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Brazos Capital, LLC
d/b/a: Brazos Capital
200 Congress Avenue,
Suite 902
Austin, TX 78701
Telephone: 512-827-0826
October 28, 2025
www.BrazosCapitalGroup.com
FORM ADV PART 2A
BROCHURE
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Brazos Capital. If
you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, contact us at 512-827-0826. 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 Brazos Capital is available on the SEC's website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Brazos Capital is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or
training.
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Item 2 Summary of Material Changes
Form ADV Part 2 requires registered investment advisers to amend their brochure when information
becomes materially inaccurate. If there are any material changes to an adviser's disclosure brochure,
the adviser is required to notify you and provide you with a description of the material changes.
Since our last annual updating amendment filing, dated March 27, 2024, we have no undisclosed
material changes to our Brochure.
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Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 1 Cover Page
Item 2 Summary of Material Changes
Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 4 Advisory Business
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
Item 7 Types of Clients
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Item 13 Review of Accounts
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Item 15 Custody
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
Item 18 Financial Information
Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers
Item 20 Additional Information
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Item 4 Advisory Business
Description of Firm
Brazos Capital, LLC d/b/a Brazos Capital is a registered investment adviser primarily based in Austin,
Texas. We are organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of Texas.
We have been providing investment advisory services since 2017. We are owned by Richard A. Funk.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each investment
advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your individual
needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to Brazos Capital and the words
"you," "your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
Portfolio Management Services
We offer discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services generally exercised
within the auspices of the below described programs. Irrespective of the program(s) selected, when
you engage for portfolio management services, we will consult with you to discuss your financial
circumstances and objectives and to assist you in determining (a) an appropriate set of financial goals,
(b) a time horizon for your investments, and (c) your level of risk tolerance. Based on our evaluation of
your financial situation, we will provide you with recommendations as to which of the below investment
programs is most appropriate for management of your assets and as to which particular investments,
asset allocation models, and/or underlying third party managed investment programs is suited for your
unique investment profile. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment
objectives.
Discretionary Account Management: Where you engage us on a discretionary basis, your advisory
agreement with our firm shall authorize us to exercise discretionary authority over your account. By
granting discretionary authority, you authorize our firm to implement our investment recommendations
directly within your account, including the right to determine (1) which securities to buy and sell for your
account; (2) when to buy and sell securities for your account; (3) the amount of securities to buy and
sell for your account; and (4) the third party managers to be engaged for management of your assets;
all without obtaining your prior consent or approval for each transaction. Discretionary authority is
typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm.
Non-discretionary Account Management: Where you engage us on a non-discretionary basis, we
must obtain your approval prior to executing any transactions in your account. You have an
unrestricted right to decline to implement any advice or recommendations that are provided by our firm
to you on a non-discretionary basis.
Separately Managed Account Programs ("SMAs" or "SMA Programs"): In general, these accounts offer
our clients the opportunity to select professional third party money managers ("TPMMs") to individually
manage or provide portfolio recommendations to their account(s). The TPMMs made available through
the below SMA Programs may include Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock
Exchange/SIPC ("RJA") and other third party investment management firms. Except where otherwise
stated, the TPMMs made available through the SMA Programs set forth below are permitted on the
platform based on RJA's familiarity with the TPMM and its underlying portfolio management personnel,
the investment disciplines offered, portfolio construction and the overall belief that the participation of
these TPMMs in the program will provide prospective clients access to high quality investment
management firms.
Once selected, the TPMM(s) will invest the client's assets, typically on a discretionary basis, in
accordance with their stated investment discipline(s) and strategy(ies) and without soliciting the
client's consent prior to engaging in portfolio transactions. You will have the ability to impose
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reasonable restrictions on the investments made in your SMA account, contribute or withdraw
securities and/or cash from your SMA account, and/or to request the sale of individual securities for tax
planning purposes (also called "tax harvesting") within your SMA account. Our role in connection with
SMAs is to consult with you and select and adjust (or assist you in selecting and adjusting) the
particular TPMM(s) to be engaged for management of the assets within your SMA account. In
summary, these accounts are intended to provide our clients with flexibility in developing a customized
portfolio diversified across multiple investment disciplines or one which is targeted to an individual or
more concentrated investment discipline through the use of a diverse set of available TPMMs. A
description of each SMA program account available through our firm is listed below. Please see the
respective RJA Brochure for additional details concerning these programs.
