Free 27-Question Checklist

In 10 minutes you’ll be able to:

See if your advisor’s fees are reasonable.
Spot 3 of the most common conflicts of interest.
Know exactly what to ask at your next meeting.

How to Vet a Financial Advisor with Evidence—Not Emotion

Learn the 27 questions that show you how to vet a financial advisor before you hire them — and avoid hundreds of thousands in unnecessary fees and mistakes.

Built on institutional due diligence standards, not sales tactics.
Free PDF checklist plus a few short, practical emails. You can read it in under 10 minutes.
I’m retired from managing money — I don’t take clients or manage assets. I focus solely on teaching individual investors how to vet and compare advisors.

How to Evaluate a Financial Advisor with Evidence—Not Emotion

Stop guessing with your life savings. Download the 27-Question 'Insider's Framework' to audit your financial advisor before you hire them.

Built on institutional due diligence standards, not sales tactics.
Free PDF checklist plus a few short, practical emails. You can read it in under 10 minutes.
I’m retired from managing money — I don’t take clients or manage assets. I focus solely on teaching individual investors how to vet and compare advisors.

In this guide, you will learn how to:

Vet and Compare Financial Advisors

Learn a step-by-step framework to evaluate any advisor’s background, fees, and approach.

Compare advisors side-by-side before you hand over your life savings.

Spot Conflicts, Fees, and Other Red Flags

Identify misaligned incentives like product commissions, asset-based fee conflicts, and performance-reporting games.

See the early warning signs that something isn’t adding up in your advisor relationship.

Choose and Keep a Transparent, Accountable Advisor

Use a written, evidence-based process so expectations, reporting, and fees are clear from day one.

Hold your advisor accountable quarter after quarter using documentation, not gut feel.

This isn’t generic investing advice.

It’s a practical checklist for people who want to feel confident sitting across from a financial advisor.

You already have an advisor and want to verify their fees, recommendations, and results.
You’re interviewing advisors and don’t know what to ask or how to compare them.
You’ve had a bad experience and want a structured way to avoid it happening again.

What Readers Are Saying

“I wish I’d had this 10 years ago. The 27 questions showed me exactly where my advisor was vague on fees and performance. I walked into our next meeting with real confidence for the first time.”

Jane M., 58

“I’m not an investing expert, but I’ve managed engineers my whole career. This guide felt like bringing an institutional checklist into my personal life. It finally gave me structure instead of guesswork.”

Mark S., 62

“I used the checklist while interviewing two advisors. One welcomed the questions; the other got defensive. Choosing between them suddenly became very easy.”

Linda R., 51

Free PDF Guide: 27 Questions to Spot Financial Advisor Red Flags

Full Chapters Overview

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About The Author

Paul Powell spent over two decades on the institutional side of the table. Now he’s on yours.

Former institutional investment advisor with 20+ years’ experience.
Oversaw more than $2 billion in retirement assets for large employers.
Nationally recognized advisor, speaker, and author, including being named among the top 300 financial advisors in the U.S. earlier in his career.
Now retired from managing money — he does not take clients or manage assets, and focuses solely on teaching individual investors how to vet and compare advisors.