Only an estimated 12%-15% of financial advisors hold a fiduciary duty to their clients. Their fiduciary duty requires these advisors to always act and make recommendations that are in the best interests of the client. Breach of fiduciary duty is a very serious offense with major legal implications so advisors must take this responsability seriously. The remaining 85%-87% of advisors that hold no such fiduciary duty can make financial recommendations that aren’t in a client’s best interests but that bring the advisor more income, often in the form of commissions or kickbacks from financial companies. These non-fiduciary advisors just need to follow a “suitability” standard of care.