When to Fire Your Financial Advisor (and How to Find a Better One)

Most people spend more time comparing cars than they do evaluating their financial advisor. Wheeler and Colin dig into one of the most important — and most avoided — conversations in personal finance: how to know when the advisory relationship you're in isn't working, what it actually costs you to stay, and what to look for when you're ready to make a move.

They cover the difference between a fiduciary and a non-fiduciary advisor, how fee structures affect incentives, the real questions to ask when shopping for someone new, and the green flags that signal a genuinely good fit. They also make the case that switching advisors isn't disloyalty — it's financial self-advocacy. And yes, there's a fireplace analogy.

Whether you're actively unhappy with your current advisor, quietly unsure, or just starting out and trying to get it right the first time, this episode gives you the framework to evaluate the relationship honestly — and the language to act on it.

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Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

Transcript

Okay, I'm gonna go down this tangent.Okay, do it.Let's do it.Okay, I did this yesterday with Dan and Shay.So, we- Dan and Shay in our office, not the musical act, Dan + Shay.Is that a musical act?Okay, let's keep going.Okay.I am hotly debating in my own head right now 'cause Kaley's left the conversation at this point- She- she's done with this.She's checked out.About whether or not to go with a wood-burning fireplace or a gas fireplace- Ah.in the house.I'll tell you what to do.So, Kaley would like a gas fireplace because she likes to, flip on the switch and- Yeah.go and whatnot.Yeah.But, like, I don't want it to look like an appliance.So, I've looked at a million gas fireplaces, and some of them are better than others, admittedly, like, in terms of flame height and whatnot.But I just can't get over, in my mind, the romance behind building a fire and how good it looks.And to me, I, I think there's something inherently honest about true material and, like, the purpose behind it, you know?Like, you build a fire, and it looks amazing, and they make very high efficient units now with, like, glass that comes down so the smoke doesn't get in your house, and it looks contemporary and cool.Yeah.But, like, I don't know, like, I just like the honest materials behind it.But then Kaley's like, "Well, if you got a wood fire, whenever I want a fire, you gotta build a fire."And I'm like, "I'll build the fire."Yeah.But, um, I don't know, there's li- there's, like, this core memory growing up actually at Kaley's house when I was, like, 15 years old about going over to their house and, like, building a fire with Kyle.And then, like, having that going and playing games and- Yeah.So, that's, like, what I'm inherently struggling with right now.I definitely get that because, like, there isThe feeling of building and tending to a fire- Unbelievable.is wonderful.Yeah.I have also had, we had a fire, wood-bor- burning fire placed in our house, and it did kind of, like, create this smoky vibe in our basement.Mm-hmm.But not our house, not the main floor, but, like, in the basement.Okay.And we could never figure out what was going on with that, and we replaced it with a gas fire insert.And my life is easier with a gas fire insert.And I get my fire building in my, my, um, you know, outdoor fire pit.Yeah.Which is probably a great place for that.Like, I don't wanna have the gas outside.Yeah.Um, but you value that kind of, like, that experience- The romance behind it.and that texture and theyeah.I think that someI think you already know what you want.Hm.Again, the problem here is that- Yeah.you're conflicted by Kaley's want.That's my problem, is like- Yeah.I know if it was just me, I would go with a wood-burning fireplace, and Kaley's like, "Look, go with a wood-burning fireplace.We can put a gas fireplace maybe in another spot."That's true.Or something like that.So, I'm like, "Okay, that's, that's fine," but, um, yeah, I don't know.That's like one of those things where it's like, you know the decision.Yeah.And it's just kind of like my dad, my dad always said growing up, he's just like, "If you have to debate whether or not something's right or wrong-" Yeah." it's probably wrong."And it's like- Yeah.well, if you're debating a decision, you know your feelings are pushing you one way.I think the other thing is, though, sometimes it's just easier not to do something, right?And you can sit with something that's not working for a long time and just deal with it because it's easy, right?Yeah.It's, it's less than ideal.You might have that gas fireplace, and it might be like, yeah, it's great, it throws off some heat, it's very easy and simple, but it never feels- Real.real.It never feels satisfying.It's not the best version of what you're looking for in that experience.Yeah, and ultimately, it's like when you choose these things, like, you want the best outcome possible that's going to make you feel, like, the most comfortable and satisfied with your decisions, much like choosing- A financial advisor.Hey, we did it.We loose- Here's a package.Yeah, sorry.All right, let's get into it.Sorry.I just needed to personally vent about my fireplace