fiduciary

adjective fi·du·cia·ry \ fə-ˈdü-shē-ˌer-ē , -shə-rē , -ˈdyü- , fī- \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of fiduciary

: of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust: such as

a : held or founded in trust or confidence

a fiduciary relationship

a bank's fiduciary obligations

b : holding in trust

c : depending on public confidence for value or currency

fiduciary fiat money

See fiduciary defined for English-language learners

fiduciary was our Word of the Day on 07/21/2014. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of fiduciary from the Web

In a court filing, Attorney General Mike DeWine argues that violated Lager's fiduciary duty to ECOT and that the public contracts were void.

— Fox News, "Ohio official says e-school's founder should repay millions," 4 July 2018
Additionally, agents representing the home listing have a fiduciary duty to the home seller.

— desiree lira, miamiherald, "Buying a home is not like purchasing a plane ticket, and selling a property is not like selling a car," 25 June 2018
What remains unclear is whether the fiduciary rule will leave any imprint.

— tara siegel bernard, New York Times, "Obama-Era Investor Protection Rule Is Dead," 22 June 2018
Burtch is suing the officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duties.

— patrick danner, San Antonio Express-News, "‘Toxic atmosphere’ at Parker School Uniforms led to bankruptcy, lawsuit alleges," 22 June 2018
Depp is claiming breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and negligence.

— connor whittum, Billboard, "10 Things We Learned From Johnny Depp's Revealing 'Rolling Stone' Interview," 22 June 2018
Block fiduciary rule A Department of Labor rule requiring brokers to act in the best interest of their clients for handling retirement accounts was supposed to take effect last year.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Trump’s trophy case," 15 June 2018
The investment managers are asking Amazon to review the marketing, sales, and policies behind Rekognition to ensure the company is meeting its fiduciary duty to stakeholders and to protect the public.

— hallie detrick, Fortune, "First the ACLU Asked Amazon to Stop Selling Facial Recognition Tech to Police. Now Investors Have Doubts Too," 19 June 2018
The complaint, which alleges negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, says the Lebdas have refused to make changes and the association has not enforced covenants.

— rick rothacker, charlotteobserver, "Congressman Pittenger's latest opponent is his millionaire CEO neighbor," 14 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fiduciary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of fiduciary

Latin fiduciarius, from fiducia confidence, trust, from fidere — see fidelity

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1641

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

fiduciary

noun

Definition of fiduciary

plural fiduciaries

: one that holds a fiduciary relation or acts in a fiduciary capacity

Recent Examples of fiduciary from the Web

Fiduciary standard The growth of CITs in recent years also may be getting help from the pressure on retirement plans and financial professionals giving retirement advice to act as fiduciaries—a legal requirement to act in the client’s interest.

— bailey mccann, WSJ, "CITs, the Not-Exactly Mutual Funds, Are on Pace to Hit $3 Trillion," 3 June 2018
Stewart-Cabrera, 52, is a professional fiduciary who served as a trustee for a trust that owned a Sacramento property, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

— kayla fitzgerald, sacbee, "Woman accused of cheating trustees, spending their money on Vegas gambling trip," 30 May 2018
Bankruptcy professionals are fiduciaries, required by law to have an undivided loyalty to their clients.

— mary williams walsh, New York Times, "McKinsey Hid Conflicts of Interest From Courts, Lawsuit Says," 9 May 2018
This federal law requires individuals who manage the plan to act as fiduciaries and operate in the best interest of the participants.

— darla mercado, USA TODAY, "1-in-3 workers can’t answer this question about their retirement savings," 28 Apr. 2018
Her son, Kyle Johnson, filed court docs Friday nominating four fiduciaries to become his mom's conservators.

— sydney scott, Essence.com, "The Quick Read: 'Star Trek' Star Nichelle Nichols Reportedly Suffering From Dementia," 7 May 2018
Others want to treat tech giants more as information fiduciaries, which have a legal responsibility to protect user data.

— nellie bowles, New York Times, "After Cambridge Analytica, Privacy Experts Get to Say ‘I Told You So’," 12 Apr. 2018
Facebook needs to act as a fiduciary for the information sharing it enables.

— alan murray, Fortune, "Facebook, Deutsche Bank, Rusal: CEO Daily for April 9, 2018," 9 Apr. 2018
The following organizations can connect you to fee-only advisors who are fiduciaries: —The National Assn.

— liz weston, latimes.com, "Procrastination can mean estate-planning disaster," 1 Apr. 2018

Did You Know?

Fiduciary relationships often concern money, but the word fiduciary does not, in and of itself, suggest financial matters. Rather, fiduciary applies to any situation in which one person justifiably places confidence and trust in someone else and seeks that person's help or advice in some matter. The attorney-client relationship is a fiduciary one, for example, because the client trusts the attorney to act in the best interest of the client at all times. Fiduciary can also be used as a noun for the person who acts in a fiduciary capacity, and fiduciarily or fiducially can be called upon if you are in need of an adverb. The words are all faithful to their origin: Latin fidere, which means "to trust."

Origin and Etymology of fiduciary

see ¹fiduciary

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1631

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

Financial Definition of FIDUCIARY

fiduciary

noun

What It Is

A fiduciary is a person or entity responsible for managing a qualified retirement plan in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

In a broader sense, a fiduciary is a person or entity responsible for acting in the best interests of others -- typically an investment client, a company's shareholders or a beneficiary.

How It Works

For example, let's say Company XYZ gets a 401(k) plan. The employees and the company contribute to the plan, which soon has $3,000,000 of assets. A named fiduciary, which works for the 401(k) administrator, is responsible for ensuring that the assets are invested according to the employees' wishes and that Company XYZ is matching the employee contributions as promised. The named fiduciary is not responsible for making Company XYZ happy -- it is responsible for making the 401(k) plan participants happy.

A trustee is a person or entity that has a fiduciary duty to another person or entity, called the beneficiary. The trustee holds cash, assets, or title to property for the benefit of the beneficiary. The trustee's job is to manage the assets in the trust appropriately and to ensure that they are disbursed in the best interests of the beneficiary.

The purpose of the board of directors is to make sure management is acting in the best interests of the shareholders. This is why the board of directors lays at the heart of the notion of corporate governance: It has a fiduciary duty to the shareholders, and only to the shareholders. This can be difficult, especially when the vast majority of information that boards receive about corporate performance comes from management.

Why It Matters

Fiduciary duty is one of the most revered and powerful aspects of the financial world. Fiduciary duty requires a person to act in the best interest of his or her clients, and when a named fiduciary does not do so, the consequences can involve civil or even criminal penalties.

Source: Investing Answers

FIDUCIARY Defined for English Language Learners

fiduciary

adjective

Definition of fiduciary for English Language Learners

: relating to or involving trust (such as the trust between a customer and a professional)

Law Dictionary

fiduciary

noun fi·du·cia·ry \ fə-ˈdü-shə-rē, -ˈdyü-, -shē-ˌer-ē \

legal Definition of fiduciary

plural fiduciaries

: one often in a position of authority who obligates himself or herself to act on behalf of another (as in managing money or property) and assumes a duty to act in good faith and with care, candor, and loyalty in fulfilling the obligation : one (as an agent) having a fiduciary duty to another — see also fiduciary duty at duty, fiduciary relationship — compare principal