fiduciary

American  

[fi-doo-shee-er-ee, -dyoo-] / fɪˈdu ʃiˌɛr i, -ˈdju- /

noun

• fiduciaries
  plural

1. Law. a person to whom property or power is entrusted for the benefit of another.

   All investment advisors registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must act as fiduciaries.

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adjective

1. Law. of or relating to the relationship of trust and good faith between a fiduciary and the person for whom the fiduciary acts.

   The executor of a will has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the beneficiary.

   The banks do not assume any financial responsibility—they act in a fiduciary capacity only.

   The American Medical Association said that physicians have a fiduciary responsibility to patients.

2. depending on public confidence for value or currency, as fiat money.

fiduciary British  

/ fɪˈduːʃɪərɪ /

noun

1. a person bound to act for another's benefit, as a trustee in relation to his beneficiary

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adjective

1. 1. having the nature of a trust

   2. of or relating to a trust or trustee

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfiduciary
  adjective
• fiduciarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fiduciaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fiduciary

First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin fīdūciārius “holding on trust; a trustee,” equivalent to fīdūci(a) “trust” + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A fiduciary is a person who holds assets in trust for someone else. That person has a fiduciary duty to take care of the money. Fiduciary comes from the Latin word fidere, "to trust." That's because a fiduciary is the person you trust to hold and watch over your assets until it's time for them to go to another designated person. For example, when a child's parents die, someone is chosen to look after the money left in the will until the child is old enough to manage it himself. Fiduciary can either be a noun to refer to the caretaker or an adjective to describe the trust.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fiduciary fiduciaries

Wendy’s tells Barron’s it would ‘thoroughly review any proposal submitted by Trian consistent with its fiduciary duties.’

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

The intent, he said, “is to be committed to California,” but “there’s a point at which you have a duty, a fiduciary duty to your shareholders.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

While your father is alive, his revocable living trust is generally treated as a grantor trust, so it uses his Social Security number and doesn’t file a separate fiduciary income-tax return.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

If you’re using a fiduciary adviser like a certified financial planner or registered investment adviser, that shouldn’t matter; they should still give you financial advice that is in their best interest.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

He prefers money as a concept and often uses terms such as annuity and fiduciary, words definitely not listed in the dictionary of mindless entertainment.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

The advisors of those plans, known as fiduciaries, would receive a legal “safe harbor” if they include such alternatives.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

The proposed rule states that “plan fiduciaries would need to objectively, thoroughly, and analytically consider, and make determinations on factors including performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, performance benchmarks, and complexity,” the department said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

Andrew Lo, a professor of finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has been studying AI’s impact on investing, expects models to quickly advance and be able to serve as fiduciaries in coming years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

“Employers are fiduciaries, which means they must make decisions about retirement investments that are in their employees’ best interest,” observes Eileen Applebaum of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

The title to these grounds appears to have been retained in the former sovereigns of the Province of Louisiana as public fiduciaries and for the purposes of the Province.

From A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents Volume 1, part 3: Thomas Jefferson by James D. (James Daniel) Richardson