Fiduciary vs Broker: Which Protects Your Money?

What separates a fiduciary advisor from a broker? The answer could save you thousands. In this episode we break down the 5 critical differences that determine whether your financial professional is legally required to act in your best interest. Learn the questions to ask, the red flags to watch for, and why fee-only fiduciary advice matters more than ever. Schedule a complimentary consultation at tdwealth.net. For educational purposes only. Not investment advice.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Imagine for a second that you're sitting in a doctor's office. You know, you're not feeling well, you describe your symptoms, and you obviously need a prescription. Right.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Pretty standard.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Yeah. But what if you found out later that your doctor was like legally allowed to prescribe you the second best medication for your condition?

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Just because the pharmaceutical company that makes it gives them a financial kickback.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Yeah. I mean, that's a scenario that feels completely absurd to even consider, right?

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Totally.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

When we interact with medical professionals, we just we operate under this baseline assumption that they are bound by a strict ethical and legal code to put our health above everything else.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Aaron Powell Exactly. I mean, if that happened in medicine, there would be public outrage, right? Like immediate lawsuits.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Aaron Powell Without a doubt.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Trevor Burrus, but the reality we're exploring today is that this exact scenario recommending a suboptimal solution because of a hidden financial incentive, it happens constantly in the world of finance.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Aaron Powell It really does. It's everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Aaron Powell So welcome to today's deep dive for the 1715 Treasure Coast Financial Wellness Podcast. This is brought to you by Davies Wealth Management, a fee-only fiduciary advisor located in Stewart, Florida.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Aaron Powell Glad to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Aaron Powell And our mission today is to decode the incredibly confusing and honestly often misleading titles used by financial professionals. We're looking at a really insightful guide authored by Thomas Davies. It's titled Fiduciary Advisor versus Broker: Five Critical Differences That Protect Your Wealth.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Aaron Powell And you know, we should establish right away that this isn't just like an exercise in industry semantics or just vocabulary.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

It's not just wordplay.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

No, not at all. We are talking about hidden legal distinctions that fundamentally dictate how your entire life savings are handled. Yeah. Understanding the structural differences between these titles can quite literally cost or save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your investing lifetime.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Aaron Powell Hundreds of thousands? That's I mean, that's wild. So let's start with the foundation then. How is it even structurally possible for a financial professional to give someone second best advice without violating the law? Like where does this loophole come from?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Aaron Powell Well, to understand the mechanics of how this happens, we really have to look directly at the regulatory framework. It all stems from the foundational law that governs these professionals.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

So on one side of the industry, you have a true fiduciary advisor.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Like a registered investment advisor or RIA.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Gotcha, RIA.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Right. Their operations are strictly governed by the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. And this act, it imposes a continuous, uncompromising legal obligation on the advisor to act in your best interest at all times.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Always in your best interest.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Exactly. By law, they are required to either completely eliminate or, at the very least, actively minimize any conflicts of interest.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Aaron Powell Meaning they are legally positioned as that idealized doctor we talked about. They have to recommend the optimal financial prescription for your specific situation completely, regardless of how it impacts their own bottom line.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Aaron Powell Yeah, that is the legal mandate. But now, contrast that with the other side of the industry brokers, who, by the way, are technically referred to as registered representatives.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Aaron Powell Okay, registered reps.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yeah. Historically, they've operated under what the industry calls a suitability standard.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Aaron Powell Suitability, not best interest.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Trevor Burrus Right. Under this standard, the investment product a broker recommended only had to be deemed, you know, suitable for someone of your general age, income level, and risk tolerance.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

It explicitly did not have to be the absolute best or the lowest cost or even the most tax-efficient option available in the market.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

See, I'm looking at the timeline in the source guide here, and I want to pause on this legal history for just a second. Because didn't the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, didn't they step in a few years ago?

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Uh yes. Yeah. You're thinking of 2020.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Yeah, with regulation best interest. Reg BI. I thought the primary goal of that regulation was to close this exact suitability loophole. Are you saying the new rules didn't actually fix the problem?

