If you are searching for this, something already bothers you. A fee you finally noticed. A call that was not returned. A bad year. Or a feeling you cannot name.
I am an advisor, so discount me accordingly. But I have seen this from both ends. People have left other advisors to work with me, and people have left me. This is the test I would want a friend to use.
First, the reasons that are not reasons
One bad year. Markets fall. If your mix was built for you, and it fell about as much as the market did, that is the plan doing what it said it would do.
A friend’s great return. You are hearing about the winner. Nobody brings their losers to dinner. Before you act on someone else’s result, ask the two questions in The Denominator.
The fee, by itself. A high fee that delivers real value can be the cheaper choice. A low fee for nothing is expensive. The fee only means something next to what you get for it.
The reasons that are
You cannot say, in dollars, what you pay. And when you ask, the answer is fog.
They are slow to answer you. Days turn into weeks. You notice you have stopped asking.
Every meeting ends with a product. An annuity, a policy, a fund with the firm’s name on it.
You asked for a plan and got a portfolio. Investments are one part of your money. If nobody is looking at taxes, insurance and the big decisions together, you are paying for less than you think.
They cannot say what they got wrong. Ask any advisor what they got wrong and what they changed so it cannot happen again. That is The Honest Ledger. No answer is an answer.
You have a concern and you are afraid to raise it. This one is about the relationship, and it may be the clearest sign of all.
Before you go, have one conversation
Leaving without asking is the easy way out, and sometimes the wrong one. Send three questions in writing:
“What did I pay you last year, all in, in dollars?”
“What did you do for me last year besides the investments?”
“What would you change about my plan today?”
A good advisor is glad you asked. Give it two weeks. The reply is your evidence. Sometimes it fixes the problem, and that counts as a win. Staying with someone who has earned it back is easier than starting over.
Run the number
Why this is hard
Leaving feels like admitting you chose wrong. There are years in it. Maybe your parents used the same person. Maybe you like them.
That is sunk cost talking, and it is very persuasive. The question that cuts through it comes from The No-Memory Test: if you met this advisor for the first time today, knowing what you know now, at this fee, would you hire them?
If yes, stay, and stop second-guessing it. If no, the years you have already spent are not a reason to spend more.
The years behind you are paid for. The only decision left is about the years ahead.
Then write the rule down while you are calm. Something like: “If I do not have a straight answer on my fee by the end of the month, I move.” A rule written in calm holds up better than a decision made in irritation. That is the whole idea of The Pre-Decision.
And if you do go, you do not owe anyone a speech. The new firm starts the transfer, and in most cases your investments move as they are.
Related questions: is my advisor doing a good job, how to switch advisors without a tax bill, financial advisor red flags and is a 1% advisor fee worth it.
One question for this week: if you were hiring today, would you pick them again?
As always, if you want to talk any of this through, the door is open. Genti