Overview
- Headquarters
- Centerville, UT
- Total Firm Assets
- $552 million
- Average High-Net-Worth Client Portfolio Size
- $2.3 million
Fee Disclosure
ALLIANCE WEALTH ADVISORS, LLC ADV BROCHURE
| Min | Max | Disclosed Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $250,000 | 1.65% |
| $250,001 | $1,000,000 | 1.40% |
| $1,000,001 | $2,000,000 | 1.15% |
| $2,000,001 | and above | 1.00% |
Estimated Annual Advisory Fees
| Portfolio Value | Estimated Annual Fee | Effective Fee Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $1 million | $14,625 | 1.46% |
| $5 million | $56,125 | 1.12% |
| $10 million | $106,125 | 1.06% |
| $50 million | $506,125 | 1.01% |
| $100 million | $1,006,125 | 1.01% |
Actual fees may vary; other investment costs may apply.
Clients
- High-Net-Worth Share of Firm Assets
- 57.68%
- Number of High-Net-Worth Clients
- 139
- Total Client Accounts
- 1,961
- Discretionary Accounts
- 1,961
Services Offered
Services: Financial Planning, Portfolio Management for Individuals, Investment Advisor Selection, Educational Seminars
Regulatory Filings
- SEC CRD Number
- 314668
Additional Brochure: ALLIANCE WEALTH ADVISORS, LLC ADV BROCHURE (2026-03-10)
View Document Text
Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC
1148 West Legacy Crossing Blvd., Suite 110
Centervile, UT 84014
Telephone: 801-683-6000
March 10, 2026
FORM ADV PART 2A
BROCHURE
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Alliance Wealth
Advisors, LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, contact us at
801-683-6000. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.
Additional information about Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC is available on the SEC's website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of
skill or training.
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Item 2 Summary of Material Changes
Form ADV Part 2 requires registered investment advisers to amend their brochure when information
becomes materially inaccurate. If there are any material changes to an adviser's disclosure brochure,
the adviser is required to notify you and provide you with a description of the material changes.
Since the filing of our last annual updating amendment, dated March 21, 2025, we have the following
material changes to report:
• We have created proprietary ETF models designed for investors with varying degrees of risk
tolerance ranging from more aggressive to a more conservative investment approach. These
models are designed to provide diversified exposure across asset classes, including U.S.
equities and fixed income. We do not have affiliations with ETF providers or receive
compensation from them. However, because we use proprietary models, we have an incentive
to recommend these strategies over other options. We mitigate this conflict by basing our
recommendations on client objectives and periodically reviewing model performance. You
can find additional details under Item 4 Advisory Business and Item 10 Other Financial Industry
Activities and Affiliations.
• Our firm is deemed to have custody as a result of Standing Letters of Authorization. Our firm,
or persons associated with our firm, may affect a transfer from client accounts to one or more
third parties designated, in writing, by the client without obtaining written client consent for each
separate, individual transaction. An advisor with authority to conduct such third-party transfers
on a client's behalf has access to the client's assets and therefore has custody of the client's
assets in any related accounts. However, we do not have to obtain a surprise annual as long
as we meet certain criteria which we confirm that we do.
• We have amended our Assets Under Management Fee Schedule lowering the annual fee per
tier.
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Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 1 Cover Page
Item 2 Summary of Material Changes
Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 4 Advisory Business
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
Item 7 Types of Clients
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Item 13 Review of Accounts
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Item 15 Custody
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
Item 18 Financial Information
Item 19 Additional Information
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Item 4 Advisory Business
Description of Firm
Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC is a registered investment adviser primarily based in Centerville, UT.
We are organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of Utah. We are
primarily owned by Paul Coles II.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each investment
advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your individual
needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to Alliance Wealth Advisors,
LLC and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our
firm.
Portfolio Management Services
We offer discretionary portfolio management services. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our
clients' needs and investment objectives.
If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant us
discretionary authority to manage your account. Subject to a grant of discretionary authorization, we
have the authority and responsibility to formulate investment strategies on your behalf. Discretionary
authorization will allow us to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be
purchased or sold for your account without obtaining your approval prior to each transaction. We will
also have discretion over the broker or dealer to be used for securities transactions in your account.
Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our
firm, a power of attorney, or trading authorization forms.
You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be
purchased or sold for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in
writing.
As part of our portfolio management services, in addition to other types discussed below, we may
invest your assets using one or more of our proprietary ETF strategies developed by our firm. These
models are designed to provide diversified exposure across asset classes, including U.S. equities and
fixed income. Our recommendations are based on client objectives, risk tolerance and investment time
horizon and are offered with varying degrees of risk ranging from a more aggressive investment
strategy to a more conservative investment approach. Clients whose assets are invested in strategies
may not set restrictions on the specific holdings or allocations within the model, nor the types of
securities that can be purchased in the strategy. Nonetheless, clients may impose restrictions on
investing in certain securities or types of securities in their account. In such cases, this may prevent a
client from investing in certain strategies that are managed by our firm.
Selection of Other Advisers
As part of our portfolio management services, we may recommend that you use the services of a sub-
adviser or third party money manager (collectively "TPMM") to manage all, or a portion of, your
investment portfolio on a discretionary basis. After gathering information about your financial situation
and objectives, we may recommend that you engage a specific TPMM or investment program. Factors
that we take into consideration when making our recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the
following: the TPMM's performance, methods of analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals,
risk tolerance, and investment objectives. We will monitor the TPMM(s)' performance to ensure its
management and investment style remains aligned with your investment goals and objectives. The
TPMM may use one or more of their model portfolios to manage your account. We will regularly
monitor the performance of your accounts managed by TPMM(s) and may hire and fire any TPMM
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without your prior approval. We pay a portion of our advisory fee to the TPMM(s) we use; however, you
will not pay our firm a higher advisory fee as a result of any sub-advisory relationships. Our
compensation may differ depending upon the individual agreement we have with each TPMM. As
such, a conflict of interest exists where our firm or persons associated with our firm has an incentive to
recommend one TPMM over another TPMM with whom we have more favorable compensation
arrangements or other advisory programs offered by TPMMs with whom we have less or no
compensation arrangements.
In addition to other types of investments (see disclosures below in this section), we may invest your
assets according to one or more model portfolios developed by an unaffiliated investment manager.
These models are designed for investors with varying degrees of risk tolerance ranging from a more
aggressive investment strategy to a more conservative investment approach. Clients whose assets are
invested in model portfolios may not set restrictions on the specific holdings or allocations within the
model, nor the types of securities that can be purchased in the model. Nonetheless, clients may
impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities in their account. In such
cases, this may prevent a client from investing in certain models that are managed by our firm.
We have entered into a contractual relationship with TownSquare Capital, LLC ("TSC"), an SEC
registered investment adviser, to provide the above sub-advisory asset management services to our
clients. TSC also provides us with operational support including billing, trading, and access to a
network of service providers. Through the TSC network of service providers, we may receive preferred
pricing on trading technology, reporting, custody, brokerage, compliance and other related services.