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yeah, well, it is a point of massive confusion for the average investor. And frankly, the naming convention regulation best interest, it really contributes to that confusion.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Because it sounds like they have to put your interests first.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Exactly. While Red BI did raise the compliance bar, like slightly above the old suitability days, independent industry analysts, including Morningstar, have thoroughly documented that it still falls significantly short of a true fiduciary standard.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Seriously. So what does it actually do then?

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Well, under Reg BI, a broker is still legally permitted to recommend their own firm's proprietary mutual funds or insurance products. They can still earn back end commissions on the products they sell you.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Wait, I'm trying to square that with the concept of best interest. If they're still earning a commission for selling their own company's product, how are they satisfying the regulators?

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Right. So the mechanism comes down to the difference between disclosure and elimination.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Under Reg BI, brokers generally satisfy their regulatory burden simply by disclosing their conflicts of interest to you.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Disclosing them, not fixing them.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Exactly. And this is usually done through extensive, really dense paperwork that, let's be honest, most clients just sign without reading.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah, the 50-page stack with the sign here, sticky notes.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Exactly. Whereas fiduciaries, governed by the 1940 Act, must actively work to avoid those conflicts entirely. Handing a client a packet that includes a tiny clause stating, you know, I may receive higher compensation if you purchase this specific fund that satisfies the broker's requirement to disclose. But disclosing a conflict is not the same thing as eliminating it. A disclosed bias is still a bias.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Aaron Powell So essentially, if brokers are allowed to maintain these conflicts of interest as long as they provide the paperwork, the immediate question is, well, how is that conflict actually monetized? Like where is the cash flowing?

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Right. It's all the money.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Yeah. Because this legal loophole isn't just an abstract debate for compliance departments, right? It literally dictates the advisor's compensation structure. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

It does. The compensation structure is where the theoretical legal framework hits your actual wallet. So let's examine the mechanics. Fiduciaries are generally fee-only.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Fee only.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Yes. That means their compensation is entirely transparent. It's usually a straight percentage of the assets they manage for you, a flat retainer fee, or an hourly rate. They do not accept commissions from third parties. Period.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Okay, so it's clean.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Very clean. Brokers conversely earn commissions based on transactions. This revenue comes from front-end loads when you buy a mutual fund, back end loads when you sell one, surrender charges on annuities.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

And this really insidious mechanism known as 12 B1 fees.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Aaron Powell Yeah, the Thomas Davies guide really emphasizes these 12 B1 fees. It refers to them as marketing fees embedded in the fund. But how exactly are they hidden from the client? Like why don't I see them?

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Aaron Powell Because unlike a clear line item fee on your monthly statement that says, you know, advisory fee,$500, 12 B1 fees are scraped directly off the daily net asset value of the mutual fund itself.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah. You never receive an invoice for them. You never write a physical check. The fund's performance is simply dragged down by that percentage every single day before the returns are even reported to you.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Aaron Powell So it just looks like the fund performed slightly worse than it should have?

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Exactly. You are essentially paying the broker a continuous commission to market the fund to you. And because it happens behind the scenes of the fund's internal accounting, it goes completely unnoticed by the average investor.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Aaron Powell That lack of visibility makes it incredibly dangerous. I mean, the guide highlights a study from the U.S. Department of Labor estimating that this type of conflicted advice costs American investors roughly$17 billion every single year.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Aaron Ross Powell 17 billion, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

17 billion annually is just a staggering figure. Especially when you realize that isn't wealth lost to bad markets or economic downturns, it's wealth lost purely to structural friction and hidden fees.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yeah, it's basically a massive transfer of wealth from investors to the brokerage industry. And it happens quietly through the mathematics of compounding. Right. The guide provides a really clear, grounded scenario to illustrate this. Let's assume you have a$1 million retirement portfolio. You leave it invested for 25 years, and the market provides a 7% average annual return. If you're working with a broker who places you in proprietary products that carry just 1% more in hidden fees and internal expenses compared to a fiduciary's recommendation, just 1%. Just a seemingly negligible 1% difference. That results in roughly$600,000 less in your account at the end of those 25 years.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

I mean, we all know the power of compound interest when it's working for you, but that figure perfectly illustrates the dark side of compounding when it's working against you.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

