10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Financial Advisor in South Jersey
Choosing a financial advisor is about more than finding someone to manage your investments. It is about finding someone who understands your priorities, explains your options clearly, and helps you make informed decisions as your life changes.
Whether you live in Marlton, Cherry Hill, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, elsewhere in South Jersey, or the Philadelphia and surrounding Pennsylvania area, an introductory meeting should be a two-way conversation. The advisor will want to learn about you—but you should also learn how the advisor works, what you will pay, and what the relationship will include.
If you are researching how to choose a financial advisor in NJ or Pennsylvania, use these 10 financial advisor interview questions to guide your conversations. The SEC’s investor education resources similarly emphasize checking registration, understanding costs, evaluating experience, and reviewing potential conflicts before hiring an investment professional.
1. Will you act as a fiduciary?
Ask: “Will you act as a fiduciary when providing financial advice to me, and will you explain that responsibility in writing?”
A fiduciary obligation requires an advisor to put clients’ interests first within the applicable advisory relationship. CFP® professionals commit to CFP Board to act as fiduciaries whenever they provide financial advice, regardless of their compensation model.
Do not stop at a simple “yes.” Ask whether the professional acts as an investment adviser, a broker, an insurance agent, or in more than one capacity—and how those roles affect the services and recommendations you receive. A firm’s relationship summary, when applicable, explains its services, standard of conduct, compensation, and conflicts.
Look for a clear explanation of the advisor’s responsibilities, not just a reassuring label.
2. How are you paid?
Ask: “How are you and your firm compensated, and what will my total costs be?”
Financial professionals may charge asset-based fees, hourly fees, flat planning fees, commissions, or a combination of charges. Different account arrangements can carry different costs, even within the same firm.
Request a written breakdown of the advisory or planning fee, underlying investment expenses, account charges, and any commissions or product-related compensation. Ask what is included and what costs extra.
For example, a 1% annual advisory fee on a $500,000 portfolio equals $5,000 a year before other applicable expenses. Ask the advisor to translate percentage-based fees into dollars using your expected account size, as Investor.gov recommends.
The goal is not simply to find the lowest price. It is to understand what you are paying for and whether the services match your needs.
3. What experience and credentials do you have?
Ask: “What qualifications do you hold, and how much experience do you have helping people with circumstances like mine?”
A professional designation can help you evaluate an advisor’s preparation, but you should also ask about relevant experience. The SEC recommends examining both credentials and professional background when choosing an investment professional.
Make the conversation specific to your situation. You might ask about experience with retirement transitions, business ownership, pension decisions, inherited assets, or managing finances after the loss of a spouse.
If the advisor uses the CFP® certification, verify it through CFP Board’s verification tool, which provides certification status and relevant background disclosures.
Look for someone who can explain how their experience applies to your decisions—not merely recite a résumé.
4. What services are included?
Ask: “Will you help me develop a financial plan, manage investments, or both—and what will you deliver?”
Do not assume every financial advisor offers the same services. Investor.gov recommends checking whether the available products and services fit your needs before you commit.
Ask whether the engagement addresses retirement income, cash flow, tax-aware investment decisions, insurance needs, beneficiary reviews, and coordination with your other professionals. Clarify which services the advisor provides directly and which require an accountant, attorney, or insurance specialist.
Request a sample planning report or an explanation of the planning process. Will you receive written recommendations? An implementation schedule? Ongoing updates?
The scope should be clear enough that you understand what happens after the first meeting.
5. How will you address NJ issues?
Ask: “How will you account for my New Jersey circumstances—and any financial connections I have to Pennsylvania or another state?”
For a South Jersey household, useful discussion topics may include state taxation of retirement income, property costs, pension choices, and a possible move in retirement. If you work in Pennsylvania, own property elsewhere, or expect to relocate, ask how the advisor will incorporate those circumstances.
You do not need to test the advisor on every tax rule. Instead, ask for an example of how state-specific considerations would enter your planning and when the advisor would involve your tax professional.
A useful follow-up is: “If I am considering retiring in New Jersey versus moving elsewhere, how would you help me compare the financial tradeoffs?”
6. How will you manage investment risk?
Ask: “How will you determine an appropriate investment strategy, and how will you explain its risks?”
