The Dow and the S&P 500 are up more than 4% in the past month and millions of investors are finally gathering up the confidence to tippy-toe back into the markets. But, problem is, they have no idea where to start.

Thankfully, you don’t have that problem – you’re here and that gives you a huge advantage.

Sometimes, though, that’s not enough.

Good counsel is absolutely vital when it comes to building Total Wealth.

But how do you find the right financial professional from amongst tens of thousands?

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Starting with me.

I say that because many times Wall Street simply cannot tell you what I can, nor can they offer the fiercely independent analysis I do. There are huge conflicts of interest that are well documented thanks to the Financial Crisis, and it’s not in Wall Street’s best interest to have you thinking independently.

And that’s your edge – you’ve made a conscious decision to line up with the biggest Unstoppable Trends of our time, to concentrate your money in the best companies and to keep risk to razor-thin levels.

Even so, there comes a time in every investor’s career when having the right advisor in your corner can mean the difference between huge profits and devastating losses. That’s because he or she will help you make decisions that are uniquely dependent on your personal situation. Examples include money moves needed to minimize taxes, leaving a legacy for your children and grandchildren or simply planning for life’s major events.

But finding the right advisor is tough. The Internet is filled with stories of predatory sales practices, manipulative management stories and just plain incompetence. Chances are good you know somebody who’s had a bad experience just like I do.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. There are great advisors out there if you know how to find them and what questions to ask to make sure you’re on the right track.

Finding the right advisor – and by that I mean one who is aligned with your interests – comes down to five questions Wall Street hopes you’ll never ask.

1) Do My Investments Match My Risk Tolerance and Expectations?

No doubt this will cause pushback from more than a few financial professionals. But I don’t believe any investor needs to suffer the ravages of a bear market.

I don’t care if you have $5,000 or $500,000 to invest – the principles remain the same.

No financial advisor worth his or her salt would let a client liquidate into a bear market. Moreover, the good ones ensure that their clients have enough cash and ultra-safe investments on hand so they don’t have to.

If your advisor has you leveraged to the eyeballs, or fully invested in such a way that you can’t endure the bumpy trading we’ve got right now much less a protracted downturn, it’s time to find a new advisor.

I don’t care if it’s an up market or a down market, the best advisors will help you pick investments that match your goals within your financial time frame.

The problem faced by many investors today is that they’ve always thought in terms of returns rather than risks. That’s backwards, especially at a time when the riskiest investments – bonds, for example – were supposed to be the most secure.