Most advisors sound alike on a first call. Everyone is experienced, everyone puts clients first, everyone believes in planning. The differences show up in the details: who actually does the work, how they are paid, where your money sits, and what you have in hand a few months in. Rochester has every kind of advisor: national brokerage branches, bank trust departments, insurance agencies and independent firms. The questions below cut through all of them.
A good advisor can answer every question below plainly, before you sign anything. If an answer is vague, ask again. If it is still vague, that is your answer.
The questions to ask any advisor
Who will actually run my plan?
Is it the person you met, a junior associate, or a service team? Who do you call when something changes? A clear answer names a person and says how often you will hear from them.
Are you a fiduciary on every account, all the time?
Some advisors act as fiduciaries when they give advice and as salespeople when they sell products. Ask whether the duty covers every recommendation, including insurance and annuities, and get the answer in writing.
What will this cost me, in dollars?
Ask for the total yearly cost of the relationship in dollars, not only a percentage, including fund expenses. Then ask whether anyone else pays the advisor when you buy something they recommend.
Where will my money be held?
Your accounts should sit at a custodian, in your name, with statements sent to you directly by the custodian rather than only by the advisor.
What will I have in hand after the first few months?
A written plan? A one-page view of everything you own and owe? An action list with names and dates? Ask to see a sample before you start.
How will you work with my CPA and attorney?
Do they meet together? Who sets the agenda and follows up? A plan that leaves out your tax and legal advisors is only part of a plan.
What happens in a year when nothing goes wrong?
Ask what gets reviewed and when, how often you will meet, and what would prompt a call from them before you call them.
How do I check your record?
Look up the advisor and the firm on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site and FINRA BrokerCheck, and ask for the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. They describe services, fees and conflicts.
The kinds of advisors you will meet
Titles like “financial advisor” and “wealth manager” do not tell you how someone is paid or what duty they owe you. These categories do, and many advisors fit more than one.
| Type | Usually paid by | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Registered representative at a brokerage firm | Commissions on investments and products | How are you paid on each thing you recommend? |
| Registered investment adviser (RIA) | Advisory fees: a percentage of assets, a flat fee, or hourly | Are any of my accounts handled on commission instead? |
| Dually registered advisor | Both, depending on the account | Which role are you in for each of my accounts? |
| Bank or trust company wealth department | Fees on assets and trust services | Will you recommend the bank’s own products, and who is my day-to-day contact? |
| Insurance-focused advisor | Commissions on insurance and annuities | What do you earn on this policy, and what are the surrender charges? |
The fiduciary fine print
“Fiduciary” is the most overused word in the industry, and it means less than people think unless you know which hat the advisor is wearing.
| Registered investment adviser | Broker-dealer representative | |
|---|---|---|
| The standard | A fiduciary duty of care and loyalty under the Investment Advisers Act, covering the whole advisory relationship | Regulation Best Interest, which applies when a recommendation is made |
| Ongoing monitoring | Generally part of the duty when the adviser agrees to monitor | Not required unless agreed |
| How conflicts are handled | Must be eliminated or fully disclosed so you can consent | Must be disclosed and mitigated; some must be eliminated |
Many advisors are dually registered: an investment adviser on one account and a broker on another, sometimes in the same meeting. Neither role is wrong. What matters is that you know which one applies to each account and each recommendation, especially insurance and annuities, which are often sold under a separate license.
Read the Form ADV like an investigator
Every registered investment adviser files a Form ADV, and Part 2A is a plain-language brochure written for clients. It has 18 items. Most people read none of them. These five tell you most of what you need:
| Item | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Item 4: Advisory Business | What the firm actually does, and how much it manages |
| Item 5: Fees and Compensation | The real fee schedule, how it’s billed, and whether you pay other costs on top |
| Item 9: Disciplinary Information | Legal and regulatory events the firm must disclose |
| Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations | Affiliated brokers, banks, insurers and funds, which is where conflicts tend to live |
| Item 14: Client Referrals and Other Compensation | Who else pays the firm, and who the firm pays to get clients |
Then look up the individual advisor, not just the firm, on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site and FINRA BrokerCheck. Employment history, licenses, customer complaints and regulatory actions are all public, and all free.
The questions most advisors hope you skip
The first list gets you an honest picture. This one tells you how the firm behaves when its interests and yours pull apart.
