Should I Fire My Financial Advisor?

Summary

Episode Summary: "Should I Fire My Financial Advisor?"

Podcast: Ramsey Everyday Millionaires
Date: December 29, 2025
Hosts: Dave Ramsey, others from Ramsey Network
Theme: Evaluating financial advisors, responsibility in investing, passive vs. active investment strategies

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Overview

This episode centers on a listener’s concerns about his financial advisor's performance—specifically underperforming investments and a lack of proactive service. The discussion unpacks the real purpose of a financial advisor, the investor’s own responsibilities, and strategies for managing investments both independently and with professional help. The show delivers practical advice on what to expect from an advisor, how to stay informed, and when it might be time to move on.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Concern: Underperformance and Inattention

• Caller David from Indianapolis shares disappointment: his portfolio only grew 7% compared to the S&P 500’s 17%, and his advisor let cash sit unused in a money market account ([00:20]-[01:15]).
• David isn’t fully sure what funds he’s invested in or why they underperformed.

2. Responsibility in the Advisor-Investor Relationship

• Dave Ramsey emphasizes that investors must stay informed and make active choices; your advisor isn’t a babysitter ([01:15]-[01:54]):
  • “Your financial advisor’s job is not to babysit you. Their job is to teach you and you make your decisions.”
• Delegating everything without oversight can lead to poor outcomes or even potential fraud:
  • “You just tossed the money over the fence and hoped he handled it well. And that's a good way to lose everything.” ([01:38]-[01:54])

3. How to Work With an Advisor

• Ramsey describes the ideal advisor as a teacher, not just a fund picker ([02:13]-[03:53]):
  • “Your financial advisor's job is to be a teacher … and you go, ‘Yeah, I like that. I'm going to make the choice.’”
• The investor must be a student, taking responsibility for choices and understanding what’s happening in the portfolio.

4. Passive vs. Active Investing

• The hosts discuss simply investing in an S&P 500 index fund (passive) versus using an advisor to identify funds that outperform the S&P (active) ([04:08]-[05:41]).
• Dave Ramsey:
  • “What you’re paying him to do is ... show you mutual funds that are outperforming the S&P, and then you decide if you think they're going to continue to do that.”

5. Value Beyond Returns

• Good advisors look at your entire financial picture: investments, real estate, taxes, charitable giving ([05:45]-[06:25]).
• An advisor’s job is not to make decisions for you, but to inform you and help implement your choices with discipline.

6. The Rise of DIY Investing

• Listeners note an increasing trend toward independent investing using low-fee platforms like Vanguard ([06:48]-[07:13]).
• Dave acknowledges the longstanding appeal of “Boglehead” investing—putting everything in a low-cost S&P 500 index ([07:17]-[08:48]):
  • “The S&P 500 outperforms more than half of the mutual funds. So if you just blindly go pick a mutual fund, you'd have been better off to pick the S&P 500 index …” ([07:21]-[08:24])

7. Choosing (and Keeping) a Financial Advisor

• Only keep an advisor if they act with the "heart of a teacher."
• Advisors typically charge around 1% of assets; they must consistently outperform the market to justify their fee ([08:24]-[09:03]).
• Teachers (Ramsey-endorsed advisors) are preferred; their role is to educate and partner, not just transact.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Dave Ramsey ([01:15]):
  “Your financial advisor’s job is not to babysit you. Their job is to teach you … and then if you don’t like the returns, it’s due to your choices. But you don’t even know what’s going on.”

• Dave Ramsey ([02:13]):
  "I do not have any mutual funds with my financial advisor that I didn’t choose—not because I’m Dave Ramsey, but because that’s what we teach people to do."

• Dave Ramsey ([04:08]):
  "Now you can go buy a Vanguard S&P and throw it all in there. … That’s called passive investing."

• Co-Host ([05:45]):
  "A great financial advisor is looking at more than just your 401k … they’re looking over your entire financial portfolio."

• Dave Ramsey ([07:21]):
  "You don’t need [an advisor] to get you in the space. You need one to maximize the space."

• Dave Ramsey ([08:24]):
  "Bogle started Vanguard … The S&P 500 outperforms more than half of the mutual funds. … Those are called Bogleheads, okay? And they’re not new just because TikTok came along."

