Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Fiduciary definition

What does Fiduciary mean? In legal practice, a fiduciary is a person or entity who undertakes to act for, and in the interests of, another, creating a relationship of trust and confidence that requires loyalty and selflessness. The scope and incidents of fiduciary duty are principally defined by case law in England & Wales and Northern Ireland and are closely aligned in Ireland; Scots law recognises equivalent fiduciary obligations notwithstanding its different doctrinal foundations. Some duties are partly codified for company directors (Companies Act 2006 (UK) and Companies Act 2014 (Ireland)), but fiduciary is otherwise a descriptive expression used across contexts. Core fiduciary duties...

Reframing pension trustees' 'best interests' duty: proper purpose, investment and non-financial factors, employer interests, and planned statutory guidance (Cowan v Scargill, Merchant Navy, KeyMed)

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

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On 3 December 2025, Torsten Bell set out intentions to produce guidance on Fiduciary obligations, clarifying how broader considerations can be incorporated within existing duties, including system-wide threats like climate change and the long-term effects of Investments on members’ outcomes. It will also cover the ways trustees might reflect members’ views and will restate the requirement to weigh all financially material factors, while still aligning with acting in members’ best interests. Efforts to place the guidance on a statutory basis via the Pension Schemes Act 2026 did not succeed, yet the government restated its resolve to develop the guidance. For more detail, see the DWP Parliamentary response of 19 January 2026 and the Hansard debate in the House of Lords (26 March 2026). It is frequently said that pension scheme trustees owe a duty to act for the beneficiaries’ best interests. This Practice Note examines where that purported duty came from, its reach, and how it applies today. Origins of the ‘best interests’ principle—Cowan v Scargill. The case concerned a disagreement among trustees of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. There were ten trustees; five were appointed by the National Coal Board, and the remaining five were also appointed accordingly...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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