Is Your "Fiduciary" Advisor Actually Acting Like One?
When you work with a financial advisor who calls themselves a "fiduciary," you expect them to put your best interests first. It's a powerful promise—and one that should mean something real in how they approach your money.
But here's the reality: no advisor can truly act in your best interest without seeing your complete financial picture.
What "Fiduciary" Actually Means
A fiduciary has a legal and ethical obligation to prioritize your interests above their own. Unlike advisors who operate under a "suitability" standard (where recommendations just need to be suitable, not necessarily optimal), fiduciaries must recommend what's truly best for you.
The challenge? Most don't follow through.
Why Your Complete Picture Matters
Without a comprehensive financial plan, strategies conflict. Your 401(k) works against your IRA approach. Tax strategies don't align. Credits get overlooked. Better savings structures go unused.
Worst of all, recommendations that only consider one slice of your financial life ignore what matters most: your career goals, family priorities, and personal values.
What a Real Fiduciary Does
When working with an advisor who takes their duty seriously, expect:
- Comprehensive discovery – Detailed questions about all aspects of your financial life, not just the assets they'll manage
- Coordination – Consideration of how strategies interact, collaboration with your CPA and attorney
- Regular reviews – Your life changes, recommendations should too
- Transparency – Clear explanations of how every recommendation serves your overall objectives
The Bottom Line
The fiduciary standard is more than a legal checkbox. It's a commitment to understanding you completely before making recommendations. If an advisor suggests anything without first understanding your full financial picture, they're not truly acting as your fiduciary—regardless of what they call themselves.
Your financial life is interconnected. Your advisor's approach should be too.
That's why we build a comprehensive financial plan with every client at no additional cost. It's not optional—it's how we fulfill our fiduciary responsibility. Only when we see everything can we truly put your interests first.
