Glossary term
Form CRS - Customer Relationship Summary
Form CRS is the short customer or client relationship summary that certain broker-dealers and investment advisers provide to retail investors.
Updated
Read time
What Is Form CRS?
Form CRS is a short relationship summary that certain broker-dealers and investment advisers provide to retail investors. CRS stands for customer or client relationship summary.
The form is meant to help investors compare the type of relationship being offered, the services available, the fees and costs involved, conflicts of interest, disciplinary history, and questions to ask before opening or maintaining an account.
Key Takeaways
- Form CRS is a brief relationship summary for retail investors.
- Broker-dealers and investment advisers covered by the rule must provide it.
- It summarizes services, fees, conflicts, legal obligations, and disciplinary information.
- It is a starting point for questions, not a full due diligence file.
How Form CRS Works
Firms prepare Form CRS using a required format and plain-language approach. The relationship summary is designed to be short enough for a retail investor to read before making a decision, while still pointing to issues that may need follow-up.
For investment advisers, Form CRS is tied to Form ADV Part 3. Broker-dealers also file or deliver the relationship summary under applicable rules. Investors can often find a firm's relationship summary through Investor.gov, BrokerCheck, IAPD, or the firm's own website.
What Form CRS Covers
Section | What It Helps Explain |
|---|---|
Relationship and services | Whether the firm offers brokerage, advisory, or both types of accounts |
Fees and costs | How the investor pays and what incentives may exist |
Conflicts | Ways the firm or professional may benefit from recommendations |
Disciplinary history | Whether reportable legal or disciplinary events exist |
Conversation starters | Questions investors can ask before deciding |
How to Read It
Form CRS is useful because it compresses the first layer of due diligence into a comparable document. It can help a reader see whether a firm is acting as a broker, an investment adviser, or both; whether fees are transaction-based or asset-based; and what conflicts deserve closer review.
The form is not a substitute for Form ADV, a brokerage account agreement, fee schedule, advisory contract, or a direct conversation. If the summary raises questions, the investor should ask for the longer documents and plain-English answers.
The Bottom Line
Form CRS is a short disclosure document designed to help retail investors understand a financial firm's relationship, services, fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history. It is most valuable when used as a question guide before choosing or continuing with a broker-dealer or investment adviser.