Investment Advisers Errors & Omissions Insurance
Professional liability coverage for RIAs and fiduciary investment advisers.
This is an estimate, not a bound policy — a licensed VAB producer confirms final terms before coverage starts. Sgt. Savings can answer questions but can't quote, bind, or guarantee coverage.
Registered investment advisers carry a fiduciary standard that makes even a well-intentioned suitability or execution mistake a real financial exposure. Investment Advisers Errors & Omissions Insurance covers claims tied to advisory, portfolio management, wealth management, financial planning, and ERISA fiduciary work — with optional buy-backs for private fund advisory and trading-error correction costs.
Who This Is Really For
The ideal buyer.
The ideal buyer is a registered investment adviser scaling past its original client base — picking up its first ERISA fiduciary plan mandate, being asked to formally advise a specific private fund, or reviewing its trading-error process after a near-miss — any of which surfaces a gap between what their original E&O quote covered and what their practice actually does now. This buyer has usually already internalized that a bad market outcome alone isn't a covered claim, since they live the suitability standard daily, but they're now facing a specific structural question: does their policy actually name the private fund they're now advising, or does it just assume a blanket advisory-services description covers it. Firms doing 3(21) or 3(38) work for retirement plans are a distinct sub-segment who need that fiduciary exposure explicitly named, not assumed bundled into general advisory E&O. This buyer is comparing the Cost of Corrections buy-back specifically, because they understand that fixing a trading error proactively is often materially cheaper than letting it become a claim, and they want that option priced in before they need it.
- Registered investment advisers (RIAs) managing client portfolios
- Wealth managers and financial planners providing ongoing advisory services
- Advisers doing ERISA 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary work for retirement plans
- Firms that occasionally advise named private funds and need that scope explicitly covered
- Advisers who want a reimbursement option for the cost of correcting a trading error before it becomes a claim
What It Covers
Coverage, broken down.
Advisory and fiduciary professional services
Covers investment advisory, portfolio management, wealth management, financial planning, and ERISA 3(21)/3(38) fiduciary work as professional services.
Suitability, execution, and disclosure carve-back
Restores coverage for negligent suitability, execution, or disclosure claims that a base policy's securities exclusions would otherwise shut out.
Private fund advisory buy-back (optional)
Extends coverage to advisory services for specifically named private funds — not a blanket private-fund extension, only the funds scheduled on the policy.
Cost of corrections reimbursement (optional)
Reimburses the cost of fixing a trading error before it escalates into a full claim — often cheaper than letting it become litigation.
Disciplinary proceeding & subpoena defense expense (optional)
Covers the cost of responding to a regulatory or licensing proceeding separately from an underlying client claim.
Illustrative Scenario — How This Coverage Responds
Illustrative scenario — a suitability dispute
A financial adviser recommends a portfolio allocation for a client nearing retirement that turns out to carry more risk than the client's stated objectives called for. When the market turns, the client sues, alleging the recommendation was unsuitable given their disclosed goals. Investment Advisers E&O responds to the defense and any resulting settlement, since the claim is about negligent suitability advice rather than a guarantee of investment performance, which is never covered.
Illustrative example for education only — not a claim outcome or a promise of payment. Every claim depends on the actual policy issued and its terms.
More Than One Way In
More scenarios.
Real coverage doesn't fit one story. Here's who else this shows up for.
The RIA's first ERISA plan mandate
An advisory firm that's only done individual wealth management wins its first retirement-plan fiduciary mandate and needs to confirm 3(21)/3(38) work is actually covered, not just general advisory services.
The named private fund advisory engagement
A firm is asked to formally advise a specific private fund for a longtime client, and needs to schedule that fund on the policy rather than assume the private-fund buy-back applies automatically.
The trading error caught same-day
A trade is executed in the wrong account due to a processing error, and the firm catches it the same day, weighing whether to use the Cost of Corrections reimbursement to fix it directly versus waiting to see if the client even notices.
Know The Gaps
What this doesn't cover.
Every policy has limits. Knowing them before you buy is how you avoid a denied claim later.
Broker-dealer and investment-banking activity
If your firm is dually registered or does underwriting/M&A work, that activity needs separate coverage — this line is scoped to fee-based advisory work.
Formation or operation of pooled investment vehicles, and unlisted private funds
Only named, scheduled private funds are covered under the buy-back — standing up or running a fund yourself, or advising an unlisted one, falls outside this policy.
Custody of client funds or securities beyond fee-deduction or standing letters
True custody of client assets carries a different regulatory and liability profile — this policy assumes a standard non-custodial advisory relationship.
Performance guarantees
No professional liability policy covers a promised investment return — a suitability or process claim is covered, a bad market outcome alone is not.
Commodities, crypto, promissory notes, viaticals, and collectibles
These asset classes sit outside standard advisory coverage unless the client already held them before becoming a client — new recommendations into these assets aren't covered.
Own-account trading and clients you or a family member own more than 10% of
Both are conflict-of-interest exclusions — advice given to entities you control isn't a third-party claim this policy is built to cover.
Behind The Quote
What goes into the decision.
What actually moves your price and your approval — no black box.
AUM, client mix, and account types managed
The scale and complexity of what's actually under management is the primary driver of claim frequency and severity for this line.
Custody arrangement
True custody of client assets carries a different risk profile than fee-deduction or standing-letter authority, so how the firm actually handles client funds matters to what's covered.
Election of the private fund advisory and Cost of Corrections buy-backs
Private fund work is only covered when specifically named, and trading-error correction is optional — which buy-backs are elected changes what's actually protected against the firm's real activity.
Asset classes recommended
New recommendations into commodities, crypto, or other excluded asset classes fall outside standard coverage, so the firm's actual investment approach is directly relevant.
ERISA fiduciary scope
Whether the firm does 3(21) limited or 3(38) full discretionary fiduciary work, and for how many plans, shapes the fiduciary exposure this line is covering.
Let's get you covered.
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Availability
Available to registered investment advisers nationwide, placed and administered state by state.
Questions, answered straight
No jargon on investment advisers errors & omissions insurance — just what you're actually asking.
Yes — 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary work is included as a professional service under this line.
You need to name them. The private fund advisory buy-back only covers scheduled funds, not private fund work generally.
Both are options — the Cost of Corrections buy-back reimburses the cost of fixing the error directly, which can be cheaper than waiting for it to become a claim you then defend.
A claim alleging you promised a return would need to be evaluated on the facts, but an actual performance guarantee itself is never a covered promise — the policy responds to negligence claims, not investment outcomes.
No — accountant and attorney services are excluded under this line even when performed by the same firm. Those need their own coverage.
Beyond This Coverage
What people in your situation also need.
Business Banking
An RIA scaling its client base is a natural fit for VAB's core business banking relationship for firm operating accounts.
ExploreBusiness Loans
Advisory firms adding staff or opening a new office to support growing AUM often need working capital.
ExplorePayroll
Firms hiring advisers and support staff to handle new fiduciary mandates need a payroll system that scales with the team.
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Learn moreReady to talk it through?
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Insurance products described on this page are marketed by The Veteran Alliance, a licensed insurance producer, and underwritten by one or more separately licensed insurance companies, which may include Corgi Insurance Company and its affiliates. The insurer that actually underwrites your policy, its licensing status in your state, and any state-required notices will be identified in your quote and policy documents. Coverage, limits, eligibility, and pricing are determined by the underwriting insurer, may vary by state, and may change. Nothing on this page is a quote, an offer of insurance, a binder, or a guarantee of coverage — coverage takes effect only when a policy is issued.