The Fiduciary Obligations of Financial Advisors Under the Law of Agency
27 Journal of Financial Planning 42 (2014)
8 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2013 Last revised: 6 Jun 2014
Robert H. Sitkoff
Harvard University - Harvard Law School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Date Written: November 4, 2013
Abstract
This paper considers how agency fiduciary law might be applied to a financial advisor with discretionary trading authority over a client's account. It (i) surveys the agency problem to which the fiduciary obligation is directed; (ii) examines the legal context by considering how the fiduciary obligation undertakes to mitigate this problem; and (iii) examines several potential applications of agency fiduciary law to financial advisors, including principal trades and the role of informed consent by the client, organizing the discussion under the great fiduciary rubrics of loyalty and care. This paper was sponsored by Federated Investors, Inc.
Keywords: fiduciary, agency, financial advisor, broker-dealer, investment advisor, agency costs, principal trades
JEL Classification: K12, K22, H30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Robert H. Sitkoff (Contact Author)
Harvard University - Harvard Law School ( email )
1563 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
HOME PAGE: http://https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/10813/Sitkoff
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )
c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium
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