Resources

What is a Fiduciary Financial Advisor?

Fiduciaries are a type of advisor that is legally and ethically obligated to act solely in your best interest.

Choosing the right financial advisor is an important decision.

While we like to think we’re good at what we do, there are a lot of financial advisors available for you to choose from. So we wanted to provide this resource to help inform people of some of the differences between how different financial firms and advisors make money and what being a fiduciary advisor means.

The type of advisor you choose to work with could impact your ROI, performance, & your ability to reach your goals.

Whomever you choose to work with, we recommend you to choose an advisor that aligns with your values and beliefs, and who you think provides you the strongest ability to help you make confident financial decisions and reach your goals, wherever you are in your financial journey and stage of life.

Let’s start here:

What is a fiduciary?

A fiduciary is a financial advisor legally and ethically bound to act in their clients’ best interests at all times.

They prioritize honesty, transparency, and competence, providing advice free from conflicts of interest – such as commissions – and on a fee-only basis.

Non-fiduciaries can recommend products whose sales generate them bonuses, commissions, or prizes, often resulting in clients paying significantly higher fees.

How does a fiduciary’s compensation compare with other types of financial advisors?

Depending on the firm’s business model, financial advisors can be paid in three ways:

Fee-only

When working with a fee-only advisor, they are only charging you a fee for their services. This model is rooted in the concept of being a fiduciary – where financial advisors are legally and ethically bound to act in your best interest; without any commission-based incentive to think about themselves over you.

Commission-based

When working with a commission-based advisor, they earn money when they sell investment products and conduct transactions on your behalf. This model has the potential to create conflicts of interest and cause the advisor, or firm, to think about their financial needs and wants over yours.

Fee-based

When working with a fee-based advisor, they may be charging you a fee for their services, while also earning commissions when they sell certain investment products. This hybrid model has the same potential for the advisor’s, or firm’s, best interests to take priority over yours.

What does working with a fiduciary advisor ultimately mean for you?

A relationship built on trust

Typically trust is earned over-time. How quickly that’s earned can be impacted by the perception of trust at the beginning of a new relationship. With fiduciary advisors, right from the start, you can be confident they are providing advice and services with your best interests in mind because they are legally and ethically obligated to.

Transparent pricing

No one likes being surprised about a cost for something. With fee-only fiduciaries, you’ll know what their services cost up-front. No guessing. No awkward ‘what’s this charge for’ pricing conversations. Just transparent pricing and transparent advice and services with you in mind.

Financial advice aligned with your needs & goals

By removing product quotas and commissions, helping you reach your goals and taking care of your needs become the primary motivators for an advisor to do a good job.

We are fee-only fiduciary financial advisors.

Before starting Aegis, Tim Stasinoulias worked for firms in the early 90s with business models built on product quotas and commissions. Early on, Tim became uncomfortable with how this approach benefited the business more than the client. This realization led him to start Aegis in 1992, with an approach rooted in trust and integrity over profits, and become a fiduciary in 2005.

People work hard to live the life they want or dream about, and they deserve advisors they can rely on to safely grow and protect their financial assets.

Fast forward 37 years, and the entire Aegis team still shares these same beliefs.

At Aegis, we believe financial advisors who are fee-only fiduciaries are the only type of advisors that people can safely and confidently trust to help them grow and protect their financial assets.