The word “fiduciary” is thrown around our industry a lot. An RIA, such as Wheelhouse Advisory Group, has a fundamental obligation to act in the best interest of clients and an affirmative duty to act with utmost good faith, to make full and fair disclosure of all material facts, and to employ all reasonable care to avoid misleading clients.  Advice must be in the best interest of the investor with any conflict of interest disclosed.  In essence, this means putting our clients’ interests ahead of our own.

At Wheelhouse Advisory Group, we think this should be a given, especially in the Financial Services Industry. When we put together a plan for a client, we act as if we are developing a plan for our own families, taking the fiduciary duty a step further, and truly personalizing a plan to make sure that it encompasses security, freedom and predictability and that the client fully understands it.

The fiduciary standard, or fiduciary duty of care, applies only to investment advisory services. Insurance products are held to the suitability standard, which is a non-fiduciary sale of commissionable products.