How to verify a financial advisor before you meet them
Registration, employment history, and disciplinary records are public. Checking takes about five minutes.
Nearly everything about a financial professional’s regulatory history is public and free to search. It is worth doing before a first meeting rather than after.
Start with the CRD number
The Central Registration Depository number is the unique identifier for individuals and firms in the securities industry. FINRA’s BrokerCheck lets you search by name or CRD and returns registration status, the states someone is licensed in, employment history, examinations passed, and any disclosure events.
What a disclosure actually is
A "disclosure" is a reportable event. Some are serious: regulatory actions, terminations, criminal matters. Others are customer complaints that were denied or withdrawn, or personal financial matters such as a bankruptcy. The count alone tells you little — read what the events are, when they happened, and how they resolved. One complaint from 2009 closed with no action is a different thing from a recent regulatory sanction.
Check the firm too
Firms have their own records. The Form ADV describes services, fee schedules, conflicts of interest, and disciplinary history.
Confirm the licence matches the advice
Registrations are specific. Someone licensed to sell insurance products is not necessarily registered to give investment advice. If a conversation moves from one to the other, it is reasonable to ask which registration they are acting under.
This guide is general information, not financial, insurance, tax, or legal advice. Rules vary by state and by individual circumstance. Speak to a licensed professional about your own situation.