The word “fiduciary” gets used loosely in financial advertising, which is a shame, because it describes something specific and genuinely important. Understanding it is one of the most useful things you can do before you hand anyone your life savings.
Two standards, one big gap
Financial advice in the United States has historically been governed by two different standards, and the difference between them is not a technicality.
- The fiduciary standard requires an adviser to act in your best interest. If two products would both work and one is cheaper or better for you, the fiduciary is obligated to steer you to it.
- The suitability standard requires only that a recommendation be suitable — appropriate for someone in your situation. Under suitability, a more expensive product that pays the salesperson more can still be recommended, as long as it is not unsuitable.
“Suitable” and “best” are not the same word, and the space between them is where a great deal of money quietly leaves ordinary investors’ accounts.
Why the difference is easy to miss
From the client’s chair, a suitability-standard salesperson and a fiduciary adviser can look identical. Both are friendly, credentialed, and confident. The difference only shows up in the recommendations — in whether the product chosen was the best available for you, or merely an acceptable one that happened to pay well. And by the time that difference compounds across decades of fees, the meeting where it was decided is long forgotten.
How to tell what you are dealing with
You do not have to guess. A few direct questions cut through it:
- “Are you a fiduciary, in writing, one hundred percent of the time?” The qualifier matters — some people are fiduciaries for part of what they do and salespeople for the rest.
- “How exactly are you paid?” A transparent advisory fee is easy to explain. If the answer is vague or involves commissions on products, keep asking.
- “Do you sell your own firm’s products?” An independent adviser with no house product line has one fewer conflict to manage.
- “Can I see your Form ADV?” Registered investment advisers file this disclosure document; it lays out services, fees, and conflicts. A willing, prompt answer is a good sign.
Where we stand
French Capital Management is an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm. That means a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest, no proprietary products to push, and an open universe of funds chosen on cost and quality. You can look up the firm’s Form ADV and verify Jason French’s clean regulatory record on FINRA BrokerCheck before you ever sit down — and we would genuinely encourage you to. Trust should be verified, not assumed.
