Fiduciary Standards

This one helps you navigate whether a fiduciary duty applies and what it actually requires across different contexts: IA Act Section 206, ERISA retirement plans, DOL rollover rules, and state standards. It breaks down the SEC's 2019 interpretation of duty of care versus duty of loyalty, explains the ERISA prudent expert standard, and compares fiduciary duty against Reg BI and suitability. Use it when you're building compliance programs for dual registrants, evaluating rollover recommendations under PTE 2020-02, or just need to answer "are we a fiduciary here" with specifics. The layer 9 classification tells you this is compliance guidance, not legal advice.

skills.sh installs: 677
GitHub stars: 224
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

View on GitHub

Install

$ npx -y skills add joellewis/finance_skills --skill fiduciary-standards --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Fiduciary Standards

Regulatory status current as of June 2026 — verify effective dates, dollar thresholds, and pending rulemakings against current SEC/FINRA/FinCEN sources before advising.

Core Concepts

Investment Advisers Act Section 206

Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 are anti-fraud provisions that the Supreme Court (in SEC v. Capital Gains Research Bureau, 1963) interpreted as establishing a federal fiduciary duty for investment advisers. Section 206(1) prohibits employing any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud a client. Section 206(2) prohibits any transaction, practice, or course of business that operates as a fraud or deceit on a client. Together, they impose an affirmative duty of utmost good faith, full and fair disclosure, and an obligation to act in the client's best interest.