What the conversation must establish
The strongest interview questions produce evidence you can verify later. Ask every candidate the same core questions, request documents and record unresolved differences.
Take these prompts into the meeting
- Registration and firm identity
- Exact services and responsible person
- First-year and ongoing dollar cost
- Material conflicts and mitigation
- Review cadence and decision records
- Exit, complaint and data-transfer process
Begin with authority and scope
Ask where the person and firm are registered, which services they can legally provide and whether they will act as a fiduciary throughout the entire engagement. Ask who is responsible when the lead professional is away. Next step: Prepare one decision brief for every candidate.
Make cost concrete
Ask for the estimated first-year cost in dollars, the ongoing fee formula, product-level expenses and charges paid to other companies. Then ask how the professional and firm are compensated if you accept the recommendation. Next step: Score the written answers consistently.
Test the recommendation process
Ask for a recent anonymised example showing how alternatives were evaluated, what evidence changed the recommendation and how uncertainty was documented. Do not ask for a performance story; ask for a decision process. Next step: Use a decision-specific rollover comparison.
Define accountability before a problem
Ask how often the plan is reviewed, what triggers an off-cycle review, how complaints are handled, how records can be transferred and what happens when the relationship ends. Next step: Plan for records, fees and an orderly exit.
Turn an answer into evidence
A candidate answers 'we are fiduciaries' but declines to identify when brokerage services apply. The follow-up is not an argument: request the Form CRS, identify the account type in the proposal and ask the candidate to mark which standard applies to each service.
How to judge the answers
| Subject | Relationship | Evidence or action |
|---|---|---|
| Core answer | should establish | The strongest interview questions produce evidence you can verify later. Ask every candidate the same core questions, request documents and record unresolved differences. |
| Authority and fit | is supported by | Registration and firm identity |
| Quality of explanation | is tested with | Exact services and responsible person |
| Follow-through | should include | First-year and ongoing dollar cost |
Follow-up questions
What should I bring to an introductory adviser meeting?
Bring a redacted account and debt inventory, income and spending ranges, key deadlines and a one-page description of the decisions you need to make. Do not send account credentials or full identity documents.
Should I sign an agreement during the first meeting?
An introductory meeting should give you enough information to review scope, fees, conflicts and public records. Taking the documents away to compare them is reasonable and reduces pressure.
Leave with a usable record
- Registration and firm identity
- Exact services and responsible person
- First-year and ongoing dollar cost
- Material conflicts and mitigation
Primary sources
Separate a useful answer from a sales answer
A good interview produces records that can be checked after the meeting. Ask short questions, let the candidate finish, then request the document or calculation behind the answer. The goal is not to catch someone out. It is to make each candidate answer the same decision in a form you can compare.
Ask for the source and the responsible person
When a candidate describes a service, fee or safeguard, ask where it appears in writing and who owns the task. Record the name of the person who builds the plan, selects investments, approves trades, handles complaints and covers absences. A team claim is incomplete until responsibilities, credentials and escalation routes are clear.
Follow vague language with a concrete scenario
Replace phrases such as comprehensive, low cost or personalised with a test. Ask what happens when you need a midyear tax decision, want to pay down debt, move an outside account or end the relationship. Request a sample deliverable or anonymised process record. If the explanation changes between conversation, proposal and disclosure, write down the difference and resolve it before signing.
| Question area | Weak answer | Useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | We are fully licensed | Person and firm identifiers with the applicable registry |
| Cost | About one percent | First year dollars with product and account costs |
| Service | We do comprehensive planning | Deliverables, timing, responsible staff and exclusions |
| Conflicts | We always put clients first | Conflict tied to the proposal and the control used |
This guide is general education, not individual financial, investment, insurance, mortgage, legal or tax advice.