ARQ WEALTH ADVISORS, LLC

Item 1: Cover Page Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure September 2025 8605 E. Raintree Dr, Ste. 240, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 www.ARQWealth.com Firm Contact: Gregory C. Yocum, II Chief Compliance Officer This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC (“ARQ”). If clients have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at (480) 214- 9572 or by emailing greg@arqwealth.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. Additional information about our firm is also available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov by searching CRD #147351. Please note that the use of the term “registered investment adviser” and description of our firm and/or our associates as “registered” does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Clients are encouraged to review this Brochure and Brochure Supplements for our firm’s associates who advise clients for more information on the qualifications of our firm and our employees.  Item 2: Material Changes ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC is required to make clients aware of information that has changed since the last annual update to the Firm Brochure (“Brochure”) and that may be important to them. Clients can then determine whether to review the brochure in its entirety or to contact us with questions about the changes. ARQ updated item 4 to reflect their updated regulatory assets under management as of September 29, 2025. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 2 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Item 3: Table of Contents Item 1: Cover Page ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Item 2: Material Changes .............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Item 3: Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Item 4: Advisory Business ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Item 5: Fees & Compensation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Item 6: Performance-Based Fees & Side-By-Side Management ................................................................................................... 8 Item 7: Types of Clients & Account Requirements............................................................................................................................. 8 Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss ............................................................................................8 Item 9: Disciplinary Information ............................................................................................................................................................. 18 Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations .......................................................................................................... 18 Item 11: Code of Ethics, Participation, or Interest in ...................................................................................................................... 18 Client Transactions & Personal Trading............................................................................................................................................... 18 Item 12: Brokerage Practices .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Item 13: Review of Accounts or Financial Plans ............................................................................................................................... 22 Item 14: Client Referrals & Other Compensation ............................................................................................................................. 22 Item 15: Custody ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Item 16: Investment Discretion .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Item 17: Voting Client Securities ............................................................................................................................................................ 23 Item 18: Financial Information ................................................................................................................................................................ 24 ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 3 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Item 4: Advisory Business Our firm provides individuals and other types of clients with a wide array of investment advisory services. Our firm is a limited liability company formed under the laws of the State of Arizona in 2008. Our firm is owned by Richard Siegel, Gregory Yocum, James Robinson, and Carl Mariner. Our firm provides fee-only asset management and financial planning services for many different types of clients to help meet their financial goals while remaining sensitive to risk tolerance and time horizons. As a fiduciary, it is our duty to always act in the client’s best interest. This is accomplished in part by knowing the client. Our firm has established a service-oriented advisory practice with open lines of communication. Working with clients to understand their investment objectives while educating them about our process, facilitates the kind of working relationship we value. We have voluntarily subscribed to the “Real Fiduciary™ Practices” published by the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard. Real Fiduciary™ Practices offer a simple code of conduct and outline a commitment to clients of subscribing financial advisors. They seek to clearly articulate what a client can expect to receive from a subscribing financial advisor. These Real Fiduciary™ Practices do not replace our regulatory compliance obligations or duties to clients under relevant laws, rules, or regulations. The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard’s role is limited to publishing the practices as well as maintaining a corresponding register of subscribing financial advisors. You can verify our affirmation of Real Fiduciary™ Practices on our website or at the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard website at www.thefiduciaryinstitute.org. The practices can be found at https://thefiduciaryinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Real-Fiduciary-Practices-2019-02-22.pdf Types of Advisory Services Offered Through our Wealth Apex™ or Wealth Builder™ services, our firm assist clients in meeting their financial goals through the use of a financial plan or consultation. Our firm conducts client meetings to understand their current financial situation, existing resources, financial goals, and risk tolerance. Based on our findings, an investment approach is presented to the client, consisting of individual stocks, bonds, ETFs, options, mutual funds and other public and private securities or investments. Upon client request, our firm provides a summary of observations and recommendations for the planning or consulting aspects of this service. Wealth Apex™: $750,000. quarterly client meetings Our Wealth Apex™ service requires a minimum portfolio balance of This service features the management of assets along with comprehensive financial planning. Participating clients will establish financial goals, have their risk tolerance evaluated, have a personalized asset allocation designed and have an investment policy statement developed. Once the appropriate portfolio has been determined, portfolios are continuously and regularly monitored, and if necessary, rebalanced based upon the client’s individual needs, stated goals and objectives. The Wealth Apex™ service is highlighted with which include a detailed review of client portfolios and pertinent financial planning topics. Clients have ongoing access to a financial advisor to assess live changes and financial issues. As part of the financial planning process, ARQ will complete a net worth statement and cash flow-based retirement and income plan along with customized financial planning solutions on an as needed basis. Our written financial plans or financial consultations rendered to clients usually include general recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the client(s). These customized solutions include one or more of the following: Family Needs Planning, Credit and Lending, Tax Planning, Insurance and Liability Management, Executive Compensation Management, Estate Planning, and Retirement Planning. ARQ may recommend the need for a specialized consultation or legal document drafting from an unaffiliated third party within the estate planning or taxation fields. At Client’s request, ARQ will make recommendations to an unaffiliated third party for such services. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 4 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Wealth Builder™: $250,000 and a minimum monthly Our Wealth Builder™ service requires a minimum portfolio balance of contribution of $500. This service features the management of assets along with targeted financial planning analyses. Participating clients will establish financial goals, have their risk tolerance evaluated, have a personalized asset allocation designed and have an investment policy statement developed. Once the appropriate portfolio has been determined, portfolios are continuously and regularly monitored, and if semi-annual client meetings necessary, rebalanced based upon the client’s individual needs, stated goals and objectives. The Wealth Builder™ Service is highlighted with which include a detailed review of client portfolios and pertinent financial planning topics. Clients have ongoing access to a financial advisor to assess live changes and financial issues. As part of the financial planning process, our firm will complete an analysis of household budgets, savings planning, and college planning on an as needed basis. Retirement Plan Program: • Establishing an Investment Policy Statement Our firm provides discretionary management of retirement plans to employer plan sponsors on an ongoing basis. Generally, this service consists of assisting employer plan sponsors in establishing, monitoring and reviewing their company's participant-directed retirement plan. As the needs of the plan sponsor dictate, areas of advising may include: – Our firm may assist in the development of a statement that summarizes the investment goals and objectives along with the broad strategies to be employed to meet the objectives. Investment Options, Asset Allocation, and Portfolio Construction • –Our firm will develop strategic asset allocation models to meet the Plan’s investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk. Once established, our firm will manage the pooled retirement account on a discretionary basis. Our firm will communicate with the Plan Sponsor to evaluate existing investments and make recommendations for appropriate changes. Investment Monitoring • – Our firm will monitor and review the performance and transactions of the investments with the Plan Sponsor. In providing this Retirement Plan Program service, our firm does not provide any advisory services with respect to the following types of assets: employer securities, real estate (excluding real estate funds and publicly traded REITS), participant loans, non-publicly traded securities or assets, other illiquid investments, or brokerage window programs (collectively, “Excluded Assets”). All retirement plan consulting services shall be in compliance with the applicable state laws regulating retirement consulting services. This applies to client accounts that are retirement or other employee benefit plans (“Plan”) governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). If the client accounts are part of a Plan, and our firm accepts appointment to provide services to such accounts, our firm acknowledges its fiduciary standard within the meaning of Section 3(21) of ERISA as designated by the Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement with respect to the provision of services described therein. Tailoring of Advisory Services Our firm offers individualized investment advice to our Wealth Apex™ and Wealth Builder™ clients. General investment advice will be offered to our Retirement Plan Program clients. Each Wealth Apex™ and Wealth Builder™ client may place reasonable restrictions on the types of investments to be held in the portfolio. Restrictions on investments in certain securities or types of securities may not be possible due to the level of difficulty this would entail in managing the account. