BREAKING UP WITH YOUR BROKER

Be aware of these challenges when you move your money to a new home.

- KIM CLARK

MAYBE you’re unhappy with your portfolio. Or the fees on your investments seem too high. Or you struggle to get questions answered. It’s tempting to shoot off a “you’re fired!” message to your financial adviser, broker or brokerage house.

But as satisfying as that might feel, impulsive action could expose you to tax liabilities or cause you to repeat the errors that aggravated you in the first place. “I can’t think of too many things where acting impulsively and quickly usually works out better than coming up with a plan,” says Elliott Appel, a certified financial planner based in Madison, Wis.

Before you make any decisions, let your emotions settle by writing down the minuses and pluses of your current adviser or platform. “Writing forces you to slow down” and allows you to think more rationally about this important decision, advises Samantha Lamas, a senior behavioral researcher at investment research firm Morningstar.

Evaluate your grievances carefully. If you’re unhappy with your fees, for example, research what competitors charge for the services you want. If you think your returns are subpar, check your returns against index funds that are suitable for your goals and risk tolerance, says Jim Dahle, author of The White Coat Investor. Look beyond oft-cited indexes such as the all-stock S&P 500, Dahle says. Instead, he suggests comparing your results over as long a time as possible against a few target-date funds with asset allocations to bonds and other lower-risk assets appropriate to your situation.

If you still want to make a change, Lamas suggests comparing your new options against a checklist of what’s important to you to make sure you don’t end up in a similar circumstance. Once you’ve found your alternative, start the process of opening new accounts there. Your new adviser or brokerage will help you transfer your portfolio.