Client meeting preparation: a brief from the PMS

Preparing a client meeting means gathering information from several systems: positions from the PMS, correspondence from Outlook, notes from the file store and open compliance items. Most firms treat this as preparation work. In our view, the brief before the meeting and the protocol after it are also part of the documentation duty under FinSA, and they should be built for both purposes from the start.

The brief serves documentation, not only preparation

Under Art. 15 FinSA, financial service providers must document in an appropriate manner the services agreed with and provided to clients and the information collected about them. For portfolio management, that includes the suitability assessment under Art. 12 FinSA. A structured brief before the meeting and a structured protocol after it make that documentation part of the normal workflow.

In practice, the documentation is often written after the meeting from memory, and the brief disappears in a mailbox. A brief that stays in the client file together with the protocol shows what the relationship manager knew before the meeting and what was agreed in it. In an audit, that sequence carries more weight than a protocol alone.

The information sits in five places

Positions and performance sit in the PMS. Correspondence sits in Outlook. Meeting notes sit in a file store or a CRM. Compliance status is often kept in a spreadsheet, and the house view arrives as a PDF from the investment committee. In our projects, assembling this by hand is one of the most time-consuming parts of preparing a meeting, and it is repeated for every meeting.

Each source also has its own valuation date and its own access rights. A brief that combines yesterday's PMS valuation with a performance figure from last month's report raises questions in the meeting instead of answering them.

One page, every line with a source

A fictitious client, Mr Example, balanced mandate, meeting on 14 November:

• Portfolio. CHF 3.1 million, up 2.3% since the last meeting and 5.1% year to date after costs. Cash at 8% against a target of 3%. Source: PMS.
• Changes. One industrial position sold in September. One technology position down 18% since the last meeting. Source: PMS.
• Client statements. Wants lower volatility (note of 3 June). Question on succession planning in an email of 2 October, still unanswered. Source: meeting note, Outlook.
• Decisions required. Cash above target, equity allocation at the upper end of the band. Source: PMS, mandate profile.
• Due items. Passport expires in January, KYC review due in the first quarter. Source: document store, compliance calendar.
• Talking points. Three suggested topics drawn from the facts above and the house view.

Every line links to its source, so the relationship manager can verify it with one click.

After the meeting, the note becomes the record

The second half of the work starts when the meeting ends. For a portfolio manager, the documentation under Art. 15 FinSA includes changes to the client's situation, objectives or risk tolerance that may affect the suitability assessment. A structured protocol records three things: what the client said, what was decided and what was promised.

Decisions that affect the mandate, such as a lower equity allocation, need to reach the portfolio management process and the mandate profile. Promises, such as sending a proposal on succession planning, become tasks with an owner and a date. The next brief then starts with the open items from this protocol, so continuity no longer depends on memory.

Three errors that cost credibility in the meeting

A brief that is too long is not read; one page with links to detail is enough. Figures that use a different valuation date or method than client reporting lead to corrections in the meeting. And a brief that lists positions but omits personal facts from earlier notes is incomplete. Timing matters as well: a brief prepared two days early misses the email that arrived on the morning of the meeting.

How it works

With Unplex, every client meeting in the calendar gets a one-page brief, the evening before or at a set time. Data comes from the PMS, for Assetmax through the direct connection, from Microsoft 365 and from the document store. Every line carries its source. After the meeting, the note becomes a structured protocol with follow-up tasks.

Conclusion

A one-page brief with sources reduces preparation to review, and a structured protocol turns the meeting into documentation. Together they fulfil part of the documentation duty under FinSA. The assessment of the client's situation remains with the relationship manager.

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