Fidos and Fiduciaries, Or Why You Need a Faithful Boxer and a Good Investment Advisor

Humans have a lot of about popular pet names. One name that is not on this year's "Top 10" list is Fido, which probably explains why I've never personally nudged noses with a Fido. (Veterinary Pet Insurance says that it insures nearly half a million pets and of that, only 13 were named Fido in 2010.)

Here's some more fun Fido trivia: As part of the research for my book, I learned that Abraham Lincoln had a "floppy-eared, rough-coated, yellowish dog of uncertain ancestry" named Fido who followed Lincoln around the town of Springfield, Illinois. You can read more about Lincoln and his four-legged friend at the Abraham Lincoln Research Site.

Because I'm curious (hey, I'm a dog), I decided to track down more information about the name Fido which comes from the Latin word fidelis, or faithful. According to my two-legged friend Daniel Jakobovits, the word fiduciary comes from the same Latin root. He should know, because he is one. Daniel works with MillenniuM Investment & Retirement Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he spends a lot of time trying to explain to clients what a fiduciary is. Most people nod politely, but they don't fully understand until Daniel shows them this:

 

This is a picture of Daniel's daughter Katie with her faithful dog, Rose. Rose was an emaciated and lost 1-year old boxer when she found Daniel and his family. Gentle with children and adults, she was an excellent therapy dog and was very attached to Katie. According to Daniel, "There's a reason dogs are known as Fido. They have an unconflicted, pure duty to put our interests first…even to their own detriment. Rose would have laid down her life to protect Katie. Now THAT is a fiduciary!"

So there you have it, a fiduciary is someone whose sole obligation is to act faithfully in the interest of another. For the most part, boxers are great fiduciaries. I'm not sure that you'd want to trust us with your hard-earned money, though. We might drive to the nearest pet store and spend it all on liver snaps and squeaky toys. Instead, look for an investment advisor who will take true fiduciary responsibility (as opposed to someone who calls him or herself a financial "advisor" but doesn't have any fiduciary duty).

Okay, so one last question. Daniel says that nobody ever names their cat Fido. Is that true? Are there any feline Fidos out there? Enquiring boxer minds need to know…