When someone is endowed with fiduciary responsibilities then they are responsible for another individual’s money and potentially investing those monetary funds. Fiduciary liability can occur for many reasons, for example if investment advice provided by a broker caused inappropriate loss based on what an individual asked for, the broker may be held responsible.
When an individual decides to invest their money, whether in a bank, stock market, retirement plan, etc., they entrust it to an individual who must abide by legal responsibilities and duties, which are considered good faith and candor. Additionally, these responsibilities are also known as fiduciary duty.
While there are a number of facts and circumstances generally defining fiduciary status, it is commonly known as an individual who "manages the property or financial control in a professional environment".
When an investor gives their broker discretionary authority, that individual authorizes the broker to make investments without consulting the investor. If the broker has this discretionary authority or "control" over an investor's account that person may owe the investor a fiduciary duty. A broker with fiduciary responsibilities and duties must enter investment decisions with care and caution.
Determining fiduciary liability is comprised of prudent investment practices by the fiduciary rather than overall performance. Fiduciary duty is also highly associated with a moral compass comprised of honesty and integrity, because of the trust associated with this professional position. Full and complete disclosure of any fees, conflicts of interest, etc., are required by an investment advisor as per the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) mandatory regulations. Part of a broker's responsibility is to individually assess a client's available risk and monetary goals when determining investments.
To decide whether the broker should be held liable for advice, it is necessary to determine whether the investment advice was suitable for the client and whether the investment professional, bound to a fiduciary duty, acted in the client's best interests. All investment advisors should ask clients for complete documentation that outlines their risk profile and investment goals. Then the advisor is duty-bound to help ensure that the investment choices selected remain consistent with the outlined and agreed profile and goals.
If any investment advice provided by a broker, that a client believes caused losses because it was inappropriate according to their personal investment profile/goals, should immediately contact legal advisors for guidance and direction. It is important to outline an individuals risk profile and financial goals because an investor may be compensated for monetary losses if a broker does not abide by the investor's profile.
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