The average wealthy household has 6-8 financial accounts. When a new client brings you their rollover IRA to manage, that's typically just one account. Where are the other 5-7?

Additional account capture is the systematic process of discovering and managing all the accounts within a client household, not just the first one they opened with you. It's how a $500,000 client relationship becomes a $2 million relationship without finding a single new client. Research from Cerulli Associates indicates that the average affluent household maintains relationships with multiple financial institutions, representing a significant consolidation opportunity for trusted advisors.

This isn't about being aggressive or pushy. It's about asking good questions, understanding your clients' complete financial picture, and making it easy to consolidate accounts when it makes sense.

The Multi-Account Opportunity

Understanding the typical account picture reveals the opportunity.

Average wealthy households hold:

  • 1-2 checking/savings accounts
  • 1-2 taxable brokerage accounts
  • 2-3 retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, old 401(k)s)
  • 0-2 trust or estate accounts
  • 0-1 business accounts
  • 0-2 specialty accounts (529s, HSAs)

If you're managing one IRA and one joint account, you're likely managing 25-35% of their investable assets. The rest is scattered elsewhere.

Your opportunity is discovering these other accounts and capturing the ones that make sense to manage together.

Account Discovery Matrix

Systematic discovery requires asking about specific account types.

Personal taxable accounts include:

  • Individual brokerage accounts
  • Joint brokerage accounts
  • Bank savings and money market accounts
  • CDs and treasuries held directly

IRAs come in multiple flavors:

  • Traditional IRAs
  • Roth IRAs
  • SEP IRAs
  • SIMPLE IRAs
  • Inherited IRAs
  • Rollover IRAs

Employer retirement plans current and former:

  • Active 401(k) at current employer
  • Old 401(k)s from previous employers
  • 403(b) plans (nonprofit/education)
  • 457 plans (government employees)
  • Thrift Savings Plans (federal employees)

Trusts and estate accounts require special handling:

  • Revocable living trusts
  • Irrevocable trusts
  • Estate accounts during settlement
  • UTMA/UGMA accounts for children

Business accounts and executive compensation expand the relationship:

  • Business checking and savings
  • Corporate investment accounts
  • Stock option accounts
  • Restricted stock units
  • Deferred compensation plans

HSAs, 529s, and specialty accounts round out the picture:

  • Health Savings Accounts
  • 529 college savings plans
  • Coverdell Education Savings Accounts
  • ABLE accounts

Don't assume you know what clients have. Ask about each category explicitly.

Systematic Discovery Process

Discovery shouldn't be random. Make it part of your standard process.

Onboarding checklist of account types ensures you ask about everything during initial data gathering. Create a detailed form that lists all potential account types with checkboxes during your client onboarding process.

Annual account review cadence updates this information. Life changes create new accounts. Ask about additions every year during your quarterly review process.

Life event triggers for new accounts alert you to probable new money:

  • Job changes → New 401(k), old 401(k) to roll over
  • Inheritance → New accounts at random custodians
  • Home sale → Large cash position somewhere
  • Business sale → Proceeds in temporary accounts
  • Retirement → Transition from 401(k) to IRA

CRM flagging for rollover opportunities tracks events that create account transfer possibilities. When you note that a client changed jobs, automatically create a task to discuss 401(k) rollover.

Make discovery systematic, not opportunistic.

Targeting High-Value Accounts

Not all additional accounts are equal. Focus on the biggest opportunities.

401(k) rollovers from job changes represent the single largest account capture opportunity. Americans change jobs every 4-5 years on average. Each job change creates a rollover opportunity if you're positioned for it. The Department of Labor's guidance on retirement plan rollovers provides important consumer protections advisors should understand.

Inherited IRA opportunities arise when clients receive inheritances from parents or other relatives. These accounts are often held at banks or discount brokerages with minimal guidance. Your value-add is clear.

Business sale proceeds create immediate large-scale opportunities. When clients sell businesses, proceeds often land in business checking accounts or money market funds. They need investment strategy immediately.

Trust and estate settlements concentrate wealth that was previously scattered. When clients inherit through estate settlement, all assets consolidate temporarily before distribution. Position yourself to manage them long-term.

Executive stock option exercises generate cash events. When clients exercise options or RSUs vest, cash accumulates in brokerage accounts. If those accounts aren't with you, you're missing the opportunity.

Target accounts where your value proposition is strongest and the asset size justifies effort.

Conversation Scripts by Account Type

Tailor your discovery questions to specific account types.

Former employer 401(k) script: "I noticed you worked at ABC Company from 2010-2018. Do you still have a 401(k) there? Have you looked at your options for rolling it over? Let's compare the fees and investment options to what we can offer in an IRA."

Low-yield savings script: "I see you mentioned keeping $200,000 in savings at the bank earning 2%. What's that money earmarked for? Are you comfortable with the return you're earning, or should we look at whether there's a better approach?"

