The Scripts You Need When Talking To A Financial Advisor

Summary

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky
Episode Title: The Scripts You Need When Talking To A Financial Advisor
Date: October 24, 2025
Guest: Pam Krueger, Founder and CEO of Wealthramp

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Episode Overview

This episode of HerMoney is designed to empower women to confidently navigate conversations with financial advisors. Host Jean Chatzky and her guest Pam Krueger use a role-play format to demonstrate, with scripts and real-world questions, how to approach, evaluate, and get the most out of a relationship with a financial advisor. The discussion covers everything from those first advisor meetings, reassessing an existing advisor, to interviewing multiple candidates, with a focus on ensuring that women get financial guidance tailored to their unique needs and goals.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Approaching Your First Meeting With an Advisor

Timestamp: 06:05 – 14:41

• Shift the Power Dynamic:
  Pam emphasizes that as the client, you are interviewing the advisor, not the other way around.
• Key Script for the Client:
  • State your intent: “I’d love to walk away from today’s conversation knowing whether there’s a potential fit here. I’m hoping to cover three main things.” (Pam Krueger, 07:09)
• Important Questions to Ask:
  1. Who are your clients, and what situations do you typically help with?
     • Ensures your concerns mirror their expertise.
     • Example: “Can you describe the clients you’re already working with and what their situations are?” (Pam Krueger, 08:47)
  2. What do you specifically do for those clients? Provide examples.
     • Look for details, not generalities.
     • Memorable quote: “It’s really good when they can get specific and give you examples of clients and how they’re helping them with those challenges.” (Pam Krueger, 11:18)
  3. How do you get paid?
     • Directly ask about fee structure and models.
     • “Please describe how your clients that you just described are paying you. Tell me about your fees.” (Pam Krueger, 12:42)
• How to Identify a Bad Fit:
  • If the advisor responds with generalities and doesn’t directly address your concerns, that’s a red flag.

2. Reevaluating an Existing Advisor Relationship

Timestamp: 14:41 – 21:55

• Assessing Value:
  • “How are you, the advisor, measuring my success? I need you... to describe the value that you think you’re adding to my life.” (Pam Krueger, 15:18)
• DIY vs. Advisor:
  • Even for competent DIY investors, Pam suggests asking: “Where are the gaps in my plan? I’d like you to look over my plan with a set of fresh eyes.” (Pam Krueger, 17:14)
• On-going Value:
  • Memorable moment: “For me, the real value lies in the plan... the annual meeting where we look at the trajectory and… put all the pieces together.” (Jean Chatzky, 19:18)
  • Advisors should proactively adjust plans as your life changes—not just monitor investments but support life transitions.

3. Retirement Concerns and Decumulation

Timestamp: 21:55 – 28:24

• Key Client Questions:
  • “Have we really looked at longevity? Can you show me how you’ve stress tested for this kind of ‘what if’ scenario?” (Pam Krueger, 24:07)
  • Don’t settle for vague reassurances; demand specifics on:
    • Longevity planning
    • How income streams are constructed
    • Handling down markets and healthcare needs
  • The power script: “Show me. I really want you to just show me how this is going to work under different circumstances—down market, healthcare wildcards...” (Pam Krueger, 27:15)

4. Interviewing Multiple Advisors

Timestamp: 30:16 – 35:07

• Process Tips:
  • Talk to two to three advisors: “It kind of is more like dating than anything else.” (Pam Krueger, 30:51)
  • Ask the same questions for fair comparison, but ensure all advisors have the same minimum qualifications (vetted, fee-only, fiduciary).
• Discussing Philosophy:
  • “Instead of trying to bend you to their philosophy, it’s really important... that they’re not going to try to convince you. The whole point... is so you’re paying them to make sure your priorities are going to be met.” (Pam Krueger, 32:29)
• Assess alignment:
  • If an advisor “respectfully listens to your philosophy and you respectfully take in theirs,” that’s a green flag. No connection? “You just walk away.”

