Comments on: Questions to Ask When Picking a Financial Adviser

By: Michael Zhuang

Michael Zhuang — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:40:18 +0000

Very nice, I totally agree. The biggest value a financial planner can add is in fact being a behavioral coach for the client. The biggest cost of investors is conflicts of interest which I found in abundance in brokerage clients' portfolios. "The staggering costs of conflicts of interest" is a true story and a cautionary tale.

By: Sam Fawaz

Sam Fawaz — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:26:37 +0000

I agree, the post is well written and captures the essence of what long-term and fee-only planning is about. Thanks for speaking for many of us who have the clients’ best interest in mind. Financial writer Bob Veres can’t even get an op-ed piece on fiduciary advisors published in the WSJ or Washington Post. So much for a fair press.

By: James Kaplan

James Kaplan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:42:17 +0000

I agree with your critique of the article. You should be writing for the WSJ – I think an article written by an actual planner would lend a better perspective.

You point out many issues with the article – I note that telling people to ask potential advisors to “combine all of your clients into a single portfolio and tell me how the overall portfolio did?” is a ridiculous request because the number it would produce would be essentially meaningless.

By: Bill Winterberg

Bill Winterberg — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:35:21 +0000

Found your article from @RockTheBoatMKTG’s tweet.

I think you captured the shortcomings of the original WSJ article and really provided good approaches that consumers can use to find a competent, capable adviser. Thank you for posting your comments.

By: Russ Thornton

Russ Thornton — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:25:45 +0000

Great post. Roger. I also read the WSJ article and cringed at some of the advice given. I’m glad you called them out on several points.