The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard

What The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard does

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard is a nonprofit research and education organization founded in 2011 and headquartered at a P.O. Box in McLean, Virginia. It functions as a think tank whose sole purpose is to preserve and promote the fiduciary standard in U.S. investment and financial advice. The Institute is led by President Knut A. Rostad, MBA, and governed by a board that includes former SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, former DOL Assistant Secretary Phyllis Borzi, and CFA Institute's Kurt Schacht. It does not develop proprietary technology; its operating surface is programmatic and content-based, anchored by the trademarked Real Fiduciary™ Practices — voluntary professional conduct standards requiring advisors to act as fiduciaries at all times, avoid conflicts of interest, and disclose fees transparently — and supported by a public Advisor Registry of subscribing firms.

The Institute operates four flagship programs: Fiduciary September, an annual month-long awareness campaign launched in 2012; the Frankel Fiduciary Prize, an annual award established in 2013 and named after Boston University Professor Tamar Frankel; the Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program, a paid subscription launched in 2016 that enables advisory firms to publicly affirm adherence to the standards; and the Real Fiduciary™ Advisor Registry, a searchable directory of those firms. Revenue derives almost entirely from the Affirmation Program's AUM-tiered annual fees (ranging from $300 for firms with under $100mm in AUM to $7,500 for firms with $10B+ in AUM, plus per-advisor pricing for firms without AUM) and from a recurring exclusive sponsorship by TD Ameritrade Institutional of the Fiduciary September program, in place since 2014. The Institute also publishes research papers, white papers, regulatory analyses, and op-ed commentary, and submits formal comment letters to the SEC and DOL on fiduciary rulemaking.

The Institute primarily serves individual investors — helping them distinguish genuine fiduciary advisors from sales-oriented brokers — while also engaging fee-only RIAs seeking differentiation and federal policymakers shaping fiduciary regulation. Its operational footprint is concentrated in the United States, with secondary visibility in Norway through founding-board firm WE Family Offices. Staffing is intentionally lean, in the 1-10 range, with execution heavily supplemented by board members, advisors, and event panelists drawn from the financial-services policy community.

Name

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard

Legal name

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard

Website

https://thefiduciaryinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard is a 2011 nonprofit think tank that promotes fiduciary standards in U.S. investment advice through the Real Fiduciary™ Practices standards, an Advisor Registry, the Fiduciary September program, and the Frankel Fiduciary Prize, serving investors, RIAs, and federal regulators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fiduciary Standards Research and Advocacy

NAICS

Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Consultants & Fiduciary Management (Investment Consulting) (FSAAAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fiduciary Investment Management (Trust Portfolios) (FSAEAKAI), Trust & Fiduciary Advisory for HNW/UHNW (Trust Structuring & Trustee Oversight) (FSAAABAF)

Keywords

• Fiduciary standard advocacy
• Investment advisor education
• Financial services research
• Fiduciary practices program
• Investor protection policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Mclean

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program fees: The Institute generates revenue through annual registration fees from the Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program, with fees based on firm AUM ranging from $300 to $7,500 annually, and $250 for first advisor plus $100 per additional advisor for firms without AUM.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard is a nonprofit research and education institution that advances the fiduciary standard for investment and financial advice through research papers and policy advocacy, the trademarked Real Fiduciary™ Practices standards, a public Advisor Registry of subscribing advisors, an AUM-tiered Affirmation Program for advisory firms, the annual Fiduciary September awareness campaign, and the Frankel Fiduciary Prize. Its services are aimed at helping investors identify genuine fiduciary advisors and at supporting advisors and policymakers committed to the highest standard of care.

