July 28, 2010
Re: Fiduciary Responsibility. I believe this standard is nearly meaningless. In application, fee-only advisors proclaim thier superiority to transaction brokers/advisors, but if I convinced my clients to go fee-only my income would, at a minimum, double. In addition, the advisors that do only fee for planning proclaim their superiority to fee-only and transaction advisors.
I believe that in some instances a fiduciary standard is appropriate, but even in those instances the limitations are usually spelled out by contract or by law.
Also, the skill and capability of the advisor is not addressed by a fiduciary or suitability standard.