Well, sure. Most advisors really do have their clients’ interests at heart, certainly all good advisors.

Advisors really do need to ask themselves, “Am I eating my own cooking?”  Would I put my money at risk the same way I’m recommending that my clients do?  Instead of just throwing 10 percent of every client’s money into commodities, maybe advisors should ask themselves whether they would put all of their own money into commodities.

Framing the question that way might help them investigate the empirical evidence a little more closely. Reasonable minds can differ, but I personally don’t see it.

Yes. Investors are too passive. It’s partly because the nature of the fiduciary relationship is built on trust. Of course, we all tend to forget this, but doctors, in the eyes of the law, are fiduciaries for their patients. It’s a term you never really hear used. When I see my doctor, I probably don’t ask nearly enough questions. So it’s understandable why people don’t do that with their financial advisors. You’ve hired this person; you’re comfortable with his or her level of expertise. The whole reason you’re listening to this advisor is because you think he knows what he’s talking about. People do tend to shut their brains down. That is unfortunate. Many advisors do get a kind of free pass from clients. And that’s not good for either side.

Clients need to ask advisors a set of questions before they formalize their relationship. Advisors need to ask clients a set of questions, too. If the clients don’t know the right questions to ask, then the advisors should help them. They should say, “You really should have asked me for my form ADV,” or, “You didn’t ask me how I’m compensated,” or, “You didn’t ask me how I define a conflict of interest, so let me tell you about those things.” I know a lot of that does go on, but standardizing it would not be a bad idea.