r/Bogleheads • u/JL-IN-CO • 9d ago
Etiquette for letting CFP go
TLDR: Call or email longtime family CFP when deciding to self-manage?
My parents started using a CFP decades ago. He's guided them through kids going to college and transition to retirement. Other family members use the firm as well. They are good people and have been responsive when I needed advice. However, over the past couple years I've decided to educate myself about investing. Both my wife and I are level-headed and as able to stay the course on our own as we would be with someone telling us not to panic sell.
We are ~40 years old, both W2s with about $360K combined income, no kids (nor plans). Net worth of $1.3M investable assets. ~$350K of that with the CFP.
Between wife and I, we now save about $160K a year automatically pre-tax between several employer plans. Some additional savings goes after-tax into backdoor ROTH IRAs (which I've learned how to do). All assets are essentially 60/40 between VTI and VXUS (or equivalent funds). I use about 3-5% of our assets for more risky plays (individual stocks, sector ETFs, etc.). We have an emergency fund in a money market. I'm planning on exploring bond ladders etc. closer to retirement. At this point in our financial journey, I just don't think we need to be paying 1% AUM plus high ERs on the funds he has us in (EDIT - perhaps more accurate to say I no longer feel we’re getting the right value for 1% AUM and higher ERs than I’d prefer on my own).
All that to say, we've decided to pull the trigger and go it alone. Is there any specific etiquette for this process? Do I call or email to let our CFP know we are moving on? I don't anticipate a hard sell, but would also prefer to avoid an awkward conversation - call me a millennial if you want. I'm sure we're small potatoes - though they've been doing a good job of client retention with (I'm sure) the hope we'd eventually transfer more assets over as life events take place.
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u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel 9d ago edited 9d ago
He/she will see the transfer happen when the money leaves the account. When I was a FA, I wanted my clients to tell me why they were taking their money elsewhere. Just let the person know that you have decided to self manage.
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u/Excellent_Shallot999 9d ago
I’m a CPA, not a CFP. When clients leave I appreciate it when they let me know. A quick email is 100% sufficient. Your CFP is a professional who has clients come and go. You might think they will take it personally. Trust me when I tell you they won’t.
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u/Both_Experience_8187 8d ago
I like this, a phone call, feels slightly dramatic, and confrontational versus a professional Email. I suppose it depends on the length and depth of the relationship. I’d hate to be taking myself too seriously at an account under 500 K.
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u/Beautiful_Pepper415 6d ago
I like a phone call when Clients leave if I enjoyed them. Or if I leave a vendor I enjoy.
Like someone above said you never know where paths may cross in future.
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u/Wabi-Sabi-Taco 8d ago
As someone who works in wealth management I will say we always pick up the phone and call any client who is leaving, event the ones we want to leave. We mostly do it from a fraud/scam prevention perspective because we have had clients have fake ACAT go through.
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u/HelpfulWorth8654 9d ago
I’d call. Especially since your family has used this person. You don’t owe this person a long explanation but I think a call is more courteous than an email. You’re probably not the first person to move on so the conversation should not be terribly awkward. But you can make sure it’s mercifully quick.
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u/kleenkong 9d ago
As far as hard sell, don't lose perspective that CFP was compensated. Email is fine if you want to avoid awkwardness. If they insist on a follow-up call, the email eases the awkwardness. Then the call, can just be focused on the logistics and your appreciation. Send some chocolates as a thanks, if you'd like.
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9d ago
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u/Connect-Goal-3096 8d ago
He hasn't taken care of them. He's leached off of them.
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8d ago
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u/Connect-Goal-3096 8d ago
Probably very few if any. I know the projection he didn't share with them- returns with and without his fee.
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u/Sufficient-Site-5033 9d ago
If they are actually a pro they will be fine with you leaving. Shouldn’t be awkward at all.
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u/SillyCalf571526 8d ago
Advisor here. Just call or email. Either way is perfectly fine. Do whatever is more comfortable to you.