Ask the advisor to describe how your investments would connect to your goals, time horizon, cash needs, and ability to handle losses. Request a plain-language explanation of how investments are selected and monitored.
For someone approaching retirement, make the question concrete: “How would you approach my portfolio if I expect to begin withdrawals within the next few years?”
Discuss how the advisor would communicate during a market decline and what circumstances would prompt a change in strategy. Be wary of promises of high returns with little or no risk; investor education guidance identifies such promises as warning signs.
7. Who will work with me?
Ask: “Who will be my primary contact, and how will our ongoing relationship work?”
Clarify whether the person you meet initially will remain your advisor or whether another team member will handle the relationship.
Ask about scheduled reviews, response times, meeting formats, and how to obtain help between appointments. You can also ask what happens if your advisor retires, leaves the firm, or is temporarily unavailable.
Consider your own preferences. Do you want in-person meetings in South Jersey, virtual meetings, or a combination? Do you prefer detailed reports or a shorter explanation followed by discussion?
The right fit includes a communication style you are comfortable using.
8. Where will my assets be held?
Ask: “What institution will hold my investments, and how will I access and verify my account information?”
Have the advisor explain the roles of the advisory firm and the institution that holds your assets. Ask who sends account statements, how you access your accounts, and what authority the advisor will have.
Clarify whether the advisor can make investment decisions without seeking approval for every trade and what procedures apply to withdrawals or transfers.
Your account arrangement, services, and authority should be explained in the agreements you receive. Reviewing the firm’s disclosures and relationship summary, where applicable, can help you understand the proposed relationship.
9. What conflicts or disclosures should I review?
Ask: “What conflicts of interest should I understand, and where can I review your registration and disciplinary history?”
Ask whether compensation, product availability, referral arrangements, or other business relationships could influence recommendations. Disclosure of a conflict is a starting point for discussion—not a reason to stop asking questions.
Use Investor.gov’s investment professional resources to check registration and available background information. Ask for the firm’s Form ADV brochure and, if applicable, its Form CRS relationship summary. SEC-registered investment advisers serving retail investors and registered broker-dealers serving retail investors have Form CRS obligations; do not assume every state-registered advisory firm must provide one.
Review any reported disciplinary matters or complaints and ask for an explanation. Registration and credentials are important checks, but neither should replace your own evaluation of the proposed relationship.
10. What happens after I hire you?
Ask: “What will the first several months look like, how will we evaluate progress, and what happens if I decide to leave?”
Ask the advisor to walk you through the proposed onboarding process: gathering information, identifying priorities, developing recommendations, and implementing agreed-upon changes.
Clarify how progress will be reviewed. Beyond investment results, which planning decisions will you revisit together? How will changes in your family, employment, health, or retirement plans be incorporated?
Before signing, also ask about contract terms, cancellation procedures, transfer charges, and any restrictions associated with recommended products. Investor.gov emphasizes understanding the services and costs of the relationship before hiring an investment professional.
A good introductory conversation should leave you with a clear understanding of the process—not pressure to make an immediate commitment.
Choosing an advisor with confidence
Consider meeting with more than one advisor and asking each the same questions. Compare the clarity of their answers, the proposed services, the total costs, and how comfortable you feel discussing your concerns.
The right relationship is not necessarily the one with the most impressive presentation. Look for an advisor who listens carefully, explains tradeoffs, welcomes questions, and gives you enough information to make your own decision.
Start an introductory conversation
Based in Marlton, New Jersey, Financial Life Planning, LLC serves individuals, families, and business owners throughout South Jersey, Philadelphia, and surrounding Pennsylvania communities. We provide financial and retirement planning, investment advisory, and wealth management services to individuals, families, and small business owners.
An introductory conversation is an opportunity to discuss your priorities at a high level, learn about our approach, and explore whether our services may be a good fit. It is a starting point—not a promise to resolve every planning issue during the first meeting.
Schedule an Introductory Conversation with a Certified Financial Planner, or call (856) 988-5480.
Edward C. Goldstein, CFP®, MBA, President
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ Practitioner
Financial Life Planning, LLC
10,000 Lincoln Dr. East, Suite 201
Marlton, NJ 08053
Phone: 856-988-5480
Fax: 908-292-1040
This article is for general educational purposes and is not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice.
