board policy, which may call for competitive review of service providers on a set schedule. Many committees choose an RFP anyway because it documents how the adviser was selected.

Who should write and manage an investment adviser RFP?

In many cases a staff member such as the CFO or finance director drafts and distributes the RFP, while the finance or investment committee decides what to ask and evaluates the responses. The committee then makes a recommendation to the board. This is not always the case and should be a decision your organization makes, considering the people involved. Naming one owner to manage sending the RFP out and collecting responses can help keep the process on schedule.

Should we include our current investment adviser in the RFP process?

Whether or not you include your current adviser in the RFP process is a committee and board decision. We often see organizations include the incumbent so that every response can be compared on the same terms, and we also see organizations run an RFP specifically to look at alternatives. Applying the same questions and deadlines to every firm supports a defensible process either way.

How do we tell whether a firm specializes in nonprofits and associations?

Ask for figures rather than descriptions. Request the share of the firm’s assets under management that belongs to nonprofit and association clients, the number of those clients, and how long the firm has served them. It is also worth checking whether the whole team works with organizations like yours, since some firms list nonprofit services while their primary focus is elsewhere.

How should we handle questions from firms during the RFP process?

Set a single date by which all questions must be submitted, and state it in the RFP. Many organizations then share the answers with every responding firm, so all of them are working from the same information. That keeps the process consistent and reduces repeat questions later.

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. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties.

This page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice. The sample RFP templates are provided as a starting point rather than a legal form, and your organization is responsible for the content of any request for proposal it issues. The considerations described here reflect Raffa’s perspective as an investment adviser serving nonprofits and associations, and other advisers may weigh them differently.

Portions of this page were drafted with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by Raffa Investment Advisers staff for accuracy and compliance.