What Is Assets Under Advisement (AUA)?

A common example is a firm that advises a client on a 401(k) allocation housed at an outside employer plan, without ever managing the account directly. Because AUA doesn’t meet the “continuous and regular supervisory or management” standard, it’s generally excluded from RAUM and doesn’t count toward the SEC/state registration threshold — but firms sometimes include AUA in marketing materials to represent the broader scope of their advisory relationships.

Firms need to be careful to clearly distinguish AUA from AUM/RAUM in any public-facing materials, since blending the two figures without explanation can create a misleading impression of the firm’s actual managed asset base — a Marketing Rule concern as well as a Form ADV accuracy concern.