Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors - The Best Interest · Jesse Cramer

19 Questions to Uncover Good, Bad, and Ugly Financial Advisors

·59 min·1 clip

After inflation, taxes, and fees, expect 3-4% real annual returns from a typical portfolio—not the 8% someone might quote.

Jesse Kramer of Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors reviews Jason Zweig's seminal Wall Street Journal article 'The 19 Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor.' Jesse methodically walks through the 19 questions, explaining Zweig's proposed ideal answers and adding his own commentary from his experience as a fee-only fiduciary advisor at Cobblestone Financial Firm in Rochester, New York. Key questions include: Are you always a fiduciary in writing? (Should be legal, not just ethical fiduciary duty); Does anyone else pay you for advice? (Should be no); Do you participate in sales contests? (Should be no); Will you itemize fees in writing? (Should be yes with clear structure); Can you beat the market? (Should be no, focus on evidence-based factor investing); How often do you trade? (As seldom as possible); How is performance reported? (Net of all fees, including dividends, versus appropriate benchmarks, multiple time periods); What credentials do you hold? (CFP, CFA, CPA are best; many others are marketing); What's realistic return after taxes and fees? (3-4% real return from typical 60-40 portfolio after inflation, taxes, and fees). Jesse explains that Cobblestone employs 7 CFPs, 6 CFAs, 2 CPAs, and a T&E attorney to deliver comprehensive wealth management beyond just investments. The episode provides listeners with a 'vetting script' for financial advisor interviews and explains why each question matters.

As heard by us

A practical checklist for judging whether an advisor deserves trust.

This episode treats advisor selection as a check on process, not presentation. Jesse Kramer walks through Jason Zweig's 19 questions and adds two more of his own: succession planning and the cadence a client should expect.

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Why you'd press play

Use this before you hire an advisor, compare firms, or sanity-check a pitch.

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