Held Away Accounts: We use a platform provided by Pontera to manage held away assets such as
defined contribution plan participant accounts, with discretion. The Pontera platform allows us to avoid
being considered to have custody of Client funds since we do not have direct access to or direct use of
Client log-in credentials to affect trades. We are not affiliated with Pontera in any way and receive no
compensation from Pontera for using their platform. For certain 401k accounts, plan participants can
authorize us to place trades using Pontera. Those clients who do not provide us with such
authorization must place any trades in the 401k accounts themselves through their plan provider.
When deemed necessary, we will rebalance the account, taking into consideration client investment
goals and risk tolerance, and any change in allocations.
Asset Allocation Services
We offer asset allocation services that are tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment
objectives. Once you have retained our firm for asset allocation services, we will gather information
about your financial situation and objectives, and assist you in determining your investment goals,
objectives, risk tolerance, and retirement plan time horizon. We will initially provide you with
recommendations as to how to allocate your investments among categories of assets. We will then
review your account on a periodic basis. Where appropriate, we may provide you with
recommendations to change your asset allocation in an effort to remain consistent with your stated
financial objectives. You are free at all times to accept or reject any of our investment
recommendations. You are solely responsible for implementing our recommendations. Unless you
separately retain our services, we will not execute any transactions or changes in asset allocation on
your behalf.
Financial Planning Services
We offer financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to
clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their
individual needs. These services can range from broad-based financial planning to consultative or
single subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will meet with you to
gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also use financial
planning software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify your long-term
goals and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and non-financial), we
will develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide
to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we will deliver a written plan to
you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the
financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation,
goals, objectives, or needs change.
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You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to
act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any
of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing
securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
Financial Consulting Services
We offer financial consulting services that primarily involve advising clients on specific financial-related
topics. The topics we address may include, but are not limited to, risk assessment/management,
investment planning, financial organization, or financial decision making/negotiation.
Selection of Other Advisers
We may recommend that you use the services of a third party money manager ("TPMM") such as
Alkeon Capital Management, LLC, to manage all, or a portion of, your investment portfolio. After
gathering information about your financial situation and objectives, we may recommend that you
engage a specific TPMM or investment program. Factors that we take into consideration when making
our recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: the TPMM's performance,
methods of analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment
objectives. We will monitor the TPMM(s)' performance to ensure its management and investment style
remains aligned with your investment goals and objectives.
The TPMM(s) will actively manage your portfolio and will assume discretionary investment authority
over your account. We will assume discretionary authority to hire and fire TPMM(s) and/or reallocate
your assets to other TPMM(s) where we deem such action appropriate.
Family Office and Wealth Planning Services
We offer Family Office and Wealth Planning Services designed to help our clients organize their
financial situation and plan for the successful transfer of wealth to the next generation in the most tax-
advantaged manner. Such services generally include financial planning in the following areas:
• Private Portfolio Management
• Customized Lending Solutions and Private Banking Services
• Oversight and Management of Outside Assets and Investments
• Family Continuity
• Estate Planning and Trustee Oversight
Integrated Tax and Financial Planning
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• Lifestyle Management
• Family Philanthropy
• Risk Management
• Bill Paying
Wrap Fee Program(s)
We do not recommend any wrap fee programs.
Types of Investments
We offer advice on equity securities, corporate debt securities (other than commercial paper),
municipal securities, REITs, mutual funds and ETFs, venture capital and private equity funds, and
interests in partnerships including, but not limited to, those investing in real estate.
Additionally, we may advise you on various types of investments based on your stated goals and
objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your portfolio at the inception
of our advisory relationship.
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IRA Rollover Recommendations
Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field
Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the
following acknowledgment to you.
When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual
retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement
accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a
special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under
this special rule's provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent
advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from an ERISA account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice to, because the assets increase our Assets Under Management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. In contrast, we receive less, or no, compensation if assets remain in the
current plan or are rolled over to another Company's plan in which you may participate.
Assets Under Management
As of February 3, 2025, we manage approximately $90,506,283 in client assets on a discretionary
basis.