5. Advisor Fees: What Should You Pay?

Timestamp: 35:07 – 37:32

• A la carte/Hourly:
  • $200–$350/hour; more for complex work. Typical deep dives: $1,500 to $12,000, average around $3,000 for most.
• Ongoing Management:
  • For a $1 million portfolio, expect $7,500–$10,000/year (“just below 1%”). Fee should be justified by savings, improved returns, or valuable planning.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On setting the meeting agenda:
  • “I am the center here, because I’m the person who’s going to be paying you to guide and advise.” (Pam Krueger, 07:09)
• On advisor value:
  • “The right advisor... is going to talk to you about the things that matter to you, because that’s why you hired the advisor.” (Pam Krueger, 15:12)
• On assessing fit:
  • “You’ll know because the conversation won’t be as specific as you need it to be once you’ve laid out what you’re looking to do.” (Pam Krueger, 13:23)
• On the ongoing benefit of advice:
  • “It’s all about changes that happen in my life... I know I’ve got somebody there who’s not just a friend... but someone actually guiding me and advising me.” (Pam Krueger, 20:15)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Setting the Stage: Why Women Need Specific Advice: 02:19 – 05:54
• First Meeting Scripts & Strategy: 06:05 – 14:41
• Assessing Existing Advisor Value: 14:41 – 21:55
• Retirement/Decumulation Questions: 21:55 – 28:24
• Interviewing Multiple Advisors: 30:16 – 35:07
• Advisor Fee Structures & "What Should This Cost": 35:07 – 37:32

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Episode Takeaways

• Prepare and Own the Conversation: Go in understanding that the advisor works for you. Set the agenda, state your goals, and ask direct questions about their expertise, fees, and philosophy.
• Insist on Specific Answers: Look for advisors who articulate how they work with situations like yours and provide tangible examples.
• Review Advisor Value Periodically: Don’t hesitate to reassess the relationship and value. The best advisors tie their value directly to your goals and offer more than just investment management.
• Find Philosophy & Communication Fit: Interview multiple, properly vetted advisors, compare responses, and seek those who both align with and broaden your perspective.
• Know Your Costs: Understand the range for hourly, project-based, and ongoing management fees—and connect these back to actual value received.

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For more resources on choosing an advisor, visit hermoney.com/findanadvisor.

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Transcript

[Jean Chatzky]

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[Pam Krueger]

What I really need to ask here is how are you, Gene the advisor, measuring my success? How are you measuring my success? I need you, the advisor, to describe the value that you think you're adding to my life. Because a good advisor should be talking to you again about your goals, your peace of mind, staying on track for retirement.

[Jean Chatzky]

Hey everyone, I'm Jean Chatky. Welcome to Her Money. Very excited about today's episode because we're doing something we've never exactly done before. We're going to role play. Yes, really the conversations that you should be having with a financial advisor. If you've ever felt nervous about sitting down with an advisor or if you've ever worried that you might ask the wrong questions to today's show is for you because we're going to give you some scripts word for word examples that you can use so that you'll feel confident and prepared, Joining me is the perfect partner for this exercise. Pam Kruger is founder and CEO of wealthramp. Wealthramp is a referral service that connects consumers with vetted fee only financial advisors. They are all fiduciaries. No commissions, no strings check. Just real guidance. We love what Pam is doing so much that at Hermoney we've made it easy for our listeners and readers to connect with a vetted advisor. Just visit hermoney.com find an advisor of course. Pam is also a longtime investor educator. You've probably seen her on Money Track on PBS or you may be listening to her now on her Friends Talk Money podcast. She has spent her entire career empowering people to make smarter, more informed money decisions. We are going to take a very quick break. Back in a sec. Hey everyone, Jean Chatky with some very exciting news. The Hermoney Patreon is now live for the very first time. You'll be able to unlock bonus episodes, ad free listening and even deeper dives into your questions all in one place. Here's the best part we're to going giving you a seven day free trial so you can check it out risk free. That means you can be there for our very first Patreon bonus episode dropping on the 15th and see exactly what we've been working on behind the scenes. So if you've ever thought I wish I could get more Hermoney, well you can just head to patreon.com hermoney start your free trial and become one of our first subscribers. We can't wait to see See you there. Many people can't tell you exactly how many financial accounts they have or even what they're worth. 401ks from old jobs, scattered savings accounts, investments they haven't checked in years. And when you don't have the full picture, you will leave money on the table. That's where Monarch money comes in. It's an all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together cleanly, clearly all in one place. My producer Hayley uses it every single day and she's been loving one feature in particular. Monarch automatically separates your monthly spending into fixed and flexible categories. Her mortgage and gym membership are fixed, but groceries, dining out, everything else is flexible and that gives her some wiggle room. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks in your life. Use code [e-mail] in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% [e-mail] with code HERMONEY Pam, we are so glad to have you back with us today. It's been too long.

