How to Spot a Good or Bad Financial Adviser
The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast
Pete Matthew
4.9 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 February 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pete and Roger reveal how to spot a good financial adviser from a bad one. Learn the red and green flags—from transparent fees to pressure tactics—and the key questions to ask before committing. Essential listening for anyone considering financial advice.
Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/session609
Everything You Need To Know
04:00 - life vs product
05:18 - listens vs talks
06:40 - behaviour vs numbers
08:25 - clear vs vague
09:38 - plain English vs jargon
11:21 - transparent fees vs evasive costs
13:12 - probabilities vs certainties
14:48 - evidence based vs secret 'sauce'
16:15 - calm vs urgent
17:46 - facts first vs opinions first
19:50 - "I don't know" vs blagging
20:44 - written rationale vs 'trust me'
21:41 - respects advisers vs criticises advisers
23:40 - growth & protections vs chasing returns
25:31 - professional vs sloppy
Cheatsheet: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/adviser-checklist
Everything You Need To Do
29:18 - ignore unsolicited approaches
31:58 - verify they're legit
33:48 - get fees and scope in writing before committing
36:36 - first meeting questions
43:40 - pressure test
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | to be at these phones. |
| 0:00.8 | Yeah, yeah. |
| 0:01.0 | I don't know. |
| 0:02.0 | Why we put those? |
| 0:03.0 | We would never put that. |
| 0:04.0 | That doesn't make any sense. |
| 0:05.0 | Hi, folks, and welcome back to the Meaningful Money Podcast. This is the session number 609. Incredibly. We hope you're doing well as fine Wednesday in February. How about you, Roach? Are you doing well this fine Wednesday in February? Well, I'm not sure, Pete. Because it's a Thursday in January. |
| 0:19.4 | Ah, you're ruining the magic. |
| 0:21.2 | You thought we just walked in every Wednesday morning early. |
| 0:24.0 | Yeah, really early. because it's a Thursday in January. Ah, you're ruining the magic. |
| 0:21.2 | You thought we just walked in every Wednesday morning early. Yeah, really early. Well, the podcast goes out. Actually, the video goes out about 5 in the evening, but the podcast goes out at 2 a.m. for historical reasons. Do you know why? It's something to do with America, I guess. No, it was somebody walking the dog at 5 o'clock in the morning. literally years ago |
| 0:37.6 | like when we're 50 episodes in |
| 0:39.3 | something like that we had an email from somebody saying |
| 0:40.9 | I want my dog really early, any chance you could release the episode earlier? I was like, yeah, all right. So now it goes out at 2am on a Wednesday. That's when it goes live. Yeah, you've got people saying, well, actually, I'd like to do it on a Tuesday evening because on Wednesday I'm busy, you know? |
| 1:11.5 | Yeah, yeah, no, we made a change earlier on when nobody was listening. Yeah, except for that dude walking his dog. Anyway, what we're talking about this week? We're actually talking about this week how to spot a good or bad financial advisor. And why do you think that's unnecessary episode, Pete? I get kind of already thinking we're going to get some heat from our colleagues |
| 1:14.4 | up there. I'm just wondering. But look, the vast majority of financial advisors are good |
| 1:19.3 | people, great people. They want really good outcomes for their clients. But sometimes |
| 1:24.4 | there are some bad actors. Or sometimes there are good people, but in bad situations. |
| 1:30.4 | So maybe they're, you know, in a sort of high pressure sales environment. |
| 1:34.5 | That's just where they found themselves. |
| 1:35.8 | They don't like it, but they've got bills to pay, right? |
| 1:38.4 | And so sometimes, you know, incentives drive behavior |
... |
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