Article Originally Published: RIABiz

Bob Veres is the recipient of the 2024 Frankel Fiduciary Prize, despite a history of prickliness, peccadilloes, and ‘not always being right’ – and that’s just from the people who wholeheartedly agree he deserves the award.

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, on behalf of the Frankel Fiduciary Prize Selection Committee, awarded the honor to the Tryon, N.C., publisher and editor of Inside Information, a blog about all things related to financial services.

“Bob Veres has the heart of a saint and the soul of a street fighter,” says Luke Dean, financial planning program director and associate professor at the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University.

Colleagues agree that Veres has fought longer and harder for unconflicted advice and the ideal of putting customer interest first with little of the ivory-tower remove of people who inhabit the movement.

“Nobody has championed fiduciary advisors longer and more strongly than Bob has,” says Joel Bruckenstein, producer of the T3 industry event in an email.

“He has never been shy about voicing his opinions, even when they are unpopular,” he adds. 

“When he is critical of a position or organization, his reasoning is always based on fact and his extensive knowledge of the industry. He’s not always right, but history shows that he usually is.