<prompt> Human: My parents 68 are retiring with decent pensions, roughly 70k total. They finally trust me with their finances and I looked at their 403b account and they have about 500k invested in random funds, some US equities and bonds but theyre overlapping in various funds which leads me to believe the CPA type person handling the account is dipping into their pockets. Commissions are about 1 which Im not happy about and the overall returns this year are 2 which is horrible considering the market.What can they do to put the funds into a better investment while still being very risk averse and allowing liquidity in case they have a medical problem and need to withdraw? Traditional IRA with low commission etf choices?Overall assets 500k house 100k savings. Keep in mind their parents grew up in the depression and they had difficult lives growing up so losing money on a 100 US equities fund is not an option.  <response>: Theres a lot of stuff in this comment that leads me to believe that you shouldnt provide your parents with substantial retirement advice yet without more information500k invested in random funds, some US equities and bonds but theyre overlapping in various funds How are they overlapping?leads me to believe the CPA type person handling the account is dipping into their pocketsCPAs are public accountants and generally dont give investment advice unless they have a subdesignation PFS or additional certifications like the CFP. CPAs focus on taxes and business auditing. Is the person handling the account a CFP? If so, theyre held to a fiduciary standard and its fairly unlikely theyre doing anything nefarious - especially in a retirement account where the rules are even stricterCommissions are about 1 which Im not happy aboutThese likely arent commissions. What exactly is the 1? Is it a fee that whoever is giving them advice is charging? If so, thats about what good professional fee-only advice costs. overall returns this year are 2 which is horrible considering the market.That entirely depends on their goals, risk tolerance, and asset allocation. Depending on what funds theyre invested in and how risk averse they are, that could be a perfectly reasonable return. Someone with 70k pensions thats retired doesnt need monster returns and the risk associated with itWhat can they do to put the funds into a better investment while still being very risk averse and allowing liquidity in case they have a medical problem and need to withdraw?Liquiditysafety and returns are competing goals. In general, the safer and more liquid the investment, the lower the return. There isnt anything that is super safe and readily accessible that also generates returns more than 3Overall assets 500k house 100k savings. Keep in mind their parents grew up in the depression and they had difficult lives growing up so losing money on a 100 US equities fund is not an option.This is the sort of complex situation where you dont try to manage it yourself without the necessary knowledge 