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Portfolio Management Services
Our annual fee for portfolio management services varies between 0.75% to 2.00% depending upon the
market value of your assets under our management, the type and complexity of the asset management
services provided, as well as the level of administration requested either directly or assumed by the
client. Assets in each of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically
identified in writing for exclusion. On occasion and in our sole discretion we may agree to charge a
lower fee than the minimum specified above.
Our annual portfolio management fee is billed and payable, monthly in arrears, based on the average
daily balance of your account determined at the end of the billing period. Certain legacy or existing
clients may be billed under a prior fee structure.
If the portfolio management agreement is executed at any time other than the first day of a calendar
month, our fees will apply on a pro rata basis, which means that the advisory fee is payable in
proportion to the number of days in the month for which you are a client. Our advisory fee is
negotiable, depending on individual client circumstances.
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At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household
to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and
your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining
account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee
based on the available breakpoints in our fee schedule stated above.
We will deduct our fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds
and securities. We will deduct our advisory fee only when you have given our firm written authorization
permitting the fees to be paid directly from your account. In the event a fee for an
account is debited from a different account (Example: IRA accounts, 529 accounts or Non-
Discretionary accounts), a schedule outlining the "Original Account" and the "Account to be Billed" will
be discussed with the client and laid out in the Client Investment Policy Statement. The qualified
custodian will deliver an account statement to you at least quarterly. These account statements will
show all disbursements from your account. You should review all statements for accuracy.
You may terminate the portfolio management agreement upon 30 days written notice. You will incur a
pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management agreement,
which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the month for
which you are a client. For those legacy clients that have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet
earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees.
Asset Allocation, Financial Planning and Financial Consulting Services
Depending on the arrangements made at the inception of the engagement we may agree to charge
you a fixed fee for asset allocation, financial planning, and financial consulting services, which
generally ranges between $5,000-$20,000. However, our fee could, in certain circumstances rise as
high as $100,000 or more for certain high net worth clients. The fee is negotiable depending upon the
complexity and scope of the project, your financial situation, and your objectives. In limited
circumstances, the cost/time could potentially exceed our initial estimate. In such cases, we will notify
you and request that you approve any additional fee. We do not require you to pay fees six or more
months in advance and in excess of $1,200.
We may also, on occasion, agree to an hourly fee rather than a fixed fee. In such case our fee will be
$300 per hour. We may also, in our sole discretion, agree to negotiate this hourly rate depending on
the complexity and scope of the project your financial situation, and your objectives.
Our fees are payable monthly in arrears. You may terminate the investment advisory agreement by
providing 5 days written notice to our firm in accordance with the terms of the agreement for services.
The asset allocation fee will be prorated for the month in which the termination notice is given, which
means that you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the month for which
you are a client.
Selection of Other Advisers
The advisory fee you pay to the TPMM is separate and apart from the advisory fee you pay
us. Further, we will not share our advisory fee with the TPMM and they will not share any part of their
fee with us. The advisory fee paid to the TPMM is established and payable in accordance with the
brochure provided by each TPMM to whom you are referred. These fees may or may not be
negotiable.
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You will be required to sign an agreement directly with the recommended TPMM(s). You may
terminate your advisory relationship with the TPMM according to the terms of your agreement with the
TPMM. You should review each TPMM's brochure for specific information on how you may terminate
your advisory relationship with the TPMM and how you may receive a refund, if applicable. You should
contact the TPMM directly for questions regarding your advisory agreement with the TPMM.
Family Office and Wealth Planning Services
Depending on the arrangements made at the inception of the engagement we may agree to charge
you either a fixed fee or an hourly fee for Family Office and Wealth Planning Services. This fee is
negotiable, depending on the complexity of your holdings, financial situation and objectives and the
nature and extent of planning and analysis required. Our hourly fee is $300. Fixed fees may range
from $20,000 to $100,000. The fees are due and payable as invoiced. If we are also managing your
portfolio(s) we may, alternatively charge you a percentage of the assets we manage or a hybrid
combination of fixed or hourly fees and/or a percentage of managed assets. If we charge you a
percentage of the assets we manage, such fee will range between 0.75% and 2.00%.
