A Fiduciary duty can be found in many professions however, within the context of investment advisors the duty begins and ends with loyalty and care.

The duty of loyalty is the obligation to always serve the clients’ best interest as well as the mitigating any conflicts of interest.

Arthur Laby, Rutgers University law professor, describes the duty of loyalty in that it typically requires the fiduciary to refrain from behavior that could be injurious to the client, e.g., do not engage in self-dealing or place your interests ahead of the client’s, do not mislead, do not com-mingle client funds, do not reveal private client information, and so forth.

The duty of care, conversely, is the obligation to perform my services faithfully and competently. It is at it is core the aspiration to serve clients and society by meeting high standards. As articulated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the prudent person rule requires fiduciaries to act “with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent [person] acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.”

Laws, regulations, and professional best practices that reinforce and elaborate upon core fiduciary duties point to a set of precepts to guide the conduct of fiduciary investment advisors. These are the codes we live by, and they ensure that we offer you the best services that we can.

I carry the AIF Designation which demonstrates that I have met the educational, competence, conduct and ethical standards to carry out a fiduciary standard of care and duty of loyalty. Additionally, our firm carries the ability to perform as a 3(38) Fiduciary. Allowing us the responsibility of selecting, managing, monitoring, and benchmarking investment offerings for retirement plans as defined by ERISA. Our experience and continuing education make us a valuable source for investment advisory services for both individuals and retirement plan employers.