[Pam Krueger]

It's great to be here. This will be fun. Yeah, I think so.

[Jean Chatzky]

So I sketched out a few scenarios and I'd love to you to just walk us through. You ready to jump right into it?

[Pam Krueger]

I'm Ready? Absolutely.

[Jean Chatzky]

So the first scenario is for people who have never worked with an advisor before. And we're just going to start at the very beginning. If you've never worked with an advisor, you're walking into that first meeting, you want to make sure that it's a good fit. What are the very first questions that you should ask?

[Pam Krueger]

So, Jean, if you are the prospective advisor and I am the prospective client, then the very first thing I want to do is I want to walk into our meeting, whether it's on Zoom or it's in person or on the phone, and I want to know what do I want to get out of this. That sounds simple, but really to really think it through before you get into that first meeting. Because remember you're interviewing the advisor. Or I could say if we're role playing, I'm interviewing Jean as she's going to be my advisor. But Jean the advisor is also trying to make sure that I am going to be a good fit for her too, because it is a two way street.

[Jean Chatzky]

So how do you get to that?

[Pam Krueger]

Well, the first thing is in your mind, just take away any idea that you're thinking that you're supposed to impress the advisor, like I'm somehow supposed to impress Eugene, or you're going to judge me. All that goes out the window. And now all I want to think about is I am the center here because I'm the person who's going to be paying you to guide and advise. So the very first thing that in this role playing I'm going to say to you, Gene, is as the advisor, I'm going to say, Gene, I'd love to walk away from today's initial conversation and be able to know if there is a potential fit here. So I'm hoping to cover three main things in this intro call that are really going to help me. Now. It's important to just kind of say that at the outset and then say, I would like you to know a little bit about me and my situation during this first meeting. Or if you know you're talking about you have a spouse or a partner, you're saying a little bit about us and our situation. I want you to have an idea of what it is I'm trying to accomplish by working with an advisor. Now that sounds like you're just like stating the obvious, but it's really, really important to say it out loud because sometimes clarifying that you're about to talk about your priorities will help you continue to keep your priorities at the top of mind during this Interview. So then the next thing I'm going to say to you is, before we dive into my situation and my priorities, Jean, I want to ask you a couple of really important questions. And the first question I want to ask you is, can you just please describe the clients that you're already working with and what are their situations? Can you talk to me and kind of paint me a picture? How are you helping them? In other words, what does working with.

[Jean Chatzky]

Them look like, and what kind of people are they working with? And I assume that that's important because you don't want to be the odd duck. You want to be similar to the client base that they're already working with. Why is that important?

[Pam Krueger]

Because I want to know that this advisor's not only been vetted and is fee only and fiduciary. I want to make sure that they're truly going to be able to zone into what I'm really worried about. So let's say that my biggest concern is that I'm worried about getting laid off. And I have a lot of expenses and I've saved and I've invested, but I'm really concerned about the balancing act. I have a child. I have all these things that are really important to me in that way. I kind of want to know that I'm not your only client who has that situation.

[Jean Chatzky]

And.

