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Fiduciary Standard

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FIDUCIARY FINANCIAL ADVISOR NEAR YOU IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Looking for a fiduciary financial advisor near you? Here is what the fiduciary standard actually means, how to verify an advisor is held to it, and how it plays out day-to-day at Intercoastal Wealth Planning.

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  • Fiduciary CFP®
  • Best Interest Standard
  • Fully Disclosed
  • Independent IAR

WHAT FIDUCIARY ACTUALLY MEANS

The fiduciary standard is a legal obligation, not a marketing claim.

Best interest, always

A fiduciary financial advisor is legally required to act in your best interest at all times. Not most of the time. Not when it's convenient. Every recommendation.


Full disclosure of fees and conflicts

Fiduciaries must disclose how they're paid, any potential conflicts of interest, and the basis for their recommendations. We do this in writing before any engagement.


Verifiable through FINRA BrokerCheck

Anyone holding the fiduciary standard is registered as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR). You can look us up at FINRA BrokerCheck and verify status before working together.

CFP credential adds another layer

Our CFP holds an additional fiduciary obligation through the CFP Board, on top of the IAR-level standard. Two overlapping codes of ethics, both enforceable.


Long-term, not transactional

We meet on a real cadence, usually quarterly. The plan flexes as your life and the tax code change. Most relationships span decades.



South Florida-rooted, nationally licensed

Offices in Boca Raton and Plantation, plus licensed in all 50 states. Existing clients keep us when they move.



What Is A Fiduciary Financial Advisor?

What Is A Fiduciary Financial Advisor?

A fiduciary financial advisor is one who's legally required to act in your best interest at all times. The legal standard is higher than the suitability standard that applies to many broker-dealer reps. Suitability requires that a recommendation be appropriate for you. Fiduciary requires that it be the best option available to you given everything the advisor knows about your situation.

In practice, the difference matters most in the gray areas. A suitability-standard advisor can recommend a product that pays them more if the product is still appropriate for you. A fiduciary cannot. Where two products are both appropriate, a fiduciary must recommend the one that's better for you, even if it pays the advisor less.

Suitability Standard Vs. Fiduciary Standard.

  • Suitability: The recommendation must be appropriate. Subjective. Lower bar. Applies to many broker-dealer representatives.
  • Fiduciary: The recommendation must be in your best interest. Objective. Higher bar. Applies to Registered Investment Advisers and CFPs.

An advisor can be held to BOTH standards depending on the product and the role. This is part of why fee-based vs. fee-only matters and why we disclose everything up front. See fee-based vs. fee-only.

How To Verify An Advisor Is A Fiduciary.

  1. Ask directly, in writing. A real fiduciary will be happy to confirm in writing that they'll act as a fiduciary on all your accounts and recommendations. Anyone who hedges is not.
  2. Check FINRA BrokerCheck. Look up the advisor at brokercheck.finra.org. Confirm IAR (Investment Adviser Representative) registration.
  3. Check CFP Board. If they hold the CFP credential, confirm it at letsmakeaplan.org. CFP carries its own fiduciary code of ethics.
  4. Ask about Form ADV. Every Registered Investment Adviser files Form ADV with the SEC or state. The ADV discloses fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history. Real fiduciaries hand you the ADV without being asked.

What This Looks Like At Intercoastal Wealth Planning.

Our Certified Financial Planner is registered as an Investment Adviser Representative through the firm's RIA. The CFP credential adds the CFP Board fiduciary obligation. Both apply on every advisory recommendation.

Where we earn commissions on insurance or annuity products (when those products fit a client's plan), we disclose the commission compensation in writing and explain the alternatives. This is what fee-based means: most compensation is advisory fees with fiduciary obligation; where commissions apply, we say so up front.

Bottom line: if you're choosing between advisors, start with the fiduciary standard. Then check credentials (CFP is the gold standard for personal financial planning). Then check fee transparency. The three together filter out most of the bad actors in the market.

RELATED PAGES

What to read next.

