Overview
- Headquarters
- Milwaukee, WI
- Average Client Assets
- $2.7 million
- Minimum Account Size
- $500,000
- SEC CRD Number
- 124663
Fee Structure
Primary Fee Schedule (ADV PART 2)
| Min | Max | Marginal Fee Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $1,000,000 | 0.80% |
| $1,000,001 | $5,000,000 | 0.75% |
| $5,000,001 | $10,000,000 | 0.70% |
| $10,000,001 | and above | 0.65% |
Illustrative Fee Rates
| Total Assets | Annual Fees | Average Fee Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $1 million | $8,000 | 0.80% |
| $5 million | $38,000 | 0.76% |
| $10 million | $73,000 | 0.73% |
| $50 million | $333,000 | 0.67% |
| $100 million | $658,000 | 0.66% |
Clients
- HNW Share of Firm Assets
- 82.11%
- Total Client Accounts
- 766
- Discretionary Accounts
- 766
Services Offered
Services: Portfolio Management for Individuals, Portfolio Management for Institutional Clients
Regulatory Filings
Primary Brochure: ADV PART 2 (2026-03-11)
View Document Text
IT
ITEM=
Item 1 – Cover Page
Arcataur Capital Management LLC
826 N. Plankinton Avenue, Suite 300
Milwaukee, WI 53203
www.Arcataur.com
March 11, 2026
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Arcataur
Capital Management LLC [“Arcataur”]. If you have any questions about the contents of this
brochure, please contact us at 414-225-8200 and/or ismetek@arcataur.com. 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.
Arcataur Capital Management is a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration of an investment
adviser does not imply any level of skill or training. The oral and written communications of an
adviser provide you with information to help you determine whether to hire or retain an adviser.
Additional information about Arcataur also is available on the SEC’s website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
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Item 2 – Material Changes
Since the last annual update to our brochure dated March 12, 2025, there have been no material
changes.
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Item 3 -Table of Contents
Item 1 – Cover Page ......................................................................................................................... i
Item 2 – Material Changes .............................................................................................................. ii
Item 3 - Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iii
Item 4 – Advisory Business ............................................................................................................ 1
Item 5 – Fees, Compensation and Account Valuation .................................................................... 1
Item 6 – Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management ............................................... 3
Item 7 – Types of Clients ................................................................................................................ 3
Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss ........................................ 3
Item 9 – Disciplinary Information .................................................................................................. 5
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations ...................................................... 5
Item 11 – Code of Ethics ................................................................................................................ 6
Item 12 – Brokerage Practices ........................................................................................................ 7
Item 13 – Review of Accounts ........................................................................................................ 8
Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation ...................................................................... 8
Item 15 – Custody ........................................................................................................................... 8
Item 16 – Investment Discretion ..................................................................................................... 8
Item 17 – Voting Client Securities.................................................................................................. 9
Item 18 – Financial Information ..................................................................................................... 9
Other Information ........................................................................................................................... 9
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Item 4 – Advisory Business
Arcataur Capital Management LLC (“Arcataur”) is an investment adviser registered with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Prior to becoming a registered
investment adviser with the SEC in June 2015, Arcataur was a state registered investment
adviser in Wisconsin and Illinois. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or
training.
Arcataur is wholly owned by Ignatius L. Smetek and began operations on February 1, 2003.
Arcataur provides continuous investment management and advice to its clients, based on
each client’s individual needs and objectives. Clients’ needs and objectives are determined
through ongoing communications and completion of a Fact Finder, a questionnaire which
assesses client risk tolerance and investment horizon. Client assets are primarily invested in
equity and debt securities. Refer to Item 8 for additional detail regarding the types of
securities Arcataur purchases for clients. A client may impose restrictions on investing in
certain securities or types of securities.
Assets under management at 12/31/25 were $469,535,872. Arcataur manages all assets on a
discretionary basis.
Item 5 – Fees, Compensation, and Account Valuation
General Fee Information
The specific manner in which investment management fees are charged by Arcataur is
established in a client’s written agreement with Arcataur. Arcataur calculates its investment
management fees monthly based on the combined value of all cash and securities under
Arcataur’s management at the end of the month. Clients are billed in arrears each calendar
quarter and may not pay investment management fees in advance. Clients may elect to be
billed directly for investment management fees or authorize Arcataur to directly debit
investment management fees from client accounts. Investment management fees shall not be
prorated for each capital contribution and withdrawal made during the applicable calendar
quarter. Accounts initiated or terminated during a calendar quarter will be charged a prorated
investment management fee. Upon termination of any account, any earned, unpaid
investment management fees will be due and payable.