The fee is determined at the inception of your advisory relationship with our firm. In determining the
fee, we may include the assets in accounts of your family members (e.g. husband, wife, dependents,
and related trust accounts) for whom we are providing services. We will endeavor to value your assets
based upon a fair value methodology. Our valuation will depend on the information you provide to our
firm. We may make certain assumptions when determining fair value, including but not limited to,
comparable valuations on real estate, third party business valuations, and annual inflation rates.
Our annual portfolio management fee is billed and payable, monthly in arrears, based on the average
daily balance of your account determined at the end of the billing period. Certain existing or legacy
clients may be billed under a prior fee structure.
If our services are retained in the middle of a month, the fee for such month will be calculated on a pro
rata basis, based upon the number of days remaining in the month.
You may terminate the family office and wealth planning services agreement upon 30 days written
notice to our firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the
agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the
month for which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you
will receive a prorated refund of those fees.
Additional Fees and Expenses
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may invest, or recommend that you invest, in
mutual funds and exchange traded funds. The fees that you pay to our firm for investment advisory
services are separate and distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange
traded funds (described in each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally
include a management fee and other fund expenses. You will also incur transaction charges and/or
brokerage fees when purchasing or selling securities. These charges and fees are typically imposed by
the broker-dealer or custodian through whom your account transactions are executed. We do not
share in any portion of the brokerage fees/transaction charges imposed by the broker-dealer or
custodian. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you should review all the fees charged by
mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others. For information on our brokerage practices,
refer to the Brokerage Practices section of this brochure.
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Compensation for the Sale of Securities or Other Investment Products
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed as independent insurance
agents. These persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products,
including insurance products they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are
separate and in addition to our advisory fees. This practice presents a conflict of interest because
persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm who are insurance agents have an incentive
to recommend insurance products to you for the purpose of generating commissions rather than solely
based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to purchase insurance
products through any person affiliated with our firm.
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
We do not accept performance-based fees or participate in side-by-side management. Performance-
based fees are fees that are based on a share of a capital gains or capital appreciation of a client's
account. Side-by-side management refers to the practice of managing accounts that are charged
performance-based fees while at the same time managing accounts that are not charged performance-
based fees. Our fees are calculated as described in the Fees and Compensation section above, and
are not charged on the basis of a share of capital gains upon, or capital appreciation of, the funds in
your advisory account.
Item 7 Types of Clients
We offer investment advisory services to individuals (other than high net worth individuals), high net
worth individuals and corporations or other businesses not listed above.
In general, we require a minimum of $1,000,000 to open and maintain an advisory account. At our
discretion, we may waive this minimum account size. For example, we may waive the minimum if you
appear to have significant potential for increasing your assets under our management.
We may also combine account values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your
spouse, and other types of related accounts to meet the stated minimum.
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
We may use one or more of the following methods of analysis or investment strategies when providing
investment advice to you:
Charting Analysis - involves the gathering and processing of price and volume pattern information for
a particular security, sector, broad index or commodity. This price and volume pattern information is
analyzed. The resulting pattern and correlation data is used to detect departures from expected
performance and diversification and predict future price movements and trends.
Risk: Our charting analysis may not accurately detect anomalies or predict future price
movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all information known about the security and
day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may follow random patterns and may not be
predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy.
Technical Analysis - involves studying past price patterns, trends and interrelationships in the
financial markets to assess risk-adjusted performance and predict the direction of both the overall
market and specific securities.
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Risk: The risk of market timing based on technical analysis is that our analysis may not accurately
detect anomalies or predict future price movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all
information known about the security and day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may
follow random patterns and may not be predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy.
Fundamental Analysis - involves analyzing individual companies and their industry groups, such as a
company's financial statements, details regarding the company's product line, the experience and
expertise of the company's management, and the outlook for the company and its industry. The
resulting data is used to measure the true value of the company's stock compared to the current
market value.
Risk: The risk of fundamental analysis is that information obtained may be incorrect and the
analysis may not provide an accurate estimate of earnings, which may be the basis for a stock's
value. If securities prices adjust rapidly to new information, utilizing fundamental analysis may not
result in favorable performance.
Modern Portfolio Theory - a theory of investment which attempts to maximize portfolio expected
return for a given amount of portfolio risk, or equivalently minimize risk for a given level of expected
return, by carefully diversifying the proportions of various assets.
