Term of the Day for Friday, February 26, 2010
Definition of Fiduciary
A fiduciary is a legal relationship between two or more parties. The relationship is a legal but also ethical relationship including a trust between the two parties. The most common parties in this relationship is a fiduciary or trustee and a principal or beneficiary. The fiduciary relationship is one of the utmost trust and confidence. In fact, the word fiduciary comes from the Latin word fides which means faith and the Latin word fiducia which means trust.
For example, if a company, corporate trust or the trust department of a bank holds a fiduciary relation or acts as a fiduciary to another then the fiduciary will act in good faith on behalf of the person or persons to who the fiduciary holds the trust. This relationship is the highest standard of care. It is extremely important that the fiduciary always act in the best interests of the party to whom he or she has been entrusted. Extreme loyalty is expected and personal interests and personal gain is never to be sought unless it expressed consent has been given by the principal.
Corporate directors may be held to a fiduciary title that has similar aspects to that of a trustee. For example, a bank director may become a trustee for the depositors. This position is a fiduciary duty. Sometimes persons in these sensitive positions will also set up a blind trust which places all of his or her own personal financial matters in the hands of a fiduciary in order to protect himself or herself from a conflict of interest.
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Growing Environmental Concerns on U.S. Shale Oil and Gas Projects
Texas became the latest state to launch an environmental watchdog for energy development as a nonprofit group set its sights on the Barnett Shale drilling in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The Texas campaign of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, after similar campaigns in New Mexico and Colorado, is part of a growing concern about the environmental impact of techniques like hydraulic fracturing that are creating an energy boom as the U.S. exploits vast deposits of shale oil and gas.
Full article at: Shale oil and gas