Arcataur’s investment management fees are the only fees charged by Arcataur to a client.
Clients may incur certain charges imposed by custodians, brokers and other third parties such
as brokerage commissions, transaction fees, custodial fees, wire transfer and electronic funds
transfer fees, and other fees and taxes on brokerage accounts and securities transactions.
Mutual funds and exchange traded funds also charge internal management fees and other
expenses, which are disclosed in a fund’s prospectus. Such charges, fees and commissions
are exclusive of and in addition to Arcataur’s investment management fees, and Arcataur
shall not receive any portion of these commissions, fees, and costs. Neither Arcataur nor any
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of its supervised persons accepts compensation for the sale of securities or other investment
products, including asset-based sales charges or service fees from the sale of mutual funds.
Item 12 further describes the factors that Arcataur considers in selecting or recommending
broker dealers for client transactions and determining the reasonableness of their
compensation (e.g., commissions).
Unless a client has received this disclosure brochure at least 48 hours prior to signing the
investment management agreement, the investment management agreement may be
terminated by the client within five (5) business days of signing the agreement without
incurring any advisory fees.
Fee Schedule
The following schedule applies to all accounts:
Annual Rate
Type of Account
Large Cap Equity Portfolios
Asset Value
under $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $ 10 million
Over $10 million
.85%
.80%
.75%
.70%
Investment Grade Fixed
Income Portfolios
under $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
Over $10 million
.60%
.55%
.50%
.45%
Managed Balance Portfolios
Consisting of: direct equities, ETFs
and direct fixed income
under $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
Over $10 million
.80%
.75%
.70%
.65%
Managed Balance Portfolios
Consisting of: ETFs and direct
fixed income only
under $3 million
$3 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
Over $10 million
.60%
.55%
.50%
.45%
All fees are subject to negotiation.
Account Valuation
Arcataur uses account market values to calculate assets under management, client investment
management fees and investment performance where applicable.
In all cases, Arcataur uses pricing information provided by its clients’ custodians (currently,
one custodian) to value the client portfolios. The custodian’s price is compared to the price
provided by FactSet (an independent pricing service) and variances greater than 3% are
investigated.
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If the custodian is unable to provide a price, Arcataur will attempt to obtain a price from
FactSet, Yahoo Finance, Morningstar, or other outside sources. If a price is not available
from any of these sources, the security will be fair valued in accordance with the
methodology outlined in Arcataur’s pricing and valuation procedures.
Item 6 – Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
Arcataur does not charge any performance-based fees (fees based on a share of capital gains
on or capital appreciation of the assets of a client).
Item 7 – Types of Clients
Arcataur provides portfolio management services to individuals, trusts, corporations and
other commercial entities, pension and profit-sharing plans, Taft-Hartley plans, charitable
institutions, religious organizations, foundations, endowments, and municipalities.
Arcataur generally prefers accounts with at least $500,000 in equity assets if a direct equity
solution is desired. This asset level would provide an opportunity to create appropriate
diversification and minimize the impact of normal trading costs related to a direct equity
portfolio solution. However, based upon a client’s needs and the use of exchange traded
funds (“ETFs”) to achieve appropriate diversification, Arcataur is comfortable assisting
clients with fewer assets. Utilizing equity index ETFs solely for the stock exposure allows
Arcataur to minimize the trading cost issues for lower dollar value accounts, while creating
the diversification required to be fully diversified. The important consideration is achieving
proper portfolio construction that meets the investment goals of the client. Arcataur currently
assists clients with assets less than $100,000 in this fashion.
Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Arcataur’s methods of security analysis include economic analysis, fundamental analysis and
technical analysis. In its economic analysis, Arcataur utilizes internal and external research
on the economy and certain cyclical factors. In its fundamental analysis, Arcataur relies on
both an industry analysis and an individual company analysis. Through a careful study of
fundamental factors such as earnings, asset values, financial prospects, quality of
management, outlook for the industry and the economy, Arcataur seeks to evaluate the
earnings potential of an investment and its intrinsic value and looks to determine whether the
intrinsic value is above or below the actual price of the security. Arcataur also utilizes Wall
Street research services for fundamental analysis. Arcataur considers various technical and
monetary analyses to be valuable tools in the decision-making process and in determining
timing of purchases and sales of securities. In its technical analysis, Arcataur subscribes to
technical and charting services and uses information from these services.
Arcataur’s principal sources of information include the public filings of issuers with
governmental authorities, industry data, corporate rating services, financial newspapers and
magazines, publicly available company-prepared information (annual reports, prospectuses
and press releases), charts and other statistical material furnished by outside vendors and
trade publications, and research furnished by broker-dealers and other industry members.