I actually think of it like um a tiny, almost invisible leak in the hull of a boat. Yeah, like if you're just taking the boat out for a quick afternoon trip across the lake, you probably won't even notice the water coming in. The market might be up, your balances look fine, and the leak is masked. But over a 25-year voyage toward retirement, that tiny constant leak is going to swallow the equivalent of a second home or a child's college education or just the security of a comfortable retirement.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

The boat meek is such an apt way to visualize it because the time horizon involved. When the market is generating double-digit returns, investors rarely question their internal expenses. Everything looks great.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Right. Everyone's a genius in a bull market.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Exactly. It is only decades later, when they actually model out the retirement income and realize they're falling short, that the cumulative damage of that 1% drag becomes apparent.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Yeah. And I feel like if an investor is paying this hidden premium, human nature assumes they must be receiving like premium comprehensive service in return. But the source material indicates the exact opposite is true regarding the scope of service provided.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Oh, entirely. The scope of service is entirely dependent on the underlying business model. Right. Brokers are fundamentally transaction oriented. Their primary mechanism for generating revenue is buying and selling securities on your behalf. So because they are paid when a transaction occurs, the relationship is naturally transactional.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah. But fiduciary RAAs operate on a holistic financial planning model. Their scope of work typically encompasses tax-efficient investing strategies, complex estate planning, risk management, and even business succession planning.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Aaron Powell Well, that makes total sense when you look at the incentive structures, right? If a fee-only fiduciary is charging a simple percentage of the assets they manage, their revenue only increases if your overall wealth increases.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

So their financial success is mathematically tethered to your financial success.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Aaron Powell That is the core alignment of interests right there. And that alignment extends to how these different professionals are regulated and held accountable to. Oh so well fiduciary RIAs are regulated directly by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, or by state securities regulators. As part of that oversight, they are required to file a highly detailed publicly available document called a Form ADV.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Form ADV.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yes. This document explicitly outlines their fee structures, their business practices, any potential conflicts, and their disciplinary history. Anyone can read it. It's totally transparent.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Aaron Powell Okay, and what about brokers?

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Brokers, however, are primarily regulated by FENRA.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

FENRA.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Right. Which is a self-regulatory organization funded by the brokerage industry itself.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Wait, really? Let's focus on that accountability aspect for a moment. Because if a severe dispute happens, say an advisor makes a recommendation that just devastates your life savings, the venue for recourse is totally different.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Completely different Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

The guide points out that disputes with brokers often go through FIMRA's industry-funded arbitration panels rather than public courts. I mean, when your entire financial legacy is on the line, the transparency of SEC filings and public accountability seems vastly preferable to like a closed-door arbitration room funded by the very industry you're challenging.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yeah, that lack of transparency becomes a massive liability, especially as an investor's financial situation grows in complexity.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

You see, the difference between a transactional broker and a holistic fiduciary elevates from a mere, you know, structural annoyance to a full-blown financial crisis when you're dealing with high-stakes scenarios or compressed timelines.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Aaron Powell Let's explore those high-stakes audiences then, because the guide specifically mentions high net worth individuals and business owners. Why does the brokerage model fail them so acutely?

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Well, for a high net worth individual, wealth is deeply interconnected. They don't just have a standard brokerage account, right? They have real estate holdings, multiple trusts, perhaps complex corporate entities.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Right. There are a lot of moving parts.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Exactly. So if a transactional broker enters that ecosystem and makes a single siloed product recommendation, for example, advising the client to liquidate a massive stock position to purchase a high commission annuity, they might do so without understanding the intricacies of the client's broader estate plan.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Yeah. And that single isolated transaction could trigger massive unintended capital gains taxes that far outweigh any benefit of the new product.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Aaron Powell So it's not just about the fee, it's about the tax bomb they just set off.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Precisely. And corporate executives face a very similar structural problem. They are often navigating restricted stock units, RSUs, and really complex deferred compensation packages.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Aaron Powell Yeah, that stuff is super complicated. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

It is. You cannot just recommend a generic mutual fund allocation to an executive whose entire net worth is tied up in their company's stock. It requires cohesive multi-year tax and wealth planning to untangle that concentration of risk.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