Risk: Market risk is that part of a security's risk that is common to all securities of the same
general class (stocks and bonds) and thus cannot be eliminated by diversification.
Long-Term Purchases - securities purchased with the expectation that the value of those securities
will grow over a relatively long period of time, generally greater than one year.
Risk: Using a long-term purchase strategy generally assumes the financial markets will go up in
the long-term which may not be the case. There is also the risk that the segment of the market
that you are invested in or perhaps just your particular investment will go down over time even if
the overall financial markets advance. Purchasing investments long-term may create an
opportunity cost - "locking-up" assets that may be better utilized in the short-term in other
investments.
Short-Term Purchases - securities purchased with the expectation that they will be sold within a
relatively short period of time, generally less than one year, to take advantage of the securities' short-
term price fluctuations.
Risk: Using a short-term purchase strategy generally assumes that we can predict how financial
markets will perform in the short-term which may be very difficult and will incur a disproportionately
higher amount of transaction costs compared to long-term trading. There are many factors that
can affect financial market performance in the short-term (such as short-term interest rate
changes, cyclical earnings announcements, etc.) but may have a smaller impact over longer
periods of times.
Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial
situation. As such, we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives,
risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs and other various suitability factors.
Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you
notify us immediately with respect to any material changes to your financial circumstances,
including for example, a change in your current or expected income level, tax circumstances, or
employment status.
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We will not perform quantitative or qualitative analysis of individual securities. Instead, we will advise
you on how to allocate your assets among various classes of securities or third party money
managers. We primarily rely on investment model portfolios and strategies developed by the third party
money managers and their portfolio managers. We may replace/recommend replacing a third party
money manager if there is a significant deviation in characteristics or performance from the stated
strategy and/or benchmark.
Tax Considerations
Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications. However, unless we
specifically agree otherwise, and in writing, tax efficiency is not our primary consideration in the
management of your assets. Regardless of your account size or any other factors, we strongly
recommend that you consult with a tax professional regarding the investing of your assets.
Moreover, custodians and broker-dealers must report the cost basis of equities acquired in client
accounts on or after January 1, 2011. Your custodian will default to the First-In First-Out ("FIFO")
accounting method for calculating the cost basis of your investments. You are responsible for
contacting your tax advisor to determine if this accounting method is the right choice for you. If your tax
advisor believes another accounting method is more advantageous, provide written notice to our firm
immediately and we will alert your account custodian of your individually selected accounting method.
Decisions about cost basis accounting methods will need to be made before trades settle, as the cost
basis method cannot be changed after settlement.
Risk of Loss
Investing in securities involves risk of loss that you should be prepared to bear. We do not represent or
guarantee that our services or methods of analysis can or will predict future results, successfully
identify market tops or bottoms, or insulate clients from losses due to market corrections or declines.
We cannot offer any guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will be met. Past
performance is in no way an indication of future performance.
Other Risk Considerations
When evaluating risk, financial loss may be viewed differently by each client and may depend on many
different risks, each of which may affect the probability and magnitude of any potential loses. The
following risks may not be all-inclusive, but should be considered carefully by a prospective client
before retaining our services.
Liquidity Risk: The risk of being unable to sell your investment at a fair price at a given time due to high
volatility or lack of active liquid markets. You may receive a lower price or it may not be possible to sell
the investment at all.
Credit Risk: Credit risk typically applies to debt investments such as corporate, municipal, and
sovereign fixed income or bonds. A bond issuing entity can experience a credit event that could impair
or erase the value of an issuer's securities held by a client.
Inflation and Interest Rate Risk: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to
changes in inflation and interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and
may reduce the purchasing power of a client's future interest payments and principal. Inflation also
generally leads to higher interest rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income
investments to decline.
Horizon and Longevity Risk: The risk that your investment horizon is shortened because of an
unforeseen event, for example, the loss of your job. This may force you to sell investments that you
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were expecting to hold for the long term. If you must sell at a time that the markets are down, you may
lose money. Longevity Risk is the risk of outliving your savings. This risk is particularly relevant for
people who are retired, or are nearing retirement.
Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities
We primarily recommend equity securities, corporate debt securities (other than commercial paper),
municipal securities, REITs, mutual funds and ETFs, venture capital and private equity funds, and
interests in partnerships including, but not limited to, those investing in real estate. We may also advise
on other types of investments as appropriate for you since each client has different needs and different
tolerance for risk. Each type of security has its own unique set of risks associated with it and it would
not be possible to list here all of the specific risks of every type of investment. Even within the same
type of investment, risks can vary widely. However, in very general terms, the higher the anticipated
return of an investment, the higher the risk of loss associated with the investment.
Municipal Securities: Municipal securities, while generally thought of as safe, can have significant
risks associated with them including, but not limited to: the credit worthiness of the governmental entity
that issues the bond; the stability of the revenue stream that is used to pay the interest to the
bondholders; when the bond is due to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to
maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character
paying the same amount of interest or yield to maturity.
Bonds: Corporate debt securities (or "bonds") are typically safer investments than equity securities,
but their risk can also vary widely based on: the financial health of the issuer; the risk that the issuer
might default; when the bond is set to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to
maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character
paying the same rate of return.
Stocks: There are numerous ways of measuring the risk of equity securities (also known simply as
"equities" or "stock"). In very broad terms, the value of a stock depends on the financial health of the
company issuing it. However, stock prices can be affected by many other factors including, but not
limited to the class of stock (for example, preferred or common); the health of the market sector of the
issuing company; and, the overall health of the economy. In general, larger, better established
companies ("large cap") tend to be safer than smaller start-up companies ("small cap") are but the
mere size of an issuer is not, by itself, an indicator of the safety of the investment.
Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds: Mutual funds and exchange traded funds ("ETF") are
professionally managed collective investment systems that pool money from many investors and invest
in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, or any
combination thereof. The fund will have a manager that trades the fund's investments in accordance
with the fund's investment objective. While mutual funds and ETFs generally provide diversification,
risks can be significantly increased if the fund is concentrated in a particular sector of the market,
primarily invests in small cap or speculative companies, uses leverage (i.e., borrows money) to a
significant degree, or concentrates in a particular type of security (i.e., equities) rather than balancing
the fund with different types of securities. ETFs differ from mutual funds since they can be bought and
sold throughout the day like stock and their price can fluctuate throughout the day. The returns on
mutual funds and ETFs can be reduced by the costs to manage the funds. Also, while some mutual
funds are "no load" and charge no fee to buy into, or sell out of, the fund, other types of mutual funds
do charge such fees which can also reduce returns. Mutual funds can also be "closed end" or "open
end". So-called "open end" mutual funds continue to allow in new investors indefinitely whereas
"closed end" funds have a fixed number of shares to sell which can limit their availability to new
investors.
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ETFs may have tracking error risks. For example, the ETF investment adviser may not be able to
cause the ETF's performance to match that of the its Underlying Index or other benchmark, which may
negatively affect the ETF's performance. In addition, for leveraged and inverse ETFs that seek to track
the performance of their Underlying Indices or benchmarks on a daily basis, mathematical
compounding may prevent the ETF from correlating with performance of its benchmark. In addition, an
ETF may not have investment exposure to all of the securities included in its Underlying Index, or its
weighting of investment exposure to such securities may vary from that of the Underlying Index. Some
ETFs may invest in securities or financial instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, but
which are expected to yield similar performance.
Real Estate Investment Trust: A real estate investment trust ("REIT") is a corporate entity which
invests in real estate and/or engages in real estate financing. A REIT reduces or eliminates corporate
income taxes. REITs can be publicly or privately held. Public REITs may be listed on public stock
exchanges. REITs are required to declare 90% of their taxable income as dividends, but they actually
pay dividends out of funds from operations, so cash flow has to be strong or the REIT must either dip
into reserves, borrow to pay dividends, or distribute them in stock (which causes dilution). After 2012,
the IRS stopped permitting stock dividends. Most REITs must refinance or erase large balloon debts
periodically. The credit markets are no longer frozen, but banks are demanding, and getting, harsher
terms to re-extend REIT debt. Some REITs may be forced to make secondary stock offerings to repay
debt, which will lead to additional dilution of the stockholders. Fluctuations in the real estate market can
affect the REIT's value and dividends.