• Dave Ramsey ([09:10]):
  "I’ve heard Dave Ramsey’s a crook for 35 years because I told people not to do that and go pay a commission to outperform Bogleheads. And Dave Ramsey is not a crook. I’m a genius."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Listener's Question and Concerns: [00:20]-[01:15]
• Advisor’s Role vs. Investor Responsibility: [01:15]-[03:53]
• Mutual Fund Selection & Passive Investing: [04:08]-[05:41]
• Benefits of a Good Advisor: [05:41]-[06:25]
• Trends in DIY Investing: [06:48]-[08:24]
• Advisor Fees & Outcomes: [08:24]-[09:03]

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Know what you own and why. Investors must take charge of their portfolio decisions, even when working with an advisor.
• An advisor’s role should be educational, not custodial. Fire advisors who don’t teach or communicate.
• Passive investing with index funds is a solid, long-term strategy if you don’t want to actively manage or research funds yourself.
• If you pay for advice, make sure it provides value—ideally, greater returns or a better holistic plan, not just simple allocation.
• Stay involved—people who understand their portfolios ride out market volatility and make wiser decisions.

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This episode offers timeless, practical investment wisdom with the candid banter and no-nonsense advice the Ramsey brand is known for.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

This episode is brought to you by SmartVestor. Connect with an investing pro near you at RamseySolutions.com SmartVestor David is in Indianapolis.

[A]

Hi, David. How are you?

[C]

Good, Dave. How are you?

[A]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[C]

Long story short, I just checked my statements from my financial advisor last month for been the first time in a couple months. Anyway, looking at them, it only looks like I've seen about 7% growth this year and was wondering if I should fire him and look for someone else.

[D]

What does he have you invested in, do you know?

[C]

It's supposed to be aggressive growth, supposedly. As far as the individual funds, I'm not 100% sure on. I just figured this out on Friday.

[D]

Have you contacted him and asked any questions?

[A]

I haven't.

[C]

I did contact. I did not ask about the retirement. I did contact them to figure out why. This is another issue. My deposits I made into my money market account were not being actually used and they were just sitting there, not gaining interest either.

[D]

Oh, gosh. You had money in your money market account that he has access to that he's supposed to pull each month money from to invest, and he's not done that.

[A]

Okay, there's some couple things wrong with the equation, all right? You probably should fire him, but not for the reasons that you're saying. You're griping about the rate of return and you don't even know what the mutual fund is. It's your responsibility to know what that is. Your financial advisor's job is not to babysit you. Their job is to teach you and you make your decisions. And then if you don't like the returns, it's due to your choices. But you don't even know what's going on. You just tossed the money over the fence and hoped he handled it well. And that's a good way to lose everything.

[C]

So I guess my next question would be, is that something you know? So I, I paid somewhat close attention to the market. Listen to you guys listen to other financial podcasts. What kind of open my eyes to was I seen that the s and P500 has grown 14 and a half percent, something like that this year?

[A]

17.

[C]

Yeah, 17.

[A]

And you made seven. So something screwed up. Yeah, I agree with you. Something screwed up. But here's my point, okay? I do not have any mutual funds with my financial advisor that I didn't choose. Not because I'm Dave Ramsey, but because that's what we teach people to do. Your financial advisor's job is to be a teacher and Say, here's some things you could do. Here's the historical data on this mutual fund, and it's one I might look at if I were you. And you go, yeah, I like that. And I'm going to make choice to make the purchase based on having been informed. And then if it doesn't perform, I made the choice, not him, and it was just a miss. Okay, because you picked some funds that didn't. Even if they're aggressive growth, they ought to be outperforming the S and P on substantially. Unless there's some kind of. I don't know what you pick, but, I mean, you could be in all kinds of sector funds or something else. I don't know what you got into, but I. I want you to know what you're doing. And so, like, this is the way you hear these sports figures that lose everything. Like they make $10 million, then they're broke or something. It's because they turn it over to some guy and go, my guy's handling it. And then they don't even look at it. And turns out, in that case, the guy's a scam artist or whatever, or he's a doofus, one of the two. I mean, I think the guy just handed you some mutual funds. Half looked at him, you half looked at them. And y' all chose poorly is what it sounds like. So what I want him to do is to take up a new position if you're gonna keep him. Probably wouldn't. And that to be the heart of a teacher. And what I want you to do is not look for a babysitter, but have the heart of a student.

[D]

And he should be presenting you with these ideas too, right? I mean, you're not. This is why you hire someone is to do it and to show you and to give you options. Like, that's what our advisor does. It's like, here, here's.

[A]

But then you know what it is. Yeah. You know exactly what it was.

[C]

So I guess that's, you know, what's my biggest question for him, I guess, would be, what's the benefit of paying you when I can open an account on Vanguard Schwab whatever, and just throw it in a s and P500.

