Real Fiduciary™ Practices
Etzler Financial Advisors has adopted the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard’s Real Fiduciary™ Practices. These Real Fiduciary™ Practices are professional conduct standards for fiduciary advisors. They assist the public in understanding, evaluating and selecting competent financial advisors and wealth managers.
Many advisors and brokers talk like a fiduciary, though relatively few act like one. These Real Fiduciary™ Practices help the public distinguish advisors who work for and are paid only by clients — from sales representatives who work for and are paid by firms to distribute products. That is, these practices help separate brokers and advisors who merely talk like a fiduciary from advisors who really act like one.
Real Fiduciary™ Advisors stand apart because they:
Demonstrate Loyalty
- Act as a fiduciary at all times. Affirm this commitment to the client in writing.
- Decline any sales-related compensation.
- Avoid conflicts of interest.
- Mitigate unavoidable conflicts.
Act With Due Care
- Maintain professional knowledge and competence.
- Explain agreements and disclosures clearly and truthfully, both orally and in writing.
- Establish and document a reasonable basis for advice.
- Follow and document a prudent due diligence process for rendering investment advice.
Act in Utmost Good Faith
- Decline gifts or entertainment or other benefits unless minimal in value, occasional in frequency, and consistent with the advisory firm’s gift and vendor relation policies.
- Charge reasonable fees and incur reasonable investment costs. Disclose and fully explain.
NOTE: These practices and their guidance comprise the Real Fiduciary™ Practices. For additional information, visit the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard.
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