decision.Welcome to the Compound Growth Podcast with Collin and Wheeler, where we talk all things growth.From financial growth to career growth, personal development to societal progress, we explore how each layer builds on the next, compounding over time to shape who we become.Each week, we break down complex ideas and emerging trends into clear, actionable insights, because growth isn't just about numbers, it's about understanding the world and our place in it.All right, today, we are talking about when it makes sense to fire- And hire.and hire, but also fire.Mostly fire.Get financial a- We're gonna- Let's focus on, 'cause we could always talk about, like, when- You need an advisor-when you need an advisor.Um, chances are you already do.Like, if you're listening to this podcast and you don't have a financial advisor, you probably need one because you're- Mm-hmm.listening to this podcastRight.Right?Um.You're looking for financial advice.I think it's, sometimes it's really hard.I- I'll, I'll be the first to admit that as an investor, I have a hard time figuring out when to sell a stock, right?And it's because of the way that I invest and how I, you know, I understand kind of, like, the, the narrative behind it, right?Like, and you don't fall in love with a story.You can't fall in love with a stock because then you can, you know, ride down a loser forever.Yeah.Um- Try to remove emotion from investment decisions.Right, right.But then I counter and say, "Well, I'm not investing in a stock for a one-year period.I'm investing in this stock, in this company, for the long run."Like, I, th- ideally, the best investment is a Warren Buffett investment, is something that you hold onto for the longest period of time- Mm-hmm.Buffett, Munger, et cetera, and you don't need to worry about when to sell if it's the right decision to invest, right?Yeah, yeah, for sure.I mean, we have clients, um, that grew their net worth significantly just because their parents or grandparents bought Microsoft stock back in the '90s- Sure, yes.and literally put the statement in the top drawer.Yeah.And it, you know, now-They're chamillionaires.They're rich.Yeah, and if you had, there have been plenty of opportunities along that, that time horizon- To do the same thing.where you should have sold the stock.Like, if you- Yeah.if, you know, if you were reallyI, I remember when I first, first starting in this industry, I was working with an advisor, and he had a rule that whenever Microsoft got to 40, you sold it, and when it got to 35, you bought it.And itBecause it would just, like, bounce around in a channel.What happens when it jumps to 200?It never does that.Not, not, not in, in 2011.Yeah, okay.But, like, it was, it was a rule that I can still remember 'cause, like, he just, like, hammered it into me.Like, "It's above 40, you gotta sell."And that was so stupid because , like, obviously, as a trade, maybe that makes sense, but as an investment, if you held on to Microsoft above 40Dunno.You know, I don't even know what it's trading at today.I don't personally own any Microsoft, and none of this is investment advice.Um, I think understanding the, the intent behind something, like if you wanna have a wood-burning fireplace, like, you know what you're looking for there.You know the feeling.You know the reasons behind that.I think sometimes when we hire a professional, whether it's a mechanic or a CPA or a financial advisor, et cetera, like, we have an initial reason to initiate that relationship, and we might continue to go back to that relationship because it's easy, it's convenient, it's the first thing that we, you know, the first option in front of us.Like, we're just gonna go back to who we were with before.Of course, yeah.Right?But if you don't evaluate that relationship and you don't ask, "Is this actually still serving me?"Like every relationship in life, you have to evaluate from time to time and make sure that this is the relationship that is right for you.Yeah, I mean, you're paying your financial advisor most likely a significant sum of money.Right.So, I would hope that you're getting good value out of it, because if you're paying for a service and you're not getting value out of it, then what does that look like?Yeah.You know, then why do it?But with that being said, something that I always think about is what a great advisor and what a great relationship should look like, because I know- Mm-hmm.if I was to get hit by a bus tomorrow, like, I would want Kailey to have a great financial advisor that she can lean on for decisions, that she can trust, that's gonna give her good guidance.And I'm constantly evaluating in my mind, what I would want for Kailey if I wasn't here, and how do I deliver that experience to my own clients?Really good thought.We, and we talked about this with, you know, when we s- we talk to certain CPAs.How many advisors do you know?And then, of those advisors, how many would you trust with your own family money?And what's the typical response?Right?It's- Yeah.It's like, you know, I might know 100 advisors, and maybe 2 or 3 of them I wouldAt most.I would, at most- Yeah.I would work with, right?And there are thousands of advisors out there, and there's all different types, right?There's like, the independent advisors like we, like we are.There's