Welcome to the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard!
The Institute is a nonprofit formed in 2011 to benefit investors and society through its research, education and advocacy of the fiduciary standard’s importance to investors, our capital markets and economy.
Six key fiduciary duties embody the fundamental elements of an investment fiduciary’s responsibility. Learn more about those duties here.
RIA Campaign for Investors at the SEC
Listen to the audio recording & download slide presentation from the Adviser Groups Virtual Press Conference held July 18, 2018
Why We Have A Campaign
The SEC’s proposed rules make brokers and advisers out to be virtual identical twins. This is plainly wrong.
This is why six adviser groups have come together to launch a campaign to urge all RIAs to write and tell the SEC how advisers and brokers differ. Join the campaign. Get your message out. LEARN MORE
The Institute’s Best Practice Advisors are required to do more to serve investors. Best Practices are written to be understandable and to make advisors transparent. Learn about Best Practice advisors here.
Abacus Planning Group • Aegis Financial Advisory • Allodium Investment Consultants • Everspire • Alpha Wealth Strategies • ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC • Atlantic Financial Planning • Charleston Financial Advisors • Connectum • Connemara Group • Dedora Capital • Epsilon Financial Group • Elements 5 Investment Management • Fiduciary Wealth Partners • Fieldstone Financial • Financial Life Advisors • First Ascent Asset Management • FirstTrust • Focused Finances, LLC • Hogan Financial • ISI Financial Group • JMW Wealth Management • Marrs Wealth Management • Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo • Morling Financial Advisors • Pagnato Karp • Polero Ice Advisers • Resource Advisory Services • Schulz Wealth • Tobias Financial Advisors • WE Family Offices
Meet Gail
Gail from Maryland is an accomplished professional with a BS in engineering and finance and an MBA. She also had a terrible experience with a broker who Gail says betrayed her. Meet Gail. Hear her story. Note her courage to come forward.
Bob Veres is a Financial Planning columnist in San Diego.
October 22, 2018
Vanguard doesn’t get a free pass on this one
After Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley gave his startling keynote address at the Inside ETF’s conference in January (sole diamond sponsor: Vanguard), I received at least 30 email messages from advisors. Buckley’s words were certainly alarming: He said that Vanguard plans to attack financial planning and investment advice fees the way the company once launched its very effective broadsides against the fee structure of the mutual fund industry. Vanguard would drive advisor fees down to the bare bones lowest cost, and take no prisoners doing so.
Fiduciary Must-Reads
November 8, 2018 – SEC Report: Investors Like Form CRS But Don’t Understand It by Diana Britton (Wealth Management)
May 9, 2018 – Five Takeaways from Hundreds of Advisors by Daniel Solin
May 2, 2018 – Edelman predicts $3B deal marks ‘a sea change’ for RIAs by Ann Marsh (FinancialPlanning)
April 24, 2018 – NASAA Report Confirms Industry Progress to Comply with DOL Fiduciary Rule (NASAA)
April 10, 2018 – ‘Best interests’ and ‘fiduciary’ aren’t the same, so which will the SEC choose? by Mark Schoeff Jr. (InvestmentNews)
March 29, 2018 – Will Brokerages Comply with CFP Board’s New Fiduciary Standard? by Diana Britton (Wealth Management)
May 3, 2018 — No Incidental Investors initiative launches
