‘I’m losing over $1,100 each quarter due to fees.’ I’m in safe investments during this downturn, yet I’m still losing a lot of money from adviser fees. What should I do?

Answer: You’re smart to question how your money is being managed and the value you are receiving when you’re working with an adviser. “The first step I suggest is to contact your adviser to discuss your questions and concerns. If you’re paying a professional to help you, you should have clear communication and an opportunity to discuss any aspect of the service you’re receiving,” says certified financial planner David Edmisten of Next Phase Financial Planning. (Looking for a new financial adviser? This tool can match you to an advisor who may meet your needs.)

It sounds like there are some advisory fees being deducted from the money market account. “If the goal is to get back into the market, you might talk to your adviser about reducing the fee, especially if the fee is only for investment advice,” says certified financial planner Derieck Hodges at Anchor Pointe Wealth.  Here’s how to negotiate an adviser’s fees, and here’s a look at what kinds of fees adviser’s typically charge so you can compare what you pay to that.

Have a question about your financial adviser or looking for a new one? Email [email protected].

If you’re holding cash or money market funds for capital preservation and are not receiving any additional advice or service, it may be worth exploring lower cost alternatives like a high-yield online savings account (some these accounts are now paying more than they have in 15 years; see the best savings rates you may get now here) or self-directed brokerage account to hold your cash. “If returning to the market isn’t desired, looking at short-duration US government bonds would be an attractive option,” says Hodges.

If your adviser is providing financial planning or helping with several aspects of your financial life, their fee might be reasonable for the totality of the service they’re providing you. “Do you work with your adviser for on-going help with your investment strategy and making appropriate rebalancing decisions for your portfolio? Their fee may be charging for the advice and guidance they provide through changing market conditions. If you value this type of guidance, it may be worth considering whether you’re receiving advice that’s worth the fees you’re paying,” says Edmisten. (Looking for a new financial adviser? This tool can match you to an advisor who may meet your needs.)

If you instructed your adviser to move your money to cash when the market went south, “the adviser continues to collect the fees because at the client’s direction, the account is no longer being actively managed per the adviser’s strategy. It’s up to the client to return to the strategy they’re paying for, or to move their money somewhere else and manage it themself,” says certified financial planner Jim Hemphill at TGS Financial.  Another possibility is that your adviser’s strategy has gone entirely to cash as a defensive measure and the adviser continues to charge fees for running the strategy. If that’s the case, ask yourself if you want to pay fees for these positions.

If you’re overriding your adviser’s strategy because you got spooked by the market, you might be too risk averse to be an investor in risky assets. “Perhaps you should be in CDs or another low-risk asset. If you make this move, it should be permanent because if you exit the stock market during downturns when the market is cheaper, you have very little chance of long-term investment success,” says Hemphill. (Looking for a new financial adviser? This tool can match you to an advisor who meets your needs.)

Your adviser may have your money in a brokerage firm’s sweep account, a bank or brokerage account that automatically transfers amounts that exceed or fall short of a certain level into an investment option with higher interest-earnings. “These accounts have low fees, typically 0.5% or so. You could move the money to a money market mutual fund and earn higher fees. We’ve done this with 80%-90% of our cash holdings and the yields are above 2.5% with no significant risk,” says Hemphill.

The good news here is that you should be able to get some clarity on the $1,100 fee from your adviser and you likely have plenty of options to explore moving forward. Should you choose to pursue the robo-adviser route, here’s a guide on how much that can save you and what to look for when selecting one. (Looking for a new financial adviser? This tool can match you to an advisor who meets your needs.)

Questions edited for brevity and clarity.

Have a question about your financial adviser or looking for a new one? Email [email protected].