Final answer:
An agent's responsibility to handle clients' funds with honesty and ethics is referred to as a fiduciary duty. This duty stresses utmost good faith and loyalty to the client's best interests and derives from ethical principles outlined by W.D. Ross.
Step-by-step explanation:
An agent like T who is hired to handle clients' funds has a moral and legal obligation to act in the best interests of the clients. This obligation is known as a fiduciary duty. The concept of fiduciary duty encompasses a range of obligations, including but not limited to trustworthiness, integrity, and loyalty to the client's interests. It is derived from the Latin word 'fiducia' meaning trust, and it emphasizes the agent's responsibility to act with utmost good faith and to not take advantage of his or her position at the client's expense.
Some ethical principles related to the fiduciary duty are outlined by philosopher W.D. Ross, who identified key moral commitments such as the duty of fidelity, duty of reparation, and duty of non-maleficence, all of which are relevant to the ethical performance of an agent's responsibilities. However, when referring to the handling of clients' funds, the term fiduciary duty specifically applies, as it explicitly refers to the responsibility of managing another party's assets in a prudent and honest manner.
The correct answer is: A) Fiduciary duty.