TownSquare charges a "Platform Fee," which is included in our annual investment management fee
described in Item 5 below.
We will maintain the direct contractual relationship with you and obtain, through such agreements, the
authority to engage independent TPMMs through TSC, as applicable, for services rendered through
the Platform in service to you. We may delegate discretionary trading authority to TSC and/or
independent third-party managers to effect investment and reinvestment of client assets with the ability
to buy, sell or otherwise effect investment transactions and allocate client assets. If you are
participating in certain investment programs, Alliance Wealth Advisors, TSC, or the designated
manager, as applicable, is also authorized without prior consultation with either us or you to buy, sell,
trade or allocate your assets in accordance with your designated portfolio and to deliver instructions to
the designated broker-dealer and/or custodian of your assets.
Asset Allocation Services
We offer asset allocation services that are tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment
objectives. Once you have retained our firm for asset allocation services, we will gather information
about your financial situation and objectives, and assist you in determining your investment goals,
objectives, risk tolerance, and retirement plan time horizon. We will initially provide you with
recommendations as to how to allocate your investments among categories of assets. We will then
review your account on a periodic basis. Where appropriate, we may provide you with
recommendations to change your asset allocation in an effort to remain consistent with your stated
financial objectives. You are free at all times to accept or reject any of our investment
recommendations. You are solely responsible for implementing our recommendations. Unless you
separately retain our services, we will not execute any transactions or changes in asset allocation on
your behalf.
Financial Planning Services
We offer financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to
clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their
individual needs. These services can range from broad-based financial planning to consultative or
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single subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will meet with you to
gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also use financial
planning software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify your long-term
goals and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and non-financial), we
will develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide
to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we will deliver a written plan to
you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the
financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation,
goals, objectives, or needs change.
You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to
act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any
of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing
securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
Financial Consulting Services
We offer financial consulting services that primarily involve advising clients on specific financial-related
topics. The topics we address may include, but are not limited to, risk assessment/management,
investment planning, financial organization, or financial decision making/negotiation.
Types of Investments
We offer advice on equity securities, warrants, corporate debt securities (other than commercial
paper), commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities, variable life insurance, variable
annuities, mutual fund shares, United States government securities, money market funds, real estate,
REITs, derivatives, structured notes, ETFs and interests in partnerships investing in real estate.
Additionally, we may advise you on various types of investments based on your stated goals and
objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your portfolio at the inception
of our advisory relationship.
Since our investment strategies and advice are based on each client's specific financial situation, the
investment advice we provide to you may be different or conflicting with the advice we give to other
clients regarding the same security or investment.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field
Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the
following acknowledgment to you.
When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual
retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement
accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a
special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under
this special rule's provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent
advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
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advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in
your best interest.
Assets Under Management
As of February 12, 2026, we provide continuous management services for $551,968,986 in client
assets on a discretionary basis.
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Portfolio Management Services
Our fee for portfolio management services is based on a percentage of the assets in your account and
is set forth in the following annual fee schedule:
Annual Fee Schedule
Assets Under Management
Up to $250,000
Annual Fee
1.65%
Between $250,001 and $1,000,000
1.40%
Between $1,000,001 and $2,000,000
1.15%
Over $2,000,000
1.00%
Below are some key considerations to note with this tiered fee schedule:
1. This fee schedule is a marginal fee schedule established based on the value of the account at
inception. This means that the 1.65% is applied on the first $250,000, 1.40% on the next
$250,001-$1,000,000, 1.15% on the next $1,000,001-$2,000,000 and 1.00% on all amounts
exceeding $2,000,000. For example, a client with $260,000 would have a fee of 1.64%
($250,000 at 1.65% and $10,000 at 1.40%)
2. The annual fee percentage is determined by the assets that will be managed at relationship
inception and the annual flat fee percentage will remain unchanged unless a new fee
percentage is agreed upon by the client and Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC
3. In addition to assets under management, we often provide advice on additional client holdings
(i.e. insurance products, 401k accounts, etc.) that we consider "assets under supervision". We
do not charge an assets under management fee for assets under supervision and may quote
an overall annual fee percentage relative to the total assets under management plus assets
under supervision. When doing so, we will always delineate between the actual assets under
management fee and corresponding overall fee percentage. For example, if a client had a
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portfolio with $700,000 in assets under management and $300,000 in assets under supervision,
we would quote an assets under management fee of 1.49% on the $700,000 ($250,000 at
1.65% and 450,000 at 1.40%) and the annual fee percentage of overall assets at 1.05% (1.59%
on $700,000 and 0% on $300,000)
Our annual portfolio management fee is billed and payable, quarterly in advance, based on the
balance at end of billing period. If the portfolio management agreement is executed at any time other
than the first day of a calendar quarter, our fees will apply on a pro rata basis, which means that the
advisory fee is payable in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a
client. Our advisory fee is negotiable, depending on individual client circumstances.
At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household
to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and
your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining
account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee
based on the fee schedule stated above.
As described in Item 4, we use TownSquare Capital's trading and investment selection platform along
with other investment services. Fees for these services and those assessed by any sub-advisors or
third party money managers are included in the management fee that you pay to us. We will deduct
our fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds and securities.
We will deduct our advisory fee only when you have given our firm written authorization permitting the
fees to be paid directly from your account. Further, the qualified custodian will deliver an account
statement to you at least quarterly. These account statements will show all disbursements from your
account. You should review all statements for accuracy. While our firm endeavors at all times to offer
clients specialized services at reasonable costs, the fees charged by other investments advisers for
comparable services may be lower than the fees charged by our firm.
You may terminate the portfolio management agreement by providing written or verbal notification. You
will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management
agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the
quarter for which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you
will receive a prorated refund of those fees.
Asset Allocation, Financial Planning Services and Financial Consulting Services
Adviser's fees for asset allocation, financial planning and financial consulting services are provided as
part of portfolio management services and no additional fees will be charged.
Additional Fees and Expenses
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may invest, or recommend that you invest, in
mutual funds and exchange traded funds. The fees that you pay to our firm for investment advisory
services are separate and distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange
traded funds (described in each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally
include a management fee and other fund expenses. You will also incur transaction charges and/or
brokerage fees when purchasing or selling securities. These charges and fees are typically imposed by
the broker-dealer or custodian through whom your account transactions are executed. We do not
share in any portion of the brokerage fees/transaction charges imposed by the broker-dealer or
custodian. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you should review all the fees charged by
mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others. For information on our brokerage practices,
refer to the Brokerage Practices section of this brochure.
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We may trade client accounts on margin. Each client must sign a separate margin agreement before
margin is extended to that client account. Fees for advice and execution on these securities are based
on the total asset value of the account, which includes the value of the securities purchased on margin.
