The first question to ask a financial adviser in South Africa is not what fund they recommend. It is who they are licensed through, what advice they are authorised to give, and how they get paid.
The FSCA regulates market conduct in South Africa, and financial advice is not just a friendly opinion when it leads to regulated products. A legitimate advice relationship should be linked to an authorised financial services provider, with disclosures that a client can understand before signing.
Ask for the adviser's FSP details and check them. Then ask what category of advice they provide, whether they are independent or tied to a product provider, and which products or providers they cannot advise on. A narrow advice scope is not necessarily bad, but it should be visible.
Fees should be explained in rand and percentages. There may be advice fees, implementation fees, ongoing advice fees, platform fees and underlying fund fees. If the fee explanation depends on vague phrases like 'the product pays us', keep asking.
A strong adviser will ask about debt, dependants, income stability, tax position, retirement benefits, estate planning and risk tolerance before proposing anything. If the first meeting jumps straight to a product, the process is backwards.
Pressure is a warning sign. So are guaranteed returns, secret opportunities, refusal to provide written disclosures, and any claim that a decision must be made before you have had time to compare options.
The best adviser relationship should make you less confused, not more dependent. You should leave with a clearer map of trade-offs, a written recommendation, and enough information to say no.
