The Highest Duty of Care:

Knut A. Rostad is the co-founder and president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, a nonprofit think tank formed in 2011. Previously, Rostad served as the regulatory and compliance officer at Rembert Pendleton Jackson, an investment advisor in Falls Church, Virginia.  

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard exists to preserve, protect, and defend fiduciary principles in investment advice and financial planning. The Institute’s independent voice is its hallmark. Its Frankel Fiduciary Prize honors individual fiduciary contributions. Fiduciary September is the largest annual conversation on the importance of fiduciary advice. Scholars, advisors, and former regulators speak on Institute webinars and panels on fiduciary issues to advisors, policy makers, consumers, and the media.   

Mr. Rostad is the author of articles, papers, and regulatory comment letters, and is a frequent contributor to Advisor Perspectives. He conceived and wrote Fiduciary Common Sense, an e-book for investors. He has been cited in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, and industry outlets such as Investment News and Financial Advisor. For more information, visit the website, www.thefiduciaryinstitute.org.  

Mr. Rostad was honored in 2021 by the Fiduciary Standard Committee as “Fiduciary of the Year.” Investment Advisor magazine in 2014 named him one of the 25 “most influential people in and around the advisor industry.”. He edited The Man in the Arena: Vanguard Founder John C. Bogle and His Lifelong Battle to Serve Investors First. Rostad earned his BA in Political Science from the University of Vermont and MBA from the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo.