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Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: Mostly yes, with one carve-out. Univest Wealth Management (Girard) is registered with the SEC only as an investment adviser, so on your advisory account it owes you a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Its own Form CRS states: “When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.” A limited number of Univest Wealth Management (Girard)’s financial professionals are separately licensed to sell brokerage products in a different capacity, where the weaker Regulation Best Interest standard, not a fiduciary duty, applies instead.
For a closer look at this firm: Univest Wealth Management (Girard) Fees, Univest Wealth Management (Girard) Minimum Investment and How to Leave Univest Wealth Management (Girard).
How it’s registered
From Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Univest Wealth Management (Girard) (October 27, 2023): “Girard Advisory Services, LLC (“GAS”) is an investment advisor registered with the SEC.”
The standard of conduct, in its own words
“When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
On commissions: “Our financial professionals are paid a percentage of the commission received by our firm for each investment you purchase. The more transactions you make, the more commissions GIS and your financial professional will receive. We therefore have an incentive to encourage you to place transactions.”
Fiduciary status by capacity
| Capacity | Registration | Standard you’re owed | Can earn commissions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As your investment adviser (most clients) | SEC-registered investment adviser | Fiduciary duty (Investment Advisers Act of 1940) | No (asset-based advisory fee: $5,000 a year, 1.00% on a $500,000 account) | Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Univest Wealth Management (Girard), October 27, 2023 |
| As a dually licensed representative (limited) | Also FINRA-registered broker-dealer representative, separate capacity | Regulation Best Interest (not a fiduciary duty) | Yes | Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Univest Wealth Management (Girard), October 27, 2023 |
What this means for what you pay
Fiduciary status is one input, not the whole picture. Univest Wealth Management (Girard) discloses a published fee that runs $5,000 a year on a $500,000 account, per its own current Form ADV Part 2A (July 30, 2026), cited in Sources below. A dedicated fee page for Univest Wealth Management (Girard) has not been published on this site yet.
If the answer above changes your mind about staying, read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide. A dedicated how-to-leave page for Univest Wealth Management (Girard) has not been published on this site yet.
Other fiduciary-status pages
Read this one, this one too, and one more.
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Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionSources
- Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Univest Wealth Management (Girard) (October 27, 2023): https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/crs/crs_39163.pdf
- Form ADV Part 2A (July 30, 2026), the primary source for the fee figure above: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1053782
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Univest Wealth Management (Girard) (CRD #39163): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/39163
- Univest Wealth Management (Girard), SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/39163/PDF/39163.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, quoting directly from Univest Wealth Management (Girard)’s own current Form CRS, with the source linked above; any distinction we could not independently confirm this session is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the firm’s own Form CRS. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.