Hart Nat Hentoff David Horowitz Arianna Huffington Marianne Jennings Michael Kelly Mort Kondracke Ch. I presume that they are paid on commission. Addressing your last question first, of course it's appropriate and prudent to ask for references for people you will be working with. In some large measure, the amount of money that is involved here dictates the course of action. If you have a very small amount of money, the people interested in it usually do not have your best interest at heart.
Many consultants work on commission.
The danger in this is that they would be tempted to guide you towards products in their inventory. They lay out a road map, but they do not sell anything. In other words, you should understand the language of investing. You can do this very quickly with a few nights in the reference section of your public library. Please tell us which way to go.