[Pam Krueger]

And by asking the advisor to describe the kinds of individuals and the kinds of couples and families they work with, you're getting a sense that, okay, I'm not the only one. They work with other people like me, my age, my situation. So they're gonna have that specialized expertise.

[Jean Chatzky]

What if they give you an answer like, oh, our clients are really, gosh, they range from people in their late 20s to people who are in retirement. We've seen it all. If you get that answer, because I can imagine a lot of advisors would just look to just cover all the bases. What do you do?

[Pam Krueger]

I just think that unless you have a very specific situation, let's say that you work for a startup, and Gene, let's say that you get most of your compensation in stock options. You absolutely need to work with an advisor who understands that. So if the advisor comes back and says, okay, I work with everybody. I have a generalist, I do everything. And that might not be a good fit, but you'll know that during this first interview, because you're going to try to pull out of the advisor that paint a picture for me of who are your main clients, your most typical.

[Jean Chatzky]

Clients, and in terms of what they do for those clients. What are you looking for there?

[Pam Krueger]

I want to hear them describe what are the situations that come up that they've helped them with. I'd like to hear a couple of examples. So if it is, let's go back to. You work for a startup and that advisor says, you know, and I do have a lot of clients who actually work at startups and they don't get paid a lot of salary, but they have a lot of stock options. And what we do for them is we do a ton of tax planning and we help them figure out when they should exercise their options, when they should sell their stock options to make the most of it, how they're going to reduce taxes. So right there, it's like you had me at hello, because that's my situation. And I want to make sure that I understand how you help those clients and how you're working with them. So it's really good when they can get really specific and give you examples of clients and how they're helping them with those challenges. And, you know, it could be something very general like we don't want to run out of money in retirement. But I still want to hear, well, what do you do with those clients to help them get over that fear?

[Jean Chatzky]

I mean, that might be pretty general, but I actually think for my listeners, that's incredibly typical is the wrong word, but incredibly important, incredibly urgent. It's really top of mind for a lot of them. What's the third thing you want to come out of that meeting with?

[Pam Krueger]

So as the prospective client, that's me, I want to have a good sense of how you. Jean, if I'm talking to you, you're the advisor. I do want to know the specifics about what they're doing. Then I want to transition and say very naturally, please describe how your clients that you just described are paying you. Tell me about your fees. I know your fee only, and that means you work only and directly for me. I'm paying you. How are these clients paying you? Is it just, you know, one type of fee model or. Please describe that.

[Jean Chatzky]

How do you know when it's not a good fit?

[Pam Krueger]

You're going to know that it's not a good fit when you're not getting a sense that you've been heard. Let's say that you've answered those first two questions. Jean, you're the prospective advisor. And now I've poured my heart out and I've told you my situation. Now I'm going to sit back and I'm going to Let you talk about how you think we might be able to work together if I hear just general statements that sound like, well, we're going to really help you with your investments, and we'll keep an eye on those things and we'll make sure that we're watching your returns. You didn't hear anything that I said. I just told you that I'm really worried about running out of money in retirement. So I need to know that we're engaged in a conversation that not only you just told me, you have other clients like me that are worried about the same thing, but now you're talking to me and you're relating to me on a level that makes me understand. You really do have clients that you're helping to understand how they're never going to run out of money. So you'll know, because the conversation won't be as specific as you need it to be. Once you've laid out what you're looking to do, you need to hear back that that advisor definitely heard what you said and gets your priorities.

[Jean Chatzky]

Okay, let's move on to another scenario. And this is somebody who already has an advisor, but they're just not sure it's working. They're not sure that this is the right relationship for them. They're not vibing. Maybe they don't feel heard, or maybe they do feel heard, but. But they're not seeing the added value in their life. And the added value in terms of sort of dollars and cents, what are the right questions to check in with an advisor and make that assessment?

[Pam Krueger]

Another way to put this is that what are we really trying to do here? Pretend we're doing the role play again?

[Jean Chatzky]

Okay, I'm the advisor.

