Everything You Need to Know About Fiduciaries

What is a Fiduciary

A Fiduciary is an individual who acts in the best interest of another party regarding their finances. This could be with estate planning, private wealth, investments, or if the individual plans to retire, a Fiduciary can help.

“If a financial professional tells you that they are a fiduciary, but they “hate annuities and never really use them, can they really be a true fiduciary?”

Fiduciary
Professional financial advice can add up to
0 %
to portfolio net returns over the long term.*
Professional financial advice can add up to
0 %
to portfolio net returns over the long term.*

What is the difference between fiduciaries and other financial advisors?

When it comes to financial advisors, there are numerous types, as well as various certifications and licenses that they may hold. Essentially, there are two groups: Fiduciaries and brokers. The primary difference between a broker and a fiduciary is determined by who the advisor is working for. A broker works for their firm, while a fiduciary works for the client.

Broker
Works for their firm.

Fiduciary

Fiduciaries
Works for the client

Broker
Works for their firm.

Fiduciary

Fiduciaries
Works for the client

Fiduciary
Followed Standards
Financial advisors and investment brokers both offer advice, but the main difference between them is the standard they follow. Trajan Wealth Fiduciary Advisors are committed to prioritizing our clients’ interests over our own. They may also hold the Certified Financial Planner® designation.
Prioritized Clients’ Interests
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has a suitability standard that investment brokers must follow. This standard requires brokers only to sell financial products that are suitable for their clients, but does not require them to prioritize their clients’ interests over their own. Unlike the fiduciary standard, the suitability standard does not mandate that brokers disclose any conflicts of interest they may have.
Fiduciary
Trust Matters
Trust in your financial advisor is key. The fiduciary standard adds protection, ensuring they act in your best interest. The suitability standard may raise doubts in certain circumstances.
Hidden Fees
Did you know many brokers sell products such as variable annuities or mutual funds with high internal charges… often as high as 3 percent or more per year? If you’re not happy with your performance, it may be because of all the hidden fees. With fees like this … you may be doing a better job paying your broker than yourself.
Fiduciary
Aligned Interests
Trajan Wealth does not have brokers; we have fiduciary advisors. As fiduciaries, we are paid more by making you more. Our interests are aligned. The more you make, the more we make. 
It’s important to know that financial advisors can be dually registered, which means they can be both a fiduciary and a broker, switching between the two roles, depending on the situation. Trajan Wealth advisors are not dually registered.
S&P 500 Index Average Annual Total Returns: 1992-2022

Investors without advisors can have less discipline in volatile markets, so they’re more likely to miss recovery days.

Source: Data from Trajan Analytics. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For illustrative purposes only.

Your portfolio’s risk level can change over time. If one asset class performs better than others, it can become “overweighted” compared to the rest.

The Original
Portfolio
Without Rebalancing
The Portfolio
10 Years Later

More risk without rebalancing

Hypothetical example for illustrative purposes.

“The advisors aren’t getting commissions, they’re getting compensated based on our coming up – so if you do right by us, we do right by you – so I like that aspect of it. The fiduciary relationship is something that’s really a trusted relationship and that’s very important to us.”

– Actual Trajan Wealth client

Benefits of working with a Fiduciary at Trajan Wealth

When it comes to financial advisors, there are numerous types, as well as various certifications and licenses that they may hold. Essentially, there are two groups: Fiduciaries and brokers. The primary difference between a broker and a fiduciary is determined by who the advisor is working for. A broker works for their firm, while a fiduciary works for the client.

Benefits of working with a Fiduciary at Trajan Wealth

When it comes to financial advisors, there are numerous types, as well as various certifications and licenses that they may hold. Essentially, there are two groups: Fiduciaries and brokers. The primary difference between a broker and a fiduciary is determined by who the advisor is working for. A broker works for their firm, while a fiduciary works for the client.

We will save you time.

Do you have the time or energy to spend researching and creating the best financial plan for yourself? Most of us don’t. But let’s say you do have the time to explore different investment options, allocate your investments properly, and keep up with daily market changes. What if your plan fails? Will you have the time you need to make up for losses? Financial advisors spend their time researching your investments every day, so you don’t have to. It’s our job.

