Agency Relationship

  

This one coulda come straight outta Hollywood. Because in FinanceLand, the same kind of client-agent thing exists...albeit with a lot less than 10 percent per transaction commissions usually as standard.

You are Granny Golddigger. Your 97-year-old husband just died, leaving you, at 43, a wealthy woman. You meet with your stockbroker, now turned private wealth manager, Handsomy McHandsome, and assess the, uh...relationship here.

Well, Handsomy has a fiduciary obligation to you to act on your best behalf. He is effectively an extension of you. He is your agent in the same way your right hand is your agent when your back has an itch.

He must be open about his fee structure. Like…a common agency arrangement these days has the client paying 1% of the assets under management with the agent, whether the agent does a ton of work for the client, or whether he does a whole lot of nothing.

The dicey conversations then revolve around whether that agent encouraged his client to put money in the very high-fee hedge and private equity funds run by the agent’s firm…and then, uh…does the agent get a spiff or tip or free trip for him and his family to Hawaii at the end of the year?

The basic idea here is that an agent must act in the best interests of their client no matter what…even if the advice the agent is giving the client is directly opposite the best personal interests of that agent.

And yeah…that is the only relationship you want to have with an agent. 

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Finance: What is an Agency Relationship?202 Views

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Finance a la Shmoop! What is an agency relationship? Alright well this

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one could have come straight out of Hollywood.

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Because in finance land, no relation to Disneyland, the same kind of client agent

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thing exists. I'll deal with a lot less than ten

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percent per transaction commissions. That's usually standard in the old

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Hollywood. Well you are granny gold digger, you're 97 year old husband, just[people at funeral]

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died. Leaving you at 43 a wealthy woman. You meet with your stockbroker, now

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turned private wealth manager, handsomey mic handsome and assess the

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relationship here. Well handsomey, has a fiduciary

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obligation to you, to act on your best behalf. He is effectively an extension of

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you. He is your agent, in the same way your right hand is your agent when your

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back itches. He must be open about his fee structure.

00:57

Like a common agency arrangement these days, has the client paying 1% of the[pile of money in mansion]

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assets under management with the agent. Whether the agent does a ton of work for

01:07

the client like tons of trading, or whether he does a whole lot of nothing.

01:12

Well the dicey conversations here then revolve around whether that agent

01:17

encouraged his client, to put money in the very high, free hedge and private

01:22

equity funds run by the agents firm. And then, well you know, you could ask does

01:27

the agent then get a spife, or tip, or free trip for him and his family to[man on vacation]

01:32

Hawaii at the end of the year? Hmm does that happen? Could that happen?

01:36

Agency relationship. All right well the basic idea here is that an agent must

01:40

act in the best interests of the client no matter what. Even if the advice the

01:46

agent is giving the client is directly opposite, the best personal interests of

01:51

that agent. Like getting a lot of commission and that free trip to Hawaii.

01:54

And yeah that is the only relationship we want to have with an agent.[three people in office]

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Sorry there.

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