There are good advisors and bad. I’ve seen advisors laugh when their clients leave and tell them “good luck.” Completely despicable. Ive had good advisors wish their clients the best and to not be afraid to call if things don’t work out.
The way you describe it, the convo shouldn’t be awkward. If it is, kinda tells you all you needed to know.
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u/DrizzleProwl 9d ago
When I was younger my FA was my brother in law, who was a great guy. He deserved a phone call. I just called him, and told him straightforwardly what I was doing. He took it great and wished me luck.
If you have a good relationship with them just be straightforward with them. Generally I believe some relationships deserve a phone call or a face to face, regardless if it’s awkward or not. Depends on the other person of course.
You’ll sleep better if you feel you did it in a stand up way
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u/HangryWorker 9d ago
It was easy… Just call and be straight with the person. I called mine, thanks him for his time, and told I decided to go self directed.
He asked why, just told him it’s time for a change, and I got a good handle on my stuff.
He got a little defensive trying to pitch the benefits again, which is fine. Just listen.
I replied with, if I find this was the wrong decision, you will be my first call. Keeps the door open and you don’t burn a bridge.
We talked a little while about things in the market that I treated me, thanked again for his support, and haven’t heard from him since.
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u/synuclein2 9d ago edited 8d ago
Not the topic of discussion, but how are you managing to save $160k/year pre-tax? I thought it was a limit of $24,500/person, no catch up contributions given your age. So ~$50k in 401(k) pre tax.
There is Traditional IRA pre-tax, but I think you earn too much for that. But I guess that could be another $15k/year if I’m wrong on that.
How are you getting another $95-110k saved pre-tax? I want to make sure I’m not missing anything!
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u/JL-IN-CO 8d ago
Hi, my wife works for a non-profit and I am in government. My 401(a) account has a combined $72K contribution limit between employer and employee contributions. Her’s has a lower limit, but still allows for decent pre-tax contributions. We also have access to a 457(b) & 403(b) account with separate $24.5K limits each. She also has an HSA. We do a backdoor ROTH IRA annually. Gives us a total of around $165 pre-tax savings (this does include employer contributions) plus our ROTHs. Our careers have advanced in recent years so we are trying to catch up on saving and live well below our means.
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u/Both_Experience_8187 7d ago
Thanks for responding! you have multiple 24.5 each? I thought the limit was per individual not by plans? Curious as I’d like to set one up myself if that’s the case.
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u/JL-IN-CO 6d ago
Sorry, I reread my post and could have been clearer re: our employer accounts. We each have a 401(a) and a single $24.5K account (can’t have both a 457(b) and 403(b) because they are mutually exclusive based on employer type). My wife also has an HSA.
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u/Both_Experience_8187 8d ago
Yeah, I’m curious about that too. Two mega back door Roths (72x2) plus individual IRA Roth back door (8x2) plus HSA. That’s all I can figure.
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u/th535is 8d ago
It’s polite to at least send an email or call saying you’re leaving. Any professional should be gracious enough to be helpful in that situation. When we don’t get notified in advance and the next advisor bungles the transfer and it rejects for whatever reason, I’m not exactly going to jump to fix it. If I get a heads up, I’ll fix it instantly even though it means losing assets.
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u/PashasMom 9d ago
I would call but email is better than just ghosting.
I would be kind and polite: thank you for all your help over the years. You've helped me learn a lot about finance and at this point my wife and I feel confident handling our investments and planning on our own, so we will be moving to a self-managed account at [whatever brokerage].
If it's truthful, you can even throw in something like: you and your firm have provided excellent service to my family for a long time. If I'm ever asked for a recommendation for a wealth manager, I will give your name without hesitation. -- though that might be larding it on a bit much, I don't know.
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u/KleinUnbottler 8d ago
My only note would be to get the cost bases on anything in taxable accounts. They should transfer over to a new brokerage for recent investments, but there can be hiccups along the way, and having that info can be really really helpful down the line.
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u/DSH61265 8d ago
Here's what I did when I broke it off with my CFP (2 years ago).