the employee advisors at a place like Fidelity or Schwab or- Mm-hmm.Vanguard or whatever.Insurance advisors.Wirehouse.Yeah, the, the people who it's insurance first, financial advice- second.Or third or 4th.Yeah, and we try to mix them up and pretend- Yeah.they're the same thing, but they aren't.The people.Bank people, right?Like, just the guy that you walked into at your local branch, because- Yep.that's the person that's right there.Yeah.I actually think that the reason that you work with the same financial advisor and the reason that you keep going back to the same mechanic is like the same thing.It comes down to trust, right?And I wanna trust my mechanic.I wanna trust my, you know, my electrician, my everything.Like, I just wanna, I wanna trust that they're gonna do a good job.I have one company that I hire for my roofing, for my gutters, for my plowing, and they're not great at all those 3 things.And to that point, my driveway this year got plowed up.I've got, like, chunks of asphalt or whatever, gra- gra- Oh, no.gra- gravel.What, wh- what's driveway made out of?Asphalt.Asphalt.Sh- Yeah.Okay, I got chunks of asphalt all over my driveway because they are not as good at plowing as they are at installing roofs.But it's hard to find a guy to plow.Sure.So I just, I rolled with it, and the consequence of rolling with it this year is that I've gotta do something about my driveway now.Yeah.I mean, just because something's easy doesn't mean that it's great.Exactly.So let me ask you this.If you were to design your own perfect financial advisory relationship for your wife- Yeah.if you weren't here tomorrow, what would you want for Jess?What- Yeah.would that person do?And don't use my name specific-but just what would you, what would you say?It's contractually obligated.Yeah.I think about my favorite relationships- Mm-hmm.with my clients, the clients that are clients that I've had for a long time, and that we've, we've been together th- through a lot in their lives, right?Like, they- Yeah.know me and I know them, and I've seen, I've been a part of their journey, right?Like, I've been a member of their team for a long time.And those are the relationships that I really, really value because whenever they have a big financial decision, they're going to involve me in it.You know, the clients that don't involve me in their financial decisions, I understand, don't feel a need to ask me because they don't value my input as much.And I think, you know, if I'm, if I'm going through and making a decision, I'll talk to you, I'll talk to Jess, I'll talk to Tori, I'll talk to other people and ask for their advice.Yeah.Because I really value advice.I value input.Even if I already know the answer, to our point earlier, I like to hear it from somebody else because it kind of will make it more concrete or make it feel a little bit less maybe it shouldn't be that way.Right.Right?But you have to really value advice, and trust is the first component of all of that.I trust your opinion, right?I think what I would want for Jess is somebody that she can call up, who will be responsive, who will be thorough, who will be trustworthy, and will always have her best interest in mind.Because I think we're in a place now where we've worked really hard to eliminate conflicts of interest.Yes.Right?And I know how much I care about that, even if our clients aren't always aware of how much we care about that, and that's the type of person that I would want Jess to work with.I want somebody who cares so deeply about things that Jess never even needs to care about them, or never knows that she has to or could care about them because they're being cared about for her.This person's thinking more about it than even she is.Yeah.Yeah.Exactly.Yeah.And it's not about investment returns, right?It's really about just making sure that she has what she needs when she needs it, and that they are a voice of reason, of understanding, of whatever that she can turn to whenever she needs it.Yeah.You said something that, um, brought me back toI think that that's very smart.I think someone who obviously thinks that they know everything is, you know, at, at some point in their life going to be rudely awakened.But when Kailey was debating on whether or not to be a doctor or a PA, and she was in premed, and we were at the gym one time, and one of my dad's friends was there, and he was a doctor at the hospital for a very long time, and he had just retired.He was just like, "Oh, Kailey, like, I heard a lot about you.I hear you're debating on whether or not to be a doctor or a PA."And she was like, "Yeah, you know, I'm in the midst of it right now.I'm really struggling with it."And he goes, "Here's a little piece of advice that you didn't ask for, but I'll give it to you anyway."Yeah.He was like, "In my opinion, the best way to make a decision like this is you ask a bunch of doctors whether or not they love what they do, and you ask a bunch of PAs if they love what they do.Whoever responds with, in terms of the highest proportion, that they like what they do the most, then that's the direction you go."And then we hadn't seen him again.But Kailey did that, and she asked around and got a bunch of advice from a bunch of different people, and she ended up going the PA route.Yeah.We're so glad that she