Self-directed accounts script: "You mentioned you have a brokerage account at Schwab that you manage yourself. How's that account performing? Have you compared the results to your managed accounts here? Would you be interested in consolidating everything so we can coordinate the strategy?"

Trust accounts script: "I see you're the trustee of your parents' trust. Where are those assets currently held? Are you getting advice on managing them? That's something we could help with."

Business accounts script: "Does your business maintain any investment accounts beyond operating capital? We work with several business owners managing corporate funds. That might be relevant for you."

Scripts provide starting points. Customize based on your style and client situation.

Making It Easy

Removing friction dramatically improves capture rates.

Pre-filled transfer forms do most of the work for clients. Gather account numbers, custodian information, and other details. Fill out paperwork. Give them forms requiring only signatures through your account opening process.

White-glove service handles logistics they don't want to think about. Contact the other custodian directly. Coordinate the transfer using proven asset transfer management strategies. Follow up on delays. Keep clients informed.

Follow-up cadence maintains momentum. Don't let transfer discussions die because clients got busy. Follow up weekly until forms are completed. Follow up during transfer to confirm progress.

The easier you make account consolidation, the more accounts you'll capture.

Barriers and Objections

Common resistance patterns and how to address them:

"I like having accounts in different places" usually reflects perceived diversification or just inertia. "I understand that feeling. But having accounts at multiple firms doesn't reduce investment risk if the underlying holdings are similar. What it does is prevent us from optimizing your overall allocation and tax strategy."

Complexity aversion is real. Account transfers feel complicated and risky to many clients. "I know this feels like a hassle. That's why we handle all the paperwork and coordination. You just need to sign a few forms. We do the rest."

Emotional attachments to institutions or advisors slow consolidation. "I get that you've been with Vanguard for 20 years. They're a great firm. The question is whether managing your accounts in multiple places is serving your best interests or just creating complexity."

Tax concerns about transferring accounts are sometimes legitimate, often overblown. "Let's look at the actual tax implications. In-kind transfers of securities typically don't trigger taxes. If there are tax consequences, we'll quantify them and decide if consolidation still makes sense."

Fear of putting all eggs in one basket misunderstands where risk lies. "Your assets would be held at a major custodian with SIPC insurance. We're not holding your money. We're managing it at a regulated institution. The 'eggs in one basket' concern is about investment diversification, not custodian diversification."

Don't argue. Understand concerns and address them thoughtfully.

Implementation Checklist

Step-by-step process for capturing additional accounts:

  1. Discovery: Ask about all account types during annual review
  2. Documentation: Record everything in CRM with account sizes and custodians
  3. Prioritization: Focus on largest accounts with clearest value-add
  4. Conversation: Discuss benefits of consolidation
  5. Analysis: Quantify tax implications or other concerns
  6. Decision: Get client agreement to proceed
  7. Paperwork: Pre-fill all transfer forms
  8. Coordination: Submit paperwork and track progress
  9. Follow-up: Monitor transfer and communicate status
  10. Integration: Invest transferred assets according to overall plan

Having a documented process ensures consistency and follow-through.

Measuring Account Capture Success

Track metrics to improve over time.

Accounts per household shows your average. Top advisors average 3-5 accounts per household. If you're at 1.5, there's significant opportunity.

Annual account additions measures new accounts captured from existing clients. If you have 100 client households and capture 20 additional accounts this year, that's a 20% growth rate.

Transfer completion rate tracks what happens after clients agree to consolidate. If 10 clients agree to transfer accounts but only 6 follow through, you have a completion problem to solve.

Revenue per household grows as account capture improves. Track this alongside account count to ensure you're capturing meaningful assets, not just small accounts.

Review these metrics quarterly and identify improvement opportunities.

The Account Capture Mindset

Approach additional account capture with the right perspective.

Every account managed separately represents incomplete planning. You can't optimize taxes across accounts you don't manage through tax planning integration. You can't coordinate estate planning coordination with assets you don't see. You can't rebalance effectively across fragmented accounts.

Consolidation serves clients by enabling complete management. This isn't about growing your AUM for your benefit through your AUM growth strategy. It's about serving clients completely.

Most clients want to consolidate. They just need someone to initiate the conversation and make it easy. Your job is asking and facilitating through your wallet share expansion efforts.

Small account capture compounds over time. If you capture 2 additional accounts per client household over 5 years and you have 100 households, that's 200 new accounts. At an average of $150,000 per account, that's $30 million in AUM growth.

Build account discovery into your annual process. Ask about all account types specifically. Make consolidation easy. Track your progress.

Do that systematically and your accounts per household will grow from 1.5 to 3-4 over several years. That growth comes without finding a single new client and represents some of the highest-ROI business development activity you can undertake.

Additional account capture is how good advisors become great advisors and how $50 million practices become $150 million practices without proportionally increasing client count or team size.

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