[Pam Krueger]

I've been your client, Gene, for six years now, and I always feel like you're on top of most things, but I'm starting to wonder if I could do some of this stuff myself. And I'm not really seeing the value. So what I really need to ask here is how are you, Gene the advisor, measuring my success? How are you measuring my success? I need you, the advisor, to describe the value that you think you're adding to my life. Because a good advisor should be talking to you again about your goals, your peace of mind, staying on track for retirement. Again, we'll use that. Not running out of money. I want you to show me whether it's making gifts to kids, helping to pay for college, whatever it is, whether it's. I just don't want you talking about the market and beating the S&P 500 index. The right advisor here is going to talk to you about the things that matter to you, because that's why you hired the advisor.

[Jean Chatzky]

Can I come back to that question about doing it yourself? There's so much information online, there's so much information on television, there's just information everywhere you look. And it does make it seem like you can do many of these things yourself. I mean, you work with advisors every day. You're licensed. How do you think about the added value that the advisor brings above and beyond what people could do by just putting their money in index funds, which we know continue to beat the market year in and year out?

[Pam Krueger]

Yeah. And this is one of those kinds of questions. It's like, who's buried in Grant's tomb? It's almost like if I'm asking this question about, can I do this myself and where's the value? Then I'm probably not getting the value. But if you've never had an advisor before, ever, and you've been doing it yourself, and you've been pretty darn good at it, you've been investing on your own, maybe for decades, and you're really proud of that, and you should be proud of that, but at some point you might start wondering, am I missing something? I know that I'm not perfect. I know that I have blind spots. This is my life savings. Is there more that I could be doing or something like a little bit different that I'm not seeing? So that's the moment, the coming to God moment, where you say, you know what, it could be worth having a conversation with an advisor. It's not going to cost me anything to talk to an advisor. And what I would do, Jean, is I would ask myself first, what do I envision needing an expert to actually do with me or for me? Exactly. What do I want to get out of the collaboration? And then at that point, if I'm talking to an advisor again, we're back in that interview and I'm that person who's been a do it yourself. Or I'm going to say, gene, I know you're a great advisor. I've never worked with an advisor before. I've been managing my own investments and doing it pretty well. But because I do have blind spots, I'd like you to look over my plan with a set of fresh eyes. What I'd like to ask you, this is the most important thing, is where are the gaps? I want to know where are the weak points in my plan? And I'll pay you a Fee to do that deep dive and look into it. But that's the first step in sort of saying, I want somebody else to look at my math and look at what I've been doing and to see if it truly is working for me.

[Jean Chatzky]

From my perspective, and I've been working with an advisor for years, as I think, you know, from my perspective, the value is yes, they invest for me and I appreciate that they do that because I know that's a lift and it's not a lift that I necessarily want to do day to day. But for me, the real value lies in the plan. The value lies in that meeting that we have every year where we look at the trajectory and we our savings rate and put all the pieces together. And here's where you sort of dial back work and here's where you take Social Security and if you spend at this rate, your money's gonna last you this long. Like that. To me, that's what I need to see. That's the thing that inspires confidence. I think it's probably different for different people, but that's where I find value.

[Pam Krueger]

Yeah, exactly. Now, what happened when someone says, gosh, I've been doing a good job investing in index funds, but boy, I just like you're pointing out, the reason that I'm interested in a collaboration isn't just about the investing. It's really, I want to stress test and I want to know that my plans that I've created for myself thus far are really going to cover me for the rest of my life. And so once you're working with an advisor and you're in that groove and you've been working with that advisor, the continued value that you're getting in those meetings and in those collaborations is your ability to say, something just changed. Gene, you're my advisor. Something just changed in my life. You know, I'm going to go through a divorce or we've decided that we're going to downsize, we're going to sell our house. We didn't expect to. It's a whole new thing we didn't even know about. I want to know that I've got you and you've got my back. So this isn't about just investing. It's all about changes that happen in my life that I know I've got somebody there who's not just a friend I could talk to about my money, but it's someone who actually is guiding me and advising me on what to watch out for and how to navigate during these changes or after These changes. That's the value of having the advisor. So that I walk away with a sense of confidence, of not only do I have a plan, I actually understand the plan.