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 5 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Participation in Wrap Fee Programs Our firm does not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program. Regulatory Assets Under Management As of September 29, 2025, our firm manages $701,933,068 in Regulatory Assets Under Management. Item 5: Fees & Compensation Compensation for Our Advisory Services For both the Wealth Apex™ Service and Wealth Builder™ Service, portfolio values include money market funds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, individual securities (including options), annuities, IRAs, and defined contribution plans (401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans). Portfolio values do not include bank accounts, savings bonds, real estate properties, residences, defined benefit plans, closely held stock, or life insurance cash values. Portfolio values are based on the closing prices on the last business day of each calendar quarter. Wealth Apex™: Assets Under Management Annual Percentage of Assets Charge First $1,000,000 Next $1,000,000 Next $3,000,000 Over $5,000,000 1.25% 1.00% 0.80% 0.60% * Please note that the above fee schedule is a tiered fee schedule. For example, if a client has $5,500,000 in assets under management, the annualized advisory fee will be $49,500. The calculation will be as follows: ($1,000,000 x 1.25%) + ($1,000,000 x 1.00%) + ($3,000,000 x 0.80%) + ($500,000 x 0.60%) = $12,500 + $10,000 + $24,000 + $3,000 = $49,500 annualized fee. Fees to be assessed will be outlined in the advisory agreement to be signed by the client. Annualized fees are billed on a pro-rata basis quarterly in arrears based on the value of the account(s) on the last day of the quarter. Our firm bills on cash unless indicated otherwise in writing. Fees are negotiable and will be deducted from client account(s). Cash flows contributed/distributed throughout the quarter that exceed a minimum threshold of $1,000 in aggregate per day will be used to adjust fees pro-rata at the end of each billing cycle. In rare cases, our firm will agree to directly invoice. As part of this process, Clients understand the following: a) b) The client’s independent custodian sends statements at least quarterly showing the market values for each security included in the Assets and all account disbursements, including the amount of the advisory fees paid to our firm; and Clients will provide authorization permitting our firm to be directly paid by these terms. Our firm will send an invoice directly to the custodian. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 6 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Wealth Builder™: Assets Under Management Annual Percentage of Assets Charge First $1,000,000 Next $1,000,000 Next $3,000,000 Over $5,000,000 1.25% 1.00% 0.80% 0.60% * Please note that the above fee schedule is a tiered fee schedule. For example, if a client has $5,500,000 in assets under management, the annualized advisory fee will be $49,500. The calculation will be as follows: ($1,000,000 x 1.25%) + ($1,000,000 x 1.00%) + ($3,000,000 x 0.80%) + ($500,000 x 0.60%) = $12,500 + $10,000 + $24,000 + $3,000 = $49,500 annualized fee. Please note that our firm will either charge an annual percentage of assets as outlined above, or an annual minimum fee of $2,500 for this service, whichever is greater. Fees to be assessed will be outlined in the advisory agreement to be signed by the client. Annualized fees are billed on a pro-rata basis quarterly in arrears based on the value of the account(s) on the last day of the quarter. Our firm bills on cash unless indicated otherwise in writing. Fees are negotiable and will be deducted from client account(s). Cash flows contributed/distributed throughout the quarter that exceed a minimum threshold of $1,000 in aggregate per day will be used to adjust fees pro-rata at the end of each billing cycle. In rare cases, our firm will agree to directly invoice. As part of this process, Clients understand the following: a) b) The client’s independent custodian sends statements at least quarterly showing the market values for each security included in the Assets and all account disbursements, including the amount of the advisory fees paid to our firm; and Clients will provide authorization permitting our firm to be directly paid by these terms. Our firm will send an invoice directly to the custodian. Retirement Plan Program: Our firm charges a fee based on a percentage of Plan assets under management for our Retirement Plan Program service. Fees based on a percentage of managed Plan assets will not exceed 1.25%. The fee-paying arrangements will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will be detailed in the signed consulting agreement. Other Types of Fees & Expenses Clients will incur transaction charges for trades executed by their chosen custodian via individual transaction charges. These transaction fees are separate from our firm’s advisory fees and will be disclosed by the chosen custodian. Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. (“Schwab”) and Fidelity Investment (“Fidelity”) do not charge transaction fees for U.S. listed equities and exchange traded funds. Clients may also pay charges imposed directly by a mutual fund, index fund, or exchange traded fund, which shall be disclosed in the fund’s prospectus (i.e., fund management fees, initial or deferred sales charges, mutual fund sales loads, 12b-1 fees, surrender charges, variable annuity fees, IRA and qualified retirement plan fees, and other fund expenses). Our firm does not receive a portion of these fees. Our firm at one time offered a wrap fee program, however, all current wrap fee program clients will be transitioned to a non-wrapped fee program. Termination & Refunds Either party may terminate the investment advisory services received from our firm without penalty upon written notice within five (5) business days after entering into the advisory agreement. Thereafter, either party may terminate either the Wealth Apex™, Wealth Builder™, or Retirement Plan Program service at any time by ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 7 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  notifying the other party in writing. Upon termination, the client will be charged a pro-rated amount for time spent working on the plan, implementing the plan, transferring assets, preparing the Investment Policy Statement, and management of the assets. If advisory fees cannot be deducted, our firm will send an invoice for due advisory fees to the client. Commissionable Securities Sales Our firm and representatives do not sell securities for a commission in advisory accounts. Item 6: Performance-Based Fees & Side-By-Side Management Our firm does not charge performance-based fees. Item 7: Types of Clients & Account Requirements Our firm has the following types of clients: • • • • Individuals and High Net Worth Individuals; Trusts, Estates or Charitable Organizations; Pension and Profit-Sharing Plans; Corporations, Limited Liability Companies and/or Other Business Types Our requirements for opening and maintaining accounts or otherwise engaging us: • • o Our Wealth Apex™ service requires a minimum portfolio balance of $750,000; and Our Wealth Builder™ service requires a minimum portfolio balance of $250,000 and a minimum monthly contribution of $500. Households may aggregate their assets to meet the minimum portfolio balance requirements for our Wealth Apex™ and Wealth Builder™ services. However, our firm requires a minimum account balance of $10,000 for individual accounts. These minimum account balance requirements may be reduced or waived on a case-by-case basis at our firm’s discretion. Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss We may use the following analyses or strategies in managing client accounts, provided that such strategies are appropriate to the needs of the client and consistent with the client's investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizons, among other considerations: Charting: In this type of technical analysis, we review charts of market and security activity in an attempt to identify when the market is moving up or down and to predict when how long the trend may last and when that trend might reverse. Cyclical Analysis: In this type of technical analysis, we measure the movements of a particular stock against Fundamental Analysis: the overall market in an attempt to predict the price movement of the security. We attempt to measure the intrinsic value of a security by looking at economic and financial factors (including the overall economy, industry conditions, and the financial condition and management of the company itself) to determine if the company is underpriced (indicating it may be a good time to buy) or overpriced (indicating it may be time to sell). Fundamental analysis does not attempt to anticipate market movements. This presents a potential risk, as the price of a security can move up or down along with the overall market regardless of the economic and financial factors considered in evaluating the Technical Analysis: stock. We analyze past market movements and apply that analysis to the present in an attempt to recognize recurring patterns of investor behavior and potentially predict future price movement. Technical ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 8 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  analysis does not consider the underlying financial condition of a company. This presents a risk in that a poorly managed or financially unsound company may underperform regardless of market movement. Asset Allocation: Rather than focusing primarily on securities selection, we attempt to identify an appropriate ratio of securities, fixed income, and cash suitable to the client’s investment goals and risk tolerance. A risk of asset allocation is that the client may not participate in sharp increases in a particular security, industry, or market sector. Another risk is that the ratio of securities, fixed income, and cash will change over time due to Mutual Fund and/or ETF Analysis: stock and market movements and, if not corrected, will no longer be appropriate for the client’s goals. We look at the experience and track record of the manager of the mutual fund or ETF in an attempt to determine if that manager has demonstrated an ability to invest over a period of time and in different economic conditions. We also look at the underlying assets in a mutual fund or ETF in an attempt to determine if there is significant overlap in the underlying investments held in other fund(s) in the client’s portfolio. We also monitor the funds or ETFs in an attempt to determine if they are continuing to follow their stated investment strategy. A risk of mutual fund and/or ETF analysis is that, as in all securities investments, past performance does not guarantee future results. A