A Quarter Of All "Fiduciaries" Are Still Not Capitalizing On That Fact Hot
The findings from Boston account aggregator ByAllAccounts reveal that 67% of advisors who describe themselves as fiduciaries do in fact capitalize on this fact at least some of the time.
But the matter of whether those advisors are true fiduciaries or simply flocking to the fiduciary banner was not clarified.
ByAllAccounts seems to have framed the topic in terms of monitoring client accounts in the aggregate -- "reporting and advising on all of a client's assets is one of the top three things two-thirds of advisors say is indicative of putting their clients' interests first."
According to that standard, 90% of all advisors the company talked to believe they are acting as a fiduciary. But in fact less than half of them engage in that sort of aggregate account monitoring.
A little over half say they provide conflict-free advice on retirement accounts, and that's how they earn the "fiduciary" label. And 72% create a financial plan for their clients.
Maybe the financial plan is the best indicator of fiduciary practice? But no -- according to the most recent court rulings, anyway. Remember, apparently advisors who prepare a financial plan for free are exempt from the fiduciary code, and thus are not fiduciaries.