How Often Should Financial Advisors Review Performance With Clients?

While there’s no set standard for how often advisors review performance with clients, a common review schedule is one in-depth annual meeting with shorter check-ins each quarter. The right cadence depends on the client’s wealth, life stage and preferences. Age matters too: 83% of Gen Z clients communicate with their advisor at least monthly, compared with 21% of Boomers.¹ Here’s how advisors structure their review schedules and what clients say they want.

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How Often Do Successful Advisors Review Client Portfolios?

No study pinpoints how often successful advisors review performance with clients, but the research points to a consistent baseline. Kitces Research found that after the first year, advisory teams typically hold one or two formal meetings annually and fill in the gaps with calls, emails and other touchpoints.

Clients often want more contact than advisors plan to give. In Orion’s surveys, 69% of advisors said the ideal meeting frequency is semiannual or annual, ² while 66% of investors said they want to meet quarterly or more often. ³ These findings reflect broader meeting and communication preferences, which may differ from how often clients want formal portfolio performance reviews.

Advisors’ own accounts show how the schedule shifts by client. In an r/CFP thread, one common approach described was an in-depth annual review. One Redditor described tiering contact by client wealth:

“Our standard policy for UHNW is a call every 2 months from each team member (2-3 people/team) 1-2 meetings annually unless the client requests more. For average HNW clients the standard is a call quarterly from each team member (2-3 people/team) and 1-2 meetings annually unless the client requests more. For below average HNW clients the standard is 2 calls/year from each team member (2-3 people/team) and 1 meeting per year.” ⁴

Another respondent sends clients a monthly market update and offers an annual review meeting, which most accept. Some of their clients prefer to meet quarterly, while others are booked for weekly meetings if they’re navigating a major life change, such as a job transition or divorce.

Client age also matters. In Betterment Advisor Solutions’ 2026 survey of 1,001 investors who work with an advisor, 83% of Gen Z clients said they communicate with their advisor at least monthly, compared with 21% of Boomers. Gen Z clients were also more likely to say meetings would be more valuable if their advisor gave them a fuller view of their finances (35% vs. 8% of Boomers).

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Choosing the Right Client Performance Review Frequency

Asking your clients what they prefer is the most direct way to understand how frequently you should schedule performance reviews. That can be achieved with a simple satisfaction or experience survey, which allows you to poll all of your clients at once.

With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of what successful advisors typically cover during client performance reviews.

Generally, the more often you meet or contact clients, the shorter the communication needs to be. An annual performance review, for instance, may last 60 to 90 minutes while a quarterly or monthly check-in may only require a 10-minute call.

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What to Cover in an Annual Client Performance Review

Annual performance reviews should cover the most relevant details while remaining focused enough to fit within the allotted time. With that mind, here’s a breakdown of what successful advisors typically cover when scheduling client performance reviews.

Identify Strongest and Weakest Performers

Review each sector and asset represented in the client’s portfolio, highlighting which ones are outperforming and which ones are falling short of expectations. Offer context on what’s driving each trend and illustrate how they’ve performed individually, relative to the portfolio as a whole.

Context matters because it can curb emotional responses. Clients may see one segment of their portfolio dropping throughout the year and immediately panic. Without some background information on what’s behind the decline, they may feel pressure to sell. Explaining the contributing factors can help you bring the focus back to their long-term goals.

Talk Tax Strategy

Clients are concerned with how their portfolios are doing but they also want to understand how taxes may affect their wealth. As part of your annual performance review, consider devoting time to discussing tax implications and solutions for mitigating what they might owe. How you handle this part of the conversation can depend largely on their portfolio makeup and your level of tax planning competence.

For example, mid-career clients may need advice on maximizing contributions if a 401(k) or IRA is part of their investment plan. Reviewing assets held away can offer a clearer snapshot of a client’s tax outlook, as well as the totality of how well their portfolio performs. This may also be an opportunity to discuss whether consolidating assets under your management would benefit the client, taking into account fees, investment options and potential conflicts of interest.

If you serve near-retirees or retirees, the discussion may center on withdrawal order, required minimum distributions and how rebalancing may impact their tax outlook. High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, meanwhile, may be interested in exploring the tax benefits of donor-advised funds (DAFs).

Consider the Future

To wrap up your annual client performance review, consider dedicating some time to the “what ifs” that could crop up before your next yearly meeting. Ask clients what they’re most concerned about impacting their portfolios over the next 12 months, or whether they anticipate any major life changes.

Planning for hypothetical and likely scenarios means that should an event happen that would prompt a change in the client’s portfolio, you already have a list of next steps prepared. For example, if a client is concerned about a potential layoff, you might review their emergency savings, near-term liquidity needs and whether their portfolio could support temporary withdrawals without disrupting their long-term investment strategy.

Even if the what-ifs don’t take shape, you and your client are ready to act. And thinking ahead can deepen your clients’ confidence in your ability to help them manage their financial plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Line

How often do successful financial advisors review performance with clients? There’s no universal answer, though annual formal reviews appear to be a common approach, often supplemented by shorter check-ins throughout the year. A better question to consider is how often you should schedule performance reviews, based on your clients’ needs and concerns. Studying the habits of successful advisors can be helpful, but ultimately, your decision-making should reflect what’s best for the investors you serve.

Advisor Marketing Tips

• Automation can make marketing easier and less time-consuming, allowing you to focus on other important tasks. SmartAsset AMP helps you match with qualified leads while providing you with the tools you need to nurture relationships on autopilot. Schedule a free demo today to learn how you can leverage this marketing platform to grow your business.
• Portfolio visualizer tools and portfolio management software can be useful for conducting client performance reviews. Visualizer tools can show your clients what potential outcomes may look like based on the choices they make. Portfolio management software, meanwhile, can give you a detailed view of client investments and how they’ve trended since your last review meeting.

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