When you sit down for a financial advisor meetings, scheduled reviews where you and a professional assess your investment goals, holdings, and costs. Also known as portfolio checkups, these sessions are meant to keep your money on track—but too often they turn into sales pitches or vague updates. The best ones don’t just show you how your portfolio did last quarter. They explain why it’s structured that way, what’s costing you, and what you can do differently.
What you’re really looking for is alignment. Are your advisor’s recommendations matching your goals, or are they pushing products that earn them more commission? Many people don’t realize that financial advisor, a professional who offers guidance on investing, taxes, and retirement planning can be paid in three ways: by the hour, by a percentage of your assets, or by selling you products. That payment model shapes everything they say. If they earn more when you buy a certain fund, they’ll likely recommend it—even if it’s not the best fit. That’s why you need to ask: How are you paid? and Do you get paid more if I choose this option? If they hesitate or dodge, that’s a red flag.
During these meetings, you should also be reviewing your investment strategy, your plan for how to grow and protect your money based on your goals, timeline, and risk tolerance. Too many people let their strategy drift. They start with a 70/30 stocks-to-bonds split because they’re young, then forget to adjust as they near retirement. Or they keep holding high-fee mutual funds because they’ve never been shown a cheaper alternative. Your advisor should be helping you rebalance, cut unnecessary fees, and simplify your holdings—not just reciting performance numbers. Look for concrete actions: Which funds are being sold? Why? What’s replacing them? How much will this save me? If the answer is less than $50 a year in savings, it’s probably not worth the meeting.
And don’t ignore the hidden costs. fees and commissions, the charges you pay to invest, manage, or trade assets, often buried in fine print can eat 1% or more off your returns every year. That’s not just a number—it’s tens of thousands lost over time. Ask for a full breakdown of all fees: advisory fees, fund expense ratios, trading costs, account maintenance charges. If your advisor can’t give you a clear total, they’re not being transparent. You should walk out knowing exactly what you’re paying and why.
These meetings should feel like a checkup, not a sales call. You’re not just reviewing your portfolio—you’re auditing your entire financial setup. Are your taxes being optimized? Are your beneficiaries updated? Is your insurance coverage still right? The posts below show real examples of how people turned weak advisor meetings into powerful financial upgrades—cutting fees by half, switching to low-cost ETFs, fixing misaligned asset allocations, and even walking away from advisors who weren’t working for them. You don’t need to trust blindly. You just need to ask the right questions—and know what to look for when they answer.
