Fiduciary Obligation vs. Functionary Obligation

“A functionary is one who is in a specific task relationship with his clients—he does the job. While a fiduciary is one who not only does the tasks of the job, but is also in a high trust relationship with his client and feels total responsibility for the outcome.”

The difference between a functionary and a fiduciary is intensely vivid. A fiduciary acts in the best interest of his clients, whereas a functionary just does the job. In other words, a functionary cannot easily do fiduciary work, but a fiduciary can easily do functionary work.

A fiduciary functions at a high level, whereas a functionary operates at a low level. A fiduciary has a high relationship as opposed to a functionary who considerably lags in this perspective. A fiduciary accepts high responsibility, whereas a functionary assumes low responsibility. A fiduciary masters high skill as opposed to a functionary who uses a low skill. A fiduciary perceives information whereas a functionary records information. A fiduciary anticipates needs and a functionary responds to needs. A fiduciary interprets data and a functionary processes data. A fiduciary has a big picture viewpoint and a functionary has a narrow picture viewpoint. A fiduciary advises and consults and a functionary just delivers information. A fiduciary is self-directed and a functionary is other-directed. A fiduciary functions with maximum legal responsibility and a functionary operates with minimum legal responsibility. A fiduciary works like a partner and a functionary works like an employee. A fiduciary owns the results and a functionary just does the task. A fiduciary educates and guides and a functionary tells and sells. A fiduciary is involved in decision making and a functionary stays out of decision making. A fiduciary uses judgement and intuition and a functionary follows rules and procedures. A fiduciary is irreplaceable and a functionary is replaceable. A fiduciary is highly paid and a functionary is minimally paid, to name a few.

For example, a fiduciary real estate agent goes out of the way and makes adjustments as demanded by the situation. However, it’s rarely seen that real estate agents act in the best interest of their clients as most of them follow the ‘does the task’ scenario. Speaking a client’s language and work in his best interest makes a real difference — converts a prospect into a customer and a customer into a loyal patron.

“A functionary is one who is in a specific task relationship with his clients—he does the job. While a fiduciary is one who not only does the tasks of the job, but is also in a high trust relationship with his client and feels total responsibility for the outcome.”

This quote was extracted from ‘The Millionaire Real Estate Agent’.