Admit it, you're a fiduciary

Call it a case of supply and demand. John Hancock Financial Network’s latest survey of retirement plan advisors finds 85 percent of them are performing the same duties as plan fiduciaries, but only 34 percent actually has an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation.

It’s a reflection of “the pressure plan sponsors are exerting on advisors to bear some of their fiduciary responsibility,” says Bruce Harrington, head of retirement sales and strategy, John Hancock Financial Network. More than 80 percent of advisors responding to the study say what they want most from their broker-dealer is fiduciary guidance.