Limited Partnerships: A limited partnership is a financial affiliation that includes at least one general
partner and a number of limited partners. The partnership invests in a venture, such as real estate
development or oil exploration, for financial gain. The general partner does not usually invest any
capital, but has management authority and unlimited liability. That is, the general partner runs the
business and, in the event of bankruptcy, is responsible for all debts not paid or discharged. The
limited partners have no management authority and confine their participation to their capital
investment. That is, limited partners invest a certain amount of money and have nothing else to do with
the business. However, their liability is limited to the amount of the investment. In the worst-case
scenario for a limited partner, he/she loses what he/she invested. Profits are divided between general
and limited partners according to an arrangement formed at the creation of the partnership.
Derivatives: Derivatives are types of investments where the investor does not own the underlying
asset. There are many different types of derivative instruments, including, but not limited to, options,
swaps, futures, and forward contracts. Derivatives have numerous uses as well as various risks
associated with them, but they are generally considered an alternative way to participate in the market.
Investors typically use derivatives for three reasons: to hedge a position, to increase leverage, or to
speculate on an asset's movement. The key to making a sound investment is to fully understand the
characteristics and risks associated with the derivative, including, but not limited to counter-party,
underlying asset, price, and expiration risks. The use of a derivative only makes sense if the investor is
fully aware of the risks and understands the impact of the investment within a portfolio strategy. Due to
the variety of available derivatives and the range of potential risks, a detailed explanation of derivatives
is beyond the scope of this disclosure.
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
We are required to disclose the facts of any legal or disciplinary events that are material to a client's
evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management. We do not have any required
disclosures under this item.
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Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
We have not provided information on other financial industry activities and affiliations because we do
not have any relationship or arrangement that is material to our advisory business or to our clients with
any of the types of entities listed below.
1. broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, or government securities dealer or broker.
2. investment company or other pooled investment vehicle (including a mutual fund, closed-end
investment company, unit investment trust, private investment company or "hedge fund," and
offshore fund).
3. other investment adviser or financial planner.
4. futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, or commodity trading advisor.
5. banking or thrift institution.
6. accountant or accounting firm.
7. lawyer or law firm.
8. insurance company or agency.
9. pension consultant.
10.real estate broker or dealer.
11.sponsor or syndicator of limited partnerships.
Recommendation of Other Advisers
We may recommend that you use a third party money manager ("TPMM") based on your needs and
suitability. We will receive compensation from the TPMM for recommending that you use their services.
These compensation arrangements present a conflict of interest because we have a financial incentive
to recommend the services of the third party adviser. You are not obligated, contractually or otherwise,
to use the services of any TPMM we recommend. We do not have any other business relationships
with the recommended TPMM(s). Refer to the Advisory Business section above for additional
disclosures on this topic.
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and
Personal Trading
Description of Our Code of Ethics
We strive to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing our practices. Therefore, our Code
of Ethics includes guidelines for professional standards of conduct for persons associated with our
firm. Our goal is to protect your interests at all times and to demonstrate our commitment to our
fiduciary duties of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing with you. All persons associated with our firm
are expected to adhere strictly to these guidelines. Persons associated with our firm are also required
to report any violations of our Code of Ethics. Additionally, we maintain and enforce written policies
reasonably designed to prevent the misuse or dissemination of material, non-public information about
you or your account holdings by persons associated with our firm.
Clients or prospective clients may obtain a copy of our Code of Ethics by contacting us at the
telephone number on the cover page of this brochure.
Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
Mr. Funk has a personal investment in one or more private placements with one or more clients. These
investments are not open to the public, were not recommended to the client by Mr. Funk and are not
recommended to other clients. Consequently, the only conflict of interest that arises is in regards to the
particular client with whom Mr. Funk has invested. Neither Mr. Funk nor Brazos Capital has any access
to the clients' funds or securities as these investments are handled by third parties.
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Personal Trading Practices
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to
you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because
we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will
receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated
with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Block Trading
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell securities for you at the same time we or
persons associated with our firm buy or sell such securities for our own account. We may also combine
our orders to purchase securities with your orders to purchase securities ("block trading"). Refer to the
Brokerage Practices section in this brochure for information on our block trading practices.