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Other sources of information may include information from varied sources such as industry,
trade association and academic publications, personal interviews with individuals
knowledgeable about a company or industry, and material provided by government agencies,
such as the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor and the Federal Reserve Board. In
addition, to supplement this information, Arcataur may attend company-sponsored meetings
and road show presentations from time to time.
The Arcataur Large Capitalization/Diversified Equity Portfolio offers investors a
separately managed account consisting of high quality, blue chip stocks and broad-based
exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the domestic large capitalization stock market
indices. Our approach would be described as top-down, which combines fundamental
analysis of macroeconomic statistics and specific data for most major public companies with
subjective stock evaluation to achieve consistent returns for the level of risk taken.
Appropriate diversification is also considered when constructing client portfolios.
Arcataur invests in high-quality companies that have sustainable growth, while taking into
consideration specific risk that each investment introduces to the portfolio. Most companies
will have market capitalization of more than $10 billion. Research fundamentals are
emphasized and consider how each investment will fit with the current macro assumption
utilized by our portfolio managers. Financial and operating quality is emphasized to provide
a greater margin of safety and stability for our portfolios. Dominant market share, strong
financial position, unique products or services, low-cost operations, significant free
cash flow and appropriate stock valuations are critical variables we look for in the companies
in which we invest. Financial and operating quality are then considered to provide a greater
margin of safety and stability for the portfolio. Valuation is evaluated to avoid overpaying for
the investment. Once we reach our investment conclusion, technical analysis is used for
optimal timing and pricing decisions. Our strategy focuses on maximizing expected return
through constructing diverse portfolios covering most major industry sectors.
For clients where a direct common stock portfolio would not be appropriate (dollar
level/trading cost limitations, diversification limitations, and/or liquidity requirements), or
where a portfolio requires additional diversification, the Diversified Equity Portfolio,
comprised primarily of broad-based equity index ETFs, would be used to achieve appropriate
investment structure.
The Arcataur Investment Grade Fixed Income Portfolio offers investors a separately
managed asset account focusing on Treasuries, Agencies, Corporates, Certificates of Deposit,
Preferred Stocks, and Municipals (where applicable) with an average portfolio credit rating
of A. These direct investments are augmented with the utilization of broad index-type bond
ETFs to enhance liquidity and diversification. Our fixed income strategy is to actively
manage portfolios to generate conservative risk-adjusted total return. Our focus is to
preserve capital while generating current income.
The Arcataur Managed Balance Portfolio offers investors a separately managed account
which seeks to preserve capital during difficult market periods while allowing growth
opportunity in good market conditions. The Arcataur Managed Balance Portfolio will hold
45% to 75% in equities depending upon market conditions. The objective is to seek growth
over time and balance stock market volatility with current income. This investment
discipline provides flexibility and customization to meet unique client needs, return
objectives and risk tolerances.
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Since there are risks in all investments in securities, Arcataur cannot guarantee that it will
achieve your investment goals or that the performance of your investments will be positive
over any period of time. The value of your investments may change, and you may lose
money. Investing in securities involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear.
For the Arcataur Large Capitalization Equity/Diversified Equity Portfolio the principal risks
of investing are:
Market Risk – Market risk involves the possibility that the value of your investments will
fluctuate as the stock and bond markets fluctuate over short or longer-term periods.
Common stock prices tend to be more volatile than other investment choices.
Portfolio-Specific Risk – From time to time, the value of an individual company may
decline due to a particular set of circumstances affecting that company, its industry or certain
companies within the industry, while having little or no impact on other similar companies
within the industry.
For the Arcataur Investment Grade Fixed Income Portfolio, the principal risks of investing
are:
Credit Risk – Credit risk involves the possibility that the issuers of securities may fail to
make timely interest and principal payments.
Interest Rate Risk – Interest rate risk refers to the risk that the prices of your investments,
particularly fixed income investments, are likely to fall if interest rates rise. This is because
the prices of debt securities typically move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Debt
securities with longer maturities generally are affected to a greater degree than debt securities
with shorter maturities as interest rates change. In addition, the income you receive from
fixed income investments is based in part on interest rates which can vary widely over the
short and long term. If interest rates decline, your income from new fixed income
investments may be lower as well.
Liquidity Risk – Changes in price resulting from the need to convert the investment to cash
in a reasonable period of time.
The risks for the Arcataur Managed Balance Portfolio are similar to the Arcataur Large
Capitalization/Diversified Equity Portfolio and the Arcataur Investment Grade Fixed Income
Portfolio. However, the process of blending stock and bond investments has historically
offered a counterbalance to the stated risks of each.
