Which questions should you ask? Experts pinpoint four critical topics — credentials, experience with clients whose situations are comparable to yours, personal chemistry and the payment method.

Financial advisers and planners are not regulated by any government agency, but the industry has developed two sets of commonly used qualifications, one for a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER[™ professional], or CFP[® professional], and the other for a chartered financial analyst, or CFA, who in addition to giving financial advice manages investments. Both require passing tests administered by industry-run boards.

New York Times
Fran Hawthorne
September 10, 2008