[Jean Chatzky]

Yeah, exactly. Scenario number three is that you're worried about retirement. And I feel like we've been sort of dancing around this, that retirement is the big financial concern. I know it's the big financial concern for my audience. So for somebody in their 50s who's been saving, who's increasingly worried about outliving their money, and especially about the decumulation process, the flipping the switch when you stop earning or you stop earning to the same capacity, and now you have to make your money last as long as you do, which is, of course, a big unknown. How do you get to that? And I also want to throw another question into the mix when it comes to this particular thing, because I've been doing a lot of research for my next book, which is on the decumulation side of things. It's on making your money last. Won't be out till next year, but I'm very, very excited about. I had a long conversation with a guy named Michael Kitces, who I'm sure you know, he is a financial advisor. He runs the XY Network. And he said when it comes to style advisors, whether they're fee only or not fee only, they kind of choose a lane and that's where they operate. And that they will tell you that. That their way of doing things is the best way. You know, it becomes almost a religious level belief for them. So if they manage a total return portfolio, which is one way that people accumulate versus managing a bucketed portfolio, versus putting clients into an annuity to shore up some fixed income. I think it's important, particularly at this phase of your life, that you find an advisor who's willing to. To put you into the type of products that you want. And I want to know how you get that.

[Pam Krueger]

The way you start is that when you're in your discussions and you're in your meetings and I'm with Eugene and you're my advisor, I'm not going to settle for it if you just simply say, pam, you'll be fine. We've got it covered. You know, even if I'm a person that doesn't want to know every little last detail and get in the weeds, what I need to know is that, Jean, have we really looked at longevity? Because for me personally, I have a family history of a long line of women who have lived to the age 100. Can you show me very Simply how you've stress tested for this kind of what if scenario to last. Like what if I do live to be 100? What is that going to look like so I don't run out of money? Because again, we're talking decumulation and living off of the money that we've saved that we're now converting into hopefully an income. So I want to understand that you've stress tested the things that worry me and keep me up at night. Then I want you to explain to me how the specific, if you want to call them products or investments or strategies align with my plan, align with all of my concerns about estate planning, align with my real estate and all of the whole big picture. These things need to be connected. I want to know things like, well, Jean, I've just been reading that the 4% rule, which means it's a rule of thumb how much money you can safely spend in retirement from your savings. 4% has just been updated to now closer to 4.7%, a little higher. I need to know, if you're my advisor, why would I ever spend more? Is it just based on the stock market having done better in the past several years? Because that could change. And what would happen, Gene, my advisor, what would happen if we had a really lousy down 20% market in the first couple of years, right when I retire? Isn't that going to change the picture?

[Jean Chatzky]

Yes, that's exactly right. Those are exactly the questions that you have to be asking because there are different types of people out there, right? And some people are going to be okay if they're told by their advisor or if they look at their own portfolio and they realize the markets have not done well this year, I have to adjust my spending downward for the next year or so so that I don't run out of money down the road. But other people are not going to be fine with that scenario. And they want to know that they're going to have the same amount of income coming in no matter what the markets do. And those type of people need different types of products in their strategy in order to make sure that their getting what they want.

[Pam Krueger]

Essentially they need different strategies that address their level of fear about the trade off between running out of money and making your money grow so you can't get to retirement age, have a savings that you're going to convert into income and not understand that you're going to have to make trade offs. The question is in the meetings with the advisor, I think that at this stage in the game when you're at that point, even if you're not there yet, but you're discussing what it's going to be like to withdraw money out. The key phrase is show me, show me. I really want you to just show me how this is going to work under different circumstances down market. But healthcare is the wild card. That's the wild card we've got to protect to make sure, especially if I'm alone, that who's going to take care of me if I need assisted living and if I needed it for more than just a couple of years. How are we going to build that into this plan? So again, it's show me at that stage. I just want to see it. And that's your, that's what your advisor's getting paid to do.

