Fiduciary refers to a person or organization that acts on behalf of others to manage assets responsibly, by placing a client’s best interest over their own. But it’s a whole lot more than that. At its core, the word means trust, to act in good faith, to conduct yourself ethically and with integrity. In the finance industry, that’s rarer than you think.

There is no legal definition of “financial advisor” and that creates a big problem– when anyone can freely use the term, everyone inevitably will. Seriously, this is just like when everyone started putting “entrepreneur” in their bios and on their business cards.

When it comes to choosing a financial advisor, complexity can quickly begin to feel chaotic, especially when a fee structure is entangled with outside sources. For this reason, a fee-only advisor may be the most comfortable choice for a number of individuals. Fee-only advisors only receive fees from the clients they are working with and provide advice to, and cannot accept payments from other sources, no matter what products they’re offering.