A fiduciary is a person or institution given the power to act on behalf of another in situations that require honesty and trust.
Fiduciaries are hired to act in your best interest and must set aside personal motives and conflicts of interest in favor of pursuing the best outcome for your unique situation.

Common fiduciaries include attorneys, accountants, business advisors, fee-only financial advisors and registered investment advisors, real estate agents acting on your behalf, estate administrators, guardians, title companies, and trustees of a trust.

What is Fiduciary Duty?

Also called “fiduciary obligation”, fiduciary duty is a legal obligation of a fiduciary to act in the best interest of a client.

Many brokers and insurance agents call themselves “financial advisors” or “financial planners,” but they may not have a fiduciary duty and in fact may not be required to put your interests first.
They represent themselves or their company. Rather than a legal responsibility to act in your best interest, they instead must only provide you with “suitable” financial products.

Fiduciary duty is stricter than the suitability standard. It's not enough for them to just provide "suitable" recommendations. They must provide you with the best advice possible.

The Baran James Company is held to a fiduciary standard, meaning that we are committed to placing clients’ interests ahead of our own.