Fiduciary of the Year Award Named for Tamar Frankel

The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard has named a new fiduciary award in honor of Boston University School of Law Professor Tamar Frankel, and invited nominations for the award, which is intended to recognize the “individual who has made an outstanding contribution advancing the vital role of the authentic fiduciary standard to investors, the capital markets and society,” it said in a release on Tuesday.

Frankel (left), who is one of AdvisorOne’s 50 Top Women in Wealth, is considered one of America’s foremost authorities on trust and fiduciary issues. Although she lives in Boston, she has spent time in Washington in private practice and as a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and teaching at universities in many other countries.

The professor has written many books and articles on securities regulation and investor trust, including: “The Regulation of Money Managers,” (2d ed. 2001 Aspen Publishers), a treatise on mutual funds with Ann Taylor Schwing; “Securitization,” (2nd ed. 2006 Fathom Publishing Co.), with Ann Schwing; and “Investment Management Regulation,” (3rd ed. 2005, Fathom Publishing Co.), with Clifford E. Kirsch.

“We are honored to name this award for Professor Tamar Frankel,” Knut A. Rostad (left), chairman of the Committee and regulatory and compliance officer at the RIA Rembert Pendleton Jackson, said in the release.  “Professor Frankel is well recognized nationally and internationally for her work in fiduciary law. She has demonstrated a tireless commitment to advancing a greater understanding of fiduciary law through her research and writing.” This editor is a member of the Committee.

“Tamar Frankel’s professional and life story is a fiduciary story. She immigrated to the U.S. with vivid experiences of the formation of Israel. She, like many leaders, is a “practical idealist.”  No one individual better embodies the importance and meaning of ‘fiduciary’ today,” Rostad told AdvisorOne.

“The authentic fiduciary standard embodies…five core fiduciary principles that are essential,” the Committee said in its release. These principles are: 

• Put the client's best interest first
• Act with prudence; that is, with the skill, care, diligence and good judgment of a professional
• Do not mislead clients; provide conspicuous, full and fair disclosure of all important facts
• Avoid conflicts of interest; and
• Fully disclose and fairly manage, in the client's favor, unavoidable conflicts.

“Recognizing an individual who has made an outstanding contribution advancing these five core fiduciary principles [which] are vital to investors is important, particularly now as policy makers grapple with implementing regulatory reform on the heels of the financial crisis,” Harold Evensky (left), president of Evensky & Katz and a member of the Steering Group of the Committee, said in the release.

Nominations

The Committee will take nominations through April 8th, according to the release. They must include the nominee's name, contact information, why (in 50 words or less), they should receive the award and a bio of 300 words or less. The nominator's name and contact information should also be included. Nominations should be emailed to: info@thefiduciarystandard.org.