Morningstar Finds 32% of Clients Leave Advisors Over Service, Only 11% Over Returns
Updated
Updated · Morningstar · Jul 29
Morningstar Finds 32% of Clients Leave Advisors Over Service, Only 11% Over Returns
3 articles · Updated · Morningstar · Jul 29
Summary
A 2023 Morningstar study found clients most often left advisors over poor financial advice and services at 32%, followed by weak advisor relationships at 21%; investment performance accounted for just 11% of departures.
Advisors inheriting those clients said the break usually comes from eroding trust, not bad returns, as clients seek more proactive contact, faster responses and greater peace of mind.
Communication emerged as the core complaint: clients often said they rarely heard from advisors, could not see work being done on their behalf and felt they were managing the relationship themselves.
New clients also wanted broader planning that links investments with taxes, retirement, estate, insurance and cash flow, plus plain-English explanations and clear next steps.
The pattern points to three main drivers of attrition—weak personal attention, poor communication of value and mismatched expectations—underscoring that relationships, more than performance, determine retention.