Focus on Fiduciary

While many Financial Professionals may claim to provide helpful advice, only a small number are legally bound to do as a fiduciary. The legal definition states:

A fiduciary is someone who has undertaken to act for and on behalf of another in a particular matter in circumstances which give rise to a relationship of trust and confidence.

This means that all actions taken by a fiduciary are conducted soley in your best interest, without influence from other sources, such as products or services from which the representative derives a profit.  A fiduciary must be free of conflicts of interest - in the event of a conflict of interest the fiduciary must completely disclose the conflict in advance of any work for the client, either in a financial plan or in the execution of any financial strategies.

All NAPFA members are legally bound to act as fiduciaries for their clients.  In an era where there is seemingly an article a day about financial malfeasance, it's important to know that one organization begins with a legal basis for integrity in all professional relationships.