manager who has been successful may not be able to replicate that success in the future. In addition, as we do not control the underlying investments in a fund or ETF, managers of different funds held by the client may purchase the same security, increasing the risk to the client if that security were to fall in value. There is also a risk that a manager may deviate from the stated investment mandate or strategy of the fund or ETF, which could make the holding(s) less suitable for the client’s Long-Term Purchases: portfolio. When utilizing this strategy, we may purchase securities with the idea of holding them for a relatively long time (typically held for at least a year). A risk in a long-term purchase strategy is that by holding the security for this length of time, we may not take advantages of short-term gains that could be profitable to a client. Moreover, if our predictions are incorrect, a security may decline sharply in value before we make the decision to sell. We typically employ this sub-strategy when we believe the securities to be well valued; and/or we want exposure to a particular asset class over time, regardless of the current projection for this class. The potential risks associated with this investment strategy involve a lower-than-expected return, for many years in a row. Lower-than-expected returns that last for a long time and/or that are severe in nature would have the impact of dramatically lowering the ending value of your portfolio, and thus could significantly threaten your ability to meet financial goals. Short-Term Purchases: When utilizing this strategy, we may also purchase securities with the idea of selling them within a relatively short time (typically a year or less). We do this in an attempt to take advantage of conditions that we believe will soon result in a price swing in the securities we purchase. The potential risk associated with this investment strategy is associated with the currency or exchange rate. Currency or exchange rate risk is a form of risk that arises from the change in price of one currency against another. The constant fluctuations in the foreign currency in which an investment is denominated vis-à-vis one's home currency may add risk to the value of a security. Currency risk is greater for shorter-term investments, which do not have time to level off like longer term foreign investments. Option Writing: We may use options as an investment strategy. An option is a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset (such as a share of stock) at a specific price on or before a certain date. An option, just like a stock or bond, is a security. An option is also a derivative, because it derives its value from an underlying asset. The two types of options are calls and puts. A call gives us the right to buy an asset at a certain price within a specific period of time. A put gives us the holder the right to sell an asset at a certain price within a specific period of time. We use "covered calls", in which we sell an option on a security you own. With this strategy, you receive a fee for making the option available, and the person purchasing the option has the right to buy the security from you at an agreed-upon price. The potential risks associated with these transactions are that (1) all options expire. The closer the option gets to expiration, the quicker the premium in the option deteriorates; and (2) Prices can move very quickly. Depending on factors such as time until expiration and the relationship of the stock price to the option’s strike price, small movements in a stock can translate into big movements in the underlying options. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 9 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Fixed Income Portfolio Management Investment Strategies: We believe that a conservative, risk-averse approach to fixed income management will provide both steady incremental outperformance, and low relative volatility. The disciplined process we employ in an effort to realize this philosophy is generally grounded in four key decisions: • • • • Constraint of portfolio duration within a narrow range relative to the benchmark in order to limit exposure to market and interest rate risk. Strategic allocations to key sectors to add value relative to the benchmark. Proactive management of term structure to add value in different yield curve environments. Security selection based on rigorous credit and relative value analysis and broad diversification of nongovernment issuers. Investing in securities involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear. While the stock market may increase and the account(s) could enjoy a gain, it is also possible that the stock market may decrease, and the account(s) could suffer a loss. It is important that clients understand the risks associated with investing in the stock market, are appropriately diversified in investments, and ask any questions. Investment Strategies & Asset Classes Asset Allocation: The implementation of an investment strategy that attempts to balance risk versus reward by adjusting the percentage of each asset in an investment portfolio according to the investor's risk tolerance, goals and investment time frame. Asset allocation is based on the principle that different assets perform differently in different market and economic conditions. A fundamental justification for asset allocation is the notion that different asset classes offer returns that are not perfectly correlated, hence diversification reduces the overall risk in terms of the variability of returns for a given level of expected return. Although risk is reduced as long as correlations are not perfect, it is typically forecast (wholly or in part) based on statistical relationships (like correlation and variance) that existed over some past period. Expectations for return are often derived in the same way. An asset class is a group of economic resources sharing similar characteristics, such as riskiness and return. There are many types of assets that may or may not be included in an asset allocation strategy. The "traditional" asset classes are stocks (value, dividend, growth, or sector-specific [or a "blend" of any two or more of the preceding]; large-cap versus mid-cap, small-cap or micro-cap; domestic, foreign [developed], emerging or frontier markets), bonds (fixed income securities more generally: investment-grade or junk [high-yield]; government or corporate; short-term, intermediate, long-term; domestic, foreign, emerging markets), and cash or cash equivalents. Allocation among these three provides a starting point. Usually included are hybrid instruments such as convertible bonds and preferred stocks, counting as a mixture of bonds and stocks. Other alternative assets that may be considered include: commodities: precious metals, nonferrous metals, agriculture, energy, others.; Commercial or residential real estate (also REITs); Collectibles such as art, coins, or stamps; insurance products (annuity, life settlements, catastrophe bonds, personal life insurance products, etc.); derivatives such as long-short or market neutral strategies, options, collateralized debt, and futures; foreign currency; venture capital; private equity; and/or distressed securities. • • There are several types of asset allocation strategies based on investment goals, risk tolerance, time frames and diversification. The most common forms of asset allocation are strategic, dynamic, tactical, and core-satellite. Strategic Asset Allocation: The primary goal of a strategic asset allocation is to create an asset mix that seeks to provide the optimal balance between expected risk and return for a long-term investment horizon. Generally speaking, strategic asset allocation strategies are agnostic to economic environments, i.e., they do not change their allocation postures relative to changing market or economic conditions. Dynamic Asset Allocation: Dynamic asset allocation is similar to strategic asset allocation in that portfolios are built by allocating to an asset mix that seeks to provide the optimal balance between expected risk and return for a long-term investment horizon. Like strategic allocation strategies, dynamic strategies largely retain exposure to their original asset classes; however, unlike strategic ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 10 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  • • strategies, dynamic asset allocation portfolios will adjust their postures over time relative to changes in the economic environment. Tactical Asset Allocation: Tactical asset allocation is a strategy in which an investor takes a more active approach that tries to position a portfolio into those assets, sectors, or individual stocks that show the most potential for perceived gains. While an original asset mix is formulated much like strategic and dynamic portfolio, tactical strategies are often traded more actively and are free to move entirely in and out of their core asset classes. Core-Satellite Asset Allocation: Core-Satellite allocation strategies generally contain a 'core' strategic element making up the most significant portion of the portfolio, while applying a dynamic or tactical 'satellite' strategy that makes up a smaller part of the portfolio. In this way, core-satellite allocation strategies are a hybrid of the strategic and dynamic/tactical allocation strategies mentioned above. Cash & Cash Equivalents: Cash and cash equivalents generally refer to either United States dollars or highly liquid short-term debt instruments such as, but not limited to, treasury bills, bank CD’s and commercial papers. Generally, these assets are considered nonproductive and will be exposed to inflation risk and considerable opportunity cost risk. Investments in cash and cash equivalents will generally return less than the advisory fee charged by our firm. Our firm may recommend cash and cash equivalents as part of our clients’ asset allocation when deemed appropriate and in their best interest. Our firm considers cash and cash equivalents to be an asset class. Therefore, our firm assess an advisory fee on cash and cash equivalents unless indicated otherwise in writing. Debt Securities (Bonds) : Issuers use debt securities to borrow money. Generally, issuers pay investors periodic interest and repay the amount borrowed either periodically during the life of the security and/or at maturity. Alternatively, investors can purchase other debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, which do not pay current interest, but rather are priced at a discount from their face values and their values accrete over time to face value at maturity. The market prices of debt securities fluctuate depending on such factors as interest rates, credit quality, and maturity. In general, market prices of debt securities decline when interest rates rise and increase when interest rates fall. Bonds with longer rates of maturity tend to have greater interest rate risks. Certain additional risk factors relating to debt securities include: (a) When interest rates are declining, investors have to reinvest their interest income and any return of principal, whether scheduled or unscheduled, at lower prevailing rates.; (b) Inflation causes tomorrow’s dollar to be worth less than today’s; in other words, it reduces the purchasing power of a bond investor’s future interest payments and principal, collectively known as “cash flows.” Inflation also leads to higher interest rates, which in turn leads to lower bond prices.; (c) Debt securities may be sensitive to economic changes, political and corporate developments, and interest rate changes. Investors can also expect periods of economic change and uncertainty, which can result in increased volatility of market prices and yields of certain debt securities. For example, prices of these securities can be affected by financial contracts held by the issuer or third parties (such as derivatives) relating to the security or other assets or indices. (d) Debt securities may contain redemption or call provisions entitling their issuers to redeem them at a specified price on a date prior to maturity. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a lower interest rate market, the account would have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in decreased income to investors. Usually, a bond is called at or close to par value. This subjects investors that paid a premium for their bond risk of lost principal. In reality, prices of callable bonds are unlikely to move much above the call price if lower interest rates make the bond likely to be called.; (e) If the issuer of a debt security defaults on its obligations to pay interest or principal or is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, the account may incur losses or expenses in seeking recovery of amounts owed to it.; (f) There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular debt securities, which may affect adversely the account's ability to value accurately or dispose of such debt securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the value and/or liquidity of debt securities. Our firm attempts to reduce the risks described above through diversification of the client’s portfolio and by credit analysis of each issuer, as well as by monitoring broad economic trends and corporate and legislative developments, but there can be no assurance that our firm will be successful in doing so. Credit ratings for debt securities provided by rating agencies reflect an evaluation of the safety of principal and interest payments, not ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 11 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  market value risk. The rating of an issuer is a rating agency's view of past and future potential developments related to the issuer and may not necessarily reflect actual outcomes. There can be a lag between the time of developments relating to an issuer and the time a rating is assigned and updated. Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”): An ETF is a type of Investment Company (usually, an open-end fund or unit investment trust) whose primary objective is to achieve the same return as a particular market index. The vast majority of ETFs are designed to track an index, so their performance is close to that of an index mutual fund, but they are not exact duplicates. A tracking error, or the difference between the returns of a fund and the returns of the index, can arise due to differences in composition, management fees, expenses, and handling of dividends. ETFs benefit from continuous pricing; they can be bought and sold on a stock exchange throughout the trading day. Because ETFs trade like stocks, you can place orders just like with individual stocks - such as limit orders, good-until-canceled orders, stop loss orders etc. They can also be sold short. Traditional mutual funds are bought and redeemed based on their net asset values (“NAV”) at the end of the day. ETFs are bought and sold at the market prices on the exchanges, which resemble the underlying NAV but are independent of it. However, arbitrageurs will ensure that ETF prices are kept very close to the NAV of the underlying securities. Although an investor can buy as few as one share of an ETF, most buy in board lots. Anything bought in less than a board lot will increase the cost to the investor. Anyone can buy any ETF no matter where in the world it trades. This provides a benefit over mutual funds, which generally can only be bought in the country in which they are registered. One of the main features of ETFs are their low annual fees, especially when compared to traditional mutual funds. The passive nature of index investing, reduced marketing, and distribution and accounting expenses all contribute to the lower fees. However, individual investors must pay a brokerage commission to purchase and sell ETF shares; for those investors who trade frequently, this can significantly increase the cost of investing in ETFs. That said, with the advent of low-cost brokerage fees, small or frequent purchases of ETFs are becoming more cost efficient. Equity Securities: Equity securities represent an ownership position in a company. Equity securities typically consist of common stocks. The prices of equity securities fluctuate based on, among other things, events specific to their issuers and market, economic and other conditions. For example, prices of these securities can be affected by financial contracts held by the issuer or third parties (such as derivatives) relating to the security or other assets or indices. There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular equity securities, which may adversely affect our firm 's ability to value accurately or dispose of such equity securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the value and/or liquidity of equity securities. Investing in smaller companies may pose additional risks as it is often more difficult to value or dispose of small company stocks, more difficult to obtain information about smaller companies, and the prices of their stocks may be more volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies. Clients should have a long-term perspective and, for example, be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. Fixed Income: Fixed income is a type of investing or budgeting style for which real return rates or periodic income is received at regular intervals and at reasonably predictable levels. Fixed-income investors are typically retired individuals who rely on their investments to provide a regular, stable income stream. This demographic tends to invest heavily in fixed-income investments because of the reliable returns they offer. Fixed-income investors who live on set amounts of periodically paid income face the risk of inflation eroding their spending power. Some examples of fixed-income investments include treasuries, money market instruments, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, municipal bonds and international bonds. The primary risk associated with fixed- income investments is the borrower defaulting on his payment. Other considerations include exchange rate risk for international bonds and interest rate risk for longer-dated securities. The most common type of fixed- income security is a bond. Bonds are issued by federal governments, local municipalities and major corporations. Fixed-income securities are recommended for investors seeking a diverse portfolio; however, the percentage of the portfolio dedicated to fixed income depends on your own personal investment style. There ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 12 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  is also an opportunity to diversify the fixed-income component of a portfolio. Riskier fixed-income products, such as junk bonds and longer-dated products, should comprise a lower percentage of your overall portfolio. The interest payment on fixed-income securities is considered regular income and is determined based on the creditworthiness of the borrower and current market rates. In general, bonds and fixed-income securities with longer-dated maturities pay a higher rate, also referred to as the coupon rate, because they are considered riskier. The longer the security is on the market, the more time it has to lose its value and/or default. At the end of the bond term, or at bond maturity, the borrower returns the amount borrowed, also referred to as the principal or par value. Index Fund: A mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) designed to follow certain preset rules so that the fund can track specified basket of underlying investments. Those rules may include tracking prominent indexes like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average or implementation rules, such as tax-management, tracking error minimization, large block trading or patient/flexible trading strategies that allows for greater tracking error, but lower market impact costs. Index funds may also have rules that screen for social and sustainable criteria. An index fund’s rules of construction clearly identify the type of companies suitable for the fund. The most commonly known index fund, the S&P 500 Index Fund, is based on the rules established by S&P Dow Jones Indices for their S&P 500 Index. Equity index funds would include groups of stocks with similar characteristics such as the size, value, profitability and/or the geographic location of the companies. A group of stocks may include companies from the United States, Non-US Developed, emerging markets or Frontier Market countries. Additional index funds within these geographic markets may include indexes of companies that include rules based on company characteristics or factors, such as companies that are small, mid-sized, large, small value, large value, small growth, large growth, the level of gross profitability or investment capital, real estate, or indexes based on commodities and fixed income. Companies are purchased and held within the index fund when they meet the specific index rules or parameters and are sold when they move outside of those rules or parameters. Think of an index fund as an investment utilizing rules-based investing. Some index providers announce changes of the companies in their index before the change date and other index providers do not make such announcements. Index funds must periodically "rebalance" or adjust their portfolios to match the new prices and market capitalization of the underlying securities in the stock or other indexes that they track. This allows algorithmic traders to perform index arbitrage by anticipating and trading ahead of stock price movements caused by mutual fund rebalancing, making a profit on foreknowledge of the large institutional block orders. This results in profits transferred from investors to algorithmic traders. One problem occurs when a large amount of money tracks the same index. According to theory, a company should not be worth more when it is in an index. But due to supply and demand, a company being added can have a demand shock, and a company being deleted can have a supply shock, and this will change the price. This does not show up in tracking error since the index is also affected. A fund may experience less impact by tracking a less popular index Individual Stocks : A common stock is a security that represents ownership in a corporation. Holders of common stock exercise control by electing a board of directors and voting on corporate policy. Investing in individual common stocks provides us with more control of what you are invested in and when that investment is made. Having the ability to decide when to buy or sell helps us time the taking of gains or losses. Common stocks, however, bear a greater amount of risk when compared to certificate of deposits, preferred stock and bonds. It is typically more difficult to achieve diversification when investing in individual common stocks. Additionally, common stockholders are on the bottom of the priority ladder for ownership structure; if a company goes bankrupt, the common stockholders do not receive their money until the creditors and preferred shareholders have received their respective share of the leftover assets. Long-Term Purchases: Our firm may buy securities for your account and hold them for a relatively long time (more than a year) in anticipation that the security’s value will appreciate over a long horizon. The risk of this strategy is that our firm could miss out on potential short-term gains that could have been profitable to your account, or it’s possible that the security’s value may decline sharply before our firm makes a decision to sell. