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Interview questions
Experience:

  • What licenses and/or certificates do you currently hold?
  • What professional organizations are you a member of or affiliated with?
  • What is your area of focus—estate planning, taxes, investments, other?
  • How would you describe your client base?
  • What is the average length of your client relationships?
  • Do you participate in ongoing education or training?
Services:

  • What types of investment services do you offer?
  • How are you compensated for your services--commission, fee-only or a combination?
  • Do you work with other "estate professionals" such as insurance agents and lawyers for a comprehensive review of each client's estate?
  • How often will you review my investment portfolio?
  • If changes need to be made, what is the process or policy?
  • How often will you review my investment plan and it's progress with me?
  • When you make a recommendation for change, what information do you provide me to support your recommendation?
  • Do you provide seminars or communications on new products or services?
  • What is your procedure during general volatile market conditions and when a specific holding is experiencing volatility?
Communications:

  • How often do you send clients account balances and performance information?
  • Other than sending statements, how often do you contact clients?
  • Do you have a Web site that allows me to access my account information with daily updated values?