While a negative amount may show on a client's statement for the margined security as the result of a
lower net market value, the amount of the fee is based on the absolute market value. This creates a
conflict of interest where we have an incentive to encourage the use of margin to create a higher
market value and therefore receive a higher fee. The use of margin may also result in interest charges
in addition to all other fees and expenses associated with the security involved.
Compensation for the Sale of Securities or Other Investment Products
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed as independent insurance
agents. These persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products,
including insurance products they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are
separate and in addition to our advisory fees. This practice presents a conflict of interest because
persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm who are insurance agents have an incentive
to recommend insurance products to you for the purpose of generating commissions rather than solely
based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to purchase insurance
products through any person affiliated with our firm.
If you engage our affiliated entity, Alliance Tax LLC, for accounting or tax services, those services will
be billed separately by Alliance Tax LLC. Fees charged by Alliance Tax LLC are separate from and in
additional to the advisory fee you pay to Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC. This creates a conflict of
interest because we have financial incentive for our clients to engage the affiliated accounting firm for
tax services.
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
We do not accept performance-based fees or participate in side-by-side management. Performance-
based fees are fees that are based on a share of a capital gains or capital appreciation of a client's
account. Side-by-side management refers to the practice of managing accounts that are charged
performance-based fees while at the same time managing accounts that are not charged performance-
based fees. Our fees are calculated as described in the Fees and Compensation section above, and
are not charged on the basis of a share of capital gains upon, or capital appreciation of, the funds in
your advisory account.
Item 7 Types of Clients
We offer investment advisory services to individuals (other than high net worth individuals), high net
worth individuals, charitable organizations and corporations or other businesses.
In general, we do not require a minimum dollar amount to open and maintain an advisory account;
however, we have the right to terminate your Account if it falls below a minimum size which, in our sole
opinion, is too small to manage effectively.
We may also combine account values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your
spouse, and other types of related accounts to meet the stated minimum.
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Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Our Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies
We may use one or more of the following methods of analysis or investment strategies when providing
investment advice to you:
Charting Analysis - involves the gathering and processing of price and volume pattern information for
a particular security, sector, broad index or commodity. This price and volume pattern information is
analyzed. The resulting pattern and correlation data is used to detect departures from expected
performance and diversification and predict future price movements and trends.
Risk: Our charting analysis may not accurately detect anomalies or predict future price
movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all information known about the security and
day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may follow random patterns and may not be
predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy.
Technical Analysis - involves studying past price patterns, trends and interrelationships in the
financial markets to assess risk-adjusted performance and predict the direction of both the overall
market and specific securities.
Risk: The risk of market timing based on technical analysis is that our analysis may not accurately
detect anomalies or predict future price movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all
information known about the security and day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may
follow random patterns and may not be predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy.
Fundamental Analysis - involves analyzing individual companies and their industry groups, such as a
company's financial statements, details regarding the company's product line, the experience and
expertise of the company's management, and the outlook for the company and its industry. The
resulting data is used to measure the true value of the company's stock compared to the current
market value.
Risk: The risk of fundamental analysis is that information obtained may be incorrect and the
analysis may not provide an accurate estimate of earnings, which may be the basis for a stock's
value. If securities prices adjust rapidly to new information, utilizing fundamental analysis may not
result in favorable performance.
Cyclical Analysis - a type of technical analysis that involves evaluating recurring price patterns and
trends. Economic/business cycles may not be predictable and may have many fluctuations between
long-term expansions and contractions.
Risk: The lengths of economic cycles may be difficult to predict with accuracy and therefore the
risk of cyclical analysis is the difficulty in predicting economic trends and consequently the
changing value of securities that would be affected by these changing trends.
SMART Retirement – This is a proprietary framework that we use to analyze and address Horizon
and Liquidity Risk. We will often evaluate risk tolerance, cash flow needs, and time horizon in concert
to formulate a bucketed investment strategy where a combination of different holdings is put together
to address both near and long-term withdrawal needs.
Modern Portfolio Theory - a theory of investment which attempts to maximize portfolio expected
return for a given amount of portfolio risk, or equivalently minimize risk for a given level of expected
return, by carefully diversifying the proportions of various assets.
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Risk: Market risk is that part of a security's risk that is common to all securities of the same
general class (stocks and bonds) and thus cannot be eliminated by diversification.
Long-Term Purchases - securities purchased with the expectation that the value of those securities
will grow over a relatively long period of time, generally greater than one year.
Risk: Using a long-term purchase strategy generally assumes the financial markets will go up in
the long-term which may not be the case. There is also the risk that the segment of the market
that you are invested in or perhaps just your particular investment will go down over time even if
the overall financial markets advance. Purchasing investments long-term may create an
opportunity cost - "locking-up" assets that may be better utilized in the short-term in other
investments.
Short-Term Purchases - securities purchased with the expectation that they will be sold within a
relatively short period of time, generally less than one year, to take advantage of the securities' short-
term price fluctuations.
Risk: Using a short-term purchase strategy generally assumes that we can predict how financial
markets will perform in the short-term which may be very difficult and will incur a disproportionately
higher amount of transaction costs compared to long-term trading. There are many factors that
can affect financial market performance in the short-term (such as short-term interest rate
changes, cyclical earnings announcements, etc.) but may have a smaller impact over longer
periods of times.
Margin Transactions - a securities transaction in which an investor borrows money to purchase a
security, in which case the security serves as collateral on the loan.
Risk: If the value of the shares drops sufficiently, the investor will be required to either deposit
more cash into the account or sell a portion of the stock in order to maintain the margin
requirements of the account. This is known as a "margin call." An investor's overall risk includes
the amount of money invested plus the amount that was loaned to them.
Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial
situation. As such, we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives,
risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs and other various suitability factors.
Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you
notify us immediately with respect to any material changes to your financial circumstances,
including for example, a change in your current or expected income level, tax circumstances, or
employment status.
We will not perform quantitative or qualitative analysis of individual securities. Instead, we will advise
you on how to allocate your assets among various classes of securities or third party money
managers. We primarily rely on investment model portfolios and strategies developed by the third party
money managers and their portfolio managers. We may replace/recommend replacing a third party
money manager if there is a significant deviation in characteristics or performance from the stated
strategy and/or benchmark. We will often refer to the use of these third-party money managers as
"S.M.A.R.T. Investing®".
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Cash Management
In managing the cash maintained in your account, we utilize the sole exclusive cash vehicle (money
market) made available by the custodian. There may be other cash management options away from
the custodian available to you with higher yields or safer underlying investments.
Tax Considerations
Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications. However, unless we
specifically agree otherwise, and in writing, tax efficiency is not our primary consideration in the
management of your assets. Regardless of your account size or any other factors, we strongly
recommend that you consult with a tax professional regarding the investing of your assets.