And the consequences of getting that wrong are just severe. But the guide highlights an even more extreme example of this phenomenon, which is professional athletes.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Because athletes operate on a highly compressed earning window. They might generate all the wealth they will ever earn in a brief five to fifteen year period.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Right, a very short runway.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Yeah. And the guide references this widely cited report from Sports Illustrated. It found that approximately 78% of NFL players face severe financial hardship or bankruptcy within just two years of retirement. Just two years. That statistic is incredibly sobering. 78% facing financial ruin just 24 months after leaving the league.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

And you know, the Davies Guide notes that this tragedy is largely driven by conflicted advice. These athletes, flush with sudden wealth, are heavily targeted by financial professionals who are focused on rapid product sales and high commissions.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Right. Not the long-term game. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Exactly. They aren't implementing long-term comprehensive wealth preservation planning. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

It's essentially a financial pressure cooker. If you're a professional athlete or, you know, a tech executive with a successful startup, you only have a few short years to cook up enough wealth to sustain you for an entire lifetime. In that high pressure environment, relying on a broker who is just selling you isolated products is disastrous. Like you don't need a grocery clerk selling you isolated ingredients for a quick commission.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

No, you don't.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

You need an executive chef who understands how to map out the entire menu, manage the timing of every dish, and ensure a cohesive meal is prepared before the clock runs out.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Oh, I love that. The executive chef analogy perfectly captures the need for comprehensive planning. You need someone legally bound to look at the entire architecture of your financial life, not just the individual ingredients. Right. So really the practical application for anyone listening right now is how do you audit your own financial life? How do you figure out exactly who is managing your money right now and what legal standard they are held to?

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Yes, let's definitely get into the mechanics of the fiduciary audit because we're talking about protecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in hidden fees.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

So what are the immediate red flags an investor should look for when evaluating their current advisor?

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Well, the guide lays out several definitive red flags. First, pay close attention to the investment recommendations. If your advisor is frequently recommending proprietary products, meaning their own company's stuff. Exactly. Meaning mutual funds or alternative investments that carry their own parent company's name, that is a massive warning sign of a conflict of interest.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Okay, good to know.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Second, evaluate how they discuss their compensation. If you ask them directly how they get paid and you receive a really vague, convoluted answer rather than a clear percentage or dollar amount, you should be concerned.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Yeah, if they can't give you a straight answer, run.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Pretty much. And third, if you have been a client for years and have never been offered or shown a form ADV, it is highly likely you are working with a broker.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

And the terminology used in the industry marketing is also kind of a minefield, right? I noticed in the text that we need to be incredibly careful with the word fee-based, because it sounds almost identical to fee only, but the guide explicitly calls it a trap.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Oh, it is one of the most common linguistic traps in modern finance. Fee only is the strict fiduciary standard. They only earn fees directly from you.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Okay, fee only is good.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Right. Fee-based is a hybrid term that sounds transparent, but legally, it means the advisor charges you a management fee while still retaining the legal right to accept third-party commissions on the side.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Sneaky. Very. And this is often associated with what the industry calls dual registered advisors.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Wait, I really want to understand how a dual registered advisor operates in a real world setting. Does that mean they can literally switch their legal obligations back and forth while sitting in a meeting with a client?

SPEAKER_00 17:45

That is exactly how it functions. They wear two hats.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

Two hats.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Yeah. So in the first half of your meeting, they might be wearing their RIA fiduciary hat, gathering your data, and creating a comprehensive financial plan that acts in your best interest.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

But when it comes time to implement that plan, when it's time to actually purchase the investments, they physically slide a different disclosure document across the mahogany desk.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah. And by having you sign that new disclosure, they take off the fiduciary hat, put on their broker hat, and proceed to sell you products that generate a commission for them.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

That feels like a complete bait and switch, which honestly leads us to the ultimate question the guide says every investor must ask their professional, quote, are you a fiduciary 100% of the time? End quote.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

The most important question you can ask.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

But I have to admit, for a lot of people, asking that directly to someone they've trusted for years feels super confrontational. What if the advisor gets defensive and says, well, I'm a fiduciary most of the time?