did.But getting back to the finance side of things, I think you don't know what you don't know.Sure.And to have someone that you can trust and rely on, where even if they don't know, they're gonna be thinking about your problem so much that they're gonna be asking advice and researching it.So it's like having another member of your team and another advocate for you, I think is just so important that you can trust and lean on.I know people focus on, like, you know, investment returns, and, you know, taxes and things like that, and that is obviously very important because as an advisor, you have to have a knowledge base.Yeah.You know, like, you, you should know what you're doing.But I think a huge part of this is that trust and faith.Yeah.Yeah.I agree with that.And I think that there are some choices that are made that have significant consequences.We talked to a guy this morning, another advisor, who is thinking about making a change with the firm he's working at, and I asked him, like, at the last evaluation of his compensation, what their opinion of him cost him.Yep.Right?And he said, "Well, I don't, I don't think it really cost me anything."I'm like, "Well, what's the difference in compensation that you're not getting that you would've otherwise received?"Mm-hmm.And he's like, "Well, $35,000."I'm like, "Well, that's what it cost you."Right.And there are certain things, like, you know, with a CPA, if you are coming up with ideas that your CPA didn't think of, your CPA might not, like, know everything about everything.Mm-hmm.If they're open to your idea, that's at least better than saying, "No, that doesn't make sense, we're not gonna do that," whatever.Your idea might not be a good idea, but they should be open to it.And I think that, you know, there's that type of, that's the part of the relationship that I also really value.You shouldn't, we wanna make sure we don't shut people down, because just like, you know, you, Kaley doesn't know everything that she doesn't know, we don't know everything either.I think it's really helpful to have a team, right?Because sometimes a client will bring me an idea and I'll say, "You know what?That's something I didn't think of.Let me think about whether that makes the most sense for your situation.I'll talk to Collin."Yeah.Right?Or recently I asked Dan, and Dan's like, "Hey, what about this?"And I'm like, "Good idea, Dan."Right?Right?You know?Yeah, I, I mean it's just, it's, it's what it is, and that's one of the reasons why we started this firm called a CoFI, was collective financial advisors, was because we realize, like, as a team and as a unit, we're better than as individuals.And having great CPAs, great estate planning attorneys, great people on the team that can help be awesome advocates for our clients and answer questions and give the best service possible without being dismissive- Yeah.towards people's concerns and questions and things like that, that's really important.People want to be heard and, you know, to have the resource to hear what you're trying to go through and what you're trying to accomplish, I think, is really important.And I think it's, it'sSo, okay, so if you think about the fundamentals here, it's, it's trust, it's the relationship, it's responsiveness, it's understanding, it's maybe having a team and not just one person.It's also just kind of having a comprehensive understanding of not just like, you know, your accounts that are being managed or maybe your income, your 401, your tax return, your estate planning.Like, all those things are really valuable, but also understanding the role that all of that plays within your life, because there's the facts and there's the feelings, and they are oftentimes entwined.And I think having somebody that's gonna help you navigate, I don't know, bombing Iran - Yeah.or like, you know, there was a, there was a newsletter, uh, that went out that Tori pointed out and highlighted and said, "Hey, what do you think of this?"And I said, "That doesn't really feel like us."And the reason it didn't feel like us is because it led first with fear, and it made it all about at, at the initial, like the beginning kind of like, it felt like I was being spoken to by an authoritative voice, which is fine, but- Is it?sometimes it's just like, it's not warm and, and welcoming.It's- No.just kind of like, "Don't worry about it."Uh-huh.And I think that understanding the context is really important.There's, there's a quote that I can, I cannot, uh, do justice, and I'll just say that it's some version of this."If you don't have a relationship with history, then it's very easy for everything to feel historic."And sometimes that means that, like, as we get slapped in the face all day with all of these headlines and all of these, like, news items, it, it feels so disturbing and so new.When we, when we understand history, we realize that most of these things have happened before and there is some sort of playbook or some sort of reference or some sort of element of understanding that we can bring to it.And if we can provide that to our clients, if your financial advisor can provide that to you, then that's doing a great service.Yeah.I'd say in the last week, I must have had 6, maybe 7 clients reach out in regards to the Iran stuff.And not to mention just, um, other