I need Thoughts on Answering a Complex AUM Question

Feb 12, 2020 5:09 pm

I closed my RIA firm in 2015. At the time we closed, I had about $450,000 in Regulatory AUM reported on the ADV. Most other assets we managed were AUA. We had no discretion on like $4.5M and couldn’t directly trade it…and so it was never reported on the ADV. Fast forward to 2020, after applying at a financial firm as an agent for a Broker-Dealer, the question came up, “how much were you managing at XYZ company?”. Answering this question becomes tricky because most interviewers don’t know the difference between RAUM & AUA. If I say, $450k, they’ll think its a joke! If I say, $5M, then later find on the ADV it says, $450 in RAUM, I’m screwed! So without going into too much complicated jargon with the interviewer, what is the best way to answer this question when it comes up in an interview?