Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
As I understand it, a financial advisor is not required to be a fiduciary, except when they are advising you about a retirement account. But, they can choose to be a fiduciary, in which case, they should provide their clients with a letter clearly stating that they will act as a fiducuary. Many advisors, especially those who sell insurance products, like annuities, do not want to be a fiduciary because they want to reduce the liability to their clients. Reading the information on Mr. Whitaker's website, it is pretty clear that he does not want to have a fiduciary relationship with his clients. For example, here is an excerpt from the financial planning section of his website:
"The calculations do not infer that our company, or the company providing the calculators, assumes any fiduciary duties."
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The planning Calculators section is not advice from Michael L Whitaker. It is for self-use and just points to other websites that provide information of various types. I agree that Michael L Whitaker does not directly support this information but even pointing to the sites may be considered as providing financial advice. Bottom line is that his disclaimer of not providing fiduciary information from these web pages ONLY applies to this area of his information. Face to Face advice is provided as a fiduciary in all other areas since he represents his business as a Chartered Financial Consultant.