Now this may sound perfectly banal to people unversed in French politics.

Veteran mountaineers and search-and-rescue teams worry it’s only a matter of time before others unversed in the perils follow in their steps only to meet with disaster.

To those unversed in the intricacies of monetary policy, the significance of Japan’s decision to raise the ceiling on its 10-year bond yields may not have been immediately clear.

It was a performance that often befuddled Mr. Kemp and Ms. Abrams as he made references to “Austrian economics” that few unversed in Libertarian principles would catch.

In recent weeks, however, at least two clients have fired Mr. Pierce, complaining that he seemed unresponsive and appeared at times to be unversed in the details of their cases.