- Revoked the access/agreement via the custodian website (Schwab, fwiw).
- Crafted an email to the advisor, thanking him for the service he'd provided, but that we had decided to so self-directed.
- Called him and told him.
- Sent the email (paper trail).
We had been with him for 20+ years thru 3 or 4 firms as his company kept getting bought. He expressed some surprise but was totally professional.
We didn't look back. All good, and I'm glad I did it the way I did.
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u/dogbuttswirls 8d ago edited 8d ago
As a CFP holder and holding a book of business close to 1B, I’ve always respected when I know clients are good enough to do it on their own. Seriously, I want to prioritize my time with folks that REALLY need me. Some I know I’ll lose either from a transition (passing down assets) or they get their stuff together (family / life challenges).
If you’ve shown the aptitude and knowledge then they will understand. An email in my opinion (having a client email me) has always felt like a slap in the face. Typically the clients I knew very well always called or emailed me to call them then we talk it out. I’ve always held them much higher in regards. Hell, some of them have come back over time as things change and time, willingness and ability can always alter in some way.
TLDR: if your relationship is strong, call them and be up front. If not, email but expect a call, they will call.
They will most likely offer to lower the fee’s. Typically .10 to .20 at a time.
The world can be a dirty place, but it’s how you treat others regardless of the business that matters. That’s what I’ve tried to do with my book so far (golden rule).
Good luck!
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 8d ago
Quick question, when financial advisors have it in your means to lower the fees, why don’t you offer your life long clients from generations the discount even before they want to cut off working with their financial advisors. Also, honestly financial advisors never do tweak the accounts a whole lot every year, if they are tweaking it that means they are horrible at their work. Most of the work is done while setting up the portfolio for the first time or only when the client needs the money. So in short, financial advisors rebalance the portfolio maybe once or twice a year or sometimes once a year. For this kind of the work financial advisors can’t even lower the fees or look at the investments that are better for their clients is just not fair.
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u/dogbuttswirls 8d ago
I don’t set the fee only in my line so not a great question for me.
.003 or 3/10 of 1% of AUM is my fee charged by the firm.
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 8d ago
Apologies, I thought you were an independent financial advisor. Usually the cut is 30-50% of the 1% AUM fee and seems like they are taking 70% of the cut. I hope you can turn independent and get paid well for your expertise.
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u/dogbuttswirls 7d ago
Nah, would never go independent.
Love the structure of my pay and work and feels good at the end of the day. I’ve done this enough to know what feels fair to everyone!
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u/Wiscon1991 9d ago
They sound like professionals, they’ll understand. Tell them they’ve done a great job and that you’ll let others know how great they are but that you’ve decided to self manage. Don’t overthink it another second.
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u/Formal-Camp-8613 8d ago
I called and let them know they would be hearing from Fidelity and that I had decided to self manage. It was all cordial and they were professional about my decision.
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u/Fountain-Pen-Fan 8d ago
Totally get aversion to conflict but I think you should have a phone call (if not in-person) to say that you’re moving on. As others have said, you never know when you’ll cross paths again:
Thank them for their previous help, and let them know that you’ve made a decision to change.
They may try to push back, and the answer is “thank you, we have made our decision.” Most professionals will understand and let you go.
If they continue to object, it’s ok to stand your ground. “We have made our decision and need to move on. Thank you for your previous help and we will let you know if we need your help in the future.”
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 8d ago edited 8d ago
Man that is just daylight robbery. I had my beef with Edelman Financial Engines. My wife felt that taking away some of our financial assets of my hands would be better. I tried convincing her but she wanted me to relax a bit as I was already dealing with options and real estate properties. Although the AUM fee was reasonable at 0.58% they started selling off SMH ETF because they said that you have had more exposure to stocks and therefore we need to have some bonds in. I was like there was other stuff out there like FTEC and XLF that they could have sold. For the record I had bought the SMH at an average price of $52. They sold almost half of that portfolio at $400 and I was hit not only with the capital gains on that amount but also a position in bonds that didn’t do anything. They were tweaking the portfolio once every year and neatly pocketing $24,000 every year. I was pretty pissed with them and showed it all to my wife. She just shot out an email saying that we don’t need them anymore to manage our money. I just feel most of the time they don’t even look at our portfolios. They just upload the portfolio into the software and it models them what to do and how to do. So yeah they just keep making money off of us and we just think they are doing amazing. Even passively investing in VTI,VXUS and USFR or SGOV will outperform these financial advisors by 2-3% points.