- What does uninvested cash in my account earn, and who keeps the difference between that and what Treasury bills pay?
- Do you or your firm earn more if I buy one fund instead of another, or the firm’s own products?
- What happens to my fee in a year the portfolio loses money?
- How many families does the lead advisor personally serve?
- What happens to my account if you retire, sell the firm or get hit by a bus? Is there a written succession plan?
- Will you tell me, in writing, if you ever recommend something you are paid extra to sell?
Good advisors answer these without flinching. Some will even bring them up first. Put every one of them to us.
What the letters after a name mean
There are dozens of financial designations. Some require years of study and continuing education; some take a weekend. A few worth knowing:
| Designation | What it signals |
|---|---|
| CFP® | Broad financial planning education, an exam, experience requirements and a fiduciary commitment when giving financial advice |
| CFA® | Deep investment analysis training across three demanding exams |
| CPA / PFS | A licensed accountant, with the PFS adding personal financial planning |
| CEPA® | Specialized training in business owner exits and transitions |
FINRA keeps a free database of professional designations that explains what each one requires. A credential is a starting point, not a verdict: it tells you what someone studied, not how they will treat you.
Answers that should make you pause
- The total cost cannot be stated in dollars.
- You cannot tell who you will work with after the first meeting.
- Statements would come only from the advisor, never from the custodian holding your money.
- The first meeting ends with a product before anyone has looked at your spending, taxes or goals.
- You feel pressure to move everything at once.
- There is no sample of what you will receive.
If you own a business
When most of your wealth is in a company, the questions change. An advisor can be excellent with portfolios and still have little experience with what happens before and after a sale.
Ask how they would handle the year of a sale. Then listen for:
- The gap between the headline price and what reaches you after debt, fees, taxes, escrow and earnouts
- Seller notes, earnouts and rollover equity treated as promises, not cash
- Working with your deal attorney, banker and CPA before the letter of intent
- A plan for the first twelve months after the money arrives
Before your first meetings, run your numbers through the sale-and-retire calculator and the proceeds calculator, and see how each advisor responds to them.
How Morrowgate answers
We would rather you ask us these questions than take our word for anything. Here are our answers up front.
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Who runs my plan? | Gregory Garone, CEPA®, leads every relationship, with support from the broader team at Regal. |
| Where is my money held? | In your name at an independent custodian, primarily Fidelity, with Schwab available. Statements come to you directly from the custodian. |
| What does it cost? | Fees depend on the scope of work. We explain the cost, and any account minimum, in writing before you decide. How fees work |
| How is the firm paid, and what conflicts exist? | Both are described in the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. Ask for them, and read them before you sign anything. |
| What will I have in hand? | A written plan, a family balance sheet we keep current, and an action list with names and dates. See a sample |
| How do you work with my CPA and attorney? | Greg sets the agenda for joint meetings so everyone works from the same numbers. Each of them still gives their own advice. |
| How often do we meet? | It is set in your agreement, around what is happening in your life. |
| What if I own a business? | Planning before, during and after a sale is the center of the practice. |
Questions people ask
What is the difference between fee-only and fee-based?
Fee-only advisors are paid only by their clients. Fee-based advisors charge fees and may also earn commissions on products they sell. The names sound almost identical. The incentives aren’t.
How many advisors should I interview?
Two or three is usually enough, as long as each one gets the same questions and you compare the answers in writing.
Will the advisor be able to take money out of my accounts?
In the usual setup, your accounts sit at an independent custodian in your name. The advisor can manage the investments and, with your agreement, deduct the advisory fee, but money leaving the account goes to you or to destinations you authorize.
What does CEPA® mean?
Certified Exit Planning Advisor, a designation from the Exit Planning Institute focused on business owner transitions: preparing the company, the owner and the family for a sale or succession.
Where this guidance stops
This guide is general information about choosing an advisor. It does not rank or recommend any firm, including Morrowgate, and it is not investment, legal or tax advice. Check any advisor’s registration and disciplinary history yourself before you hire them.
Sources
- SEC: Investment Adviser Public Disclosure
- FINRA BrokerCheck
- SEC Investor.gov: Form CRS, the relationship summary
- SEC: Form ADV Part 2 instructions
- SEC: Interpretation of the standard of conduct for investment advisers (2019)
- SEC: Adoption of Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS (2019)
- FINRA: Professional designations