Posted by Joe Bert, CFP®, AIF® There were dozens of breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits filed, settled and adjudicated in 2016 against plan sponsors, fiduciaries and investment advisors. The trend for 2017 is for this legal torrent to continue regardless of the next steps with the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule.
Who Is Liable in a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawsuit? Read More »
Posted by Joe Bert, CFP®, AIF® Many of us are likely familiar with the accounting world’s Rules v. Principles ethics regulation. But you may not be aware that the Department of Labor, since promulgating its fiduciary rule last year, has implemented a similar type of principle-based regulatory approach. Within the financial advisor world much of
Don’t Follow The Rules, Follow the Principle Read More »
Posted by Joe Bert, CFP®, AIF® The “Suitability Standard”, yet another ERISA-based mystery. Let me endeavor to decipher this term by delving into the often-turgid waters of the fiduciary ocean by asking ourselves if merely meeting the standard of suitability meets the criteria for being a fiduciary. Put another way; is acting suitably a
When Merely Being Suitable is Not Enough Read More »
Posted by Joe Bert, CFP®, AIF® At Certified Financial Group, we live by a simple rule: act in the best interests of our clients. This philosophy is also the underpinning for the financial advisory industry’s “Fiduciary Standard.” But the word fiduciary is truly a sophist’s dream. There’s a veritable alphabet soup of numbers and letters
The Alphabet Soup of Fiduciary Designations Read More »
Posted by Joe Bert, CFP®, AIF® At Certified Financial Group, we don’t see it as the firm’s goal to be the knight-errant of the fiduciary standard for all financial advisors. Nor do we propose to wag our fingers at those with conflicts. Rather, we simply hope to intimate our firm’s pride at our Investment Advisor,
A Distinctive Fiduciary Standard Spelled C-E-F-E-X & D-O-L Read More »