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 13 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Money Market Fund : Money market funds have relatively low risks, compared to other mutual funds (and most other investments). By law, they can invest in only certain high quality, short-term investments issued by the U.S. Government, U.S. corporations, and state and local governments. Money market funds try to keep their net asset value (NAV), which represents the value of one share in a fund, at a stable $1.00 per share. However, the NAV may fall below $1.00 if the fund’s investments perform poorly. Investor losses have been rare, but they are possible. Money market funds pay dividends that generally reflect short-term interest rates, and historically, the returns for money market funds have been lower than for either bond or stock funds. That is why “inflation risk,” the risk that inflation, will outpace and erode investment returns over time, and can be a potential concern for investors in money market funds. Mutual Funds : A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests that money in a variety of differing security types based on the objectives of the fund. The portfolio of the fund consists of the combined holdings it owns. Each share represents an investor’s proportionate ownership of the fund’s holdings and the income those holdings generate. The price that investors pay for mutual fund shares are the fund’s per share net asset value (“NAV”) plus any shareholder fees that the fund imposes at the time of purchase (such as sales loads). Investors typically cannot ascertain the exact make-up of a fund’s portfolio at any given time, nor can they directly influence which securities the fund manager buys and sells or the timing of those trades. With an individual stock, investors can obtain real-time (or close to real-time) pricing information with relative ease by checking financial websites or by calling a broker or your investment adviser. Investors can also monitor how a stock’s price changes from hour to hour—or even second to second. By contrast, with a mutual fund, the price at which an investor purchases or redeems shares will typically depend on the fund’s NAV, which is calculated daily after market close. The benefits of investing through mutual funds include: (a) Mutual funds are professionally managed by an investment adviser who researches, selects, and monitors the performance of the securities purchased by the fund; (b) Mutual funds typically have the benefit of diversification, which is an investing strategy that generally sums up as “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Spreading investments across a wide range of companies and industry sectors can help lower the risk if a company or sector fails. Some investors find it easier to achieve diversification through ownership of mutual funds rather than through ownership of individual stocks or bonds.; (c) Some mutual funds accommodate investors who do not have a lot of money to invest by setting relatively low dollar amounts for initial purchases, subsequent monthly purchases, or both.; and (d) At any time, mutual fund investors can readily redeem their shares at the current NAV, less any fees and charges assessed on redemption. Mutual funds also have features that some investors might view as disadvantages: (a) Investors must pay sales charges, annual fees, and other expenses regardless of how the fund performs. Depending on the timing of their investment, investors may also have to pay taxes on any capital gains distributions they receive. This includes instances where the fund performed poorly after purchasing shares.; (b) Investors typically cannot ascertain the exact make-up of a fund’s portfolio at any given time, nor can they directly influence which securities the fund manager buys and sells or the timing of those trades.; and (c) With an individual stock, investors can obtain real-time (or close to real-time) pricing information with relative ease by checking financial websites or by calling a broker or your investment adviser. Investors can also monitor how a stock’s price changes from hour to hour—or even second to second. By contrast, with a mutual fund, the price at which an investor purchases or redeems shares will typically depend on the fund’s NAV, which the fund might not calculate until many hours after the investor placed the order. In general, mutual funds must calculate their NAV at least once every business day, typically after the major U.S. exchanges close. When investors buy and hold an individual stock or bond, the investor must pay income tax each year on the dividends or interest the investor receives. However, the investor will not have to pay any capital gains tax until the investor actually sells and makes a profit. Mutual funds, however, are different. When an investor buys and holds mutual fund shares, the investor will owe income tax on any ordinary dividends in the year the investor receives or reinvests them. Moreover, in addition to owing taxes on any personal capital gains when the investor sells shares, the investor may have to pay taxes each year on the fund’s capital gains. That is because the law requires mutual funds to distribute capital gains to shareholders if they sell securities for a profit and cannot use losses to offset these gains. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 14 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Sector Allocation : Our firm allocates client assets to various sectors of the fixed income market, including US Treasury obligations, federal agency securities, corporate notes, mortgage-backed securities and others, based on our quantitative and qualitative analysis to manage client exposure to a given sector and to provide exposure to sectors our firm believes to have good value. The risk of sector allocation is that clients may not participate fully in an increase in value in any specific sector. Short-Term Purchases: When utilizing this strategy, our firm may also purchase securities with the idea of selling them within a relatively short time (typically a year or less). Our firm does this in an attempt to take advantage of conditions that our firm believes will soon result in a price swing in the securities our firm purchase. Treasury Bill (“T-Bill”): T-Bills, are short-term debt instruments issued by the U.S Treasury. T-Bills are issued for a term of one year or less and are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. The T-Bill rate is a key barometer of short-term interest rates. Treasury bills are sold with maturities of four, thirteen, twenty-six and fifty-two weeks. They do not pay interest, but rather are sold at a discount to their face value. The full-face value is paid at maturity, and the difference between the discounted purchase price and the full-face value equates to the interest rate. T-Bills are sold in increments of $100, with a minimum purchase of $100. With the exception of 52-week bills and cash management bills, all T-Bills are auctioned every week. The 52-week bill is auctioned every four weeks and cash management bills are issued in variable terms, usually only a matter of days. You can hold a bill until it matures or sell it before it matures. The bonds are initially sold through auction in which the maximum purchase amount is $5 million if the bid is noncompetitive or 35% of the offering if the bid is competitive. A competitive bid states the rate the bidder is willing to accept; it is accepted depending on how it compares to the set rate of the bond. A noncompetitive bid ensures the bidder gets the bond, but he has to accept the set rate. After the auction, the bonds can be sold in the secondary market. Treasury Note: A treasury note is a marketable U.S. government debt security with a fixed interest rate and a maturity between one and 10 years. Treasury notes are available from the government with either a competitive or noncompetitive bid. With a competitive bid, investors specify the yield they want, at the risk that their bid may not be approved; with a noncompetitive bid, investors accept whatever yield is determined at auction. Treasury notes are extremely popular investments, as there is a large secondary market that adds to their liquidity. Interest payments on the notes are made every six months until maturity. The income for interest payments is not taxable on a municipal or state level but is federally taxed, similar to the T-Bonds. The only difference between a Treasury note and T-Bond is the length of maturity. A T-Bond’s maturity can last from 10 to 30 years, making Treasury bonds the longest-dated, sovereign fixed-income security. The longer the maturity, the higher the note’s or bond’s exposure to interest rate risks. In addition to credit strength, a note’s value is determined by its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Most commonly, a change in rates occurs at the absolute level underneath the control of a central bank or within the shape of the yield curve. An increase in benchmark interest rates has had the effect of decreasing the price of all outstanding U.S. Treasury notes and bonds. Moreover, these fixed-income instruments possess differing levels of sensitivity to changes in rates, which means that the fall in prices occurred at various magnitudes. This sensitivity to shifts in rates is measured by duration and expressed in terms of years. Factors that are used to calculate duration include coupon, yield, present value, final maturity, and call features. In addition to the benchmark interest rate, elements such as changing investors’ expectations creates shifts in the yield curve, known as yield curve risk. This risk is associated with either a steepening or flattening of the yield curve, a result of altering yields among similar bonds of different maturities. For example, in the case of a steepening curve, the spread between short- and long-term interest rates widens. Thus, the price of long-term notes decreases relative to short-term notes. The opposite occurs in the case of a flattening yield curve. The spread narrows and the price of short-term notes decreases relative to long-term notes. Description of Material, Significant or Unusual Risks Our firm generally invests client cash balances in money market funds, FDIC Insured Certificates of Deposit, high-grade commercial paper and/or government backed debt instruments. Ultimately, our firm tries to achieve the highest return on client cash balances through relatively low-risk conservative investments. In ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 15 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  most cases, at least a partial cash balance will be maintained in a money market account so that our firm may debit advisory fees for our services related to our services, as applicable. Capital Risk: Capital risk is one of the most basic, fundamental risks of investing; it is the risk that you may lose 100% of your money. All investments carry some form of risk and the loss of capital is generally a risk for any investment instrument. Company Risk: When investing in stock positions, there is always a certain level of company or industry specific risk that is inherent in each investment. This is also referred to as unsystematic risk and can be reduced through