Florence Agnez

When you begin a working relationship with a financial advisor, you essentially give them access to your money and investments. Furthermore, many advisors have discretionary control of your assets, which means they can make decisions on their own, without your approval.

Because of this, an advisor’s role as a fiduciary is incredibly important. You need to be able to trust your advisor explicitly that they are making investment decisions that are in your best interest. In addition, if your fiduciary advisor tries to sell you something, like an insurance policy, you need to trust that they believe it’s the right one for you.

Financial advisors can be in two main types: fee-only and fee-based. A fee-only advisor earns all of their compensation from fees their clients pay, whereas a fee-based advisor earns compensation that way in addition to commission-based earnings from insurance products and investments. Despite this difference, both fee-only and fee-based professionals can be fiduciary advisors.