InFocus Newsletter: Putting Your Best Interests First

March 2015

A BAM ALLIANCE Foundational Film:
"A State of Heart" Featuring Tim Maurer

The word fiduciary has been in the news a lot of late, from Wall Street to Washington, but it's a word that has always been part of our daily dialogue. Advisors who act as fiduciaries, as we do, are legally required to put the interest of their clients before everything else. As Tim Maurer says in this BAM ALLIANCE foundational film, "Fiduciary -- to me, to us -- is really about a state of heart, a state of mind. It's the way we operate. It's who we are. It's the only way we know how to do things."

Click here or the image below to view this short film.

"We have the passion of keeping our clients at the center of everything we do. It's beyond job, it's beyond profession, it's beyond vocation. It's a sense of calling that we have a role to play in helping change the way financial services are delivered." ---Tim Maurer, director of personal finance, the BAM ALLIANCE

A Sketch From Carl Richards

adjective: relating to or involving trust

The Department of Labor stresses the importance of knowing what it means to work with a fiduciary: "Before you select an advisor, you need to have a clear understanding of the advisor's responsibilities to you and how he or she may be affected by the fees he or she receives when giving you advice. It is important to understand whether the advisor is acting as a fiduciary, meaning that the advisor is working solely in your best interest."

Carl Richards, director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, says that what's even more important than titles, job descriptions or where someone works is what that person does. In his New York Times column, Carl recommends asking specific questions in order to gain a clearer understanding of an advisor's actions.

CNBC Video: Do You Know What You Pay Your Advisor?

In this video, the BAM ALLIANCE's Manisha Thakor and other members of CNBC's Digital Financial Advisor Council talk about the difference between fiduciary and suitability standards.