Financial Advisor Indianapolis
                     7 Questions to Ask Yourself About 
Your Financial Advisor
  Financial Plan 
Delegating your investment decisions to a financial advisor can feel like relief, 
especially if you’ve felt worried, anxious, or fearful about the stock market or 
making money decisions in general. The good news is you don’t need to 
memorize the tax code or speak fluent finance to get real value from your 
advisor. You do, however, need answers to a few questions to maintain peace of 
mind. Does your advisor bring clarity to your financial situation, or do 
you feel more confused? This single question can reveal a lot about the 
effectiveness of your relationship with your advisor.
 
Here are a few more questions you want to be sure you can answer this year that
will give you confidence that you are working with the right financial advisor.
Is my advisor acting in my best interest?
A fiduciary is legally required to put your interests ahead of their own. That 
means they cannot steer you toward a product simply because it offers them a 
higher commission. However, it’s important to note that some professionals may 
act as fiduciaries only at certain times and operate as salespeople at other times,
depending on their role or “hat” for the day. If you ask, “Are you a fiduciary?” A 
dually registered advisor is both a broker (registered with FINRA) and an 
investment advisor (registered with the SEC). A broker is not legally required to 
act as a fiduciary, only and always in every recommendation they make. If you 
don’t want to ask your advisor the question directly, you can look up registration 
status at FINRA BrokerCheck (https://brokercheck.finra.org) and SEC Advisor 
Search (https://www.investor.gov/).
How does my financial advisor really know if I’m on track to reach my goals?
A financial plan isn’t a binder that sits on a shelf. It’s a living thing that should 
give you confidence to know you are going to be okay.
 
Before you talk about returns, does your financial advisor ask what’s new? Have 
your goals changed since last year? Do you want to retire early? Are you 
planning a move? Did you have a health scare? Are you quitting your job to start 
a business? Life changes, and your plan should shift with it. While your financial 
advisor may tell you that you’re on track for retirement, can they explain how 
they reached that conclusion? Do they instill the confidence you need to buy a 
second home or take that dream vacation? The goal is to provide you with 
meaningful insights about the life you are building, not just a review of 
investment performance compared to some benchmark you’ll forget by 
dinnertime.
What fees am I actually paying?
There are three basic models for financial advice. Commission-based advisors 
earn money when you buy a product. Fee-based advisors charge a fee and can 
earn commissions, which is easy to confuse with the next one. Fee-only advisors 
are paid directly by you and only by you, with no commissions or product sales in
the mix. Fees are the quiet drag on your returns, and they hide in more places 
than most people realize. If you’re working with a fee-only fiduciary who bills on 
the assets under management, you can see the advisory fee on your custodian’s 
statement (Schwab, Fidelity, etc.). Then there are the fees you can’t see: 
expense ratios in your mutual funds and ETFs, 12b-1 fees, commissions, trading 
costs, and platform charges.
 
If you add up everything, what percentage of your money goes to costs each 
year? A fee-only fiduciary should be able to easily explain what you’re paying, 
while some other advisors may struggle. If you’re concerned, ask them to explain
it in one plain sentence. If they can’t, that’s your answer. You’re not looking for 
the cheapest option, but you do want value you can see clearly.
Does my financial advisor consider taxes?
Two investors can earn the same return and end up with distinct net results. The 
difference is often taxes.
An advisor who is trained to identify tax opportunities can potentially save you 
enough in taxes to cover their fees. Managing your investment decisions with 
taxes in mind involves employing strategies such as asset location (holding the 
right investments in the right type of account), tax-loss harvesting (turning a 
market dip into a tax break), and Roth conversion analysis. These strategies can 
help reduce your lifetime tax liability. If your advisor does not request your tax 
return or coordinate with your CPA, you might be paying more in taxes than 
necessary. Effective planning treats your investments and tax situation as a 
unified whole, rather than two separate tasks.
How often does my financial advisor reach out to me?
The best plan in the world can fall apart if your advisor doesn’t follow up to see 
how it’s going. How often do you meet to make updates? When was the last time
you heard from your financial advisor, or do you always have to be the one to 
call? Would someone pick up the phone if you felt worried when the market drops
15%, or would you disappear into a call queue? Your financial team should know 
your situation personally. You’re not just an account; you are a highly valued 
client, and their desire to stay connected shows how invested they are in your 
success.
What happens to my plan if my advisor retires?
If you work with a financial advisor throughout retirement, chances are your 
financial life will outlast any single advisor’s career. You want stability and 
confidence knowing that your accounts and financial plan are solid, even if your 
advisor retires, leaves, or gets hit by the proverbial bus. Does the support team 
already know you, or is everything in one person’s head? Firms built around a 
team share notes, clear processes, and have multiple advisors who understand 
your goals to provide continuity that a solo operator simply cannot. Your plan 
should be built to keep working, no matter who’s in the room.
 
You don’t need perfect financial knowledge to make a smart decision. You need 
an advisor who answers questions in plain English and leaves you feeling more 
confident than when you walked in. At Hurlow Wealth Management Group, we’re 
a fee-only fiduciary firm, which means your interests come first every time. If 
you’d like to talk through any of these questions, we’d love to hear from you. 
Feel free to schedule an introductory call with one of our financial advisors. For 
over two decades, the Hurlow Wealth Management Group has helped clients 
achieve their financial goals by creating clarity around priorities, feeling 
confident to make decisions, and ultimately achieving comfort.
You May Also Be Interested In
Quarterly Investment Report Q3 2026
Smart Money Moves to Make Before You File the FAFSA Form
Midterm Election Impact on Markets
Services offered through Hurlow Wealth Management Group, Inc., a Registered 
Investment Adviser. Hurlow Wealth Management Group, Inc. does not provide 
tax, legal or accounting advice. Advisory services are only offered to clients or 
prospective clients where Hurlow Wealth Management Group, Inc. and its 
representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past 
performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and 
possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Hurlow Wealth 
Management Group, Inc. unless a client service agreement is in place.