Red Flags · The Checklist
Is this normal?
See for yourself.
39 red flags of a bad advisor relationship — including the quiet ones nobody warns you about. None of them requires a villain; most are ordinary, legal, and structural. Check everything that sounds familiar.
Consumer education, not investment advice. Paul Powell is not currently a licensed financial advisor.
Fees & costs 01–09
Conflicts of interest 10–17
Sales tactics 18–24
Products 25–31
Standards & accountability 32–39
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Check everything that sounds like your advisor — or the one you’re considering.
Go deeper
The full Library →
Every flag, translated.
What you see is one thing. What the money is doing underneath is another. Each piece walks the trail — with receipts.
Start here
How to read your advisor statement
Read →Tool
The Fee Translator — your fees, in dollars
Run it →Family
Worried about your parents’ advisor?
Read →Fees
Why is the fee a percentage of your money?
Read →Plain Language
What is a fiduciary — and what doesn’t it protect?
Read →Fees
The fund fee you never see on a statement
Read →Fees
Why you’re paying your advisor twice
Read →Fees
What’s inside your “all-inclusive” wrap fee
Read →Fees
Same fund, three prices: the share-class game
Read →Fees
Paid every year you hold that fund
Read →Fees
Paying 1% a year for nothing to happen
Read →Conflicts
Why you keep seeing the same five funds
Read →Conflicts
Why the firm’s own funds end up in your portfolio
Read →Conflicts
Why your advisor suddenly changed firms
Read →Conflicts
Who really paid for the trip to Hawaii
Read →Conflicts
Why they want all your accounts in one place
Read →Conflicts
Why they want your 401(k) out of the plan
Read →Conflicts
The TSP rollover pitch, translated
Read →Tactics
Why is the financial plan free?
Read →Tactics
Who’s really buying at the steak-dinner seminar
Read →Tactics
The “free second opinion” on your portfolio
Read →Tactics
Who pays for “find an advisor” matching services
Read →Products
Why annuities get sold, not bought
Read →Products
Why you can’t get your money out for 7 years
Read →Products
The “no-fee” annuity: where the cost hides
Read →Products
Indexed universal life, pitched as retirement
Read →Products
The “cash value” pitch, translated
Read →Products
The teachers’ 403(b) scandal nobody covers
Read →Products
What a “lifetime income” rider really guarantees
Read →The Rules
“Fee-based” and “fee-only” are not the same
Read →The Rules
“Best interest” is not fiduciary
Read →The Rules
The CFP letters don’t settle the fiduciary question
Read →The Rules
You waived your right to sue — remember?
Read →The Rules
“SEC-registered” is not an endorsement
Read →Plain Language
“Moderate risk” is not a number
Read →
The next step
Counted more flags than you’d like?
A flag is not a verdict — it’s a question that deserves a written answer. The Method gives you the questions, the order, and the email to send them in.