appropriate diversification. There is the risk that the company will perform poorly or have its value reduced based on factors specific to the company or its industry. For example, if a company’s employees go on strike or the company receives unfavorable media attention for its actions, the value of the company may be reduced. Economic Risk: The prevailing economic environment is important to the health of all businesses. Some companies, however, are more sensitive to changes in the domestic or global economy than others. These types of companies are often referred to as cyclical businesses. Countries in which a large portion of businesses are in cyclical industries are thus also very economically sensitive and carry a higher amount of economic risk. If an investment is issued by a party located in a country that experiences wide swings from an economic standpoint or in situations where certain elements of an investment instrument are hinged on dealings in such countries, the investment instrument will generally be subject to a higher level of economic risk. Equity (Stock) Market Risk: Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and, volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. If you held common stock, or common stock equivalents, of any given issuer, you would generally be exposed to greater risk than if you held preferred stocks and debt obligations of the issuer. ETF & Mutual Fund Risk : When investing in an ETF or mutual fund, you will bear additional expenses based on your pro rata share of the ETF’s or mutual fund’s operating expenses, including the potential duplication of management fees. The risk of owning an ETF or mutual fund generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying securities, the ETF, or mutual fund holds. Clients will also incur brokerage costs when purchasing ETFs. Financial Risk: Financial risk is represented by internal disruptions within an investment or the issuer of an investment that can lead to unfavorable performance of the investment. Examples of financial risk can be found in cases like Enron or many of the dot com companies that were caught up in a period of extraordinary market valuations that were not based on solid financial footings of the companies. Fixed Income Securities Risk: Typically, the values of fixed-income securities change inversely with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed-income securities is interest rate risk, which is the risk that their value will generally decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause your account value to likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed income securities may react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. Fixed-income securities are also subject to credit risk, prepayment risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk. Credit risk is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of a bond to decline. Inflation Risk : Inflation risk involves the concern that in the future, your investment or proceeds from your investment will not be worth what they are today. Throughout time, the prices of resources and end-user products generally increase and thus, the same general goods and products today will likely be more expensive in the future. The longer an investment is held, the greater the chance that the proceeds from that investment will be worth less in the future than what they are today. Said another way, a dollar tomorrow will likely get you less than what it can today. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 16 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Interest Rate Risk: Certain investments involve the payment of a fixed or variable rate of interest to the investment holder. Once an investor has acquired or has acquired the rights to an investment that pays a particular rate (fixed or variable) of interest, changes in overall interest rates in the market will affect the value of the interest-paying investment(s) they hold. In general, changes in prevailing interest rates in the market will have an inverse relationship to the value of existing, interest paying investments. In other words, as interest rates move up, the value of an instrument paying a particular rate (fixed or variable) of interest will go down. The reverse is generally true as well. Legal/Regulatory Risk: Certain investments or the issuers of investments may be affected by changes in state or federal laws or in the prevailing regulatory framework under which the investment instrument or its issuer is regulated. Changes in the regulatory environment or tax laws can affect the performance of certain investments or issuers of those investments and thus, can have a negative impact on the overall performance of such investments. Manager Risk: There is always the possibility that poor security selection will cause your investments to underperform relative to benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Market Risk: The value of your portfolio may decrease if the value of an individual company or multiple companies in the portfolio decreases or if our belief about a company’s intrinsic worth is incorrect. Further, regardless of how well individual companies perform, the value of your portfolio could also decrease if there are deteriorating economic or market conditions. It is important to understand that the value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply, in response to changes in the market, and you could lose money. Investment risks include price risk as may be observed by a drop in a security’s price due to company specific events (e.g. earnings disappointment or downgrade in the rating of a bond) or general market risk (e.g. such as a “bear” market when stock values fall in general). For fixed-income securities, a period of rising interest rates could erode the value of a bond since bond values generally fall as bond yields go up. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Market Timing Risk: Market timing can include high risk of loss since it looks at an aggregate market versus a specific security. Timing risk explains the potential for missing out on beneficial movements in price due to an error in timing. This could cause harm to the value of an investor's portfolio because of purchasing too high or selling too low. Options Risk : Options on securities may be subject to greater fluctuations in value than an investment in the underlying securities. Additionally, options have an expiration date, which makes them “decay” in value over the amount of time they are held and can expire worthless. Purchasing and writing put and call options are highly specialized activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks. Strategy Risk: There is no guarantee that the investment strategies discussed herein will work under all market conditions and each investor should evaluate his/her ability to maintain any investment he/she is considering in light of his/her own investment time horizon. Investments are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Private Asset Risk Disclosure: We may invest in private assets on behalf of clients, which we currently access by investing in ETFs and interval mutual funds (e.g., Calamos Aksia Alternative Credit & Income Fund (CAPIX) and First Trust Alternative Opportunities I (VFLEX). Alternative mutual funds, non-traded business development companies, and certain managers that employ alternative investment strategies (including, but not limited to, private credit, insurance-linked securities, derivatives, alternative lending, single family real estate, and art) primarily invest in non-traditional asset classes and implement speculative investment techniques. Alternative investments often offer investment return characteristics that are not correlated to traditional investments but also present greater and/or unique risks to investors. Such risks include loss of all or a substantial portion of the investment due to leveraging, short selling or other speculative practices; management risk; lack of liquidity; restrictions on transferring interests; higher or excessive volatility; absence of information for valuations and pricing; less transparency on underlying investments, complex tax structures and delays in tax reporting; less regulation; and potentially higher fees than traditional investments. For a complete list of risk factors of investing in this class of securities, review the prospectus for CAPIX and VFLEX, or the specific security that we may recommend. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page ͳ͹ ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Digital Asset Risk Disclosure: We may invest in digital assets on behalf of clients, which we currently access by investing in ETFs (e.g., Simplify US Equity PLUS Bitcoin Strategy ETF (SPBC) and Global X Blockchain & Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITS)). Some of the known risks associated with investments in cryptocurrencies and digital assets include: (1) cryptocurrencies that operate as a medium of exchange are not issued or guaranteed by any central bank or a national, supra-national or quasi national organization, and there is no guarantee that such cryptocurrencies may operate as a legal medium of exchange in any jurisdiction, (2) markets that are not subject to rules and regulations typical of national securities exchanges and futures exchanges, (3) the growth of this industry and widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, (4) to the extent a fund manager’s private keys relating to cryptocurrencies or digital assets are lost, destroyed or otherwise compromised, it is not possible to access or control such assets and they will be lost, (5) the third- party providers of digital wallets that hold cryptocurrencies and digital assets may be prone to security vulnerabilities and risks arising out of hacking, loss of passwords, compromised access credentials, malware, or cyber-attacks, (6) future regulatory changes, or even the perception of regulatory changes, may limit the ability to buy and sell bitcoin and Bitcoin ETFs, and (7) the securities that we invest in have exposure to a single asset, bitcoin. Bitcoin is highly volatile and can become illiquid at any time. For a complete list of risk factors of investing in this class of securities, review the prospectus for SPBC and BITS, or the specific security that we may recommend. Item 9: Disciplinary Information There are no legal or disciplinary events that are material to the evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management. Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations Representatives of our firm are non-practicing licensed insurance agents. Insurance products are not offered by ARQ or through its representatives. Clients will be referred to other agents or institutions should they be interested in insurance products. Compensation will not be provided to ARQ or its representatives for any of these referrals. Item 11: Code of Ethics, Participation, or Interest in Client Transactions & Personal Trading As a fiduciary, it is an investment adviser’s responsibility to provide fair and full disclosure of all material facts and to act solely in the best interest of each of our clients at all times. Our fiduciary duty is the underlying principle for our firm’s Code of Ethics, which includes procedures for personal securities transaction and insider trading. Our firm requires all representatives to conduct business with the highest level of ethical standards and to comply with all federal and state securities laws at all times. Upon employment with our firm, and at least annually thereafter, all representatives of our firm will acknowledge receipt, understanding and compliance with our firm’s Code of Ethics. Our firm and representatives must conduct business in an honest, ethical, and fair manner and avoid all circumstances that might negatively affect or appear to affect our duty of complete loyalty to all clients. This disclosure is provided to give all clients a summary of our Code of Ethics. If a client or a potential client wishes to review our Code of Ethics in its entirety, a copy will be provided promptly upon request. Our firm recognizes that the personal investment transactions of our representatives demand the application of a Code of Ethics with high standards and requires that all such transactions be carried out in a way that does not endanger the interest of any client. At the same time, our firm also believes that if investment goals are similar for clients and for our representatives, it is logical, and even desirable, that there be common ownership of some securities. To prevent conflicts of interest, our firm has established procedures for transactions effected by our 1 . To monitor compliance with our personal trading policy, our firm has representatives for their personal accounts pre-clearance requirements and a quarterly securities transaction reporting system for all our representatives. Neither our firm nor a related person recommends, buys, or sells for client accounts, securities in which our firm or a related person has a material financial interest without prior disclosure to the client. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page ͳ8 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Related persons of our firm may buy or sell securities and other investments that are also recommended to clients. To minimize this conflict of interest, our related persons will place client interests ahead of their own interests and adhere to our firm’s Code of Ethics, a copy of which is available upon request. Likewise, related persons of our firm buy or sell securities for themselves at or about the same time they buy or sell the same securities for client accounts. To minimize this conflict of interest, our related persons will place client interests ahead of their own interests and adhere to our firm’s Code of Ethics, a copy of which is available upon request. Further, our related persons will refrain from buying or selling the same securities prior to buying or selling for our clients in the same day unless included in a block trade. Item 12: Brokerage Practices Custodians & Brokers Used Item 15 Custody , below). Client assets Our firm does not maintain custody of client assets (although our firm may be deemed to have custody of client assets if give the authority to withdraw assets from client accounts. See must be maintained in an account at a “qualified custodian,” generally a broker-dealer or bank. Our firm recommends that clients use the Schwab Adviser Services division of Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. (“Schwab”) or Fidelity Investment (“Fidelity”) , a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, as the qualified custodian. Our firm is independently owned and operated, and not affiliated with Schwab or Fidelity . The qualified custodians will hold client assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell securities when instructed. While our firm recommends that clients use Schwab or Fidelity as custodian/broker, clients will decide whether to do so and open an account with Schwab or Fidelity by entering into an account agreement directly with them. Our firm does not open the account. Even though the account is maintained at Schwab or Fidelity, our firm can still use other brokers to execute trades, as described in the next paragraph. 1 For purposes of the policy, our associate’s personal account generally includes any account (a) in the name of our associate, his/her spouse, his/her minor children or other dependents residing in the same household, (b) for which our associate is a trustee or executor, or (c) which our associate controls, including our client accounts which our associate controls and/or a member of his/her household has a direct or indirect beneficial interest in. How Brokers/Custodians Are Selected: • Our firm seeks to recommend a custodian/broker who will hold client assets and execute transactions on terms that are overall most advantageous when compared to other available providers and their services. A wide range of factors are considered, including, but not limited to: • • • • • Products & • • • combination of transaction execution services along with asset custody services (generally without a separate fee for custody) capability to execute, clear and settle trades (buy and sell securities for client accounts) capabilities to facilitate transfers and payments to and from accounts (wire transfers, check requests, bill payment, etc.) breadth of investment products made available (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), etc.) availability of investment research and tools that assist in making investment decisions quality of services competitiveness of the price of those services (commission rates, margin interest rates, other fees, etc.) and willingness to negotiate them reputation, financial strength and stability of the provider prior service to our firm and our other clients Services Available from Schwab and Fidelity availability of other products and services that benefit our firm, as discussed below (see “ ”) Custody & Brokerage Costs: Schwab and Fidelity generally do not charge a separate fee for custody services but is compensated by charging commissions or other fees to clients on trades that are executed or that settle into the qualified custodian account. In addition to commissions, Schwab and Fidelity charge a flat dollar amount as a “prime broker” or ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 9 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  “trade away” fee for each trade that our firm has executed by a different broker-dealer but where the securities bought or the funds from the securities sold are deposited (settled) into a Schwab or Fidelity account. These fees are in addition to the commissions or other compensation paid to the executing broker-dealer. Because of this, Products & Services Available from Schwab and Fidelity: to minimize client trading costs, our firm has Schwab and Fidelity execute most trades for the accounts. Schwab Advisor Services and Fidelity Investments is Schwab’s and Fidelity’s business serving independent investment advisory firms like our firm. They provide our firm and clients with access to its institutional brokerage – trading, custody, reporting and related services – many of which are not typically available to qualified custodian retail customers. Schwab and Fidelity also makes available various support services. Some of those services help manage or administer our client accounts while others help manage and grow our business. The qualified custodians support services are generally available on an unsolicited basis (our firm does not have to request them) and at no charge to our firm. The availability of Schwab and Fidelity products and services is not based on the provision of particular investment advice, such as purchasing particular securities for clients. Here is a more detailed description of Schwab and Fidelity support services: Services that Benefit Clients: Schwab and Fidelity institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products available through Schwab and Fidelity include some to which our firm might not otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by firm clients. Schwab and Fidelity services described in this paragraph generally benefit clients and their accounts. Services that May Not Directly Benefit Clients: Schwab and Fidelity also makes available other products and services that benefit our firm but may not directly benefit clients or their accounts. These products and services assist in managing and administering our client accounts. They include investment research, both Schwab, Fidelity and that of third parties. This research may be used to service all or some substantial number of client accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab and Fidelity. In addition to investment research, Schwab and Fidelity also makes available software and other technology that: • • • • • provides access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account statements); facilitates trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts; provides pricing and other market data; facilitates payment of our fees from our clients’ accounts; and assists with back-office functions, recordkeeping and client reporting. Services that Generally Benefit Only Our Firm: Qualified Custodians also offers other services intended to help manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include: • • • • educational conferences and events technology, compliance, legal, and business consulting; publications and conferences on practice management and business succession; and access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants and insurance providers. Schwab and Fidelity may provide some of these services itself. In other cases, Schwab or Fidelity will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to our firm. Schwab and Fidelity may also discount or waive fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party’s fees. Schwab and Fidelity may also provide our firm with other benefits, such as occasional business entertainment for our personnel. Irrespective of direct or indirect benefits to our client through Schwab or Fidelity, our firm strives to enhance the client experience, help clients reach their goals and put client interests before that of our firm or associated persons. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 10 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Our Interests in Schwab and Fidelity Services: The availability of these services from Schwab and Fidelity benefits our firm because our firm does not have to produce or purchase them. Our firm does not have to pay for these services, and they are not contingent upon committing any specific amount of business to Schwab in trading commissions or assets in custody. In light of our arrangements with Schwab and Fidelity, a conflict of interest exists as our firm may have incentive to require that clients maintain their accounts with Schwab or Fidelity based on our interest in receiving custodian services that benefit our firm rather than based on client interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of transactions. As part of our fiduciary duty to our clients, our firm will 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 or our related persons creates a potential conflict of interest and may indirectly influence our firm’s choice of Schwab or Fidelity as a custodial recommendation. Our firm examined this potential conflict of interest when our firm chose to recommend Schwab or Fidelity and have determined that the recommendation is in the best interest of our firm’s clients and satisfies our fiduciary obligations, including our duty to seek best execution. In seeking best execution, the determinative factor is not the lowest possible cost, but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution, taking into consideration the full range of a broker-dealer’s services, including the value of research provided, execution capability, commission rates, and responsiveness. Although our firm will seek competitive rates, to the benefit of all clients, our firm may not necessarily obtain the lowest possible commission