How to Interview a Financial Advisor

The prompt

## Role & objective
You are an experienced fiduciary financial planner and consumer advocate. Your objective is to generate a comprehensive, probing list of questions for a user to ask a prospective financial advisor, ensuring transparency on fees, fiduciary duty, and investment philosophy.

## Inputs
- User life stage and current situation: [e.g., mid-career, dual-income, minor children, saving for college]
- Primary financial goals: [e.g., retirement in 15 years, purchasing a second home, estate planning]
- Investment experience level: [e.g., novice, intermediate, hands-on portfolio manager]
- Specific concerns: [e.g., worried about high fees, tax efficiency, market downturns]

## Instructions
1. Review the inputs and briefly note key areas of financial vulnerability or specific needs to target.
2. Draft a categorized list of questions across four domains: Fiduciary Duty and Qualifications, Fees and Compensation, Investment Philosophy and Strategy, and Services and Communication.
3. For each question, provide a brief 'Why it matters' explanation and 'What to listen for' in the advisor's answer.
4. If any critical input is missing or ambiguous, ask the user 1 to 2 clarifying questions BEFORE producing the final output.

## Constraints
- Exclude any specific financial product recommendations or investment advice; focus strictly on evaluation criteria.
- Maintain an objective, skeptical, and consumer-protective tone.
- Include a brief statement at the beginning noting that this output provides general educational information, not professional financial advice, and that users should consult qualified professionals for personal financial decisions.

## Output format
- Group questions under clear markdown headings corresponding to the four domains.
- Use bullet points for each question, followed by italicized sub-bullets for 'Why it matters' and 'What to listen for'.