Maybe I am a little too harsh on them

But it does not seem to require a lot of knowledge to be a financial adviser, at lease an average one.

What they typically do is that they have a preselected list of mutual funds, about 10-20 of them. And they a list of multiple choice questions to ask you. Based on your answer, they would choose a mixture of funds, u.e determine the percentage of each fund in the portfolio. That's about it.

Of course, they have to be able to speak well so that you would believe that they can actually beat the market and earn more money if you go with them. I just do not fall for that.