In other words, are you legally and ethically required to put my best interests first at all times? This is one of the clearest ways to understand how advice is given.

Our answer: Yes, always. Every recommendation we make is based on what’s best for you, not what benefits us. There are no product incentives or commissions influencing our advice to you.

It’s helpful to know what you’re paying for. This may include services like financial planning, investment management, life insurance solutions, etc.

Our answer: We offer two services - comprehensive financial planning and investment management. We will discuss which service (or combination of both) fits your situation the best.

Our planning services include retirement planning, tax coordination, cash flow planning, and helping you think through major decisions as they come up.

The goal of both services is to simplify things and give you clarity, not just manage a portfolio in isolation.

Understanding compensation upfront helps you avoid surprises and gives clarity on how your advisor is incentivized.

Our answer: We’re paid directly by through a transparent fee. You can find the fee schedule for each service on our home page.

There are no commissions or hidden incentives behind the scenes. This keeps things clean and aligned. Our only focus is doing what’s right for you.

Every advisor has a philosophy. This question helps you understand how they think about risk, long-term investing, and navigating different market environments.

Our answer: Research-driven, disciplined, and goal-based.

We’re not trying to outguess the market or chase trends. Instead, we start with your goals, timeline, and comfort with risk, then build a portfolio that supports that plan. The strategy is what drives decisions, the investments are just a tool.

No one loves this question, but it’s an important one. A good advisor should be open about any potential incentives or relationships that could influence recommendations.

Our answer: Our firm is designed to minimize conflicts as much as possible.

We don’t receive commissions or incentives for recommending specific products. That said, if anything ever comes up that could be perceived as a conflict, we believe in being transparent and would address those conflicts directly.

Do they meet regularly? Reach out proactively? Or only connect when you initiate it? This sets expectations for the relationship.

Our answer: If you hire us for comprehensive financial planning, we will meet several times during the first few months while we build and implement your initial plan. After that, we’ll schedule ongoing check-ins at a cadence that works best for you. Many clients prefer quarterly meetings, and we’re happy to maintain that rhythm if that’s your preference.

If you hire us for investment management only, you’ll receive detailed quarterly performance reports, and we’ll conduct a formal performance review at least once per year. Of course, if you’d like to meet more frequently, we’re always happy to do so.

You’re building a long-term relationship. It’s worth understanding how continuity and transition would be handled down the road.

Our answer: While we plan to be doing this for a long time, we’ve built our firm with continuity in mind so that if anything changes, you’re not left without support. We are happy to discuss our succession plan in more detail at any point in time.

It’s helpful to know how easy it is to leave, what the process looks like, and whether there are any restrictions or fees.

Our answer: You’re never locked in.

If at any point you feel like it’s not the right fit, you’re free to move on. We’ll help make that transition as smooth as possible. Our goal is to earn the relationship over time, not rely on contracts to keep it.