[Jean Chatzky]

We are going to take a very quick break. When we come back, we're going to cover one more script, which is a toughie because if you are trying to choose an advisor and you're you've got multiple advisors that you're interviewing, it is sometimes tough to make that call. Back in a sec. So you all know I don't rave about things unless I really mean it. And I have to say I finally tried the Fits Everyone collection from Skims. My daughter has been telling me about it for such a long time, but now I totally get the hype. I've always had issues with underwear. It's too tight, it's too bulky, it leaves lines under everything. I can't stand the lines. This is a game changer. The fabric is soft. I can't believe how comfortable it is. This is the kind of feel good upgrade that is small but seriously meaningful. We all deserve a few small upgrades in our lives. So if you haven't tried Skims yet, take this as your sign. The Fits Everybody collection lives up to the name. It really does fit and flatter everybody. Shop Skims Fits everybody [e-mail] and after you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you. Select podcast in the survey and be sure to select our show in the drop down menu that follows.

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[Jean Chatzky]

We are back with Pam Krueger founder and CEO of Wealth Ramp. All right, last scenario. You are interviewing multiple advisors, and you're looking for a way to compare. This is not like buying a new phone, Right. There's emotion attached to this. Maybe for some people, there's emotion attached when you're buying a new phone. But if you're interviewing a few different advisors and you're trying to choose what's the smartest way to frame those conversations, should you ask them all the same questions or do you give them unique scenarios to tackle?

[Pam Krueger]

Yeah, and it kind of is more like dating than anything else.

[Jean Chatzky]

Yes.

[Pam Krueger]

I want people to talk to more than just one advisor. I think you should try to talk to two, maybe as many as three. Don't think you need four. But I do think you need to talk to two. Because what you learn from those initial conversations is going to give you confidence about going into the next conversation. You're just going to pick up a lot of really good intel and knowledge as you go. So when you're talking to two or three different advisors. Yes, I think you want to ask them the same question, because I want to know that I'm comparing an apple to an actual apple. So I want to hear how their answers to that same question are different side by side. But Gene, what's really important is you have to start with apples, so you can't have pears, oranges, and pineapples. In other words, the advisors have to have already been vetted and screened so that you know that if you are going to compare two or three, you've got the same level of qualifications, you've got all that vetting out of the way. Now I'm going to dig in and ask you the questions. And so, yeah, I'm going to ask you the same questions.

[Jean Chatzky]

Different advisors, as I was saying earlier, they have different philosophies. Right, different philosophies about the best way to manage risk, the best way to deal with clients, the best way to run their businesses. What's the best way to ask about those overall philosophies so you can understand their approach?

[Pam Krueger]

This is such a nuanced, great question. It's so important because we're in a situation where everything is political. So here's the reality. The advisor is going to have a philosophy because he or she is alive. Some are going to be into, say, passive investing strategies, and they're going to believe in index funds and ETFs, and others are going to say, no, I believe that we need to be much more customized than that. Much more personalized individual stocks in the mix as well. Others are going to be a combination therein. But instead of trying to bend you to their philosophy, okay, it's really important that this is part of the vetting that you know in your interview with them that they're not going to try to bend you and convince you. They, of course, they start out of the gate with the philosophy and you do want to make sure that your philosophy feels like it aligns with theirs. But you're not going to necessarily get them to do everything your way. They're not going to get you to do everything their way. The whole point of getting together is so that you're paying them to make sure that there's a balance and that what your priorities are are going to be met, that what you are coming in to accomplish is going to be met and you're going to be willing to understand that that's a balancing act. Because if you're not willing to learn something or if you're stuck, let's say that you are stuck in your own way of thinking and it hasn't been very helpful to you thus far. And then you hear the advisor explaining to you how a slightly different approach, tweak it this way, tweak it that way, might help you. Then it's not that they're trying to convince you to do things totally differently. It's that they're trying to say to you, I might be able to help you by opening your mind to looking at new ways. And it's the other things that might apply here. And that's a really good advisor. But the advisor respectfully listens to your philosophy and you respectfully take in their philosophy. If you feel like there's no, it doesn't vibrate at all, then you just walk away. But if you're feeling like, I like this advisor now, I understand the philosophy. Just understand they are going to come with a philosophy, but it's all about listening to you and getting to what it is you want to accomplish. So it is going to be a balancing act and it's a conversation and it's something you should learn from and something that they should learn from as well.