clients reach out just in regards to their own, you know, kind of personal financial problems.And my goal for those conversations is to just listen and just let people unload, you know, their concerns, and then try to make them feel better about it.Yeah.Like, to your point, the history, we've seen this before.Maybe not the exact same, but something similar- Yeah.has popped up before.And with that being said, we have a, a general playbook, and there's a reason why we do things the way we do to help protect against times like this.But with that being said, I think communicating and being able to communicate, like, what your advisor does and how he makes you feel is really important because if you have that sounding voice where you can call and be like, you know, "I'm super concerned about what's going on."Yep."I don't feel at ease.What about my portfolio?Am I gonna make it?Does this change things?"Those are all questions that the advisor should be listening to you on and being able to respond to you.Yeah.And have a plan- Yeah.most importantly.Yeah.And I think, uh, sometimes, we get to the point where, like, I didn't have a lot of those questions.Now, I was on vacation, and Shay probably fielded them for me.But I, I feel like sometimes our clients get to knowThey g- they almost answered the sum of these questions for themselves because they've heard our answers so many times, or they listen to our podcast or read our newsletter or whatever.Yeah.We communicate regularly with our clients, and I think a good advisor does that.But that doesn't, by itself, make somebody a good advisor.You're not a good advisor because you're on CNBC talking about what you think about the market next week, right?In fact, while I'm guilty of this, I don't feel like talking about what you think is going to happen next adds a lot of value to the process.It's just your opinion.It's just my opinion, right?And I love the clients who say, "I know you don't have a crystal ball, but what do you think?"So many people start with that.And I'm like, "Okay, well-" And I love it." yeah, I'll tell you what I think-" Yeah." 'cause I love to think things and share my thoughts."Yeah.Um, and I appreciate that you know that I don't have a crystal ball yet, keyword being yet.Yes.Um, so, okay, so these are things that we think are strengths in relationship.I do.I, I think there's a lot of weaknesses too.Yeah, what are some weaknesses?Personally, I think thatI hate to go down this rabbit hole, but I'm gonna go down it.Let's do it.I think that, uh, there are a lot of advisors out there that are just, like, so investment focused that everything is just down to the investments, and I fight against that so much because the investment should be a derivative of your goals, you know?The investment should be led with what it is that you're trying to do.Certainly, if you're trying to maximize returns, you're a young person, you're trying to save for retirement, that's great, but there is a lot of other things and a lot of, uh, avenues that an advisor should be adding value to the investment.I think a lot of people look at a financial advisor and say, "Well, what you should be doing is out-beating the market."That's, that's why- That's what I pay you for.I'm hiring you.That's why I'm hiring you, to beat the market.Don't hire a financial advisor to beat the market.They are not gonna do it.You know, I mean, maybe we'll have some good years, and, you know, we have good portfolios, it's all good, but- We do beat the market sometimes.Right?Like, it's not like we are incapable of doing this.It's just not- Right.the reason to work with us.Right.So, that, to me, is kind of a red flag.Another red flag, which we already said before, is kind of reaching out whenever there's something really bad going on in the market, but that's the only time you ever hear from them.Sure.Or when something's really great in the market, and then they're calling to tell you how great the portfolio's doing.Yeah.So, I think you should have consistency with your appointments.You should be talking about things other than just markets.You know, talk through your goals, talk through your taxes, talk through your concerns.You know, what are you trying to accomplish over the next few years?Are you set up appropriately for those things?Those are the types of conversations I think are usually more beneficial than just a historical market.Yeah.Yeah, I think there's a lot of red flags that you can kind of keep an eye out for.One of those being if you never hear from your advisor, they obviously- Right.don't value your relationship.Right.Right?I had one client, or she wasn't a client, and then she became a client because her advisor called her one time and had been, like, uh, maybe a couple years.She, you know, my client answered the phone and said, "What's going on?"And her advisor said, "Well, we need to make some trades."And, and the client said, "Well, okay, great.What's, you know, what's the reason behind it?You know, are we changing our strategy 'cause we're worried, or are we excited about an opportunity?""Well, no, we just don't have any cash in your account to pay fees, so we need to sell this mutual fund."And so she hung up and called me and said, "All right"Um- I haven't done anything in so long that, um, the account now has