Custodians and broker-dealers must report the cost basis of equities acquired in client accounts. Your
custodian will default to the "Loss Harvest" accounting method for calculating the cost basis of your
investments. You are responsible for contacting your tax advisor to determine if this accounting
method is the right choice for you. If your tax advisor believes another accounting method is more
advantageous, provide written notice to our firm immediately and we will alert your account custodian
of your individually selected accounting method. Decisions about cost basis accounting methods will
need to be made before trades settle, as the cost basis method cannot be changed after settlement.
Risk of Loss
Investing in securities involves risk of loss that you should be prepared to bear. We do not represent or
guarantee that our services or methods of analysis can or will predict future results, successfully
identify market tops or bottoms, or insulate clients from losses due to market corrections or declines.
We cannot offer any guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will be met. Past
performance is in no way an indication of future performance.
Other Risk Considerations
When evaluating risk, financial loss may be viewed differently by each client and may depend on many
different risks, each of which may affect the probability and magnitude of any potential losses. The
following risks may not be all-inclusive, but should be considered carefully by a prospective client
before retaining our services.
Liquidity Risk: The risk of being unable to sell your investment at a fair price at a given time due to
high volatility or lack of active liquid markets. You may receive a lower price or it may not be possible
to sell the investment at all.
Credit Risk: Credit risk typically applies to debt investments such as corporate, municipal, and
sovereign fixed income or bonds. A bond issuing entity can experience a credit event that could impair
or erase the value of an issuer's securities held by a client.
Inflation and Interest Rate Risk: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to
changes in inflation and interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and
may reduce the purchasing power of a client's future interest payments and principal. Inflation also
generally leads to higher interest rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income
investments to decline.
Horizon and Longevity Risk: The risk that your investment horizon is shortened because of an
unforeseen event, for example, the loss of your job. This may force you to sell investments that you
were expecting to hold for the long term. If you must sell at a time that the markets are down, you may
lose money. Longevity Risk is the risk of outliving your savings. This risk is particularly relevant for
people who are retired, or are nearing retirement.
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Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities
We recommend various types of securities and we do not primarily recommend one particular type of
security over another since each client has different needs and different tolerance for risk. Each type of
security has its own unique set of risks associated with it and it would not be possible to list here all of
the specific risks of every type of investment. Even within the same type of investment, risks can vary
widely. However, in very general terms, the higher the anticipated return of an investment, the higher
the risk of loss associated with the investment. A description of the types of securities we may
recommend to you and some of their inherent risks are provided below.
Money Market Funds: A money market fund is technically a security. The fund managers attempt to
keep the share price constant at $1/share. However, there is no guarantee that the share price will stay
at $1/share. If the share price goes down, you can lose some or all of your principal. The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") notes that "While investor losses in money market
funds have been rare, they are possible." In return for this risk, you should earn a greater return on
your cash than you would expect from a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") insured
savings account (money market funds are not FDIC insured). Next, money market fund rates are
variable. In other words, you do not know how much you will earn on your investment next month. The
rate could go up or go down. If it goes up, that may result in a positive outcome. However, if it goes
down and you earn less than you expected to earn, you may end up needing more cash. A final risk
you are taking with money market funds has to do with inflation. Because money market funds are
considered to be safer than other investments like stocks, long-term average returns on money market
funds tends to be less than long term average returns on riskier investments. Over long periods of
time, inflation can eat away at your returns.
Certificates of Deposit: Certificates of deposit ("CD") are generally a safe type of investment since
they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company ("FDIC") up to a certain amount.
However, because the returns are generally low, there is risk that inflation outpaces the return of the
CD. Certain CDs are traded in the market place and not purchased directly from a banking institution.
In addition to trading risk, when CDs are purchased at a premium, the premium is not covered by the
FDIC.
Municipal Securities: Municipal securities, while generally thought of as safe, can have significant
risks associated with them including, but not limited to: the credit worthiness of the governmental entity
that issues the bond; the stability of the revenue stream that is used to pay the interest to the
bondholders; when the bond is due to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to
maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character
paying the same amount of interest or yield to maturity.
Bonds: Corporate debt securities (or "bonds") are typically safer investments than equity securities,
but their risk can also vary widely based on: the financial health of the issuer; the risk that the issuer
might default; when the bond is set to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to
maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character
paying the same rate of return.
Stocks: There are numerous ways of measuring the risk of equity securities (also known simply as
"equities" or "stock"). In very broad terms, the value of a stock depends on the financial health of the
company issuing it. However, stock prices can be affected by many other factors including, but not
limited to the class of stock (for example, preferred or common); the health of the market sector of the
issuing company; and, the overall health of the economy. In general, larger, better established
companies ("large cap") tend to be safer than smaller start-up companies ("small cap") are but the
mere size of an issuer is not, by itself, an indicator of the safety of the investment.
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Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds: Mutual funds and exchange traded funds ("ETF") are
professionally managed collective investment systems that pool money from many investors and invest
in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, or any
combination thereof. The fund will have a manager that trades the fund's investments in accordance
with the fund's investment objective. While mutual funds and ETFs generally provide diversification,
risks can be significantly increased if the fund is concentrated in a particular sector of the market,
primarily invests in small cap or speculative companies, uses leverage (i.e., borrows money) to a
significant degree, or concentrates in a particular type of security (i.e., equities) rather than balancing
the fund with different types of securities. ETFs differ from mutual funds since they can be bought and
sold throughout the day like stock and their price can fluctuate throughout the day. The returns on
mutual funds and ETFs can be reduced by the costs to manage the funds. Also, while some mutual
funds are "no load" and charge no fee to buy into, or sell out of, the fund, other types of mutual funds
do charge such fees which can also reduce returns. Mutual funds can also be "closed end" or "open
end". So-called "open end" mutual funds continue to allow in new investors indefinitely whereas
"closed end" funds have a fixed number of shares to sell which can limit their availability to new
investors.
ETFs may have tracking error risks. For example, the ETF investment adviser may not be able to
cause the ETF's performance to match that of its Underlying Index or other benchmark, which may
negatively affect the ETF's performance. In addition, for leveraged and inverse ETFs that seek to track
the performance of their Underlying Indices or benchmarks on a daily basis, mathematical
compounding may prevent the ETF from correlating with performance of its benchmark. In addition, an
ETF may not have investment exposure to all of the securities included in its Underlying Index, or its
weighting of investment exposure to such securities may vary from that of the Underlying Index. Some
ETFs may invest in securities or financial instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, but
which are expected to yield similar performance.
Commercial Paper: Commercial paper ("CP") is, in most cases, an unsecured promissory note that is
issued with a maturity of 270 days or less. Being unsecured the risk to the investor is that the issuer
may default. There is less risk in asset based commercial paper (ABCP). The difference between
ABCP and CP is that instead of being an unsecured promissory note representing an obligation of the
issuing company, ABCP is backed by securities. Therefore, the perceived quality of the ABCP
depends on the underlying securities.