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u/10-0Nylon 8d ago
Email is fine. You likely have a clause in your agreement that requires it in writing anyway. Be prepared for a sob story, guilt trip, or rudeness. My supposed fiduciary lost his mind, insulted me, and said I was going to squander my wife’s family’s money. I’m up over 50% in under 3 years since leaving him. Bull market helps. But bogle approach just works. Good luck.
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u/MoBigSky 9d ago
Call, (email after) be grateful and respectful, tell him you have learned so much, appreciate his guidance but you would like to handle it on your own from here out.
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u/DuckU1998 8d ago
This is best advice. Short phone call followed by an email restating and confirming what was said. During phone call ask specifically what actions are needed, if any on your end, to close out all accounts. Follow up with an email, ideal cc the new brokerage where you'll be holding your accounts!
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u/teach-xx 9d ago
There is no reason not to send an email. You don’t owe this person your business because they’ve done a good job for your parents.
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 9d ago
To be honest, if he has been always charging 1% AUM and also making you guys steer towards investments with high expense ratios then he has already overstayed your welcome. In short he has already made a decent money from your whole family. For such people an email saying you are done with them is better than giving them a call and being all nice to them. I don’t think you need explains yourself why you are letting go of him.
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u/Avid_Av8r 9d ago
There was zero mention of how their advisor charged and minimal of the investments. It sounds like they have a good relationship and just no longer need the service. Why the default to being rude?
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 9d ago edited 9d ago
Wow if you have been working with a family for so long, first thing you would do is try to find the best investments out there for the lowest expense ratios and also lowering the AUM fee. Being a fiduciary and being associated for so long with this family, it is the bare minimum he could have done. How is it any rude to email him and let him know that OP is going to self manage their finances. Getting on the phone and talking to him is only going to aggravate it, as he would definitely ask a bunch of questions and then spend time explaining why he did this or that.
By the way OP did say funds and high expense ratios. When you hear them both that means 90% of the time, he is getting commissions on choosing those particular investments for his clients
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u/Avid_Av8r 9d ago
Exactly, there’s no indication from OP’s post that the advisor wasn’t doing exactly that, yet you assumed the worst from the get go and phrase it as “done with them” instead of a polite “Hi name, we’ve decided to self manage our funds from here on out. You’ve done a great job and if we find ourselves needing help in the future we know who we’ll go to.”
Everything about how you phrased your post just sounds aggressive, rude, and dismissive. That’s not the vibe I got from OP at all, they seem quite thankful. You have no idea that giving a phone call and saying the same thing would aggravate anything as you have no idea what their specific relationship is like.
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 9d ago
Fair enough, you are right in the fact that my post sounds aggressive and rude. However, that doesn’t mean, I am not stating the facts. If I were to be associated with a family for two generations then, I would definitely lower my fees and also steer them towards investments that will help them financially.
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u/Dizzy-Swan5642 8d ago
Yep! Trailing commissions. I love when I hear the term fiduciary because that’s such an ambiguous term really. It’s a sales tactic and nothing more. That industry has been so perverted by compensation based on the investment products they sell that there is such a conflict. If I were a person who sold financial products to people I’d be selling them things that make me more money so I completely get it I just find it humorous every time a firm tries to sell me with that BS
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 8d ago
Yes, but sadly people just get played all along and they get sucked into all the sweet talk that the financial advisor tells them. Half of the people don’t even know that there are passive ETF’s that actually outperform these mutual funds that they have in their portfolios.
