Fiduciary = Does it REALLY mean ANYTHING?
I hear the term “Fiduciary” thrown about all the time, WOULD YOU BE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT that “FIDUCIARY” is a game of SEMANTICS and NOT AN ACTUAL STANDARD????
Welcome to Wall Street 101: Tell a story, use big words that people wonder about, and tell just enough for the uneducated to IMPROPERLY infer what is actually happening.
For example, Charles Schwab states in their advertising “The fiduciary standard of care drives every single thing we do as a company. Our vision is to have all investors' wealth and retirement accounts managed by a fiduciary who has the credentials and tools to back up their work” (Excerpt: Schwab Fiduciary Focus Toolkit.). One may read that and think Schwab acts as a fiduciary when they deal with the public, however: According to advisorperspectives.com, Charles Schwab's financial consultants are not fiduciaries. Their primary role is to connect clients with Schwab's resources, which may not be free. Interesting.
Ok, So how about Fidelity, are their advisors Fiduciaries? “No, Fidelity is not a fiduciary anymore. They acted as point-in-time fiduciaries as long as the related DOL rule was in effect, but that changed when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck it down. Now, they only offer investment advice, but without representing you as fiduciaries.”
Is There Any Other Broker Who Acts as a Fiduciary?
No. Since there is no law obligating brokers to act as fiduciaries, none will act like one. ( as per https://www.mrmarvinallen.com/is-fidelity-a-fiduciary/”)
I BELIEVE the biggest scam and abuse of the Fiduciary Standard comes from “Advisory Firms” such as Fisher Investments. On their FEES page on their website it says: “we do better when you do better. Transparent: We never charge hidden or layered fees. What you see is what you get.” Ironically, https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/fisher-investments/ the “Truth In Advertising.ORG” people clearly disagree with Fisher’s claims about being TRUTHFUL and CLEAR.
I”LL ASK THE SIMPLER QUESTION YOU SHOULD ALL ASK:
Why do they “DO BETTER” (charge more) when the CLIENT does better?
WASN’T THAT WHY YOU HIRED THEM?
Does Investment Advice on Portfolio structure take MORE WORK WHEN THERE IS MORE MONEY?
OF COURSE NOT.
STOP PLAYING WALL STREET’S GAME, YOU’RE GETTING RIPPED OFF!!
WALL STREET CARES ABOUT CHARGING YOU FEES - IN GOOD AND BAD MARKETS - PERIOD!
Good Advice is WORTH EVERY PENNY!!, But you shouldn’t pay based on your assets, you should pay more based on complexity — and THAT DOES NOT MEAN ASSET SIZE!
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