fiduciary standard Archives | Wealthfront Blog Personal Finance & Investing Insights Wed, 12 Jan 2022 01:12:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/cropped-wave-logo-transparent-hi-res-500x500.png fiduciary standard Archives | Wealthfront Blog 32 32 The Fight for a Fiduciary Standard https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/fiduciary-standard-washington-dc/ Thu, 14 May 2015 19:44:58 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=5132 Wealthfront was founded on a simple vision: that every investor, large and small, deserves sophisticated financial advice. And contrary to a large majority of the industry, we always put our clients first. A teacher making $50,000 a year deserves the same high-quality investment service as an institution managing $500 million. It’s why I signed up […]

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]]> Making the Case for Financial Planners https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/financial-planners/ Wed, 05 Mar 2014 16:36:36 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=4350 There are a number of value-added services that can improve your financial future.  In the past we have written about the benefits of engaging a tax advisor and an estate planner. In this post we make the case for financial planners. We believe financial planning can make a huge impact on people’s lives. That’s why […]

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]]> Wall Street Ethics: The Vanguard Test https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/wall-street-broker-ethics/ Wed, 11 Jul 2012 17:38:02 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=3131 Last week, Susanne Craig and Jessica Silver-Greenberg of The New York Times wrote a smoking-gun story about the lack of ethics at JPMorgan Chase. “[As JPMorgan Chase] became one of the nation’s largest mutual fund managers, some current and former brokers say it emphasized its sales over clients’ needs,” wrote the duo. This is a […]

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]]> Does Your Financial Advisor Think You’re Clueless? https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/silicon-valley-money-management/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:14:05 +0000 https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=1743 Wealthfront’s CEO Andy Rachleff published a column last week on Forbes.com about how this generation of IPO wealth may help transform the business of money management. It offers a sharp contrast to the attitude that many Wall Street brokers take toward their clients, which was obvious in an article that ran last week in the […]

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]]> 3 Common Conflicts of Interest That Could Take A Toll On Your Returns https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/advisor-paid-returns-part-ii/ Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:35:53 +0000 /blog/?p=1470 The SEC tells investors, “before you hire any financial professional—whether it’s a stockbroker, a financial planner, or an investment advisor—you should always find out and make sure you understand how that person gets paid.” In this two-part post, we are looking at how clients pay advisors, AND how advisors get paid. It’s important to understand […]

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]]> Advisor Pay And How It Affects Your Portfolio https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/advisor-paid-return/ Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:42:35 +0000 /blog/?p=1468 The SEC tells investors, “before you hire any financial professional—whether it’s a stockbroker, a financial planner, or an investment advisor—you should always find out and make sure you understand how that person gets paid.” In this two-part post, we’ll look at how clients pay advisors, AND how advisors get paid. It’s important to understand both […]

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]]> Why Investors Should Care About The Fiduciary Standard https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/sec-standard-of-conduct/ Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:21:09 +0000 /blog/?p=1433 Since taking office, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro has repeatedly stated her commitment to raising the standard of conduct that applies to brokers when they give investment advice.  The goal is to ensure that the “financial advisors” employed by brokerages (including Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, […]

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]]> Why Disclosures Don’t Work https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/call-bullshit-disclosures-dont-work/ Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:22:19 +0000 /blog/?p=1401 Last month, in a provocative op-ed in The New York Times, David Swensen, Yale University’s chief investment officer, lashed out at mutual funds. He said, in short, that mutual funds invest poorly and have fees that investors don’t understand, and that some of the brokers and advisors who sell mutual funds use “pointless buying and […]

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]]> Don’t Choose Service Over Performance https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/dont-choose-service-over-performance/ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:39:05 +0000 /blog/?p=679 Listen to any investment related commercial and you’re almost guaranteed to hear a sales pitch that promotes service rather than performance. You’ll hear a lot of buzz phrases like “we listen to you”, “we’re here for you”, and “you can trust us,” but you’ll hear nearly nothing about returns.

We believe the investment industry is conditioning people to focus on service because it’s not confident in its ability to generate outstanding returns. In September, Wealthfront commissioned a survey through Harris Interactive to better understand how the general population felt about the skill of its financial advisers.

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