The short answer
Ask for one sentence in writing: they will act as a fiduciary, with a duty of care and loyalty, for all advice on your accounts. Then check the files. An investment adviser owes that duty on advisory accounts. A broker who recommends a security to a retail customer follows Regulation Best Interest, which is a different standard. One person can be both. The account type picks the rule.
A website badge is not the evidence. A CFP Board fiduciary pledge is that group's rule for people who hold the CFP mark. It is not the government license. The background on the two standards is fiduciary vs financial advisor. This page is the check on the person in front of you.
| What you collected | What it proves | What it does not prove |
|---|
| The written sentence, naming your accounts | What they agreed to with you | That every account at the firm works this way |
| The firm on IAPD | The firm is a registered adviser | That this person is careful, or cheap |
| BrokerCheck, if they have a CRD | Broker history, if any | That a broker account is an advice account |
| Form CRS | Whether the relationship is adviser, broker, or both | The full fee schedule |
What to do
- Email this, and keep the reply: "Will you act as a fiduciary, with a duty of care and a duty of loyalty, for all advice you give me? Which of my accounts are advisory accounts, and which are brokerage accounts?" If they will only say it on a call, ask them to put the same words in the email afterward.
- Open the firm on Search. Write down the CRD, the firm's ID number. Open that CRD on IAPD. The firm should be there if it is a registered investment adviser.
- Open the person on BrokerCheck. No broker record means you do not have a broker file to read. A broker record means you still ask which accounts are advice and which are brokerage. How to check registration is the longer order.
- Read Form CRS for that firm. It is the short relationship summary. It should say broker, adviser, or both. If the email says "fiduciary on everything" and Form CRS says you will also have a brokerage account, make them reconcile the two in writing.
- If they cite the CFP mark as the proof, look up the person on cfp.net and still do steps 2 and 3. The mark is real. It does not replace the filing. Do I need a CFP? is when the letters matter.
- File the email, the Form CRS, and the IAPD page with the contract. You want them the day something feels off, not as a project for later.
What to look for on Best Investors
- The firm page, then the person. Fiduciary duty for investment advice attaches to the advisory relationship. The RIA is the firm. The person is an adviser at that firm, a broker, or both.
- Item 5B(2) and Item 6A. Item 5B(2) counts employees who are also registered brokers. Item 6A(1) is broker-dealer activity. A Yes does not cancel a fiduciary duty on an advice account. It tells you to ask which hat is on.
- Item 5E(5). Commissions are a conflict to read, not a hidden fiduciary test. The brochure should describe them.
- Item 11. A disclosure there is something you read. It is not a score, and a blank Item 11 is not a character reference. How to read Item 11 shows the clusters.
Common mistakes
- Accepting "we always act in your best interest" with no account names and no email. Best interest, said out loud by a broker, can mean Regulation Best Interest. You asked for a fiduciary sentence. Listen for which one came back.
- Stopping at a logo that says fiduciary. Print the email instead.
- Checking only IAPD when the person also sells products. BrokerCheck is the other file.
- Thinking a fiduciary promise caps the fee, guarantees a return, or clears Item 11. It does none of those.
- Using a Department of Labor headline as the test for a taxable brokerage account. On this page the split is the Advisers Act duty on advisory accounts, and Regulation Best Interest on a broker's recommendation to a retail customer.
Related questions
What if they edit the sentence?
Read the edit. "Fiduciary on the advisory accounts, and Regulation Best Interest on the brokerage recommendations" can be an honest map. "We put clients first" is not the sentence you asked for. Reply until the accounts are named.
Does a CFP have to be a fiduciary?
CFP Board sets a fiduciary standard for CFP professionals when they give financial advice. That is the certifying group's rule. The government license is still the adviser registration, the broker registration, or both. Check both layers.
What if they refuse to write it?
Treat the refusal as the answer. You can still hire a broker for a product sale, with your eyes open, under that standard. Do not later describe that relationship as a fiduciary advisory account because the website felt warm.
Does the written sentence lower my fee?
No. Loyalty is about conflicts and care. The price is Item 5E and the brochure. A fiduciary can be expensive. A cheap offer can still be the wrong account type. Price the fee after you know the duty.
Limits
This page is a way to collect proof about one person and one firm. It is not legal advice, and Best Investors is not the SEC or FINRA. We cannot tell you how a court would read your email.
The firm filled out Form ADV. Those answers are self-reported. A clean file is not a promise of results. If our copy and IAPD disagree, use IAPD. If a broker record and the firm disagree about the person, use BrokerCheck for the broker file.
Sources
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