Independent, Fiduciary
Superior Financial, LLC is an independent Registered Investment Advisor firm. As such we put in writing that we honor our fiduciary obligations to you as our client first and foremost.
Other brokers or financial advisor firms have a similar fiduciary responsibility – to the firm they work for! If they “claim” they’re a fiduciary to you and will act in your best interests – ask them to put it in writing… We DO!
The Definition of Fiduciary
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) have adopted the following definition of Fiduciary:
Fiduciary- A financial advisor held to a Fiduciary Standard occupies a position of special trust and confidence when working with a client. As a Fiduciary, the financial advisor is required to act with undivided loyalty to the client. This includes disclosure of how the financial advisor is to be compensated and any corresponding conflicts of interest.
As fiduciaries, financial planners must make fair and complete disclosure of all material facts and must employ reasonable care to avoid misleading their clients. The utmost good faith is required in all their dealings. Simply put, fiduciaries must exhibit the highest form of trust, fidelity and confidence, and are expected to act in the best interest of their clients at all times.
The distinction between a financial planner with a fiduciary interest and a salesperson is crucial. A financial planner, under common law and by some statutes, is a fiduciary. A financial planner must always provide services and advice in the best interests of the client. Whereas salespeople may have their own motives and interests at heart and offer goods and services for a price, a fiduciary must serve the client, if necessary at the cost of the fiduciary’s own interests.
It is generally believed that fiduciaries perform their trades for reasons other than money and feel a sense of responsibility that goes beyond simply making a living. To paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Brandeis: “It is an occupation which is pursued largely for others and not merely for oneself. It is an occupation in which the amount of financial return is not the accepted measure of success.”
Many consumer advocates believe that fee-only planners alone can fulfill a fiduciary duty, because fee and commission planners receive commissions from the advice they give.
