#fiduciary-duty

#fiduciary-duty

Choosing a financial advisor is one of the most important money-related decisions you can make, yet many people approach it casually or skip the vetting process altogether. With countless professionals offering financial advice, titles that sound impressive, and complex fee structures, it's easy to lose transparency in the process. In reality, the quality of guidance you receive can vary dramatically depending on who you hire and how they're compensated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman, a consumer protection law firm that was also involved in similar litigation against Zillow and the National Association of Realtors. In a press release announcing the action, the law firm said that Rocket including its affiliates Rocket Mortgage, Amrock Holdings and Rocket Homes Real Estate, which were also named as defendants conspired to pressure clients to use Rocket's mortgage company to finance their purchase.

In this case, a transaction became complicated when multiple buyer's agents and a listing agent miscommunicated about compensation. Somewhere between the initial outreach, the offer, and the documentation, key information about commission expectations went missing. The breakdown didn't just cause frustration. It exposed a deeper issue that every agent must face head-on: How do we maintain fiduciary duty when others in the transaction don't follow proper protocol?

According to the complaint, Zillow pressures agents in its Premier Agent and Flex lead programs to steer buyers to Zillow Home Loans for their purchase mortgage pre-approval. Allegedly, agents who sent more clients to Zillow's mortgage arm for their pre-approvals received extra or higher-quality leads in exchange. If agents in the Flex program fail to send a sufficient number of leads to ZHL for pre-approval, they risk being removed from the program.

Crypto might seem like a perfect opportunity for Gen X investors. This generation has the kind of tech savvy that comes from learning to use new digital tools as they're invented, making them much more likely to understand and appropriately invest in cryptocurrency. The timing also feels ideal, since Gen X retirements are on the horizon, and crypto enthusiasts promise this investment can provide quick financial boosts.

Capital carries memory. If our relationships with money are complex and connected to our emotional state, then fiduciary duty for impact must measure more than basis points.