I often hear clients talk about having a trusted advisor. I am not sure what they mean. Bernie Madoff was a trusted advisor for some very wealthy names. He has now become the icon of wealth advisor that should not have been trusted.
Onora O’Neill said in her TED talk, “I would aim to have more trust in the trustworthy but not in the untrustworthy…Intelligently placed and intelligently refused trust is the proper aim.” She provides structure for evaluating trust which I will apply to wealth advisors. The judgment of trust requires us to look at three things: Are they competent? Are they honest? Are they reliable?
James Brewer | Investopedia