Today’s Prep:
On this inaugural edition of the Retirement Ready podcast, we’ll explore the meaning behind the fiduciary standard.
(Click the featured times below to jump forward in the episode)
Equipping Points:
1:58 – What Is The Fiduciary Standard?
- A fiduciary is someone who acts on behalf of someone else to manage their assets. They act in good faith in trust. Quite simply, this means they’re supposed to represent your best interests. Recently, we’ve heard a lot about this term as it pertains to financial advisors, but lawyers, CPAs, and executors of estates are all supposed to operate as fiduciaries as well.
3:18 – Not Everyone Is A Fiduciary.
- You’d think all financial advisors would operate in your best interest. “Do Unto Others…” Right? Believe it or not, not all advisors operate as a fiduciary. Other folks in the financial industry operate under the suitability standard. This means that as long as you have the knowledge and the assets available to sell a certain product, you don’t have to disclose to your clients whether there’s a more cost-effective option. Under this standard, advisors also don’t have to disclose any conflicts of interest to you as the client (I.e Getting a commission for meeting a sales quota or taking a large position in one product as a company). In other words, as long as a product is “suitable,” advisors can sell it. It used to be that only registered investment advisors worked as fiduciaries in the financial services industry, but more and more folks are beginning to adhere to that standard.
5:13 – How Do I Know If Someone Is A Fiduciary?
- If someone says they’re an investment advisory representative of a registered investment advisor, they are most certainly a fiduciary. You also want to look at the disclosures and tag lines from your advisor. If they read “securities offered through….” and list out a broker dealer, they’re also on the fiduciary standard.
Other Preparation:
Today’s Takeaway:
Subscribe To The Podcast:
Apple Podcasts - Google Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - iHeartRadio - TuneIn
Check out some other recent episodes
Good News, Bad News
Sometimes you get good news and bad news at the same time. Which one will outweigh the other? More times than not, you are better off than you expected but you won’t know until you ask a professional. In this episode, we talk through a number of financial scenarios that can bring a bit of both good and bad.
Read More
401(k) Considerations
A 401(k) is a highly valuable, widely used investment asset for many people. But what should you know when you set one up or contribute to one? In this episode, we’ll talk through some of the things you’ll want to consider when using this powerful investment tool.
Read More
Generational Challenges
Every generation has had a different experience and are currently at a different life stage. In this episode, Eric talks through some of the financial challenges that Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers face. Understanding and acknowledging these different challenges can help you better plan according to where you are in life.
Read More
Advisor Pet Peeves
We all have pet peeves, so in today’s episode we talk about some pet peeves financial advisors have. Eric shares his experience as a financial advisor and sheds light on some things in the industry that can negatively impact both clients and professionals. From cookie-cutter financial plans to hidden fees, these things can really rub you the wrong way.
Read More
Grading Your Financial Competency
Financial competency is something that is not taught nearly enough. As an advisor, Eric focuses on teaching not only strategic investing decisions but also the basic foundations of money. It starts by knowing how much you have. Then, ask yourself, how much do you really spend? It’s easy to spend more than you realize, so getting that in check can make a huge difference.
Read More
Financial Lessons from Yogi Berra
What kind of financial wisdom can we take from a baseball player’s quotes? Quite a bit! Today’s quotes from Yogi Berra have a bit of humor and a lot of truth when it comes to your financial plan. From navigating annuities to planning for inflation, Eric shares how these quotes can bring a lot of meaning and understanding to our finances.
Read More
Mailbag: Should I be Worried about Investing in a Bank?
You may have seen the news about some bank issues with banks like Silicon Valley Bank. Is that cause for concern? If you have money in the bank, Eric explains how much is covered and what you can do to protect yourself. With any investments you make, realize which of the three components you’ll have: safety, liquidity, or growth.
Read More
Ways to Ruin Retirement
Building a successful retirement requires careful planning and wise decision-making. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to undo all of that hard work by falling prey to common pitfalls. Rather than risking the enjoyment and security of your golden years, we’ll discuss some ways to avoid these mistakes and secure your financial future in this episode.
Read More
Financial Mistruths
Every once in a while, financial concepts or strategies get misunderstood or misconstrued. It’s important to understand what you have and why you have it. On today’s show, we break down some financial ideals to find the “mistruths” or lies that can mistakenly be adopted.
Read More
What’s the Difference? Traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA
Roth IRAs have been around for about 25 years, but a lot of people still don’t know how they differ from a traditional IRA. Understanding the difference between the two will help you determine which option is best for your retirement goals. In this episode, Eric shares what you’ll want to know about a Roth IRA and when to use it.
Read More