The short answer
You can end an advisory agreement. Do it in writing, and keep a copy. The contract controls the notice, any fee already earned, and any prepaid fee that should come back. The adviser does not hand you a check for securities they do not hold. If a custodian holds the account, you tell the custodian where the shares should go.
Firing the adviser is not the same thing as closing the account. The advice contract and the custodial account are two relationships. End the one you mean to end, and confirm the other in the next statement.
| Step | What you do | What you keep |
|---|
| 1. Read | Termination clause, billing in advance or after the period | A photo or PDF of that page |
| 2. Notify | Written notice to the firm, dated | The sent email or letter |
| 3. Final fee | Ask for the dollar amount, and any refund of a prepaid fee | Their written number |
| 4. Move | Instructions to the custodian, if the shares should leave | The transfer confirmation |
| 5. Match | Next custodian statement against the last one | Both statements |
What to do
- Find the termination section before you send the note. Look for notice days, whether notice must be written, and how a fee billed at the start of a quarter is handled if you leave mid-quarter. There is no single legal notice period for every firm. The contract in your folder is the one that counts.
- Send a short notice: "I terminate the advisory agreement effective [date]. Please confirm the final fee in dollars, any refund, and that you will stop debiting the account." Send it the way the contract requires. Keep the copy.
- Ask one billing question in that same note. If they bill at the start of the period, ask how much of that period comes back. If they bill after the period, ask what you still owe for the days you were a client. Do not accept "we'll figure it out" without a dollar amount.
- If you want the securities moved, open the transfer with the custodian that will receive them, or with the custodian that holds them now. Use the account numbers on the statement. Does my advisor have my money? is the check that you are talking to the company that actually holds the shares.
- Tell the old firm not to place new trades after the end date, unless a trade is already in process and the custodian must settle it. Ask them to confirm that in the reply.
- When the next statement arrives, match positions and cash to the statement from before the notice. A small cash difference may be the final fee or a dividend. A missing position is a phone call to the custodian that day.
- Keep the plan, the last invoice, and the notice.
What to look for on Best Investors
- Item 9A. If the firm reported custody only because it deducts fees, ending the agreement should stop new fee debits. Confirm that with the custodian, not only with the adviser. Start at Item 9A.
- Item 5E. The fee method tells you what the final bill might refer to: a percent of assets, a flat fee, or hours. The cost page lists the boxes. The contract still sets your number.
- The firm page vs the person. You are usually a client of the firm. Firing one person is not always the same as ending the firm agreement. Ask which one your note accomplished. What happens if my advisor retires? is the other direction of that question.
- Form CRS. It is the short summary of fees and conflicts. The termination clause is in the contract.
Common mistakes
- Only telling the adviser in a meeting, with nothing in writing. If a fee hits the account next month, you will want the date.
- Asking the adviser to "send my money." If a custodian holds it, the custodian moves it. The adviser can get in the way or help. The instruction still goes to the custodian.
- Forgetting a prepaid quarter. People leave money on the table because they never ask for the refund the contract already describes.
- Moving a 401(k) in the same week without a written comparison of the costs. Ending an adviser and rolling a plan are two decisions. The rollover page is 401(k) rollover adviser.
- Assuming the portfolio must be sold to cash before it can move. Often the shares can transfer. Ask the receiving custodian which positions can move in kind before anyone sells.
Related questions
Can they stop me from leaving?
They can enforce a notice period and a fee the contract allows. They cannot hold securities that sit at a custodian in your name because they dislike the email. If someone says the account cannot move until you buy something else, treat that as a red flag and call the custodian.
Do I lose the financial plan?
You keep the copy you already received. Ask for the latest version on the way out, including the date it was written. They do not have to keep advising you after the end date.
What happens to a fee they already took?
That is the refund question in the termination clause. Get the dollar amount in writing. If they bill in arrears, the last period may still be owed. Those are opposite outcomes. Read which one you signed.
Should I hire the next adviser before I fire this one?
You can. Give the new firm the last statement, not your password to the old firm's email. Sign the new agreement only after you have read its fee and its termination clause too. How to hire a financial advisor is the order for the next firm.
Limits
This page is a sequence for ending an advice agreement. It is not legal advice, not tax advice, and Best Investors is not the SEC. A divorce, a trust, or an account you do not own alone can add steps this page does not cover.
The firm wrote the contract and the filing. We do not interpret your PDF for you. If a sentence in the contract is unclear, ask the firm to restate the final fee in dollars before you rely on it.
If our filing copy and IAPD disagree, use IAPD.
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