Item 9 – Disciplinary Information
Arcataur has no disciplinary events to disclose.
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Arcataur does not engage in any other financial industry activities and does not have any
affiliates.
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Item 11 – Code of Ethics
Arcataur maintains a Code of Ethics and Personal Trading Policy (the “Code”), which
applies to all employees of the firm. As a fiduciary, Arcataur has a duty of utmost good faith
to act solely in the best interests of each of its clients. Arcataur strives to foster a healthy
culture of compliance within all aspects of our business. Further, Arcataur expects all
employees to avoid potential conflicts of interest or even the appearance of such conflicts.
The Code outlines the standards of conduct expected by employees and includes limitations
on personal trading, giving and accepting gifts, serving as a director or trustee for an external
organization, and engaging in outside business activities. In addition, employees are
prohibited from using nonpublic inside information to trade in personal accounts or on behalf
of Arcataur’s clients.
The Code limits the circumstances under which employees can engage in personal securities
transactions. The Code requires all employees to obtain pre-approval of all personal
transactions in securities which are not otherwise exempt under the Code. Requests for
trading authority will be denied when, among other reasons, the proposed personal
transaction might adversely affect any transaction under consideration for any client account.
In addition to the pre-approval requirements, the Code prohibits all employees from investing
in any initial or secondary public offerings from an issuer (excluding open-ended investment
companies). All personal securities transactions reports by employees are reviewed for
compliance with the Code.
Under the Code certain classes of securities have been designated as exempt transactions,
based upon a determination that these would not materially interfere with the best interest of
Arcataur’s clients. In addition, the Code requires pre-clearance of many transactions and
restricts trading in close proximity to client trading activity. Nonetheless, because the Code
in some circumstances would permit employees to invest in the same securities as clients,
there is a possibility that employees might benefit from market activity by a client in a
security held by an employee. Employee trading is continually monitored under the Code of
Ethics to reasonably prevent conflicts of interest between Arcataur and its clients.
Arcataur’s Insider Trading Policy is designed to restrict Arcataur’s employees from trading
on material non-public information or communicating material non-public information to
others in violation of the law. The Policy is further designed to prevent the communication
of material information that is confidential to other individuals or companies.
Certain affiliated accounts may trade in the same securities with client accounts on an
aggregated basis when consistent with Arcataur's obligation of best execution. In such
circumstances, the affiliated and client accounts will receive securities at a total average
price. Arcataur will retain records of the trade order (specifying each participating account)
and its allocation, which will be completed prior to the entry of the aggregated order.
Completed orders will be allocated as specified in the initial trade order.
All employees must acknowledge the terms of the Code annually, or as amended.
A complete copy of the firm’s Code is available upon request.
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Item 12 – Brokerage Practices
Selection of Brokers
Arcataur generally recommends custodians to its clients, and it is generally an affiliated
broker-dealer of this custodian that will execute the clients’ transactions. However, Arcataur
may decide to trade with a broker dealer not affiliated with the client’s custodian. In
determining which custodian/broker-dealer to recommend to its clients and which broker to
utilize for client trades, Arcataur considers many factors, including; research services
provided; knowledge of and dominance in specific markets, securities and industries; quality
of execution; financial condition of the firm; commission structure; ability to locate liquidity;
acceptable record keeping; administrative and settlement functions; and reputation and
integrity.
Soft Dollars
Arcataur does not engage in pre-arranged, formal soft dollars arrangements. Arcataur,
however, may receive the benefit of research, brokerage or other services provided by
broker-dealers, such as proprietary software, invitations to conferences, meetings with
company management or general research. While Arcataur may consider research services
provided in allocating brokerage to a specific broker, as a practical matter Arcataur allocates
brokerage based on execution quality and other related services. Research received in
connection with soft dollars will not be used solely for the accounts that generated the
brokerage commission but will generally be used in managing all client accounts.
Trade Aggregation and Allocation
It is Arcataur’s policy to trade as a firm – to trade in such a manner that its clients are not
competing against one another in the marketplace. Generally, client trades shall be bunched
in a single order (a “block”) to obtain best execution at the best security price available.
Arcataur manages accounts for firm personnel including the firm’s owner (“employee
accounts”) which are invested in Arcataur’s investment strategies. These employee accounts
may be included in a block order along with client trades when Arcataur determines: 1) no
client is harmed by the employee accounts participating in the block order; 2) the employee
accounts are not unfairly advantaged by trading along with client accounts; and 3) clients
received the same or better price as the employees on the security transactions.
