Armchair Critic: How I benchmark advisers

There has been comment in these pages as to what benchmarks advisers should use on investment portfolios, but to turn the question round, if I were buying the services of a financial adviser, what sorts of benchmarks would I use? Whose benchmarks are they, anyway? Of course I appreciate that an expert will have much to tell me on the subject of benchmarks, but as a buyer I think I have the right to say what I'm looking for. I would expect my adviser to have access to a wide variety of benchmarks, but to be confident in the professional relationship, I have to be able to say what co...