Variable Annuities: A variable annuity is a form of insurance where the seller or issuer (typically an
insurance company) makes a series of future payments to a buyer (annuitant) in exchange for the
immediate payment of a lump sum (single-payment annuity) or a series of regular payments (regular-
payment annuity). The payment stream from the issuer to the annuitant has an unknown duration
based principally upon the date of death of the annuitant. At this point, the contract will terminate and
the remainder of the funds accumulated forfeited unless there are other annuitants or beneficiaries in
the contract. Annuities can be purchased to provide an income during retirement. Unlike fixed annuities
that make payments in fixed amounts or in amounts that increase by a fixed percentage, variable
annuities, pay amounts that vary according to the performance of a specified set of investments,
typically bond and equity mutual funds. Many variable annuities typically impose asset-based sales
charges or surrender charges for withdrawals within a specified period. Variable annuities may impose
a variety of fees and expenses, in addition to sales and surrender charges, such as mortality and
expense risk charges; administrative fees; underlying fund expenses; and charges for special features,
all of which can reduce the return. Earnings in a variable annuity do not provide all the tax advantages
of 401(k)s and other before-tax retirement plans. Once the investor starts withdrawing money from
their variable annuity, earnings are taxed at the ordinary income rate, rather than at the lower capital
gains rates applied to other non-tax-deferred vehicles which are held for more than one year. Proceeds
of most variable annuities do not receive a "step-up" in cost basis when the owner dies like stocks,
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bonds and mutual funds do. Some variable annuities offer "bonus credits." These are usually not free.
In order to fund them, insurance companies typically impose mortality and expense charges and
surrender charge periods. In an exchange of an existing annuity for a new annuity (so-called 1035
exchanges), the new variable annuity may have a lower contract value and a smaller death benefit;
may impose new surrender charges or increase the period of time for which the surrender charge
applies; may have higher annual fees; and provide another commission for the broker.
Real Estate: Real estate is increasingly being used as part of a long-term core strategy due to
increased market efficiency and increasing concerns about the future long-term variability of stock and
bond returns. In fact, real estate is known for its ability to serve as a portfolio diversifier and inflation
hedge. However, the asset class still bears a considerable amount of market risk. Real estate has
shown itself to be very cyclical, somewhat mirroring the ups and downs of the overall economy. In
addition to employment and demographic changes, real estate is also influenced by changes in
interest rates and the credit markets, which affect the demand and supply of capital and thus real
estate values. Along with changes in market fundamentals, investors wishing to add real estate as part
of their core investment portfolios need to look for property concentrations by area or by property type.
Because property returns are directly affected by local market basics, real estate portfolios that are too
heavily concentrated in one area or property type can lose their risk mitigation attributes and bear
additional risk by being too influenced by local or sector market changes.
Real Estate Investment Trust: A real estate investment trust ("REIT") is a corporate entity which
invests in real estate and/or engages in real estate financing. A REIT reduces or eliminates corporate
income taxes. REITs can be publicly or privately held. Public REITs may be listed on public stock
exchanges. REITs are required to declare 90% of their taxable income as dividends, but they actually
pay dividends out of funds from operations, so cash flow has to be strong or the REIT must either dip
into reserves, borrow to pay dividends, or distribute them in stock (which causes dilution). After 2012,
the IRS stopped permitting stock dividends. Most REITs must refinance or erase large balloon debts
periodically. The credit markets are no longer frozen, but banks are demanding, and getting, harsher
terms to re-extend REIT debt. Some REITs may be forced to make secondary stock offerings to repay
debt, which will lead to additional dilution of the stockholders. Fluctuations in the real estate market can
affect the REIT's value and dividends.
Limited Partnerships: A limited partnership is a financial affiliation that includes at least one general
partner and a number of limited partners. The partnership invests in a venture, such as real estate
development or oil exploration, for financial gain. The general partner has management authority and
unlimited liability. The general partner runs the business and, in the event of bankruptcy, is responsible
for all debts not paid or discharged. The limited partners have no management authority and their
liability is limited to the amount of their capital commitment. Profits are divided between general and
limited partners according to an arrangement formed at the creation of the partnership. The range of
risks are dependent on the nature of the partnership and disclosed in the offering documents if
privately placed. Publicly traded limited partnership have similar risk attributes to equities. However,
like privately placed limited partnerships their tax treatment is under a different tax regime from
equities. You should speak to your tax adviser in regard to their tax treatment.
Warrants: A warrant is a derivative (security that derives its price from one or more underlying
assets) that confers the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security – normally an equity – at a
certain price before expiration. The price at which the underlying security can be bought or sold is
referred to as the exercise price or strike price. Warrants that confer the right to buy a security are
known as call warrants; those that confer the right to sell are known as put warrants. Warrants are in
many ways similar to options. The main difference between warrants and options is that warrants are
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issued and guaranteed by the issuing company, whereas options are traded on an exchange and are
not issued by the company. Also, the lifetime of a warrant is often measured in years, while the lifetime
of a typical option is measured in months. Warrants do not pay dividends or come with voting rights.
Derivatives: Derivatives are types of investments where the investor does not own the underlying
asset. There are many different types of derivative instruments, including, but not limited to, options,
swaps, futures, and forward contracts. Derivatives have numerous uses as well as various risks
associated with them, but they are generally considered an alternative way to participate in the market.
Investors typically use derivatives for three reasons: to hedge a position, to increase leverage, or to
speculate on an asset's movement. The key to making a sound investment is to fully understand the
characteristics and risks associated with the derivative, including, but not limited to counter-party,
underlying asset, price, and expiration risks. The use of a derivative only makes sense if the investor is
fully aware of the risks and understands the impact of the investment within a portfolio strategy. Due to
the variety of available derivatives and the range of potential risks, a detailed explanation of derivatives
is beyond the scope of this disclosure.
Structured Products: A structured product, also known as a market-linked product, is generally a pre-
packaged investment strategy based on derivatives, such as a single security, a basket of securities,
options, indices, commodities, debt issuances, and/or foreign currencies, and to a lesser extent,
swaps. Structured products are usually issued by investment banks or affiliates thereof. They have a
fixed maturity, and have two components: a note and a derivative. The derivative component is often
an option. The note provides for periodic interest payments to the investor at a predetermined rate, and
the derivative component provides for the payment at maturity. Some products use the derivative
component as a put option written by the investor that gives the buyer of the put option the right to sell
to the investor the security or securities at a predetermined price. Other products use the derivative
component to provide for a call option written by the investor that gives the buyer of the call option the
right to buy the security or securities from the investor at a predetermined price. A feature of some
structured products is a "principal guarantee" function, which offers protection of principal if held to
maturity. However, these products are not always Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured; they
may only be insured by the issuer, and thus have the potential for loss of principal in the case of a
liquidity crisis, or other solvency problems with the issuing company. Investing in structured products
involves a number of risks including but not limited to: fluctuations in the price, level or yield of
underlying instruments, interest rates, currency values and credit quality; substantial loss of principal;
limits on participation in any appreciation of the underlying instrument; limited liquidity; credit risk of the
issuer; conflicts of interest; and, other events that are difficult to predict.