a negative balance-and I need to pay myself.Yes.I have, I can't get paid unless- Yeah.unlessAnd actually, that's a really good one.Understanding how your, your advisor gets paid- Uh-huh.is really important because, you know, you said earlier, you, if you have a financial advisor, you're probably paying them a lot of money, you wanna make sure you get the value out of it.Yeah, the value part is really important.I think that most advisors, you know, we wereI, I sent you this, this quote from Kitces yesterday, but the average fee that a financial advisor charges is 1%, and it's been that way for a really long time, right?Yeah, certainly, probably going back at least 20 years.Yeah.And there's a margin of error there.Like, you know, there are some people who charge one and a quarter, and some people who charge, you know, 75 bps, and, but it's, it's all washed out at, like, 1%, right?And if you don't understand how your advisor is getting paid, if you don't see that fee, for example, um, if you don't see the fee, then you don't know how much your advisor is getting paid, and they're probably being paid more than you think.And if you see an advisor with, you know, if your advisor's using mutual funds, for example, like if you're, if you have an advisor that's using mutual funds for, I don't know, large cap US stock- Mm-hmm.um, or even small cap US stock- Yeah.or anything like it, then they're usingFunds that are not in your best interest, they are funds that are charging high fees, and let's say that 99% of the time there's no case for that actively managed mutual fund in your portfolio anymore.That 1%, fine, right?Like, there's always some use case for something, but if you have, gosh, A-share mutual funds, C-share mutual funds- Yeah, that's tough.it's understanding what's in your portfolio and the fees associated with that is really important.Um, but if you get your statement and you don't see a financial advisor fee on there, they're getting paid some other way.Yeah.I think it's really important to understand what you're paying people, and if you don't know, you should ask.Yeah.And at the end of the day, we had, uh, met with a few new clients over the last week.I lead right away with the fee.Yeah.You know, because it doesn't matter to me.I'm not trying to hide anything.Like, "Here's what, you know, you'll be paying.Here's how it works.Here's how it's billed.And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out."You know, if, if you're uncomfortable with it, I totally get it, but, you know, this is, this is, this is the deal.And, um, most people, 99% of the time, don't have a problem with it because of the value add is more than the fee that you're paying.Yeah.So that's, I think, ties into honesty.Yeah.To be com- to be frank, you know, i- if someone feels, like, shady in regards to you don't know how much you're paying them or the costs associated or whatnot, you know, that's probably, that's probably a red flag.Yeah.Yeah.Again, it g- it goes to the same reason that you select the mechanic you're gonna work with.Totally.Right?You wanna make sure that they aren't ripping you off.Yeah.Right?And if there's a standard of charge that is an industry standard, it's very easy to understand when you're being, quote unquote, ripped off, if you could actually see the fees.Yeah.Um, and you wanna trust that they are not overcharging you, but also that you're gonna pay what they say you're going to pay.And I think sometimes, you know, we have a client who had some of his assets with us and some of his assets with a, a custodian who charged him a lower fee on the paper- Hmm.but also, they just used all of their custodial mutual funds, and the custodian, th- you know, the place that he had his account, made money off the mutual funds in addition to the fee that he could see that he was being charged.Yeah.They were double-dipping.So, yeah.So he thought he was paying one thing, and it was a discount, and in reality, he was paying more than he was paying us.Right.And I think that that happens sometimes because people don't, they don't understand the fees they can't see.Yeah.Uh, there's a, there's an all-in cost, right?You have the advisory cost, and then you obviously have the investment fees.And some firms charge a financial planning fee on top of it.There's different layers of this, and I think having the clarity to know that and to ultimately do your research is really important, but I also don't want the fee to solely drive the conversation because just because something's less expensive doesn't mean that it's better.No, you wanna pay for quality.You do, yeah.And I'm not saying the other flip side, which is the most expensive, is the best either.No.You know?There's a, to your point, a blended rate where you should probably fall around, and whatever that might be, depending on your asset level, you know, you can research that and figure it out pretty quickly.But I think the most important thing is find someone that's reasonable in terms of costs, and then if you feel really solid about them and if you have good references and if you feel like they're going to be a good match for your family, because it's super painful to join an advisor and then have to leave that advisor.And while I'll say in the times after COVID, it's become less frictionless