The word “fiduciary” is the legal term for the standard that actually requires it. A fiduciary advisor must put the client’s interests first — not just make a recommendation that can be defended on paper, but one that is genuinely meant to serve the client well.
That should be a baseline. In much of the financial industry, it isn’t.
Large brokerages, banks, and insurance companies often operate under a looser standard — one that only requires recommendations to be “suitable,” not necessarily best. The difference matters, and the titles and marketing language used in those settings often obscure it.
If you are evaluating any advisor, ask them directly: will you confirm in writing that you are acting as a fiduciary for me? A genuine fiduciary should answer that clearly and without hesitation. Reluctance to do so is itself informative.
Pathfinder acts as a fiduciary in both the legal sense and in the standard we hold ourselves to. Combined with a fee-only structure — no commissions, no product sales — it means the incentives and the obligations point in the same direction: toward advice that actually serves you.