What is a Fiduciary?

What is a fiduciary and what does it mean to you?

We are in an elevated class of advisors known as fiduciaries. This means we are legally and ethically required to put your best interest before our own. Not all advisors are required to put you first. Only financial advisors who are fiduciaries are required to act in the best interests of their clients.

According to the Cornell Law Dictionary, "A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care."* It entails always acting in our clients’ best interest, even if doing so is contrary to ours.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates registered investment advisors as fiduciaries, the fiduciary duty also entails:

• Acting with undivided loyalty and utmost good faith
• Providing full and fair disclosure of all material facts, defined as those which "a reasonable investor would consider to be important"
• Not misleading clients
• Avoiding conflicts of interest (such as when the advisor profits more if a client uses one investment instead of another or trades frequently) and disclosing any potential conflicts of interest
• Not using a client's assets for the advisor's own benefit or the benefit of other clients*

Being your fiduciary is a responsibility we take seriously.

*https://money.usnews.com/investing/investing-101/articles/what-is-a-fiduciary-financial-advisor-a-guide-to-the-fiduciary-duty