He Made 12% Last Year—Now His Advisor Moved Everything Into SNVXX And He's Down 3.6%: Is It Time To Fire The Guy Who Just Locked In His Losses?
Ivy Grace
5 min read
When you hire a financial advisor, you're handing over more than just money. You're handing over trust, peace of mind—and the assumption that someone with a professional title won't tank your portfolio during a dip. But what happens when the person you pay to manage risk ends up locking in losses that wipe out last year's gains?
That's the question one investor raised on Bogleheads.org, a popular online forum where personal finance enthusiasts—many of them DIY investors—gather to dissect strategy, question fees, and lean into the gospel of low-cost, long-term investing. Think of it as a home base for index fund purists and fee hawks.
In a post under the site's Personal Investments section, one user shared his dilemma: He's about 10 years from retirement, makes a strong income, and doesn't need to touch his retirement savings anytime soon. A few years ago, he hired a Registered Investment Advisor to manage about two-thirds of his savings, while he continued managing the other third himself.
The RIA had him in a 77% equity allocation that earned a solid 12% in 2024. So far, so good. But by early April, the advisor began emailing that if markets didn't correct, they'd sell out of everything and move to cash. And that's exactly what happened. Just days later, nearly all positions were liquidated and dumped into the Schwab Government Money Fund (NASDAQ:SNVXX).
The investor logged into his portal and saw a negativer 3.6% return for the past 12 months. In less than 2.5 years, his net gain was now a slim 1.6%. "Meanwhile," he noted, with the one-third of his portfolio he manages solo, he was doing the opposite— buying Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) at $540, $500, and $475 as the market slid. On the very day the advisor sold him out of equities, he was buying more.
He left readers with one simple question: "Based on these limited facts, who would you fire—him or me?"
The responses rolled in. One user didn't hold back: "I'd fire both—you and him." The criticism? Neither appeared to have an Investment Policy Statement, the document that usually outlines long-term strategy and helps avoid reactive decisions like market timing.
Another forum regular said it more bluntly: "The investor's biggest enemy is...the investor himself." Others piled on similar thoughts—calling out the lack of a unified strategy, the mixed messages of splitting management, and the advisor's sudden pivot to cash without a phone call.
Some highlighted red flags from the advisor side: the bold move to cash, the reliance on emails for major trades, and the potential tax consequences of exiting positions during a downturn. "It boggles me that an RIA would make big, bold moves like this," one commenter wrote. Another questioned whether this kind of decision was being made across other actively managed portfolios that week.
But not everyone thought the situation was disastrous. One user framed it as a potential turning point: "You made some mistakes. That's okay. It's not a huge hit to your portfolio. Learn from it." Others pointed out that the RIA gave notice—so why not step in and say no?
Still, the general tone was clear: when you're paying an advisor, it's reasonable to expect discipline, not reaction. And when your self-managed portfolio outperforms the professional one, it's fair to start asking questions.
Have a plan—and write it down. An Investment Policy Statement helps remove emotion from investing. It should spell out risk tolerance, allocation, and when (if ever) to pivot.
Communication matters. If your advisor is selling everything and moving to cash via email, and you're surprised by it—you might have a bigger problem than market timing.
Split strategies can backfire. Letting an advisor manage part of your money while you run the rest can lead to conflict, confusion, and inconsistent outcomes.
Market timing rarely wins. Whether it's a dip or a full-blown correction, pulling out at the wrong time often means missing the rebound.
Fees still count. One poster estimated that, based on assets under management, the advisor might be taking around 1%—or $30,000 annually. If you're losing trust, that number looms larger.
At the end of the day, the real question might not be "Who should I fire?"—but "What's the long-term plan here?" Because whether you're investing in index funds, private startups, or your own side hustle, one thing's clear: guessing the market rarely beats a steady hand and a solid plan.
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