Product overview

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard is a non-profit research and education organization (think tank) founded in 2011 that promotes the fiduciary standard in investment and financial advice. Rather than offering a unified technology product, the Institute provides a suite of programs and initiatives including the Real Fiduciary™ Practices (a set of voluntary professional conduct standards for advisors), the Real Fiduciary™ Advisor Registry (a listing of subscribing advisors), the Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program (for advisors to formally commit), the annual Fiduciary September awareness campaign, the Frankel Fiduciary Prize (annual award), the Leadership Through Fiduciary Program (at NAPFA conferences), the Raise Your Voice advocacy campaign, and published research papers and educational resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program A subscription program that allows financial advisors and advisory firms to formally affirm and publicly commit to the Institute's Real Fiduciary™ Practices professional conduct standards, with annual fees based on SEC-reported AUM (from $300 to $7,500) or per-advisor fees ($250 first advisor plus $100 each additional advisor) for firms without AUM. Target users are fee-only RIAs and fiduciary advisory firms that want to differentiate from sales brokers and be listed on the public Registry.
• Real Fiduciary™ Advisor Registry A publicly searchable directory of financial advisors and firms that have subscribed to and publicly committed to the Real Fiduciary™ Practices standards. It enables investors to locate advisors who meet fiduciary best practices. The Institute reports over 40 registered advisory firms on the Registry.
• Fiduciary September An annual month-long awareness campaign featuring virtual panels, expert speakers, and discussions that highlight the vital role of fiduciary duties for investors and capital markets, sponsored exclusively by TD Ameritrade Institutional since 2014.
• Frankel Fiduciary Prize An annual award honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to the preservation and advancement of fiduciary principles in public life; named after Professor Tamar Frankel of Boston University School of Law.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fiduciary September is the largest annual conversation on the importance of fiduciary advice.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TD Ameritrade InstitutionalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTD Ameritrade Institutional has been the exclusive sponsor of Fiduciary September annually since 2014. TD Ameritrade Institutional provides custody services to more than 7,000 independent RIAs and has been a staunch advocate for independent RIAs and their client-first approach.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Morningstar: Morningstar publishes investor-facing research, ratings, and education (including Morningstar Investment Management and the Morningstar Advisor suite). While a much larger for-profit entity, it shares the Institute's educational/research mission toward retail investors, though Morningstar is not a fiduciary standards body.

Direct peers

• Financial Planning Association (FPA): FPA is the largest membership organization for financial planners, combining professional development, advocacy, and public education. The Institute overlaps with FPA on advocacy for fiduciary standards and serves a similar planner audience.
• XY Planning Network: XY Planning Network is a membership and support organization for fee-only financial advisors — explicitly aligned with fiduciary practices and serving the same niche RIA community the Institute's Real Fiduciary™ registry targets.
• Investments & Wealth Institute (IWI): IWI is a membership and credentialing organization for wealth management professionals, including the CPWA and CIMA designations. It works in the same professional standards and education space as the Institute's Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program.
• Fi360 (a Broadridge business): Fi360 provides fiduciary education, training, and the AIF® (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) designation for advisors — a directly comparable fiduciary standards and credentialing organization to the Institute's Real Fiduciary™ Practices Affirmation Program.
• Foundation for Financial Planning: The Foundation for Financial Planning is a nonprofit that promotes the financial planning profession, including pro bono and public-facing education. Like the Institute, it is a 501(c)(3)-style advocacy/research organization focused on elevating the financial advice profession.
• CFP Board (Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards): CFP Board sets and enforces professional standards for financial planners, including fiduciary obligations under its Code of Ethics. Like the Institute, it publishes professional conduct rules, runs a public-facing standards body, and engages in policy advocacy around fiduciary obligations for advisors.
• NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors): NAPFA is a membership association exclusively for fee-only fiduciary financial advisors — the same advisor community the Institute's Real Fiduciary™ Practices serve. Both organizations advocate publicly for fiduciary advice standards and curate directories of compliant advisors.

Broad incumbents

• CFA Institute: CFA Institute is a much larger, broader financial industry standards body that sets the CFA charter Code of Ethics (which includes fiduciary duties). While not a fiduciary-only organization, it operates in the same space of professional conduct standards for investment professionals and engages in policy advocacy.

Others

• The American College of Financial Services: The American College of Financial Services is an accredited higher education institution that trains financial professionals and confers designations (CLU, ChFC, CFP). It shares the Institute's educational mission for advisors but operates in a degree- and credential-granting model rather than as an advocacy think tank.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FiduciaryInst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-institute-for-the-fiduciary-standard

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard