• A research study conducted by Spectrem Group in 2015 indicated that "60% of the high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, as well as 51% of less wealthy affluents with a net worth between $100,000 and $1 million, have switched their financial advisors at some point in their life.

• However, a 2017 study by Qualtrics that surveyed 300 wealth management clients regarding their expectations and experience with their financial advisor indicated that "most of the clients are not actively looking to switch to a new financial advisor".

• In fact, 85% of clients responded that they are either "very happy" (43%) or "happy" (42%) with their financial advisors and aren’t planning to leave. On the other hand, 13% of respondents said they were indifferent and only 1.2% said that they were "unhappy" or "very unhappy" and planning to switch their advisor.

• The study further indicated that wealth management clients retain their financial advisors for an average duration of 10.7 years.

• Nevertheless, those who have switched their advisors in the last 10 years attributed this to "high fees" (14%), "poor service" (10%), and "lack of personalized attention" (10%) with lack of personalized attention being the top reason to switch financial advisors for millennials.

•  Globally, the situation is different from the US as per the EY 2019 Global Wealth Research report which surveyed 2,000 wealth management clients in 26 countries. This study indicates that worldwide, nearly 33% of people have switched their financial advisors in the last three years, and another 33% plan to do so in the coming three years.

• The report further claims that the wealthier clients are the most likely to switch their financial advisors with 39% of "ultra-high net-worth (UHNW)" individuals saying they plan to switch wealth management providers in the next three years as compared to 25% of high-net-worth (HNW) and less than 33% of mass affluent clients. Baby boomers are 29% less likely to switch advisors as compared to millennials.

• Regional trends in EY's study confirm that North American clients are less likely to switch providers with only 28% willing to switch providers in the next three years as compared to 40% that switched providers in the past three years.

• While information on the percentage of people in the US that are unhappy with their current financial advisor or are looking for a new financial advisor is limited, there are several insights and statistics on the reasons that lead to clients firing or switching their financial advisors.

REASONS FOR SWITCHING FINANCIAL/WEALTH ADVISORS

• Some of the major and most common reasons for clients to switch financial/wealth advisors include:

•  Poor performance 

•  Lack of attention (advisors not attending calls, lack of personalized attention, etc.)

•  Heavy/unclear fees

• Women clients being treated differently than men (40% of female clients feel that financial advisors treat them differently).

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