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
We are required to disclose the facts of any legal or disciplinary events that are material to a client's
evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management. We do not have any required
disclosures under this item.
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
We have not provided information on other financial industry activities and affiliations because we do
not have any relationship or arrangement that is material to our advisory business or to our clients with
any of the types of entities listed below.
1. broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, or government securities dealer or broker;
2. investment company or other pooled investment vehicle (including a mutual fund, closed-end
investment company, unit investment trust, private investment company or "hedge fund," and
offshore fund);
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3. other investment adviser or financial planner;
4. futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, or commodity trading adviser;
5. banking or thrift institution;
6. accountant or accounting firm;
7. lawyer or law firm;
8. pension consultant;
9. real estate broker or dealer; and/or
10.sponsor or syndicator of limited partnerships.
Licensed Insurance Agents
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm may be licensed as insurance agents. These
persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products, including insurance
products they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are separate from our
advisory fees. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment
advice on behalf of our firm who are insurance agents have an incentive to recommend insurance
products to you for the purposes of generating commissions rather than solely based on your needs.
You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to purchase insurance products through any
person affiliated with our firm. See the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure for more
information on the compensation received by insurance agents who are affiliated with our firm.
Arrangements with Affiliated Entities
Alliance Wealth Advisors, LLC is under common ownership with Alliance Tax LLC, a separate
accounting firm that provides tax preparation, bookkeeping, and related financial services. If you
require accounting services, we will recommend that you use the services of our affiliate. Our advisory
services are separate and distinct from the compensation paid to our affiliate for their services.
Referral arrangements with an affiliated entity present a conflict of interest for us because we have a
direct or indirect financial incentive to recommend an affiliated firm's services. While we believe that
compensation charged by an affiliated firm is competitive, such compensation may be higher than fees
charged by other firms providing the same or similar services. You are under no obligation to use the
services of any firm we recommend, whether affiliated or otherwise, and may obtain comparable
services and/or lower fees through other firms.
Proprietary ETF Models
We do not have affiliations with ETF providers nor receive compensation from them. However,
because we use proprietary models, we have an incentive to recommend these strategies over other
options. We mitigate this conflict by basing recommendations on client objectives and by periodically
review model performance.
Recommendation of Other Advisers
We recommend that you use a third-party money manager ("TPMM") based on your needs and
suitability. We will not receive separate compensation, directly or indirectly, from the TPMM for
recommending that you use their services. Moreover, we do not have any other business relationships
with the recommended TPMM(s). Refer to the Advisory Business section above for additional
disclosures on this topic.
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Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and
Personal Trading
Description of Our Code of Ethics
We strive to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing our practices. Therefore, our Code
of Ethics includes guidelines for professional standards of conduct for persons associated with our
firm. Our goal is to protect your interests at all times and to demonstrate our commitment to our
fiduciary duties of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing with you. All persons associated with our firm
are expected to adhere strictly to these guidelines. Persons associated with our firm are also required
to report any violations of our Code of Ethics. Additionally, we maintain and enforce written policies
reasonably designed to prevent the misuse or dissemination of material, non-public information about
you or your account holdings by persons associated with our firm.
Clients or prospective clients may obtain a copy of our Code of Ethics by contacting us at the
telephone number on the cover page of this brochure.
Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
Neither our firm nor any persons associated with our firm has any material financial interest in client
transactions beyond the provision of investment advisory services as disclosed in this brochure.
Personal Trading Practices
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to
you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because
we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will
receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated
with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Aggregated Trading
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell securities for you at the same time we or
persons associated with our firm buy or sell such securities for our own account. We may also combine
our orders to purchase securities with your orders to purchase securities ("aggregated trading"). Refer
to the Brokerage Practices section in this brochure for information on our aggregated trading practices.
A conflict of interest exists in such cases because we have the ability to trade ahead of you and
potentially receive more favorable prices than you will receive. To eliminate this conflict of interest, it is
our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated with our firm shall have priority over your
account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Your assets must be maintained in an account at a "qualified custodian," generally a broker-dealer or
bank. We recommend that our clients use Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-
dealer, member SIPC, as the qualified custodian.
We are independently owned and operated and are not affiliated with Schwab. Schwab will hold your
assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell securities when we instruct them to. While
we recommend that you use Schwab as custodian/broker, you will decide whether to do so and will
open your account with Schwab by entering into an account agreement directly with them. Conflicts of
interest associated with this arrangement are described below. You should consider these conflicts of
interest when selecting your custodian.
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How we select brokers/custodians
When considering whether the terms that Schwab provides are, overall, most advantageous to you
when compared with other available providers and their services, we take into account a wide range of
factors, including:
• Combination of transaction execution services and asset custody services (generally without a
separate fee for custody)
• Capability to execute, clear, and settle trades (buy and sell securities for your account)
• Capability to facilitate transfers and payments to and from accounts (wire transfers, check
requests, bill payment, etc.)
• Breadth of available investment products (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds
[ETFs], etc.)
• Availability of investment research and tools that assist us in making investment decisions
• Quality of services
• Reputation, financial strength, security and stability
• Availability of other products and services that benefit us, as discussed below (see "Products
and services available to us from Schwab")
Your brokerage and custody costs
For our clients' accounts that Schwab maintains, Schwab generally does not charge you separately for
custody services but is compensated by charging you commissions or other fees on trades that it
executes or that settle into your Schwab account. Certain trades (for example, many mutual funds,
ETFs, and US equity trades) may not incur Schwab commissions or transaction fees. Schwab is also
compensated by earning interest on the un invested cash in your account in Schwab's Cash Features
Program.
We are not required to select the broker or dealer that charges the lowest transaction cost, even if that
broker provides execution quality comparable to other brokers or dealers.
Although we are not required to execute all trades through Schwab, we have determined that having
Schwab execute most trades is consistent with our duty to seek "best execution" of your trades. Best
execution means the most favorable terms for a transaction based on all relevant factors, including
those listed above (see "How we select brokers/custodians"). By using another broker or dealer you
may pay lower transaction costs.
Products and services available to us from Schwab
Schwab Advisor Services™ is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like
us. They provide us and our clients with access to their institutional brokerage services (trading,
custody, reporting, and related services), many of which are not typically available to Schwab retail
customers. However, certain retail investors may be able to get institutional brokerage services from
Schwab without going through us.
