Under Canadian common law, the highest standard of care is what’s known as a ‘fiduciary obligation’.

It’s an obligation to put the best interests of another person, the beneficiary, ahead of any other consideration.

Doctors and patients, lawyers and clients, parents and children — these are examples of ‘fiduciary relationships’.

In all kinds of situations where a person or a professional (the fiduciary) has decision-making power over someone who could be vulnerable to that power, such as a patient or client — the beneficiary — the law upholds the fiduciary standard of care.

But when it comes to financial planning, so far this isn’t the case.

We believe that financial planners can have an outsized positive impact on the lives of their clients — but they can have a negative one too.

As an organization, FPAC believes that this situation is unacceptable, and leaves Canadians vulnerable to unscrupulous dealings.

That’s why, whenever an advisor joins FPAC as a member, they must take The Fiduciary Pledge.

While it’s not the law, it’s a promise all FPAC members make, as role models within the industry, one on which our membership depends.