In the broker-sponsor and sales associate relationship, who owes fiduciary duties to the client?

• A. The sales associate
• B. The client
• C. The customer
• D. The sponsoring broker

Answer: (D)

In real estate, fiduciary duties come from the broker who has the agency relationship with the client. The sponsoring broker is the one entrusted with representing the client’s interests, so they owe loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, careful handling of funds, and full disclosure of known material facts. The sales associate is an agent working under the sponsoring broker, so their duties flow through the broker to the client—they support the broker’s fiduciary obligations but do not owe them directly to the client in their own right. The customer isn’t represented and doesn’t receive fiduciary protections. So, the party responsible for the fiduciary duties to the client is the sponsoring broker.