The most important question to ask a financial advisor is how they’re paid, in full. After that, ask about fit (have they helped people like you?) and process (what will actually happen?). Here are twelve questions for a first meeting, with what a good answer sounds like and what should make you pause.
Bring this list. Ask every advisor the same questions, so you can compare.
Before the meeting, answer three questions yourself
- What do I want help with? One decision, or everything, ongoing?
- Do I want them to manage the investments, or just advise?
- What would I be comfortable paying a year, in dollars?
Knowing your answers makes it easy to tell which advisor fits.
About pay
1. How are you paid, and is there any other way you or your firm earn money from my account?
- Good answer: “Only by you. Here’s my fee.” A fee-only advisor can say this plainly.
- Pause if: they mention commissions, “trails,” insurance or annuity sales, or say “it depends on the product.”
2. What will I pay in total each year, in dollars?
- Good answer: a dollar figure, or a short calculation. For context, fee-only firms that publish prices charge a median of $4,500 a year for ongoing planning, $2,000 for a one-time plan, $300 an hour, or 1% of assets.
- Pause if: they only give a percentage, or can’t say what fund and platform fees add.
3. What’s included in that fee, and what costs extra?
- Good answer: a clear list: planning, investment management, tax help, meetings, how to reach them.
- Pause if: core help like tax planning or retirement income is an add-on you only learn about later.
About fit
4. Who are most of your clients?
- Good answer: a specific description that sounds like you: “pre-retirees in tech with stock options,” “small business owners,” “people going through divorce.”
- Pause if: “everyone.” Specialists have seen your situation many times.
5. Have you helped someone in my exact situation recently? What did you do?
- Good answer: a concrete example, with details changed for privacy, and what they’d look at first in your case.
- Pause if: general talk about markets or their philosophy, with no example.
6. What are your credentials, and are you registered?
- Good answer: credentials like the CFP, plus their firm’s registration. You can check both: the SEC’s adviser search and the CFP Board’s verify page.
- Pause if: they’re vague, or the SEC search shows disclosures they didn’t mention.
7. Do you have a minimum?
- Good answer: a clear yes or no. Half of fee-only firms that state a minimum have none.
- Pause if: the minimum is a stretch for you and there’s no other option, such as hourly or a one-time plan.
About how they work
8. What happens in the first 90 days?
- Good answer: specific steps: gathering documents, a first plan, the decisions you’ll make together, when you’ll meet.
- Pause if: the first step is moving your money.
9. How do you decide what to invest in?
- Good answer: a simple, repeatable approach, tied to your plan and taxes, with costs kept low.
- Pause if: promises to beat the market, or products you can only buy through them.
10. How often will we meet, and how do I reach you between meetings?
- Good answer: a set rhythm (often two to four meetings a year) and a real way to reach them, and a sense of how fast they reply.
- Pause if: you’d mostly deal with someone else and don’t know who.
11. Who holds my money?
- Good answer: a large independent custodian, in an account in your name, where you can log in and see everything.
- Pause if: the advisor holds the money themselves, or you can’t see the account directly.
12. If I leave, what happens?
- Good answer: you can leave any time, your accounts stay in your name, and any fee is prorated.
- Pause if: surrender charges, long contracts or exit fees.
After the meeting
- Check what you heard against their Form CRS and Form ADV on the SEC’s adviser search. Our guide on telling whether an advisor is fee-only shows where to look.
- Compare at least two advisors. It’s easier to spot a weak answer when you’ve heard a strong one.
- Notice how you felt. A good first meeting feels like being listened to, not sold to.
New to this? Start with do I need a financial advisor? or how to find a fee-only advisor.