When to Fire Your Adviser

Holly and Gary Wolf's investment accounts thrived under their financial adviser's management. Yet after 20 years together, the couple fired him.

When the Wolfs, of Fleetwood, Pa., got closer to retirement, Holly worried that their nest egg might not last through retirement, and she often discussed her concerns with the adviser. "He'd say, 'Trust me, you're fine,' " says Holly, 58. But she wanted the adviser to show her how their pot of money would hold up once they started drawing from it in retirement.

That's when Holly decided to visit a coworker's adviser to see if he operated differently. She found that not only would he be able to run the retirement projections she wanted, he also