Many of you would have at some point or the other heard someone saying, “It is their fiduciary responsibility to declare any conflict of interest”. However, have you ever wondered what being a fiduciary actually means and how this can impact your investment strategy and portfolio returns? The simplest definition says that a fiduciary is an individual or an organisation who manages assets on behalf of another person or entity. It refers to the relationship of trust between an entity/individual and the client. Someone who is a fiduciary is ethically and legally obliged to act in the best interest of his/her client. In theory, this should minimize conflicts of interest and make a financial advisor more trustworthy.