What relationship exists between an investor and a financial planner?

The relationship between an investor and a financial planner, as a professional advisory relationship, is one that the courts have consistently found gives rise to a fiduciary duty: Hodgkinson v. Simms et al., 1994 CanLII 70 (SCC), [1994] 3 S.C.R. 377. Such a relationship is marked by the presence of loyalty, trust and confidence that the advisor will act in the best interests of the vulnerable party. This is especially so in cases where the investor is particularly unsophisticated or inexperienced and therefore, the power imbalance is that much greater.