We help prevent emotional decisions

Volatility in the market triggers our fight-or-flight instincts. No matter if the markets are rising or falling, it can be hard to keep let your emotions from overruling logic. You can be too emotionally tied to your investments. One snap decision could cost you a lot of money – and possibly your retirement. A fiduciary advisor can help you from an objective and rational perspective. We have the experience and separation to consider your investments with a long-term perspective.

We help keep your investments on track

Consistently reviewing your portfolio allows you and your advisor to re-evaluate your investments and make sure you are on track to hit your retirement goals. Market conditions change over time, and if you don’t keep up, your portfolio may not stay aligned with your needs.

You’ll learn more
When it comes to investing, it’s not what you make that counts. It’s what you keep. Many financial advisors, including many of our Trajan Wealth fiduciary advisors, have a Certified Financial Planner® designation. With this type of planning, tax implications are always considered in your retirement income plan.

For example, when people retire, they are often in a lower tax bracket during their first and possibly the second year of tax filing. There may be an opportunity to convert taxable investments to tax-free investments with lower tax consequences than if they liquidate. There are also many different strategies to keep your taxes down, even before retirement, allowing you to save more for the future. An advisor can help you navigate the tax implications now and in the future of your investments and retirement plan.

In summary, Trajan Wealth can help you…

Stress-free approach to protect and help grow your investments.

We specialize in rolling IRAs and 401(k)’s over.

We walk you through the process and even complete paperwork for you.

Our Fiduciary Advisors have set low transparent fees that align with your growth.

We take the time to understand your specific situation.

How to work with a Fiduciary

To confirm if a financial advisor is a fiduciary, you can ask for their status and verify it. One way to check their registration with the SEC is by using FINRA’s BrokerCheck database.

If you are working with an investment advisor firm, you can also check for an advisor’s Form ADV on the SEC’s IAPD page. This will give you information about their registration with the SEC or state, their business operations, and any misconduct they may have been involved in.

Another option is to work with a Certified Financial Planner®. The code of ethics requires them to act as a fiduciary and in the best interest of their clients. You can verify their certification on the CFP Board’s website.
Advisor-managed vs self-managed portfolios
An advisor-managed portfolio can average 8% annualized growth over a 25-year period, compared to 5% from a self-managed portfolio.*
Line chart of hypothetical comparison of portfolios

Source: Vanguard. Assuming 5% annualized growth of a $500k portfolio vs 8% annualized growth of an advisor-managed portfolio over 25 years. Chart not to scale. Hypothetical study.

FAQ

Yes, as a Fiduciary Advisor, we are obligated to always act in your best interest.

A fiduciary cannot act out of self-interest. If our advice carries any potential conflicts of interest, we’ll raise the issue with you. You can also read about our relationships in our CRS form and ADV forms.

Our fiduciary advisors are hand-picked for their extensive experience and ethics. Many also have designations as Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner®, Chartered Financial Consultant®, or Chartered Financial Analyst®.
Working with a Trajan advisor is easy. Schedule an initial meeting. We will answer any questions you have, reviewing your goals, and give you guidance on what the options are for your investments. In our follow-up meeting, we go through a detailed fact-finding process. This includes learning more about your specific financial situation so we can tailor a solution just for you. Our team will review your current retirement strategy and level of market risk. Then we present you with customized options designed to protect and grow your investments. Once you become a client, you can contact us at any time to speak with a fiduciary advisor for questions and making changes.

All Trajan Wealth clients, regardless of investment level, receive annual reviews with a Portfolio Manager and can reach out to us with questions anytime. The frequency of the reviews increases as your portfolio grows. Read about our client benefits here.

Fiduciary
If you have retirement savings plans at multiple former employers or with multiple advisors, we can help you manage your assets in one place and help navigate the transfer process for you.
Having an active role in financial planning includes bringing assets together to allow you more investment choices and on-going monitoring, not leaving them where you can’t actively manage them.

*Filmed testimonial from actual client, no compensation, no conflicts.