A fiduciary advisor is legally required to put the client’s interests first. In practical terms, that means the advisor’s duty is not just to make a recommendation that can be defended on paper. It is to make a recommendation that is actually meant to serve the client well.
That standard matters because much of the financial industry still operates under looser obligations. Titles, firms, and marketing language can make those differences hard to see, so it is worth asking direct questions.
If you are evaluating an advisor, ask whether they will acknowledge in writing that they are acting as a fiduciary for you. A true fiduciary should have no problem answering that clearly.
Pathfinder acts as a fiduciary in both the legal sense and in the standard we expect of ourselves.