[ad_1]
What should people do if they are unhappy with their current financial advisor?
The first step would be to make a list of your concerns with your current advisor, your expectations and goals for the relationship and assess if the advisor has met those expectations and goals. Once you have that information, the next step is to reach out and schedule a meeting to discuss your concerns. Be prepared to discuss all your concerns and have expectations for the meeting to assess if the advisor is still the right one for you.
Is it best to move straight on to another advisor or wait for a cooling off period before scouting around again? Perhaps some people are best suited to going it alone with their finances?
When making the decision to move on, one of the biggest factors is going to be weighing the opportunity costs for delaying and the unintended consequences of doing so. The markets and your portfolio will not wait for your decision and that can have a negative impact which can manifest itself very quickly especially during periods of increased market volatility. Some people may have the luxury of waiting during a bull market, but a bear market can certainly expedite the decision-making process.
For people deciding on whether to do it yourself, they should understand that managing and monitoring your investments will require a considerable time commitment as well as having a disciplined approach. Professional managers offer a considerable number of resources such as institutional level research, daily monitoring and disciplined investment strategies that can be difficult to replicate for individual investors. If you are willing to commit your time and the resources to managing your investments, then doing it alone may be right for you.
It seems plenty of people would like to fire their financial advisor but are afraid to. Why are people often intimidated by their financial advisors? Is there an imbalance in the power dynamic here?
In most cases, people have been with their advisor for a long time, and they feel a personal connection that is sometimes hard to look past. I would say that firing your advisor can feel a lot like firing a friend or family member and some people do not feel comfortable doing that. A lot of people will seek second or third opinions for healthcare, so why wouldn’t you do that for your financial health? At the end of the day, you are paying someone to provide you with a professional service and if they are not holding up their end of the agreement, then it is financially beneficially to make the decision to move on.
Most people do not have a background or a lot of experience when it comes to investing, so it is easy to assume that an advisor with experience and knowledge in the industry is the expert, which can certainly create a power dynamic throughout the advisory relationship. It can be intimidating when working with a certain type of advisors because they may portray themselves to be the experts, and it can be difficult to question whether they are in fact an expert.
I believe that a great advisor can remove any power dynamic by empowering their clients with education and knowledge, thus creating a balanced advisory relationship.
What should one do if the financial advisor tries to talk you out of leaving or does not politely comply with you after you’ve sent them a written notice that you wish to terminate your fiduciary relationship?
The best course of action is to follow your instinct and severe ties with the advisor or advisory firm. It should be expected that an attempt or several attempts will be made to change your decision because the advisor does not want to lose business. If there is an issue with terminating an advisory relationship and you have hired a new advisor, the new advisor should step in to help facilitate your request. If you have not hired a new advisor, then you can contact the client service department of the custodian where your assets are being held to transfer you accounts.
[ad_2]
Source link