NerdWallet Lists 8 Questions to Vet Financial Advisors, From Fiduciary Duty to Fees
Updated
Updated · NerdWallet · Oct 14
NerdWallet Lists 8 Questions to Vet Financial Advisors, From Fiduciary Duty to Fees
2 articles · Updated · NerdWallet · Oct 14
Summary
NerdWallet’s new guide urges prospective clients to use free introductory meetings to ask 8 core questions before hiring a financial advisor.
The checklist starts with fiduciary status and compensation, telling readers to get a clear yes-or-no answer on acting in clients’ best interests and a written breakdown of all-in costs.
It also tells investors to verify broker, adviser and credential claims through SEC and FINRA databases, noting FINRA lists more than 200 financial designations while CFP, CFA, CPA and ChFC generally carry the most weight.
Later questions focus on practical fit—what services an advisor actually provides, how they handle market declines, and whether they account for 401(k), HSA or pension assets they cannot directly manage.
The final screen is custody and succession planning: assets are typically held by a separate custodian, and Cerulli says 25% of U.S. advisors are expected to retire over the next decade.