Pages that explain how this works in practice:

FEE-BASED VS. FEE-ONLY

How fee-based compensation works alongside the fiduciary obligation. Why we use the fee-based label.


See Fee-Based vs. Fee-Only ➟

ABOUT OUR TEAM

The team behind the practice and the credentials they hold.


See About Our Team ➟

BETH'S STORY

The CFP behind the firm and how the practice is built.


See Beth's Story ➟

WHO WE SERVE

Audiences who benefit most from the fiduciary standard.

Every client deserves a fiduciary, but the standard matters most when planning gets complex:

Pre-Retirees

For clients in their 40s, 50s, and early 60s coordinating the Social Security decision, Medicare timing, Roth conversion windows, and the income plan that follows.

Business Owners

For founders and owners. The planning runs from operating the business through eventual transition or sale.


Executives

For C-suite leaders with concentrated equity, deferred compensation, and the planning that comes with senior roles.


Inheritors

For clients receiving an inheritance, sudden or expected. Help making steady decisions in a moment when steady is hard.


Professional Women

For women in their career-building years working through equity comp, executive comp, and the planning that supports both.


Divorced Women

For women rebuilding financial independence after divorce. Coaching, accountability, and a real plan for what's next.


Widows

For women facing financial decisions for the first time after the loss of a spouse. Patience and a step-by-step approach.

 

What we don't do.

Contact Us Today

We don't lead with proprietary products, structured notes, or non-traded REITs as a portfolio building block. We don't take custody of your assets. We don't promise market-beating returns. The honest answer is that nobody who has to tell the truth to a regulator can.

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QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Common questions about Fiduciary Standard

  • A fiduciary financial advisor is legally required to act in your best interest at all times, on every recommendation. The standard is higher than the suitability standard that applies to many broker-dealer reps. Registered Investment Advisers and CFP professionals are held to fiduciary standards.
  • Look for an advisor who is willing to confirm in writing that they act as a fiduciary at all times. You can also verify whether they're a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) or Investment Adviser Representative (IAR), ask about how they're compensated, and review their Form ADV. A good fiduciary should clearly explain fees, conflicts of interest, and how recommendations are made.
  • CFP professionals are held to a fiduciary obligation by the CFP Board when providing financial advice to clients. The standard applies to financial planning services and the related implementation. Note that not every interaction labeled financial planning meets the CFP Board definition, which is why verifying the actual scope of work matters.
  • Suitability requires that a recommendation be appropriate for the client. Fiduciary requires that it be in the client's best interest. In the gray areas where multiple products would be appropriate, a fiduciary must pick the one that's best for you. A suitability-standard advisor can pick a different one if it's still appropriate, even if it pays them more.
  • Yes, in a dual-registered or fee-based model. The fiduciary obligation applies to advisory work. Where commissions on insurance, annuities, or certain other products apply, the advisor must still disclose the compensation and the alternatives. We disclose all of this in writing before any engagement.
  • Yes. Our CFP is held to the fiduciary standard through both the Investment Adviser Representative registration and the CFP Board Code of Ethics. Both apply on every advisory recommendation.

Find Us

Two offices, one team.


Boca Raton (Home Office)

1200 North Federal Highway, Suite 300

Boca Raton, FL 33432

(561) 210-7339

Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM ET

Palm Beach County

Boca Raton Wealth Management Highland Beach Wealth Management Delray Beach Wealth Management Boynton Beach Wealth Management West Palm Beach Wealth Management Palm Beach Wealth Management Palm Beach Gardens Wealth Management

Plantation

7901 SW 6th Court, Suite 320

Plantation, FL 33324

(954) 809-3553

Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM ET

Broward County

Plantation Wealth Management Fort Lauderdale Wealth Management Coral Springs Wealth Management Weston Wealth Management Cooper City Wealth Management Parkland Wealth Management

Ready to talk about fiduciary standard?

The first meeting is a conversation, not a sales pitch. We'll talk about where you are, what you're working through, and whether Intercoastal is the right fit. In person in Boca Raton or Plantation, or by video from anywhere.

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