Schwab also makes available various support services. Some of those services help us manage or
administer our clients' accounts, while others help us manage and grow our business. Schwab's
support services are generally available on an unsolicited basis (we don't have to request them) and at
no charge to us. Following is a more detailed description of Schwab's support services:
Services that benefit you. Schwab's institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range
of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets.
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The investment products available through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise
have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our
clients. Schwab's services described in this paragraph generally benefit you and your account.
Services that do not directly benefit you. Schwab also makes available to us other products and
services that benefit us but do not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services
assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts and operating our firm. They include
investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We use this research to service all
or a substantial number of our clients' accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab. In
addition to investment research, Schwab also makes available software and other technology that:
• Provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account
statements)
• Facilitate trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts
• Provide pricing and other market data
• Facilitate payment of our fees from our clients' accounts
• Assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping, and client reporting
Services that generally benefit only us. Schwab also offers other services intended to help us manage
and further develop our business enterprise. These services include:
• Educational conferences and events
• Consulting on technology and business needs
• Consulting on legal and related compliance needs
• Publications and conferences on practice management and business succession
• Access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and insurance providers
• Marketing consulting and support
Schwab provides some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third-party vendors to
provide the services to us. Schwab also discounts or waives its fees for some of these services or pays
all or a part of a third party's fees. Schwab also provides us with other benefits, such as occasional
business entertainment of our personnel. If you did not maintain your account with Schwab, we would
be required to pay for these services from our own resources.
Our Interest in Schwab's Services
The availability of these services from Schwab benefits us because we do not have to produce or
purchase them. We don't have to pay for Schwab's services. These services are not contingent upon
us committing any specific amount of business to Schwab in trading commissions or assets in
custody. The fact that we receive these benefits from Schwab is an incentive for us to recommend the
use of Schwab rather than making such a decision based exclusively on your interest in receiving the
best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of your transactions. This is a conflict
of interest. We believe, however, that taken in the aggregate, our selection of Schwab as custodian
and broker is in the best interests of our clients. Our selection is primarily supported by the scope,
quality, and price of Schwab's services (see "How we select brokers/ custodians") and not Schwab's
services that benefit only us.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
We do not have any soft dollar arrangements.
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Economic Benefits
As a registered investment adviser, we have access to the institutional platform of your account
custodian. As such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account
custodian and/or other brokerage firm. These products may include financial publications, information
about particular companies and industries, research software, and other products or services that
provide lawful and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our investment decision-
making responsibilities. Such research products and services are provided to all investment advisers
that utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and are not considered to be paid for with
soft dollars. However, you should be aware that the commissions charged by a particular broker for a
particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another broker who did
not provide research services or products might charge.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
We do not receive client referrals from broker-dealers in exchange for cash or other compensation,
such as brokerage services or research.
Directed Brokerage
We routinely require that you direct our firm to execute transactions through Charles Schwab. As such,
we may be unable to achieve the most favorable execution of your transactions and you may pay
higher brokerage commissions than you might otherwise pay through another broker-dealer that offers
the same types of services. Not all advisers require their clients to direct brokerage.
Aggregated Trades
We combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for discretionary advisory
accounts we manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "aggregated trading"). We will then
distribute a portion of the shares to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner. Generally,
participating accounts will pay a fixed transaction cost regardless of the number of shares transacted.
In certain cases, each participating account pays an average price per share for all transactions and
pays a proportionate share of all transaction costs on any given day. In the event an order is only
partially filled, the shares will be allocated to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner,
typically in proportion to the size of each client's order. Accounts owned by our firm or persons
associated with our firm may participate in aggregated trading with your accounts; however, they will
not be given preferential treatment.
We do not aggregate trades for non-discretionary accounts. Accordingly, non-discretionary accounts
may pay different costs than discretionary accounts pay. If you enter into non-discretionary
arrangements with our firm, we may not be able to buy and sell the same quantities of securities for
you and you may pay higher commissions, fees, and/or transaction costs than clients who enter into
discretionary arrangements with our firm.
Mutual Fund Share Classes
Mutual funds are sold with different share classes, which carry different cost structures. Each available
share class is described in the mutual fund's prospectus. When we purchase, or recommend the
purchase of, mutual funds for a client, we select the share class that is deemed to be in the client's
best interest, taking into consideration cost, tax implications, and other factors. When the fund is
available for purchase at net asset value, we will purchase, or recommend the purchase of, the fund at
net asset value. We also review the mutual funds held in accounts that come under our management
to determine whether a more beneficial share class is available, considering cost, tax implications, and
the impact of contingent deferred sales charges.
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Item 13 Review of Accounts
Your advisor will monitor your accounts on an ongoing basis and will conduct account reviews at least
Annually, to ensure the advisory services provided to you are consistent with your investment needs
and objectives. Additional reviews may be conducted based on various circumstances, including, but
not limited to:
• contributions and withdrawals;
• year-end tax planning;
• market moving events;
• security specific events; and/or
• changes in your risk/return objectives.
The individuals conducting reviews may vary from time to time, as personnel join or leave our firm.
We will not provide you with regular written reports. You will receive trade confirmations and monthly or
quarterly statements from your account custodian(s).
Your advisor will review financial plans as needed. These reviews are provided as part of the
contracted services. We do not assess additional fees for financial plan reviews. Generally, we will
contact you periodically to determine whether any updates may be needed based on changes in your
circumstances, which may include, but are not limited to marriage, divorce, birth, death, inheritance,
lawsuit, retirement, job loss and/or disability, among others. We recommend meeting with you at least
annually to review and update your plan if needed. Additional reviews will be conducted upon your
request. Written updates to the financial plan may be provided in conjunction with the review. If you
implement financial planning advice, you will receive trade confirmations and monthly or quarterly
statements from relevant custodians.
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation
We receive economic benefits from a non-client in connection with providing investment advice or
other advisory services to you. Through our participation in our turnkey asset management platform
and insurance FMO, we are entitled to receive economic benefits such as periodic trips and/or
conferences. As part of our fiduciary duty, we endeavor at all times to put the interests of our clients
first. Clients should be aware, however, that the receipt of economic benefits by our firm from a non-
client in and of themselves creates a potential conflict of interest and may influence our choice in
providing services to your account. This arrangement does not cause our clients to pay any additional
transaction fees beyond those that are traditionally charged by our firm and/or other service providers.
We have a compensation arrangement with employees of our firm, under which the employees will
receive compensation from us for bringing new clients to our firm. Employees who refer clients to us
must comply with the requirements of the jurisdictions where they operate. The compensation is a
percentage of the advisory fee you pay us for as long as you are our client, or until such time as the
employees leave our firm. Employees are also entitled to receive economic benefits such as periodic
trips and/or conferences. You will not be charged additional fees based on this compensation
arrangement. Incentive based compensation is contingent upon you entering into an advisory
agreement with us. Therefore, the individual has a financial incentive to recommend us to you for
advisory services. This creates a conflict of interest; however, you are not obligated to retain us for
advisory services. Comparable services and/or lower fees may be available through other firms.
