How do I get a second opinion on my portfolio?

Gather your latest account statements and your advisor’s Form ADV Part 2A, then hand both to an independent, fee-only fiduciary who earns nothing from whatever you end up owning. A useful second opinion answers three questions in writing: what you own, what it costs all in, and what the reviewer would change, and one honest answer to the third question is "nothing."

I give these reviews at Harvest Lane Investment Partners in Sandy, Utah, and the second opinion hub collects the questions people bring to them. The steps below work the same whoever you ask.

What do I need to gather first?

Four things. Three of them already exist, and none require permission from your advisor.

1. Statements from the custodian. Not the advisor’s performance report; the statement from the firm that holds the assets, so you can check it against what your advisor tells you. Get the latest for every account.
2. Form ADV Part 2A. The brochure your advisor’s firm files with regulators. The SEC’s investor bulletin describes it as 18 plain-English items (19 for state-registered firms) covering business practices, fees, conflicts of interest, and disciplinary information. If you cannot find yours, the current version is usually on IAPD at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
3. Form CRS, if the firm is SEC-registered. The short relationship summary that goes with the brochure.
4. What you were told. A paragraph in your own words: what the plan was, what risk you agreed to, and what you think you are paying. The gap between that paragraph and the paperwork is where the second opinion earns its keep.

Add last year’s 1099 forms if you want the tax side checked.

Who should give the second opinion?

Someone who cannot make money from the answer.

That rules out whoever built the portfolio, the fund company offering a "free review," and anyone paid a commission on what you buy next. Fee-only is the test: the client pays, and nobody else does, so there are no commissions, finder’s fees, or bonuses when you act on the advice. Harvest Lane is fee-only. If you hire us after a review, our fees are tiered, as described in Form ADV Part 2A.

Check the reviewer too. The SEC’s Check Out Your Investment Professional page sends you to IAPD, which shows whether a firm or person is registered with the SEC or a state, plus any disciplinary history, and hands off to FINRA’s BrokerCheck for brokers. In Utah, the Division of Securities' Verify a License page points to the same records, and the Division answers questions at (801) 530-6600.

Harvest Lane’s record is on IAPD under CRD 340042. Harvest Lane Investment Partners LLC is an investment adviser registered with the Utah Division of Securities.

And the reviewer should be willing to say your setup is fine. Ask whether that is an answer they ever give. If not, it is a sales call.

What should the second opinion cover?

Five things, in writing, in plain terms.

What you own. Every position, by account, with duplicates flagged. Two funds with different names often hold the same companies.

What it costs all in. The advisory fee is one line. Fund expense ratios are another: the share of each fund’s assets that goes to operating costs every year, including management fees and any 12b-1 distribution fees. Trading costs, wrap or platform fees, and the yield you are not earning on cash round it out. The reviewer should give you one dollar figure for your own accounts, not an industry average.

Whether the risk matches what you were told. Compare the asset mix on the statement with the risk you agreed to. It is the first thing I look at.

Tax. The IRS’s Topic No. 409 draws the line at more than one year: gains on assets held longer are long-term and can be taxed at a lower rate. A second opinion that says "sell it all and start over" without looking at holding periods and embedded gains is not finished.

Anything private or hard to sell. Non-traded funds, interval funds, private placements. What they are worth, who priced them, and how you get out.

What do I do with it afterward?

Take it back to your current advisor and ask for a written response. That answer, set next to the Form ADV you already pulled, tells you most of what you need to know.

If the statements show trades, fees, or transfers you never authorized, take it up with the firm right away, in writing. FINRA’s guide to reading brokerage statements covers what else to check. If it looks like misconduct rather than a difference of opinion, the Utah Division of Securities takes complaints online or by mail.

A second opinion is not a switch; switching advisors is a separate decision with its own mechanics, and nothing here requires it. There are three honest endings: your setup is solid, here is the one thing I would change; there are real problems, here is what I would do differently; or I am not the right fit, here is who I would talk to. A reviewer should be able to say all three.

If you want mine, send the statements and the brochure through the review page. In Utah, we can do it across a table in Sandy.