A good financial advisor acts as a fiduciary who can help you with various financi🐲al tasks such as estate planning and investing. If your financial advisor is not meeting youꦦr expectations, it might be time for a new one.

Breaking up can be hard to do. That’s particularly true for your financial advisor. After all, they know not only everything about your finances but also your dreams and goals. (If they don't, this could be reason enough to move on.) While firing your financial advisor is never easy, sometimes it's necessary.

"Clients shouldn’t feel anxiety or guilt about moving on from an advisor that isn’t helping them achieve their goals. A straightforward conversation outlining their decision to move on and clarifying if there are any open items should be enough," said David Flores Wilson, a certified financial planner at Sincerus Advisory in New York City. You should expect professionalism in return. "For the most part, we've heard that departing clients are treated professionally by their soon-to-be former advisors," he said.

So how do you know it's time to move on? From being unavailable to not keeping your goals in mind, here's a look at four reasons to fire your financial advisor.

Why People Fire Their Financial Advisors

Before we get to reasons you might need to move on from your advisor, it's best to review why others do so. Below are the results of a 2023 Morningstar report focused on why investors fire their advisors. The researchers surveyed 3,003 investors, finding that 185, or 6%, had previously fired their advisors. The data is in line with previous research. Interestingly, besides why investors fired their advisors, is who they te꧃nded to be: those who had fired their advisors were equally divided by gender, they were o💎lder, had more wealth, and knew more about investing.

1. Your Financial Advisor Ignores You

The cornerstone of any relationship is communication. Without it, it's easy for things to be miscommunicated and for anger to brew, culminating in distrust. Poor communication can quickly sour a relationship, especially when money is involved, which is why a quality financial advisor will lay out the ground rules for how often and when they will check in with you.

If your adviso💎r suddenly stops returning your calls or emails or takes too long to respond, that could be a surefire sign that you may need a new advisor.

2. The F🌟ina🌳ncial Advisor Talks at You, Not With You

That said, your advisor might answer when you call but still not hear you. An 澳洲幸运5开奖号𝔉码历史查﷽询:eye-opening 2024 Her Money Mindset Survey from Investopedia and REAL SIMPLE found that 59% of women say they have as much or more decision-making power as their partners when they invest. Yet a 2024 New York Life Advisor Advancement Institute report showed women with $100,000 or more income were more likely in 2024 than in 2019 to feel shut out by their adviso🥂rs. They also shared their reasons for firing advisors, if they'd done so:

Research shows that many people from other groups traditionally shut out from advising services (and even working in the industry), including Blacks and LGBTQ+ individuals, report similar experiences. This highlights the importance of working with an advisor who is not only knowledgeable but listens to and addresses the specific needs and concerns of each client, both regardless of and in light of tᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚhe structural and societal issues of their background.

Your financial advisor needs to know a lot about you, your risk tolerance, your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:investment horizon, and how aggr🦩essive you wish to be as you work to achieve your financial goals. They won't be able to glean any of that knowledge without sitting down and talking with you, not at you.

If your financial advisor spends your meetings telling you what to do without hearing your goals, dreams, or fears, then they likely don't have your best interest in mind—they might not even know what it is.

3. Too Much Jargon And Not Enough Information

Investing can be complicated and confusi✅ng for many people, which is why there are so many financial advisors. However, not all advisors are effective at explaining your investments in a way that you can ⛄understand.

If your financial advisor throws jargon at you without being able to explain it in everyday terms, it should raise a red flag. This could indicate that your advisor either doesn't want to or can't provide the necessary information about your investments. In either case, it's not good for your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:financial well-being.

Wilson said, "One red flag when working with an advisor that isn't in the client's best interest is when they give you advice in an area that they don't have a lot of experience and expertise in." He said that everyone, including those with specialized needs, such as business owners or executives at public companies, should work with advisors who can provide advice tailored to their needs and considerations.

It's not that an advisor should be expected to speak to every possible financial situation. But they should be able to find those who can help you. If your advisor can't, you'll need to find someone who can.

4. Investments Are Too Expensive

A quick way to see your returns diminish is to pay too much for fees and expenses. While it’s the financial advisor’s job to match your investments with your goals and expectations, they should be keeping an eye on expenses. You don’t want to end up being steered towards investments with hefty commissions, nor doꦆ you want to be 🎃paying an excessive amount for a fund when a similar investment is available for less.

Review your fees and expenses regularly by looking at your monthly or quarterly statement. If it seems high, then it’s time to call your advisor about it. If there isn’t a good reason the expenses are so high, especially in comparison to other similar investments, then it’s a sign you may need to fire your financial advisor. Wilson said there are "some situations where additional support and resources are promised, or fee breaks are offered as an enticement to retain the client," but they don't pan out. Those may also be good reasons to look elsewhere.

Don't know how much counts as too high? See our 澳洲幸运5𝐆开奖号码历史查询:What Fees Do Financial Advisors Charge?

The Bottom Line

Financial advisors play an essential role in helping people find suitable investments. However, these professionals are only as good as the service they provide to their clients. Some just aren't cut out for it. The good news is you can find one of the many that are.

If your financial advisor isn’t paying enough attention to you, isn’t listening to you, or is confusing you, it may be time to call it quits and find one willing to go the extra mile to work with you, serve your best interests and to keep you as a clie𒅌nt.