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We will refer advisory clients to our affiliated account firm, Alliance Tax LLC. While no referral fees are
exchanged between the two entities, this affiliation creates an inherent conflict of interest because our
owners indirectly benefit from revenue earned by the accounting affiliate. We mitigate this conflict by
informing clients that they are under no obligation to use any affiliated service provider and are free to
select any qualified account or tax professional of their choice.
As disclosed under the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure, persons providing investment
advice on behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents. For information on the conflicts of interest
this presents, and how we address these conflicts, refer to the Fees and Compensation section.
Refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we may
receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian.
Item 15 Custody
As paying agent for our firm, your independent custodian will directly debit your account(s) for the
payment of our advisory fees. This ability to deduct our advisory fees from your accounts causes our
firm to exercise limited custody over your funds or securities. We do not have physical custody of any
of your funds and/or securities. Your funds and securities will be held with a bank, broker-dealer, or
other qualified custodian. You will receive account statements from the qualified custodian holding your
funds and securities at least quarterly. The account statements from your custodian will indicate the
amount of our advisory fees deducted from your account(s) each billing period. You should carefully
review account statements for accuracy.
Standing Letter of Authorization
Our firm, or persons associated with our firm, may effect withdrawals from client accounts to one or
more third parties designated, in writing, by the client without obtaining written client consent for each
separate, individual transaction, as long as the client has provided us with written authorization to do
so. Such written authorization is known as a Standing Letter of Authorization. An adviser with authority
to conduct such third party wire transfers or to sign checks on a client's behalf has access to the
client's assets, and therefore has custody of the client's assets in any related accounts.
However, we do not have to obtain a surprise annual audit, as we otherwise would be required to by
reason of having custody, as long as we meet the following criteria:
1. You provide a written, signed instruction to the qualified custodian that includes the third party's
name and address or account number at a custodian;
2. You authorize us in writing to direct transfers to the third party either on a specified schedule or
from time to time;
3. Your qualified custodian verifies your authorization (e.g., signature review) and provides a
transfer of funds notice to you promptly after each transfer;
4. You can terminate or change the instruction;
5. We have no authority or ability to designate or change the identity of the third party, the
address, or any other information about the third party;
6. We maintain records showing that the third party is not a related party to us nor located at the
same address as us; and
7. Your qualified custodian sends you, in writing, an initial notice confirming the instruction and an
annual notice reconfirming the instruction.
We hereby confirm that we meet the above criteria.
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Item 16 Investment Discretion
Before we can buy or sell securities on your behalf, you must first sign our discretionary management
agreement and the appropriate trading authorization forms.
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
We will not vote proxies on behalf of your advisory accounts. At your request, we may offer you advice
regarding corporate actions and the exercise of your proxy voting rights. If you own shares of
applicable securities, you are responsible for exercising your right to vote as a shareholder.
In most cases, you will receive proxy materials directly from the account custodian. However, in the
event we were to receive any written or electronic proxy materials, we would forward them directly to
you by mail, unless you have authorized our firm to contact you by electronic mail, in which case, we
would forward any electronic solicitations to vote proxies.
Item 18 Financial Information
Our firm does not have any financial condition or impairment that would prevent us from meeting our
contractual commitments to you. We do not take physical custody of client funds or securities, or serve
as trustee or signatory for client accounts, and, we do not require the prepayment of more than $1,200
in fees six or more months in advance. Therefore, we are not required to include a financial statement
with this brochure.
We have not filed a bankruptcy petition at any time in the past ten years.
Item 19 Additional Information
Trade Errors
In the event a trading error occurs in your account, our policy is to restore your account to the position
it should have been in had the trading error not occurred. Depending on the circumstances, corrective
actions may include canceling the trade, adjusting an allocation, and/or reimbursing the account.
Class Action Lawsuits
We do not determine if securities held by you are the subject of a class action lawsuit or whether you
are eligible to participate in class action settlements or litigation nor do we initiate or participate in
litigation to recover damages on your behalf for injuries as a result of actions, misconduct, or
negligence by issuers of securities held by you.
IRA Rollover Considerations
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that you withdraw the assets
from your employer's retirement plan and roll the assets over to an individual retirement account
("IRA") that we will manage on your behalf. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our
management, we will charge you an asset based fee as set forth in the agreement you executed with
our firm. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment advice on
our behalf have an incentive to recommend a rollover to you for the purpose of generating fee based
compensation rather than solely based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or
otherwise, to complete the rollover. Moreover, if you do complete the rollover, you are under no
obligation to have the assets in an IRA managed by our firm.
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Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan. Also,
current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before they retire or change
jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options
are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of:
1. Leaving the funds in your employer's (former employer's) plan.
2. Moving the funds to a new employer's retirement plan.
3. Cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan.
4. Rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account.
Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and before making a change we encourage
you to speak with your CPA and/or tax attorney.
If you are considering rolling over your retirement funds to an IRA for us to manage here are a few
points to consider before you do so:
1. Determine whether the investment options in your employer's retirement plan address your
needs or whether you might want to consider other types of investments.
a. Employer retirement plans generally have a more limited investment menu than IRAs.
b. Employer retirement plans may have unique investment options not available to the
public such as employer securities, or previously closed funds.
2. Your current plan may have lower fees than our fees.
a. If you are interested in investing only in mutual funds, you should understand the cost
structure of the share classes available in your employer's retirement plan and how the
costs of those share classes compare with those available in an IRA.
b. You should understand the various products and services you might take advantage of
at an IRA provider and the potential costs of those products and services.
3. Our strategy may have higher risk than the option(s) provided to you in your plan.
4. Your current plan may also offer financial advice.
5. If you keep your assets titled in a 401k or retirement account, you could potentially delay your
required minimum distribution beyond age 72.
6. Your 401k may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA; each state may vary.
a. Generally, federal law protects assets in qualified plans from creditors. Since 2005, IRA
assets have been generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies. However, there
can be some exceptions to the general rules so you should consult with an attorney if
you are concerned about protecting your retirement plan assets from creditors.
7. You may be able to take out a loan on your 401k, but not from an IRA.
8. IRA assets can be accessed any time; however, distributions are subject to ordinary income tax
and may also be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty unless they qualify for an exception
such as disability, higher education expenses or the purchase of a home.
9. If you own company stock in your plan, you may be able to liquidate those shares at a lower
capital gains tax rate.
10.Your plan may allow you to hire us as the manager and keep the assets titled in the plan name.
It is important that you understand the differences between these types of accounts and to decide
whether a rollover is best for you. Prior to proceeding, if you have questions contact your investment
adviser representative, or call our main number as listed on the cover page of this brochure.
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