BEST Tampa Florida Fiduciary Financial Advisor
BEST Tampa Florida Fiduciary Financial Advisor
Advisors that truly act in a fiduciary capacity to their clients are far less common than they should be.
3 Financial Advisors Categories
Generally, financial advisors fall into one of three camps:
- Investment Adviser Representatives – Employees of a Registered Investment Adviser, regulated by individual states or the SEC. These advisors must always act as fiduciaries in the best interests of their clients. This is what Mintco Financial our advisors are.
- Registered Representatives – Employees of a Broker-Dealer regulated by FINRA. These advisors are held to a suitability standard when making recommendations to clients (more on this later).
- Dual Registered – Employees of Hybrid firms that can ‘switch hats’ to be an Investment Adviser Representative or a Registered Representative as wanted/needed.
Only individuals that act as #1, 100% of the time, are true fiduciaries that must act in the best interest of their client at all times.
Fiduciary Financial Advisor Meaning
Only Investment Adviser Representatives are required to act as fiduciaries at all times with their clients. This means these advisors must act in their client’s best interest and always place the interests of the client above any personal interest.
A smaller cadre of advisors adheres to the higher “fiduciary” standard.
A fiduciary vows that all recommendations are indeed in the best interest of the client.
Financial Advisor Fiduciary Duty
Under the law, a fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care required of a Financial Advisor – or any relationship where trust is an essential element.
Fiduciaries must always act in their client’s best interests.
Advice received from a fiduciary Advisor should be considered more trustworthy than another Advisor because they have a legal obligation to:
- Avoid conflicts of interest. If a conflict is present it must be disclosed to the client. In these instances, a fiduciary is not permitted to proceed without client consent.
• Provide disclosure of all material facts. This would be information which “a reasonable investor would consider to be important.”
• Act as a Professional. Ensuring services are performed with a degree of professionalism, care, and due diligence that would be expected of someone holding themselves out as an expert.
• Invest prudently. Pursue an investment strategy and use investment products that only serve the best interests of the client without any conflicts of interest.
• Fee Only Compensation Structure. They are paid by their clients in a way fully transparent with no hidden fees or commissions.
What is the difference between Fiduciary vs Suitability
For some financial professionals, there is a second and less stringent set of standards they must meet. For example, brokers are only required to fulfill the “suitability standard,” which only calls for them to reasonably believe they are doing the right thing for their clients.
They do not necessarily have to advise clients to find the best product available for their needs, but can instead find one that is merely “suitable.”
Those who follow the suitability standard do not need to disclose all conflicts of interest.
And the suitability standard is less strict about placing client interests above their own.
The suitability standard is also less strict about ensuring the advisor has fully researched your financial situation before providing advice.
Often, advisors and brokers who follow the suitability standard work for mutual fund managers and other investment companies. In many cases, they will encourage clients to invest only in their company’s products and will receive a commission from the sale.
Those advisors who follow the fiduciary standard are more likely to be independent operators and are paid based on a percentage of their assets under management, as opposed to a commission from sales.
These advisors are also known as “fee-only” or “fee-based” advisors. In general, fee-based advisors are more likely to comply with the fiduciary standard because they do not work for or represent investment companies.
So they are less likely to have a conflict of interest.
Certifications and Qualifications of a Fiduciary Financial Advisor
A fiduciary is often certified or licensed, after passing specific coursework or exams administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or other groups.
These certifications or licenses are designed to be challenging to obtain, thus giving clients a basic level of comfort with an advisor’s qualifications.
How to Find a Fiduciary Financial Advisor
Not all financial advisors are fiduciaries.
Any person can, in theory, claim to be a financial advisor, but they would not automatically be bound to the fiduciary rule.
Investment advisors who are registered with the SEC or a state securities regulator must follow the fiduciary standard.
You can find information about these advisors on the SEC or state regulator website.
Questions to ask your Financial Advisor in the First Meeting
- What are your certifications?
- How long have you been in business?
- How do you earn your money? Do you collect a fee based on assets under management, or do you receive a commission from investment companies?
- What are my total costs for working with you?
- Are you willing to provide a written guarantee of fiduciary duty?
- Can you explain your due diligence process when evaluating an investment?
- Can you put me in touch with any of your other clients?
- Do you have an investment custodian? If so, which one?
Mintco Financial Fiduciary Advisor in Tampa Florida
At Mintco Financial, we offer our clients a wealth of investment knowledge and a historical perspective to investment planning.
We utilize research from many of the top firms and can provide our clients with access to individual stocks and bonds as well as investments from a wide array of money management, mutual fund, annuity, and insurance providers.
As fiduciaries, on behalf of our clients, we hold to ourselves to the highest standard of conduct and are committed to the highest level of ethical behavior and transparency.
Many of our client relationships are multi-generational, built by taking the time to truly understand what clients are trying to accomplish for themselves, their families, and their businesses.
We work closely with clients to select the right type of accounts, appropriate and timely investments and to provide the ongoing guidance needed to navigate the changes in markets, tax laws, and personal goals.
Contact us Today to schedule a meeting at 813-964-7100
Email us info@mintcoFinancial.com