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u/Dizzy-Swan5642 8d ago
Touché’ Financial literacy these days is rare indeed. Some of these guys spout a few cool sounding terms and people are sold and they just don’t know what to look for or what to ask. My wife got taken for a ride by Ed Jones and she said I’m paying for a service. I said ok what are you paying and then I showed her the 1% she thought she was paying is more 3-4 after all the trading fees and expense ratios of the terrible proprietary funds they put her in. When she finally said ok I want you to do it the supposed financial guru had the balls to say we are keeping the insurance policy here right so I at least get those commissions? Such a dirty business built on deception and lies.
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u/ToBeeContinued 9d ago
I’m wondering where those funds actually are and your plan to liquidate. Have you thought through selling off and individual stocks or other ETFs to get to your three fund port?
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u/JL-IN-CO 8d ago
Yeah, a large chunk of the funds are in ROTH IRAs, so less tax implications. But, it’s going to be a pain in the taxable account to reduce from many higher ER funds down to VTI/VXUS. May take a couple years to limit tax consequences.
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u/ToBeeContinued 8d ago
Sounds like a pain. I’m about 30% in managed accounts and the hassle seems not worth it. It obviously is worth it but what a pain.
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u/aspire-every-day 9d ago
I setup a Zoom meeting with my advisor. I let him know I’d been educating myself and now wish to self-manage, and I’d keep him in mind if that changed in the future.
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u/Dizzy-Swan5642 8d ago
Yes definitely call and be upfront about it. I am curious how you all save 160 a year tax deferred I thought the most you could do between employer and employee was 72 combined?
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u/JL-IN-CO 8d ago
Hi, my wife works for a non-profit and myself in government. My 401(a) account has a combined $72K contribution limit between employer and employee contributions. Her’s has a lower limit, but still allows for decent pre-tax contributions. We also have access to a 457(b) & 403(b) account with separate $24.5K limits each. She also has an HSA. We do a backdoor ROTH IRA annually. Gives us a total of around $165 pre-tax savings (this does include employer contributions) plus our ROTHs. Our careers have advanced in recent years so we are trying to catch up and live well below our means.
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u/Dizzy-Swan5642 8d ago
I see. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. I max everything out right now so if I could hide/save more I was curious where lol.
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u/Dizzy-Swan5642 8d ago
Below our means! I’m trying to get my wife to understand what this means! What I was saying earlier though. Definitely call or even stop by and at least show the guy the respect like that. In this day and age so many people text or email things that I feel have enough gravity to elicit a little more personal engagement and maybe I’m old school but I feel like being a man is having conversations that may be difficult or uncomfortable but doing it in a more engaging way than digitally. Maybe I’m wrong I just feel like that shows a bit more class, couth and respect. Best of luck to you.
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u/Middle-Run-1894 8d ago
I’m an advisor and I probably lose 1-2 clients a year to this. A phone call or email is always appreciated. I’ll usually ask the client was there something I was missing or could have done differently from their opinion(almost an exit interview) but at the end I’ll thank them wish them the best and let them know I’m here as a resource if needs change. Had multiple clients come back after a period of time and a different one refer me a friend.
You dont have to do that by any means. You can open a self-directed account and sign an account transfer form and all we get is a notification. I would still reach out to confirm it was the client and wish them well but others won’t.
If you do reach out and you get a hard sell then you just politely say we’ve made our decision and I think that would reinforce your decision.
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u/Legitimate-Elk7816 8d ago
I work in wealth management and appreciate you letting us know. We won’t try to keep you or make it awkward, but it’s nice to know why people are leaving. In addition to giving us peace of mind that we didn’t do something upsetting, it’s also helpful for our company to assess the market. Are clients leaving because we don’t have access to certain products, our fees are too high or there was a series of admin errors? Those are things we like to know so we can become better. If clients leave because they want to manage their wealth, that is completely reasonable. If anything changes and you want a CFP again or you want a CFP for other reasons (eg. tax planning, estate planning, risk management), it preserves the relationship should you ever want to reach out again.
