The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard has produced a white paper on best practices that puts an emphasis on addressing "conflicts of interest," the "reasonableness and transparency of fees and expenses," and "communications that are clear, complete and truthful."

The white paper, "Key Principles for Fiduciary Best Practices and An Emerging Profession," focuses on the principles that should be the basis for best fiduciary practices going forward and how they differ from the principles on which brokerage sales practices are based, the institute said.

"These points in and of themselves may come across as being obvious," Knut A. Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, said during a conference call. "They may come across as being non-controversial, and they may come across as being sort of so blatant that you can ask, 'Well, why do they need to be identified at all?'"