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Look, it is entirely normal to feel hesitation about asking such a blunt question, but you have to push through that social awkwardness given the financial stakes.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Right. It's your life savings.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Exactly. If an advisor answers that they are a fiduciary most of the time, what they're explicitly telling you is that they have a legal permission slip to put their paycheck ahead of your portfolio the rest of the time.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Wow, put their paycheck ahead of your portfolio.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Yeah. Because if they aren't bound 100% of the time, then it at any given moment, you cannot be certain which hat they're wearing. But fortunately, you do not have to rely solely on their verbal answer. The guide provides specific tools to verify their status independently.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Okay, let's run through those verification tools so everyone listening can independently audit their accounts today. Where do they go?

SPEAKER_00 19:30

So the most definitive tool is the SEC's IAPD website that stands for investment advisor public disclosure. You can search your advisor's name there and read their form ADV entirely for free.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

And if they are on there?

SPEAKER_00 19:42

If they do not have a form ADV, they are not a registered investment advisor. It's that simple. You can also utilize FAN ARE's broker check tool to see their brokerage history and any disciplinary events.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Okay, broker check.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Yep. Additionally, you can use the CFP Board Verifys if they hold the certified financial planner designation and the NAPFA advisor search.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

What's NAPFA?

SPEAKER_00 20:04

NAPFA is a professional organization that strictly admits only fee-only fiduciary advisors. So if they are in there, you know you're good.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Okay, so let's play out the scenario where a listener uses the SEC website today and discovers their longtime advisor is actually a broker. The prospect of moving an entire life savings, multiple accounts, decades of financial history, it just sounds highly disruptive. I feel like most people avoid it just because the logistics seem like a nightmare. Really? They want you to think it's too hard.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Absolutely. But the reality is that transitioning to a fiduciary is a highly standardized routine process. It typically only takes a few weeks, and it utilizes an automated back-end system called ASICS, which securely transfers your assets directly between institutions without you having to manually move funds.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

So no carrying physical checks around.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Exactly. More importantly, when you hire a true fiduciary advisor, they will meticulously plan that transition before it even happens. They map out the cost basis of your current holdings to ensure you don't trigger unnecessary taxable events by liquidating assets at the wrong time.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

So basically, synthesizing everything we've unpacked from the Thomas Davies guide today, the specific title printed on your financial professional's business card is not just corporate marketing jargon.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

It is the architectural blueprint of your relationship. It literally determines their legal standard of care, it dictates the mechanics of their compensation structure, it limits or expands the depth of their financial planning, it sets the regulatory oversight. Right. And fundamentally, it defines whether their business model views you as a quick, profitable transaction or a lifelong aligned relationship.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

That is the ultimate takeaway right there. The structural framework they operate within is the dividing line between someone who simply manages money for a commission and a professional. Professional dedicated to true holistic wealth protection.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

As a reminder, Davies Wealth Management in Stewart, Florida operates strictly under that alignment as a fee-only fiduciary. So if you want to take action on the concepts we've explored today and protect your own wealth, you can take their comprehensive two-minute financial wellness assessment right now.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Highly recommend it.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Or alternatively, you can book a complimentary fiduciary audit directly with Thomas Davies to thoroughly review your current advisory relationships, uncover any of those hidden fees we talked about, and just see exactly where you stand.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

And um I actually want to leave everyone with a final thought to mull over as they reflect on their own financial trajectory.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Go for it.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

If a financial advisor's legal standard only requires them to ensure their recommendations are merely suitable for you, what does that communicate about how they view your financial potential?

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Oh, that's a great point.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Ask yourself this Are you working your entire life, sacrificing and saving, just to arrive at a merely suitable retirement? Or are you aiming for the absolute best possible outcome your wealth can provide?

SPEAKER_01 23:06

I think we all want the best possible outcome.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Exactly. So take five minutes today, go to the SEC's public disclosure website, and find out exactly what legal standard your life's work is currently being held to.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Do not settle for the financial equivalent of the second best medication just because it pays someone else a hidden kickback. You have worked way too hard to accept anything less than the optimal prescription for your wealth. Thank you for taking this deep dive with us today.