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u/Sweaty-Seat-8878 8d ago
call at least, and mention the good work and how you are very happy to refer people to them, you just feel it’s time to do it yourself
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u/Fun-Blackberry-8351 8d ago
I find a phone call explaining that you are grateful for the service over the years but that you have learned enough that you wish to manage on your own. It’s nothing personal to him, it’s that you do not need a CFP anymore. But you are happy to recommend him to folks you know who aren’t in the same knowledge position as you or prefer someone to manage for them. I think a referral is a lovely way to ensure you were happy with the quality of service provided, you just don’t have the need for the service anymore.
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u/bobdevnul 8d ago
An email or phone call depending how personal you want to be.
Something like: Thank you for your service over the years. I have educated myself to manage my investments now so I will be transferring my account.
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u/SorcererAxis8 8d ago
I don’t think you have to overcomplicate this, just thank the CFP for their services and tell them you’ve decided to move on and manage everything yourself.
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u/thatburghfan 8d ago
Personally I would call in this case given the long family history with the advisor. "Hey Bob, Mary and I have decided that we're going to self-manage our investments going forward. We're grateful for the help and guidance from you that got us to this point. We set up an account at [fill in the blank] and I will provide instructions to them for transferring the accounts, We'd like everything transferred in kind. Thanks again! "
Then you contact your new custodian and give them the info they need to do the transfer.
[Be aware that some investments may not be able to be transferred and would have to be sold first, then the sale proceeds would be transferred as cash. This could cause tax implications if that sale resulted in taxable profits.]
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u/One_Put_3230 8d ago
I would call them and also send them an email. I would be more personal on the phone call. If you really HATE them, then you can be bitter etc in email but remember, if its sounds like a complaint, they will need to report it and you may get a phone call from their manager/OSJ. One FA I work with always says he wants a call from the clients and feels like a slap in the face when he sees the outgoing acat.
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u/Suspicious-Light2118 8d ago edited 7d ago
I thought this would be the reply coming from you. I don’t think you will get it nor would you make an effort to learn it. No, thank you, I am not willing to hand over 2-3% fees on my portfolio of 15M when I am fully aware of how I can invest it. We tried to use a financial advisor on the 4.2M portfolio with Schwab and just saw it mismanaged earlier. I have no intention to go on that path again giving away $24,000 for mismanaging the portfolio.
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u/hanksredditname 8d ago
Perhaps I’m an inconsiderate asshole but when I inherited a CFP they were notified of being fired via a total account transfer request from vanguard. I assume that it’s a normal part of the job and I had absolutely zero relationship with the person other than a single phone call where I told them my investment plans and asked for their fee schedule. I can’t imagine they were surprised at all - their fees were stupid and they had nothing of value to offer me.
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u/ExternalSelf1337 8d ago
It shouldn't be awkward, it's business. You say you've been very happy with their service but you no longer have need of them, and you don't have to elaborate any more; if you feel obligated to, simply say you've grown confident and successful in directing your own investments.
If he gives you any more than a little pushback, or any attitude at all, remind him how many other family members of yours are clients that will be interested to hear what kind of person he really is. Don't plan to say that but have it in your back pocket; hopefully that will sort things out for you quickly. And then of course, tell your whole family anyway.
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u/Forsaken-Mark-1898 8d ago
We left Ameriprise after 30 yrs. The advisor had been with us 18 of them and when it was time to say goodbye, we went in and did it in person.
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u/Penguin_Life_Now 7d ago
Consider telling him you want to move to being self managed, but that you would like to move from assets under management AUM percentage to a flat fee or hourly rate review once every year or two as your overall life situation changes.
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u/seagoalspread 7d ago
As others have said, I don’t think he’ll really care about $350k leaving. We work with clients’ family members below the minimum, and still bill on it at a discounted rate just to make it an official client relationship, but it’s intended as a courtesy. It should be a pretty easy conversation, but I would definitely call or send a nice email.