rates for specific client account transactions. Our firm believes that the selection of Schwab and Fidelity as a custodian and broker is the best interest of our clients. It is primarily supported by the scope, quality and price of custodian’s services, and not Schwab’s or Fidelity’s services that only benefit our firm. Soft Dollars Our firm does not receive soft dollars in excess of what is allowed by Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The safe harbor research products and services obtained by our firm will generally be used to service all our clients but not necessarily all at any one particular time. On occasion, our firm may share the cost of a client event with one of our strategic partners. Client Brokerage Commissions Schwab and Fidelity do not make client brokerage commissions generated by client transactions available for our firm’s use. Client Transactions in Return for Soft Dollars Our firm does not direct client transactions to a particular broker-dealer in return for soft dollar benefits. Brokerage for Client Referrals Our firm does not receive brokerage for client referrals. Directed Brokerage In certain instances, clients may seek to limit or restrict our discretionary authority in making the determination of the brokers with whom orders for the purchase or sale of securities are placed for execution, and the commission rates at which such securities transactions are affected. Clients may seek to limit our authority in this area by directing those transactions (or some specified percentage of transactions) be executed through specified brokers in return for portfolio evaluation or other services deemed by the client to be of value. Any such client direction must be in writing (often through our advisory agreement) and may contain a representation from the client that the arrangement is permissible under its governing laws and documents, if this is relevant. Our firm provides appropriate disclosure in writing to clients who direct trades to particular brokers, that with respect to their directed trades, they will be treated as if they have retained the ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 11 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  investment discretion that our firm otherwise would have in selecting brokers to effect transactions and in negotiating commissions and that such direction may adversely affect our ability to obtain best price and execution. In addition, our firm will inform clients in writing that the trade orders may not be aggregated with Special Considerations for ERISA Clients other clients’ orders and that direction of brokerage may hinder best execution. A retirement or ERISA plan client may direct all or part of portfolio transactions for its account through a specific broker or dealer to obtain goods or services on behalf of the plan. Such direction is permitted provided that the goods and services provided are reasonable expenses of the plan incurred in the ordinary course of its business for which it otherwise would be obligated and empowered to pay. ERISA prohibits directed brokerage arrangements when the goods or services purchased are not for the exclusive benefit of the plan. Consequently, our firm will request that plan sponsors who direct plan brokerage provide us with a letter documenting that this arrangement will be for the exclusive benefit of the plan. Client-Directed Brokerage Our firm allows clients to direct brokerage outside our recommendation. Our firm may be unable to achieve the most favorable execution of client transactions. Client directed brokerage may cost clients more money. For example, in a directed brokerage account, clients may pay higher brokerage commissions because our firm may not be able to aggregate orders to reduce transaction costs, or clients may receive less favorable prices. Aggregation of Purchase or Sale Our firm provides investment management services for various clients. There are occasions on which portfolio transactions may be executed as part of concurrent authorizations to purchase or sell the same security for numerous accounts served by our firm, which involve accounts with similar investment objectives. Although such concurrent authorizations potentially could be either advantageous or disadvantageous to any one or more particular accounts, they are affected only when our firm believes that to do so will be in the best interest of the effected accounts. When such concurrent authorizations occur, the objective is to allocate the executions in a manner which is deemed equitable to the accounts involved. In any given situation, our firm attempts to allocate trade executions in the most equitable manner possible, taking into consideration client objectives, current asset allocation and availability of funds using price averaging, proration, and consistently non-arbitrary methods of allocation. We do not use block trades at this time. Item 13: Review of Accounts or Financial Plans Our management personnel or financial advisors review accounts on at least a quarterly basis for our Wealth Apex™ clients and on at least a semi-annual basis for our Wealth Builder™ clients. The nature of these reviews is to learn whether client accounts are in line with their investment objectives, appropriately positioned based on market conditions, and investment policies, if applicable. Performance reports are provided to all clients on a quarterly basis. Verbal reports to clients take place on at least an annual basis when our Wealth Apex™ and Wealth Builder™ clients are contacted. Our firm may review client accounts more frequently than described above. Among the factors which may trigger an off-cycle review are major market or economic events, the client’s life events, requests by the client, etc. Retirement Plan Program clients receive reviews of their retirement plans for the duration of the service. Our firm also provides ongoing services where clients are met with upon their request to discuss updates to their plans, changes in their circumstances, etc. Retirement Plan Program clients do not receive written or verbal updated reports regarding their plans unless they choose to engage our firm for ongoing services. Item 14: Client Referrals & Other Compensation Schwab and Fidelity Our firm receives economic benefit from Schwab and Fidelity in the form of the support products and services made available to our firm and other independent investment advisors that have their clients maintain ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 12 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  (see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices) accounts at Schwab and Fidelity. These products and services, how they benefit our firm, and the related conflicts of interest are described above . The availability of custodian’s products and services is not based on our firm giving particular investment advice, such as buying particular Referral Fees securities for our clients. In accordance with Rule 206 (4)-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, our firm does not provide cash or non-cash compensation directly or indirectly to unaffiliated persons for testimonials or endorsements (which include client referrals). Item 15: Custody Deduction of Advisory Fees: While our firm does not maintain physical custody of client assets (which are maintained by a qualified custodian above), we are deemed to have custody of certain client assets if given the authority to withdraw assets from client accounts, as further described below under “Third Party Money Movement.” All our clients receive account statements directly from their qualified custodian(s) at least quarterly upon opening of an account. If our firm decides to also send account statements to clients, such notice and account statements include a legend that recommends that the client compare the account statements received from the qualified custodian with those received from our firm. Clients are encouraged to raise any questions with us about the custody, safety or security of their assets and our custodial recommendations. Third Party Money Movement: • The SEC issued a no-action letter (“Letter”) with respect to the Rule 206(4) -2 (“Custody Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). The letter provided guidance on the Custody Rule as well as clarified that an adviser who has the power to disburse client funds to a third party under a standing letter of instruction (“SLOA”) is deemed to have custody. As such, our firm has adopted the following safeguards in conjunction with the account custodian: • • • • • • The client provides an instruction to the qualified custodian, in writing, that includes the client’s signature, the third party’s name, and either the third party’s address or the third party’s account number at a custodian to which the transfer should be directed. The client authorizes the investment adviser, in writing, either on the qualified custodian’s form or separately, to direct transfers to the third party either on a specified schedule or from time to time. The client’s qualified custodian performs appropriate verification of the instruction, such as a signature review or other method to verify the client’s authorization and provides a transfer of funds notice to the client promptly after each transfer. The client has the ability to terminate or change the instruction to the client’s qualified custodian. The investment adviser has no authority or ability to designate or change the identity of the third party, the address, or any other information about the third party contained in the client’s instruction. The investment adviser maintains records showing that the third party is not a related party of the investment adviser or located at the same address as the investment adviser. The client’s qualified custodian sends the client, in writing, an initial notice confirming the instruction and an annual notice reconfirming the instruction. Item 16: Investment Discretion Clients have the option of providing our firm with investment discretion on their behalf, pursuant to an executed investment advisory client agreement. By granting investment discretion, our firm is authorized to execute securities transactions, determine which securities are bought and sold, and the total amount to be bought and sold. Limitations may be imposed by the client in the form of specific constraints on any of these areas of discretion with our firm’s written acknowledgement. Item 17: Voting Client Securities ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 13 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC  Our firm does not accept the proxy authority to vote client securities. Clients will receive proxies or other solicitations directly from their custodian or a transfer agent. In the event that proxies are sent to our firm, our firm will forward them to the appropriate client and ask the party who sent them to mail them directly to the client in the future. Clients may call, write, or email us to discuss questions they may have about particular proxy votes or other solicitations. Item 18: Financial Information • Our firm is not required to provide financial information in this Brochure because: • • • Our firm does not require the prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees when services cannot be rendered within 6 months. Our firm does not take custody of client funds or securities. Our firm does not have a financial condition or commitment that impairs our ability to meet contractual and fiduciary obligations to clients. Our firm has never been the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 14 ARQ Wealth Advisors, LLC