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Top Reason Why The Wealthy Fire Their Advisor Revealed

Wendy Connett

11 March 2011

The number one reason why the wealthy fire their advisor may not be what you expect.

According to new research from Spectrem Group, 73 per cent said the most common reason for changing advisors is failure to return a phone call in a timely manner.

How soon do they expect you to return their call?

The majority (72 per cent) expect a return call within the same day.

And you may be out of luck if you are in a meeting with another client for more than an hour, as 14 per cent expect their call returned within an hour and 40 per cent within two.

"Advisors who don't respond promptly to their millionaire clients' calls are playing with fire,” said George Walper, Spectrem’s president.

The wealthy are less demanding with e-mail responses, with only 56 per cent expecting their e-mail returned the same day and 8 per cent within an hour. A little more than a third (37 per cent) of respondents were satisfied with advisors responding to an e-mail by the next day.

The good news is that Spectrem found that most millionaires (72 per cent) are satisfied with their advisors. Surprisingly, only 57 per cent said they would fire an advisor for failing to provide good ideas and advice.

Spectrem surveyed 997 households with a net worth of $1 million to $5 million, not including primary residence.