Following are some of the questions to analyze the effectiveness of various counseling organizations:

1. When did the company first begin investment management operations?
2. To what extent is outside research used?
3. What management style do you use? Why?
4. Are fundamental factors considered to be more important than technical factors in making portfolio decisions?
5. How is technical research used in the decision-making process?
6. What criteria must be met by a stock to qualify for inclusion in a portfolio?
7. How are sell decisions made?
8. Do final decisions rest with key individuals or with a key committee?
9. How are computers used in the decision-making process?
10. What information can you provide to me regarding your effectiveness in managing portfolios similar in size and objective to mine?
11. What is the management fee schedule?
12. Are fully discretionary accounts handled?
13. In an advisory account, to which extent does the investor participate in decisions or portfolio transactions?
14. What is the average numbers of accounts handled by a portfolio manager?
15. Which type of portfolio is this company best prepared to handle?
16. How often are individual portfolios valued and the performance figures calculated?
17. Would the performance of one account be representative of all of the accounts with the same objectives?
18. What standards are account performance measured against?
19. How often does a client receive a status report of his accounts?
20. How does this company feel it can best try to protect its clients from losses in a down market?