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Investment Research Since 1978

Is Your Wealth Manager Held to this Higher Standard?

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If you choose to work with an investment advisor, wealth manager, financial planner, stock broker, retirement specialist, you name it, there really is only one question for you to ask up front. Are they held to a fiduciary standard or a suitability standard for all account types, not just IRAs? At Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. we’re held to the fiduciary standard (sign up for our monthly client letter here, free even for non-clients).

The difference between the two are night and day. You would think this topic would be crystal clear.  It’s not. Most are held to a lower suitability standard. In other words: They don’t have to buy you the best, low cost product if they have one that is similar or suitable with higher fees.

Like any purchasing decision, you hire any of the above and trust that they do what’s right for you. Too often that is not what happens. If it were the case, annuities wouldn’t be the huge money making behemoth that they are. I am shocked at the product that gets stuffed into portfolios by the self-serving in this business.

You need to be vigilant and crystal clear on this subject. You want to work with a fiduciary—someone who is held to the highest standard.

Does a stockbroker owe a different standard of care than other financial advisors?

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E.J. Smith

Editor-in-Chief
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com.