Which source explicitly requires loyalty and care as fiduciary duties, aligning with SEC guidance and CFP Board Standards?

Which source explicitly requires loyalty and care as fiduciary duties, aligning with SEC guidance and CFP Board Standards?

• A. Regulation Best Interest
• B. SEC IA-5248 and CFP Board Standards
• C. ERISA
• D. FINRA

Answer: (B)

Fiduciary duties carried by advisers require loyalty and care, meaning you put the client’s interests first and provide prudent, well-reasoned guidance. The combination of SEC staff guidance IA-5248 and CFP Board Standards explicitly frames these duties that way. IA-5248 reinforces fiduciary responsibilities for investment advisers under the Advisers Act, stressing placing the client’s interests ahead of the adviser’s and delivering care in all recommendations. CFP Board Standards mirror this by defining a fiduciary duty of loyalty and care, requiring advisers to act with utmost good faith, avoid conflicts, and provide advice that’s in the client’s best interest. Regulation Best Interest focuses on a best-interest standard for brokers and includes care and disclosure, but it’s not a formal fiduciary obligation under the Advisers Act and isn’t the same framework as CFP Board Standards. ERISA governs fiduciary duties for employee benefit plans, which is a different regulatory context, and FINRA regulates broker-dealer conduct with a different emphasis. So the source that explicitly links loyalty and care as fiduciary duties in line with SEC guidance and CFP Board Standards is the SEC IA-5248 guidance together with CFP Board Standards.

Fiduciary duties carried by advisers require loyalty and care, meaning you put the client’s interests first and provide prudent, well-reasoned guidance. The combination of SEC staff guidance IA-5248 and CFP Board Standards explicitly frames these duties that way. IA-5248 reinforces fiduciary responsibilities for investment advisers under the Advisers Act, stressing placing the client’s interests ahead of the adviser’s and delivering care in all recommendations. CFP Board Standards mirror this by defining a fiduciary duty of loyalty and care, requiring advisers to act with utmost good faith, avoid conflicts, and provide advice that’s in the client’s best interest.

Regulation Best Interest focuses on a best-interest standard for brokers and includes care and disclosure, but it’s not a formal fiduciary obligation under the Advisers Act and isn’t the same framework as CFP Board Standards. ERISA governs fiduciary duties for employee benefit plans, which is a different regulatory context, and FINRA regulates broker-dealer conduct with a different emphasis. So the source that explicitly links loyalty and care as fiduciary duties in line with SEC guidance and CFP Board Standards is the SEC IA-5248 guidance together with CFP Board Standards.