[A]

Now you can go buy a Vanguard S and P and throw it all in there. And you made 17%. That. That's called passive investing. Okay? That's called passive investing. Yeah. Well, what you're paying him to do is not to. Is to show you mutual funds that are outperforming the S and P And then, and then you decide if you think they're going to continue to do that. I buy mutual funds through my Investment Advisor. There's 8,000 mutual funds. I mean I grew up in this stuff and I'm not going to comb through all that crap that drive me nuts. Okay. I'm not that big a nerd. So I call him up, I'm like, hey, find me four funds in this category that are outpacing the S and P. And. Cause I want to put some money in that area and. Or in the case of. You follow the Ramsey Recommendations for your 401k, put a fourth in growth, a fourth and aggressive growth, a fourth in a foreign fund or an international fund and a fourth in growth in income. We put a fourth in each in my retirement. And I want all three of those to over a 10 year period of time or longer to have an outperformed the S and P. And they're hard to find, but you can find them if they've got the software to pull that up and they pull up three or four may look at them together. We go, okay, do we. Which ones of these do we think? We talk about it together and then we make the choice together. I'm not paying him to be a stock picker.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I'm paying him to man it, help me manage my money.

[D]

Yeah. And also a great financial advisor is looking at more than just your 401k and your investments. They're looking over your entire financial portfolio. They're looking at your house taxes, the give. I mean like they're able to look at everything. And I think for. That's where I see the benefit is having everything in one place now. Yeah. Is the vanguard option there? Absolutely. But I would even bring that to a financial advisor. Say I have this over here with me, put that in my portfolio so I can look at the whole picture. Right. So I don't know that's. Ours has helped us, you know, do things that I'm like, oh, well that's creative. I didn't think to do go here and here and they know about, you know, whether it's, you know, ways to invest and it's, it's great.

[A]

But they don't. They didn't call you up and tell you they did it. No, they call you up and say, here's an idea. You all understand the idea. And then do we implement the idea?

[D]

Yes. But there is a.

[A]

Whether it's a mutual fund purchase or whether it's a tax move or whatever it is.

[D]

But David A lot of people look.

[A]

For people to manage your money. You manage your money with the help of an advisor. Yes. You can outperform the market if you do that.

[D]

Okay. Can I tell you, though, there's a lot of that, of what David just said moving right now in. People aren't wanting financial advisors. They're just wanting to go and invest themselves. Opening a Vanguard, that's what a lot of people are feeling.

[A]

Well, the S&P 500, the Bogleheads have been around forever. Okay, that's not, that's not new.

[D]

No, I know it's not new, but I'm saying more and more people are not the traditional, hey, I'm gonna go and I need a financial advisor to get me in the space is.

[A]

You don't need one to get you in the space. You need one to maximize the space.

[D]

That's it. Well, that's what I'm saying, though, is that it's more. I'm, I'm hearing more and more people.

[A]

People that have a financial advisor have a higher likelihood of staying in when the news on the, when the, when Trump burps and the market goes down, they stay in. And the people that stay in are the ones that make money. And they have a higher probability of picking better mutual funds because they're getting actual. They're learning. Your smartvestor pro on ramseysolutions.com has to have the heart of a teacher or we won't put him in. Ramsey trusted. We won't put him in there or her in there. Okay. And so, and you know, and most of them make a percentage of the, of the amount under management is what they get, usually 1% or so. That's about what they get paid. And so they need to be doing something that outperforms by 1% the market, otherwise they're not worth their money, so to speak. So, yeah, you, you know, you get in that. But, yeah, but you can. Bogle started Vanguard and they're called Bogleheads. And his premise, and his premise was correct, he was a genius, was that The S&P 500 outperforms more than half of the mutual funds. So if you just blindly go pick a mutual fund, you'd have been better off to pick The S&P 500 index was his point. And that's why he started a no commission, no load s and P500 at Vanguard. And it's the famous thing in the stock market history. And so people that say, I'm not going to think about this, I'm just going to dump it into S&P 500 and I'll at least make what the stock market makes. And I'll outperform More than 50% of the mutual funds by doing that. Those are called bogleheads, okay? And they're not new just because TikTok came along.

[D]

No, I'm not saying they're new. I'm just saying I'm hearing it. More and more people have the access to it.

[A]

I've heard Dave Ramsey's a crook for 35 years because I told people not to do that and go get go pay a commission to outperform bogleheads. And Dave Ramsey is not a crook. I'm a genius.

[D]

Yes you are.

[B]

Thanks for tuning in to Ramsey. Everyday millionaires. Need help with your investments? Connect with a smartvestor [e-mail] smartvestor or or click the link in the show notes. Ramsey Solutions is a paid non client promoter of participating pros. Learn [e-mail] SmartVestor.