There isn’t a perfect formula or road map for hiring someone to look after your hard-earned wealth. It’s a unique journey that every investor must carry out based on their objectives and experience. It’s about knowing the right questions to ask and identifying with a professional that understands their craft and will put your interests ahead of theirs.

There is also a common blunder that many inexperienced investors will make when selecting an advisor to manage their portfolio. They have a checklist of the features they want rather than thinking ahead to the benefits they will truly receive.

Below are some hypothetical examples that many investors either knowingly or unknowingly search for in this process.

Things you think you want:

These points are noble attributes on the surface. However, they also lead down rabbit holes in the future that you may not want to visit.

The advisor with the best track record either took an asymmetric risk to get there or was simply in the right place at the right time for their strategy to outperform. Those same results may not be able to be repeatable through every cycle in the future. In fact, they may now be setting up for a larger than expected spike in volatility if they have truly jumped far ahead of the curve.

Let’s look at some other examples. The advisor with the lowest fees is going to also have the most minimal service profile. The advisor who has been in business forever is looking to retire or sell it. The advisor who agrees with your market calls is a “yes man” that is trying to hang on to the assets rather than do what’s right. The advisor who promises to get in and out at the perfect times is simply lying to you.