Thinking of switching financial advisors?
Time was, disappointed clients were reluctant to fire their advisors, preferring the devil they knew.
But that’s beginning to change in the wake of deep financial losses and so many “wow, who knew?” scandals.
That’s why, unless you can afford to lose thousands of dollars each year, you need to know how your advisor stacks up, says Warren MacKenzie, whose firm, Weigh House Investor Services, helps investors with unbiased assessments of their portfolios and the advisors that built them.
For a fee, of course.
For a portfolio check and new financial plan, Weigh House charges roughly $2,000. If that also means changing advisors, they’ll do a "manager search," which involves the client and a Weigh House advisor interviewing at least three prospective candidates until they find a good fit.
This second-guessing business is booming and Dan Richards, a much sought-after investment industry consultant here in Canada, thinks he knows why.
It all comes down to trust, says Richards, and advisors who don’t make re-establishing that trust a priority do so at their peril. Some investors who have been on the fence will conclude that if others are looking at moving, then perhaps they should as well, he warns.
If you find yourself at odds with the advice you’ve been getting, here’s Richards’ take on the best way to find a new advisor. And here's the wake up call he’s been putting out to those advisors who are willing to listen.
Tell us: Are you happy with the financial advice you've been getting? Have you made any changes recently?
Posted by: Nasir Shad | Nov 16, 2021 3:02:05 PM
All the advisors are cut from the same cloth, work for themselves only and not in the business to make clients rich. I have been with three advisors so for. The biography of a client goes like this: Prospect->Client->ATM->Client number->Former client (Sell the books without informing clients).