Its no secret that finding a person or company to provide fiduciary services can be an overwhelming task. Youre giving the fiduciary control over very important parts of not only your livelihood but of your childrens as well. Entering into a relationship with a fiduciary advisor requires you to give them an extraordinary amount of trust. But, how can a fiduciary services company earn your trust? How a Fiduciary Earns Client Trust Values and Principles Every company has values that guide them the key is finding the company with values that align with yours. Companies that take the time to define their values and instill them in their team are usually more successful and better positioned to meet their clients needs. Thats good news for you as a potential client after all, who would want to trust a fiduciary that seems disjointed and disinterested in their work? The best fiduciaries are the ones that not only have established values but also have the right ones namely, prioritizing the client experience in everything they do. This recent article about how award-winning Asiaciti Trust focuses on its values is a good example. Good fiduciary service companies understand that their companys best interest is the good of their clients. Find a fiduciary that lives this out, and youll know that theyre deserving of your trust. Strong Track Records Before you start signing paperwork with a new fiduciary advisor who will manage estates, trusts, or other assets, you should do your homework. The most important thing about a company youre considering is the track record they carry from working with other clients. If they have a long history of short, rocky relationships with clients, you might want to steer clear. On the other hand, if they have a multi-year (ideally, multi-decade) history of working with satisfied clients who feel cared for, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The amount of time that a fiduciary services company can maintain healthy client relationships is the number one indicator of that businesss worthiness. This is one of the most important things to look for in a fiduciary a record of healthy client relationships. The longer you can work with your fiduciary, the better theyll be able to understand your needs and preferences. This allows them to customize solutions that meet your specific needs and to anticipate new ones as they arise. Successful fiduciary relationships arent found, theyre forged. So, you should be on the lookout for fiduciary service companies that have forged strong relationships with their clients through a history of stability and consistency. Stability The fiduciarys stability is also critical. Throughout your life, there will be more occurrences that nobody predicted than events everyone saw coming. For proof, just take a look at the year 2020. No one accurately predicted what that year was going to be, and companies that lacked stable leadership suffered. Especially in a fiduciary, being able to stay level-headed is a must-have quality when the unexpected happens. Rather than going into a reactionary panic mode, fiduciaries need to be able to gather together, assess situations, and respond to unforeseen changes with wisdom and confidence. The last thing that you need from your fiduciary is an ill-conceived desperate adjustment to a temporary situation that has lasting negative effects on your wealth. You need a fiduciary that has the good sense to anticipate changes and their effects as they happen without resorting to panicked responses. Stability is valuable not just because economies can get messy but because families can get even messier. If you are looking for a fiduciary to manage trust funds, estates, and inheritances for your family, be sure the firm is equipped to settle disputes and respond to sudden events with a level head. If something happens within the family, causing tension and dispute, the fiduciary will be the one responsible for calling the shots. The Takeaway For a working partnership with a fiduciary to be successful, it has to be formed with the long-term good of the client in mind. Before that happens, though, a strong foundation of trust between the two parties must be laid. Trust is formed when the fiduciary demonstrates a record of stability and consistency, orients everything they do around their clients, and has a proven record of healthy client relationships. If you want to know what you should be looking for in a fiduciary, those qualities should be at the top of your list.