Questions to ask before appointing an asset manager

1. What exactly are you appointing the manager to do?

The term 'asset manager' can describe very different services: collecting rent, supervising repairs, monitoring construction, managing vehicles, coordinating acquisition due diligence or keeping project expenditure records. Before comparing firms, write down the actual outcomes you need.

RICS client-care guidance recommends clear written terms of engagement defining scope, outputs, deadlines, reporting format, assumptions and limitations. ISO 55000 similarly treats asset management as a systematic approach to realising value from assets over their life cycle rather than a collection of unrelated tasks.

A good appointment should therefore identify each asset in scope, the service to be provided, exclusions, start date, reporting frequency and who has overall responsibility. Vague phrases such as 'look after everything' create disputes because owner and manager may have very different assumptions.

2. Is the manager competent for every service being offered?

Competence should be tested service by service. A strong property operator may not be qualified to certify structural work. A fleet manager may not be a licensed surveyor. An asset-acquisition coordinator may organise document collection but should not replace a lawyer conducting title due diligence or a valuer providing a professional valuation.

Ask who will actually perform the work, what experience they have, what specialist tasks are subcontracted and how those specialists are selected. For regulated or professional work, verify the relevant licence, membership or registration rather than relying on a website statement.

A trustworthy manager should be comfortable saying where its competence stops. Referral to a qualified engineer, lawyer, surveyor or valuer is a sign of professional discipline, not weakness.

3. What can the manager approve without you?

Authority is one of the most important parts of the relationship. Define the spending threshold for routine repairs, the decisions that always require owner approval, emergency powers, contractor appointment authority, tenancy decisions, vehicle-repair approvals and who can sign or submit documents.

The thresholds should reflect risk, not convenience. A manager may be authorised to replace a failed pump immediately up to an agreed value while still needing approval to appoint a new contractor, change a tenant, sell an asset or alter project scope.

Written authority protects both sides. The manager knows when it can act, and the owner can distinguish an authorised decision from one made outside the mandate.

4. What evidence will you receive?

Do not accept 'regular updates' as the entire reporting standard. Ask what the monthly or quarterly report contains and what evidence sits behind it. Depending on the asset, this could include inspection photographs, rent records, maintenance history, contractor quotations, service records, fuel logs, invoices, receipts, project progress, approvals and outstanding issues.

The best reporting is exception-focused. The owner should quickly see what changed, what is overdue, what cost more than expected, what decision is needed and what evidence supports the manager's recommendation.

Also ask how long the records are retained and whether you can export them if the relationship ends. The management system should not make the owner dependent on the manager for access to the owner's own history.

5. How are client funds and project money controlled?

If the manager will collect rent, pay contractors or otherwise control client-authorised funds, the financial arrangements require specific questions. Where is the money held? Who can initiate and approve a payment? Is client money separated from the manager's operating money? What reconciliation is provided? What happens to balances when the appointment ends?

RICS client-money guidance, while written for regulated firms, illustrates the core control principles: clear client-account arrangements, accounting controls, information to clients and procedures for handling funds safely. Owners should expect equivalent clarity from any manager who handles money, even where a different local regulatory framework applies.

Axiom Meridian's financial-oversight positioning should remain exactly that: monitoring, documentation, approval workflows and reconciliation around client assets and projects — not deposit-taking, banking or investment management.

6. How are conflicts of interest handled?

A manager may recommend contractors, brokers, garages, suppliers, lawyers or valuers. Ask whether the manager or its staff have any ownership, family, referral-fee or financial relationship with recommended providers and how such relationships are disclosed.

RICS conflict guidance emphasises transparency and procedures for identifying possible conflicts. Even where a recommendation is commercially sound, an undisclosed relationship can damage trust because the client cannot tell whether the recommendation was made solely in the client's interest.

A practical policy is simple: disclose material relationships before appointment, document referral fees or commissions, and give the owner enough information to approve the arrangement knowingly.

7. How are urgent problems and disagreements escalated?

Every management relationship eventually encounters an exception: a burst pipe, contractor delay, accident, tenant dispute, suspected fraud, missing document or cost overrun. Ask how the manager classifies emergencies, who is contacted, what authority applies after hours and how quickly the owner will receive an incident record.

The management agreement should also explain complaints and dispute escalation. A client should know the internal escalation path, what records will be preserved and when an external professional or authority may need to be involved.

Good escalation procedures reduce the temptation to hide bad news. The manager's job is not to make every report look positive; it is to make material issues visible early enough for action.

8. What happens to your data and documents?

Asset management can involve identity documents, property records, contracts, tenant information, financial records, vehicle documents and photographs of private premises. Ask where information is stored, who can access it, whether staff access is role-based, how backups are handled and how data is returned or deleted at the end of the relationship.

If the manager offers an online portal, clarify which features are live and which are planned. Marketing language such as 'secure' should be supported by actual controls such as authenticated accounts, private storage, access permissions, audit records and recovery procedures where implemented.

The owner should also know who owns the operational records created during management and how a handover will work if another manager is appointed later.

9. How will performance be measured?

A management fee is easier to evaluate when the expected service level is measurable. Relevant indicators might include inspection frequency, report delivery date, maintenance response time, rent collection status, vehicle availability, document-renewal compliance, project milestones verified or unresolved issues older than a defined period.

Do not choose metrics only because they are easy to count. A manager can close many maintenance tickets while allowing one major risk to remain unresolved. The reporting framework should combine routine service levels with material exceptions and client decisions.

Review the measures after the first few months. Asset management should become more informed as the manager learns the asset and establishes a baseline.

10. How does the appointment end?

Exit terms matter before the relationship begins. The agreement should explain notice, outstanding fees, return of keys and documents, transfer of client funds, handover of supplier records, open maintenance items and access to digital information.

RICS guidance on client records and client money highlights the importance of timely document and fund handover when an appointment terminates. An owner should not discover at termination that essential records exist only in an employee's phone or in software that the client cannot access.

A clean exit clause gives the manager an incentive to maintain orderly records throughout the engagement.

Twelve questions to take into the first meeting

A prospective client can use the following questions to compare managers on substance rather than presentation.

• Which assets and decisions will you manage, and what is explicitly outside scope?
• Who is responsible for my account and what is their experience?
• Which tasks require external lawyers, engineers, surveyors or valuers?
• What can you spend or approve without contacting me?
• What report will I receive, how often, and can I see a sample format?
• What evidence supports maintenance, project and expenditure updates?
• How are client-authorised funds controlled and reconciled?
• Do you receive commissions or have related-party suppliers?
• How are emergencies and complaints escalated?
• How are my documents and personal information protected?
• What service levels or KPIs will we review?
• What records, balances and access will I receive if I terminate the appointment?