with, you know, DocuSign and stuff like that- Yeah.it's still a huge hassle to change stuff around.Yeah, so let's talk about that.Yeah.When do you have to make the change?Like, how, how do you know, "Okay, it's time"?What do you do next?So, if I was to select an advisor today, what I would do is I would probably interview 2 to 4 people, is what I would do.Mm-hmm.And I would ask around to people that I know and that I trust, "Who do you work with?What do you recommend?Who do you recommend?Why do you recommend them and why not?"And I would start to formulate a list, I would set some appointments, and then ultimately I would make sure that the costs align and that not one person's significantly more than others, or if one person's significantly less, that could be a red flag too, because is there another cost associated and baked in there?But then, I would make sure to involve my family.Like, I would want my wife in those meetings.Because if I'm not here, she has to deal with this person.Or vice versa.Or people, or vice versa.You know, if it, if it's the wife leading this change, you know, yeah.Leading the change, then I too have to interact with them if she's not around anymore.Or same thing with our children.Do I trust them to give my children good advice?So those types of things of involving the family are super important.After you get past the cost section, you know, what do they do for investments, and then ultimately is it a financial planning based relationship, where you're gonna be talking more about goals and taxes and lifestyle and things like that, or is it more of an investment driven conversation?That's what I would be looking at personally.Yeah.What are the rules of engagement, right?Like, what are the, the understandings going into this relationship?What are the expectations?Expectation setting is a huge part- It is.of figuring out how you're gonna make something work.Yeah.I think complacency is the enemy of progress.It's very easy to be complacent, and it's also easy to feel loyal to a advisor or a firm that you've been with for a long time that might no longer be suiting you, right?It might not be the relationship that matters.We've talked about in the past, like, there's a season for certain things, right?We have, there are people out there that have been with the same firm for decades, and they have a relationship with the firm, but they've had 4 or 5 or 6 different advisors- In between.right?Yeah.The firm does not care about you, right?Um, some of those advisors might not have cared about you.And you don't owe them anything.And I think that goes all around.I always feel like if we're doing a good job for our clients, I want them to know that and I want them to feel that.And if they don't feel that, then they're not going to really value the relationship, and then the relationship erodes, right?Totally.And we once, when we moved from our old firm to our, you know, we started this firm, um, you know, there was one client relationship that no matter how hard I tried, I never felt like they fully valued my relationship, right, or my, like, my place, my role in our team.And they looked at me as, like, an interchangeable whatever.A cog.Right?And I know that I provided them the best service that they were gonna get, and I was very proud of all the work I put in, but they always kept me at arm's length.And that's just like any relationship.If this was a romantic relationship, you can't be mistreated by the people on the other side of that.So I think it's really important that you look at your relationship with your advisor or your advising team as a relationship, and not as, like, an interchangeable cog, to your point.Totally.You ask this before most meetings, which isDo you wanna go- No, go ahead.go, okay.So basically-the question, the question before most meetings that, that I know you ask is, you know, "What do you want to talk about in this meeting?What's most important and on your mind?"Right.And, like, the most recent few prospective client meetings that we've had, I've been asking the question, and we've been asking this for a while now but I think it's a solid one, "If you were to look at the relationship a year from now and say this was a very successful advisory relationship, what would have to happen?""What would make our relationship successful for you?"Because to your point, if a client's just gonna kinda come in, not really value the relationship, they're looking at it from a transactional perspective and just looking at you to basically run a model and tell you you're fine- Yeah.Or don't.or don't, then you know, that might not be the best fit even for us.Right.And I think that we could do a whole nother episode on what the ideal client is for a financial advisor.Yeah.Because while I know as advisors we're scrutinized quite often as well, I think in our own practice, and we've talked to a bunch of other advisors as well, like, a relationship like you were just describing where you're putting in so much effort and trying so hard and trying to make people do things, and I was just talking about this with Shay earlier, um, just about you can put in all the effort you want, but you, you can't make a horse drink.Right.Yeah.You know, you can bring them to the watering hole, Yeah.what are you supposed to do?But I think if