Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Study Guide for Exam Success!

The fiduciary standard of care obligates a CFP® professional to act in the best interests of their clients, prioritizing their needs and goals over their own. A scenario where a CFP® professional recommends a Roth IRA clearly embodies this standard. The recommendation involves providing personalized advice based on the client's financial situation, tax implications, and long-term goals. This type of tailored guidance requires the professional to uphold a fiduciary duty, as it directly impacts the client's financial well-being.

On the other hand, conducting an educational seminar typically involves sharing general information without a personal advisory role, which does not invoke fiduciary responsibility. Similarly, explaining mutual fund fees is more about providing factual information rather than offering personalized recommendations, thus falling outside the fiduciary framework. Executing a directed stock trade may address specific client instructions, but it does not necessarily imply an advisory role where the professional must place the client's interests above their own. Therefore, the scenario that most clearly aligns with the fiduciary standard of care is when a CFP® professional actively recommends a financial product like a Roth IRA.