[Jean Chatzky]

Last question, Pam. This has been so incredibly helpful. I know if I don't ask it, my listeners will write in and say, why didn't you ask this question? What should this cost? If you have an advisor these days, what's the going rate? I know that there's sometimes a sliding scale as you add, accumulate more assets, but where, where's the Sweet spot.

[Pam Krueger]

The sweet spot is if you are looking for a one time engagement that doesn't involve anything to do with the advisor actually managing your portfolio, but just simply giving you advice, they're going to charge an hourly rate that's going to be between $200 and $350 an hour. It could be higher if it's a super complex estate planning issue that involves attorneys. So you're literally looking at something like all in for a one time. Typical. A typical person who just has a one off. Can you look at my portfolio and do a deep dive, look at my retirement, do a deep dive, all of that, anywhere between. It could be as low as $1,500, it could be as high as $12,000, but that depends on how much complexity is in it. So most people, I would say, budget like $3,000 for that kind of deep, deep, really detailed dive. Now, if it's ongoing and you do want advice that's ongoing and financial planning and tax planning and estate planning and advice on real estate, all of it. And you do want your assets managed and it is expressed as a percentage of the assets that they are managing, then anything at just below 1% would be acceptable to me. So if I have $1 million portfolio, Gene, you are offering to do all of everything, the planning, all in. I'm going to expect that you're going to charge me probably between $7,500 a year, maybe 10,000 if my situation's a little bit more complex, somewhere between that number 7,500 and 10,000 a year. And it sounds like a lot, but when you really break it down and you look at the money that you're getting back by saving money on taxes, better investing decisions, better returns, paying less on the investments, all of that. The advisor's fee pays for itself if the advisor is truly well vetted and you've done a good job of finding the right fit.

[Jean Chatzky]

Pam Krueger from wealthramp, thank you so much for walking us through all of these scenarios today. Just a reminder, if you're looking for an advisor, you can go to hermoney.com findanadvisor and we'll hook you up. Thank you for doing this, as always.

[Pam Krueger]

Thank you. Jeans. Fun.

[Jean Chatzky]

Thanks for me too. If you love today's episode, please take a moment to leave us a five star review on Apple podcast. Your feedback means the world to me. And if you're ready to keep the Money conversation going, HerMoney has three amazing programs designed to help you feel more confident and in control. Of your money. There's Finance Fix. It's our four week coaching program that helps you rethink your spending, find hidden savings and make smarter choices for the future. Our pre retirement program runs for six weeks and walks you through building a right retirement strategy that's personalized for your next chapter. Finally, there's Investing Fix, our investing club for women. It meets every other week on Zoom. It is a supportive space to learn, ask questions, grow your investing confidence and build your portfolio. And your first month is absolutely free. These programs are truly helpful helping level the playing field for women financially. I'd love for you to join us. Her money is produced by Haley Pascalides and our music is provided by Video Helper. Thanks so much for listening and we'll talk soon.

[Dave Ahern and Andrew Sather]

Overwhelmed by Investing if you're anything like us, the hardest part is getting started. That's why we created the Investing for Beginners podcast. Our goal is to help simplify money.

[Pam Krueger]

So it can work for you.

[Dave Ahern and Andrew Sather]

We invite guests to demystify investing at.

[Pam Krueger]

Least like the minimum 10% into the 401k.

[Dave Ahern and Andrew Sather]

I'm Dave Ahern. And I'm Andrew Sather and we hope you join us on the Investing for Beginners podcast. On the Investing for Beginners podcast.