you have, if you're evaluating your relationship and thinking, "I deserve better," then you can't be complacent, right?No.You have to make forward progress.It's too big of a decision.It's too important.Yeah.And so, like, you know, we've, we've talked about getting that, like, that second look, right?Like, "What do you think?This is what I've been doing with my financial advisor.What do you see?"And even if you take that to your pr- your current financial advisor and say, "Hey," or even, like, you could say, "Hey, I'm gonna ask around."Um, but if, if you have some ideas that you get from another advisor, you bring it to your current advisor and your current advisor shoots them down or says, "We can't do that," or whatever, again, those ideas might not be the best, but you wanna kinda gauge how your advisor is handling that.And I think it's okay to shop around in general.Mm-hmm.I think, you know, when Tori was, was prepping for our, our conversation today, which is always much appreciated, one of the things that she brought up is how most people willYou know, hunt for the right car, right?They'll compare, they'll go through a whole process, and then they'll continuously evaluate their relationship with their car."Is this car the car for me?Should I get a new car?"Et cetera.And we don't do that as much with financial advisors.I think about some people who just don't want to deal with car shopping whatsoever, and they just hit the easy button, and sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't.But if you care about your car, you should at least care equally as much about your financial wellbeing.And you should put as much effort into evaluating that.Yeah, for sure.Yeah, I mean, there are basic questions that you can ask that will reveal a lot very quickly.Yeah.And if you have multiple people that you're talking to, I think your odds of finding a good fit are much higher, and if you value the opinion of other people and friends that are around, where you look at them and you say, you know, they, they kind of know what they're doing, who's advising them?Yeah.You know, that's also a really good place to start.Yeah, for sure.And if you don't value people's opinions, if you are a DIY, it's okay.Yeah.Build your own fire.Yeah, exactly.I mean, there's no harm, no foul if someone's a DIYer.And we met with a bunch of prospects that have come in that are doing things really, really well themselves.Yeah.And are killing it, and don't need our advice.And I'll be the first to say, like, "Why are you gonna pay me?Like, you're doing it really well."But, you know, they'll sometimes come back and be like, "Well, I'm doing it all right now and, you know, my spouse doesn't want to deal with it, and I wanna have that opinion."Or, maybe some people realize that they just want to do it themselves, and that's fine too.But ultimately, from our perspective as well, we want to work with people that value the relationship, because that's what makes it fun, if we can make a difference.Yeah.You know, I have a client who, he does really well, and he always tells me, "It's my job to make money.It's your job for my money, to make money with my money."And I say, "Okay.And if you want to simplify the relationship like that, it's okay.But I also know that you talk to me every 3 months, and that we're also doing updated estate planning and insurance planning, and talking about, you know, the kids, and-" Yeah." doing all of these things."So, it helps him, I think, to simplify things and, and evaluate on a kind of like a performance level to a degree.Totally.But he's also engaging in the other things.Yeah.And as long as you engage in those things, then I think you're getting more value out of the relationship.I agree, and I think that's probably a perfect place to wrap it.right.Let's call it.I also have to do a quick shout-out.Okay.I'm wearing and sweating in this wonderful hoodieIt is 80 degrees in this room.That one of our lovely, one of our lovely listeners had made and sent to our whole team.So, I just wanted to give a great shout-out to Adrian, friend of the show.If el- all the rest of our listeners want to send us hoodies and goodies, that's, that's fine, I guess.Yeah.Before he like stops listening.Um, but actually, what I do want people to do is send us questions- Yes.and topics, and, uh, and follow us, and- So we can do a mailbag.We'll do a mailbag and, uh, and share.Share the show.I love it.Yeah.Like, subscribe, share with a friend.We really appreciate it.Thank you, everybody, for listening, and, um, tune in next time.The information in this material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.Investment advice offered through Integrated Partners, doing business as COFI Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor.Integrated Partners does not provide legal, tax, mortgage advice or services.Please consult your legal tax advisor regarding your specific situation.Past performance is no guarantee of future results.All investing involves risk, including loss of principal.No strategy assures success or protects against loss.The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted, and there can be no guarantee that the strategies promoted will be successful.Compound Growth with Wheeler and Collin sponsored by COFI Advisors.Reach out today.Yay!