According to NAPFA's Focus on Fiduciary webiste:
fi•du•ci•ar•y – A Financial Advisor held to a Fiduciary Standard occupies a position of special trust and confidence when working with a client. As a fiduciary, the Financial Advisor is required to act with undivided loyalty to the client. This includes disclosure of how the Financial Advisor is to be compensated and any corresponding conflicts of interest.
So, should the word "fiduciary" or its definition be important to you? I think it should. Most financial advisors are not fiduciaries. In fact, most of the brokers and other advisors on Wall Street, at banks and at insurance agencies are salespersons. And I speak from firsthand experience after spending over 12 years working at Merrill Lynch. In it's educational publication called "What You Need To Know About Financial Advice", TD Ameritrade Institutional highlights this very issue and the all too common lack of understanding by most investors. I believe this to be a very important issue and will address it further in a soon to be published whitepaper. If you would like to receive a copy, please leave your email address in the comments below or contact me directly.