What is a Fiduciary Financial Advisor?

Being fiduciary financial advisors means that we are legally and ethically obligated to always put our client's interests first.

Are all financial advisors fiduciaries? While all One Day In July advisors are fiduciaries on all accounts, for all clients, this is not the predominant industry standard. The latest report from FINRA indicates that just 12 percent of advisors are solely registered as Investment Advisor Representatives,¹ while 44 percent are registered solely as Broker-Dealer Agents. Investment Advisor Representatives are held to the Fiduciary Standard, which is considered to be a stricter framework for governing advisor-client relationships compared to the Regulation Best Interest standard under which Broker-Dealer Agents operate. The remaining 44 percent of financial advisors are dually registered as both Investment Advisor Representatives and Broker-Dealer Agents. They can follow the Fiduciary Standard on some accounts while following Regulation Best Interest on others.

Since all One Day In July advisors are fiduciaries 100 percent of the time, we are legally and ethically obligated to always put the client’s interests ahead of our own. We do not accept commissions to sell you products, and we do not participate in mutual fund revenue sharing agreements. As fee-only fiduciary financial advisors, we receive payments only from our clients. This helps eliminate common conflicts of interest that can arise in the financial industry.

Curious if your current financial advisor is a fiduciary? While it should always be easily determined by looking at disclosure statements (in particular a firm’s Form CRS), we recommend simply asking your advisor if they are acting as a fiduciary on each of your accounts. If they say no, it might be time to find a new financial advisor – one who is committed to being a fiduciary throughout the duration of your relationship.

Learn more about the differences between Registered Investment Advisor Representatives and Broker-Dealer Agents here.

1. “FINRA 2024 Industry Snapshot” FINRA, Dec. 13, 2024