The investment banks all maintained that there was a wall between their analysts and their brokerages. That's proven to be false.

As for real estate agents, the direction of fiduciary responsibility depends on whether you're dealing with the buyer's agent or the seller's agent, and which one of those roles you're in. The buyer's agent, by law, has a fiduciary responsibility to get the lowest the price possible. The seller's agent has a fiduciary responsibility to get the highest price. Successful agents do their duty and understand that over time they prosper by genuinely serving their clients. The bad ones make short term gains, but lose in the long run as their reputation spreads.

--Robert