If a block order is filled (full or partial filled) at several prices through multiple trades, an
average price will be calculated for all trades executed by the broker for the block, and all
participants in the block trade will receive the average price. Only trades executed within the
block on the single day may be combined for purposes of calculating the average price. On
the rare occasions where the firm receives a partial fill, the partial filling shall be allocated to
accounts to minimize trading costs in client accounts.
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Trade Errors
From time-to-time Arcataur may make an error in submitting a trade order on your behalf.
When this occurs, Arcataur may place a correcting trade with the broker-dealer which has
custody of your account. If an investment gain results from the correcting trade, the gain will
remain in your account unless: the same error involved other client account(s) that should
have received the gain, it is not permissible for you to retain the gain, or we confer with you
and you decide to forego the gain (e.g., due to tax reasons). If the gain does not remain in
your account and Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. (“Schwab”) is the custodian, Schwab will
donate the amount of any gain $100 and over to charity. If a loss occurs greater than $100,
Arcataur will pay for the loss. Schwab will maintain the loss or gain (if such gain is not
retained in your account) if it is under $100 to minimize and offset its administrative time
and expense. Generally, if related trade errors result in both gains and losses in your account,
they may be netted.
Item 13 – Review of Accounts
The President and Vice Presidents of Investments review client accounts regularly for
performance, sector and asset allocation, adherence to the firm’s investment policies and
strategies and specific client investment guidelines, objectives and restrictions.
All clients receive a quarterly reporting package which includes a list with a complete
description of all the assets held in their account(s), cost and current market values of the
assets, a list of security purchases and sales, advisory fees charged and a performance
summary.
Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Arcataur has no client referral or other compensation relationships.
Item 15 – Custody
Arcataur does not take custody of client funds or securities, except when a client has granted
Arcataur written authority to deduct advisory fees directly from his/her account or transfer
funds to another person’s account. As of 12/31/25 all client funds and securities managed by
Arcataur are held in accounts maintained at Charles Schwab & Co. Charles Schwab & Co. is
a U.S. qualified custodian not affiliated with Arcataur which sends account statements to
clients at least quarterly. Clients receive a quarterly statement from Arcataur and Arcataur
recommends the client carefully compare the information in the report to the information in
Charles Schwab’s statements.
Item 16 – Investment Discretion
Arcataur manages each client account on a discretionary basis subject to the signed
investment management agreement between Arcataur and the client.
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Item 17 – Voting Client Securities
As a matter of firm policy and practice, Arcataur does not have any authority and does not
vote proxies on behalf of advisory clients. Clients retain the responsibility for receiving and
voting proxies for all securities maintained in client portfolios. Clients will receive their
proxies directly from their custodians or a transfer agent. Clients are free to contact Arcataur
with any questions about a particular solicitation. Arcataur will handle corporate
reorganizations on behalf of clients.
Item 18 – Financial Information
Arcataur has no financial conditions which would impair our ability to meet our contractual
commitments to our clients.
Other Information
Arcataur does not participate in legal proceedings, including class actions, on behalf of its
clients.
Ignatius Smetek, Arcataur’s President and Chief Investment Officer, also serves as Chief
Compliance Officer, which may present a conflict of interest in performing various roles. In
addition, several Arcataur clients are friends or relatives of Arcataur employees. Arcataur
maintains policies, procedures and controls to routinely monitor these conflicts, and does not
believe it results in unfair treatment of its clients.
Privacy Policy Notice
Our Promise to You
As a client of Arcataur, you share both personal and financial information with us. Your
privacy is important to us, and we are dedicated to safeguarding your personal and financial
information.
Information Provided by Clients
In the normal course of doing business, we typically obtain the following non-public personal
information about our clients:
Personal information regarding our clients’ identity such as name, address and Social
Security number.
Information regarding securities transactions made by us; and
Client financial information such as net-worth, assets, income, bank account
information and account balances.
How We Manage and Protect Your Personal Information
We do not sell information about current or former clients to third parties, nor is it our
practice to disclose such information to third parties unless requested or permitted to do so by
a client or client representative or, if necessary, to process a transaction, service an account or
as permitted by law. We may, however, share information with outside companies that
perform administrative services for us. However, our arrangements with these service
providers require them to treat your information as confidential.
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To protect your personal information, we maintain physical, electronic and procedural
safeguards to protect your personal information. Our Privacy Policy restricts the use of client
information and requires that it be held in strict confidence.
Client Notifications
If we change our Privacy Policy regarding disclosing your confidential information, we are
required by law to notify you and provide you a revised notice. Please do not hesitate to
contact us with questions about this notice.
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