Many times people have a relationship with a current broker that they feel they have an obligation to stay with them.  It may be that it is their neighbor, their brother in law, or best friend from high school.  We understand this may be uncomfortable for you to question your lifelong friend, but this is your money.  We are not saying all brokers or planners are bad but many times they are in a situation to sell what their broker dealer or insurance company’s products.  Many of these people are required to sell a certain amount of product in order to keep their benefits, like their office, 401K, or health insurance.  They are bound with an obligation to sell products that may not be the best for you.  They may not even know what other products are out there.  If they did they may make changes anyways.  Look at it this way, if they really do care about you and you came to them and said you found a way to lower your costs, reduce your potential risk they should be happy for you and want you to do what is best for you and your family.  Here is the final test ask yourself this question.  Can you answer “YES” to every one of the 20 must answer questions to be a successful investor?  This test will show you just how well your current financial planner has done in educating you.  It may seem like we are a little in your face about this but this is serious stuff.  This is your money, your future.  You can find the 20 must answer questions on my website under the Investor Coaching tab. To summarize let us say, don’t let your current relationship with your current planner keep you from improving your investments.  Just by improving by 1 or 2 percent is could be worth 1 or 2 more million dollars to you.

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