Advisor ethics: 4 things you supposedly aren't telling your clients

3. You aren't being paid the way your client thinks. Pulliam Weston says that even though "commission" became a dirty word in the 90s, non-commissioned financial planners are still hard to find. There are less than 800 NAPFA members and she says that " most financial advisers still get some or most of their income from commissions, according to [the] FPA. Many finesse the situation by calling themselves 'fee-based' planners, or by simply avoiding the issue of how they get compensated."

While Pulliam Weston acknowledges that commissions aren't inherently bad, she says they do create a conflict of interest. She says any planner should volunteer information about how they get paid, and if they don't, clients should ask and also do their own research.

4. I'm looking at only one small portion of your overall finances. Pulliam Weston says that the only way to give well-rounded, customized advice is to look at every aspect of their clients' financial situations, from budgeting to estate planning. "Many of those calling themselves financial planners focus on one narrow aspect of a client's monetary condition — usually the area that corresponds with whatever financial training they've received," she says.

Pulliam Weston tells readers that if their current advisor has a too-narrow focus to look for "a real financial planner who can evaluate your entire financial picture."