Jun 4, 2018
Personal Investor: What if your advisor changes firms?
By Dale Jackson
It’s rare to find an advisor to take you through a life of investing and into retirement. It’s even more rare for that advisor to stay with the same investment dealer through it all.
In a rapidly-evolving investment industry, firms get acquired and advisors often change firms. When that happens, clients are often asked to stand by their man – as the song goes.
When faced with the choice, clients must first decide if they are pleased with the service – and determine if it’s the advisor or firm they really like.
Here are a few questions to ask:
- Will your current investment strategy be impacted, or will your advisor need to fall in line with the new firm’s mandate?
- Will your advisor’s client list increase or could the firm push your advisor’s attention to higher net-worth clients?
- Does the new firm provide the same quality research, estate or tax planning services?
- Do they have a wide selection of investment products or are they confined to promoting proprietary products offered only by that company? How good are those products?
- Will charges like closing costs and transfer fees be imposed if you need to transfer products?
- Is the fee structure changing?
