Americans may be too trusting of their financial advisor, according to Personal Capital’s 2019 Financial Trust Report.

According to the report, nearly half (48 percent) of respondents mistakenly believed all financial advisors are required by law to always act in their clients’ best interests, even though one in five (20 percent) did not know how their advisor was compensated.

In 2017, the survey found that 46 percent of investors incorrectly believed that their financial advisor would only make recommendations in a client’s best interest. In 2019, that statistic has risen to 65 percent.

While one in three Americans (30 percent) believed a financial advisor is likely to take advantage of a consumer, 97 percent of respondents did not believe that of their own advisor.

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement with 79 investment advisors who agreed to return more than $125 million to clients after failing to adequately disclose conflicts of interest related to the sale of higher-cost mutual fund share classes when a lower-cost share class was available.

Jay Shah, CEO of Personal Capital, said that as fiduciaries, RIAs are legally required to act in their client’s best interest, but that brokers are only required to meet what is known as the suitability standard, holding them accountable to do what they believe appropriate. Shah argued that the discrepancy left investors vulnerable to conflicts of interest and excessive fees.