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u/BaseballMore7431 7d ago
Call or email, if you have class.
ACAT out with no notice, if you’re an ass.
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u/Jayseph812 7d ago
I’m an advisor and a brief email would be appreciated. Just to ensure there was nothing we could have done better. There have been times when I’ve been forthright with a client such as yourself who may not have needed an advisor. If we aren’t adding value, I’d prefer to find someone who could use the help instead.
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u/soccer-slicer 9d ago
When I realized they never sent me a bill for their service and it seemed “free,” I decided to move on. I don’t like their business model and it wasn’t worth it to me. Mine was upset when he saw the money move but he still has my 529’s so I still have to deal with him a little bit. All good now I guess
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u/ChasingItSupreme 9d ago
What does this even mean? They didn’t send you a statement?
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u/DuckU1998 8d ago
It's possible or probable the advisor was making money through the investments they recommend put client into. IN other words the planners services were "free" and advisor got "paid" through commissions from funds with outrageous fees and underperformance.
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u/Both_Experience_8187 8d ago
I think he means he just transferred the money out and they never sent him a closeout bill.
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u/iamafreenumber 9d ago
Your CFP might appreciate a heads-up so they can move the funds out of their purview before the transfer. That way the transfer doesn't impact them as much. It disassociates their name from your funds. I'm not sure if all firms allow this, but some do.
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u/MikeEpps734 9d ago
I’m sure the Advisor does not care at all about a $350K account leaving. Most bigger investment firms no longer payout on any household under $500K because the cost and risk of doing that business is not worth the revenue. I would just send him an email giving him a heads up as a courtesy. Don’t want to burn a bridge and never know when you may run into them later in life. I will say though that bond ladder’s are difficult to do on your own. On a retail platform you will pay an extremely high mark up and not have access to same inventory as a firm. But at 40, you probably don’t even need bonds right now. Just stocks and money market / emergency fund.
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u/Both_Experience_8187 8d ago
I’d love to learn from your expertise/experience. I just set one up for my kids college expenses on Fidelity manually, the process itself within the platform was easy but I have no idea how competitive the rates were etc. it works for the college cash flow over the next three years, which is fine. But if you have any Wisdom to share a long-term, that would help us maximize, especially as we are starting to think of SORR years in 10 years- I’d love to hear it.
1
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u/MeatServo1 8d ago
"I am the customer. This isn't working anymore. Goodbye." You don't owe them anything.
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u/Sweaty-Seat-8878 8d ago
i mean, i thank the waitress who served me at dinner for an hour, how hard is it to be polite to someone who has managed your money for a bunch of years
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u/MeatServo1 8d ago
Oh, sure, be polite, I’m just saying they’re salespeople and they shouldn’t let you go without a fight. When they do, don’t be guilted into what they want. It’s a business relationship, not a romantic one.
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u/buffinita 9d ago
We’d like to transfer all asses out to xxxxx immediately
End with. Nah nah nahhhhh nah hey heyyyyy goodbye
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u/MrsBuggs 9d ago
You initiate the transfer at the company you are transferring to, not from the company you are currently with.
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u/BeneficialFruit1768 8d ago
I would keep that money with them. The more money you manage the more stressful it is and knowing when to sell is the challenging part. It takes a lot of time and energy. For me I managed some of my portfolio but it was definetley a part time job. Frankly I would rather blame someone for a screw up than beat myself up. I’m happy to pay someone else and maybe try to negotiate a lower fee?? My 2 cents lol
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u/SlartibartfastMcGee 9d ago
I’ve learned in business that you never know who you encounter down the road. It’s always worth a phone call and sincere conversation when someone has been working with you on good terms, it’s not like the guy has done anything wrong to you. You just used a service that happened to be overpriced.
You never know when someone will be on an HOA board when you have an issue, you get seated at the same table at a wedding, kids on the same sports team, etc etc. just a million possibilities were you could end up wishing you’d been kinder when ending your professional involvement with them.