A conflict of interest exists in such cases because we have the ability to trade ahead of you and
potentially receive more favorable prices than you will receive. To eliminate this conflict of interest, it is
our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated with our firm shall have priority over your
account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
The custodian and brokers we use
Brazos Capital ("we"/"our") does not maintain custody of your assets [that we manage/on which we
advise], although we may be deemed to have custody of your assets if you give us authority to
withdraw assets from your account (see Item 15—Custody, below). Your assets must be maintained in
an account at a "qualified custodian," generally a broker-dealer or bank. We recommend that our
clients use Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, as the
qualified custodian.
We are independently owned and operated and are not affiliated with Schwab. Schwab will hold your
assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell securities when [we/you] instruct them to. While we
[recommend/ request/require] that you use Schwab as custodian/ broker, you will decide whether to do
so and will open your account with Schwab by entering into an account Agreement directly with them.
Conflicts of interest associated with this arrangement are described below as well as in Item 14 (Client
referrals and other compensation). You should consider these conflicts of interest when selecting your
custodian.
We do not open the account for you, although we may assist you in doing so. Not all advisors require
their clients to use a particular broker-dealer or other custodian selected by the advisor. Even though
your account is maintained at Schwab, and we anticipate that most trades will be executed through
Schwab, we can still use other brokers to execute trades for your account as described below (see
"Your brokerage and custody costs").
How we select brokers/custodians
We recommend Schwab, a custodian/ broker, to hold your assets and execute transactions. When
considering whether the terms that Schwab provides are, overall, most advantageous to you when
compared with other available providers and their services, we take into account a wide range of
factors, including:
• Combination of transaction execution services and asset custody services (generally without a
separate fee for custody)
• Capability to execute, clear, and settle trades (buy and sell securities for your account)
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• Capability to facilitate transfers and payments to and from accounts (wire transfers, check
requests, bill payment, etc.)
• Breadth of available investment products (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds
(ETFs), etc.)
• Availability of investment research and tools that assist us in making investment decisions
• Quality of services
• Competitiveness of the price of those services (commission rates, margin interest rates, other
fees, etc.) and willingness to negotiate the prices
• Reputation, financial strength, security and stability
• Prior service to us and our clients
• Services delivered or paid for by Schwab
• Availability of other products and services that benefit us, as discussed below (see "Products
and services available to us from Schwab")
Your brokerage and custody costs
For our clients' accounts that Schwab maintains, Schwab generally does not charge you separately for
custody services but is compensated by charging you commissions or other fees on trades that it
executes or that settle into your Schwab account. Certain trades (for example, mutual funds and ETFs)
do not incur Schwab commissions or transaction fees. Schwab is also compensated by earning
interest on the uninvested cash in your account in Schwab's Cash Features Program.
We are not required to select the broker or dealer that charges the lowest transaction cost, even if that
broker provides execution quality comparable to other brokers or dealers. Although we are not required
to execute all trades through Schwab, we have determined that having Schwab execute most trades is
consistent with our duty to seek "best execution" of your trades. Best execution means the most
favorable terms for a transaction based on all relevant factors, including those listed above (see "How
we select brokers/custodians"). By using another broker or dealer you may pay lower transaction
costs.
Products and services available to us from Schwab
Schwab Advisor Services™ is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like
us. They provide our clients and us with access to their institutional brokerage services (trading,
custody, reporting and related services), many of which are not typically available to Schwab retail
customers. However, certain retail investors may be able to get institutional brokerage services from
Schwab without going through us. Schwab also makes available various support services. Some of
those services help us manage or administer our clients' accounts, while others help us manage and
grow our business. Schwab's support services are generally available on an unsolicited basis (we don't
have to request them) and at no charge to us. Following is a more detailed description of Schwab's
support services:
Services that benefit you.
Schwab's institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products,
execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products available
through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise have access or that would require a
significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients. Schwab's services described in this
paragraph generally benefit you and your account.
Services that do not directly benefit you.
Schwab also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but do not directly
benefit you or your account. These products and services assist us in managing and administering our
clients' accounts and operating our firm. They include investment research, both Schwab's own and
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that of third parties. We use this research to service all or a substantial number of our clients' accounts,
including accounts not maintained at Schwab. In addition to investment research, Schwab also makes
available software and other technology that:
• provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account
•
statements)
facilitate trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts •
provide pricing and other market data
facilitate payment of our fees from our clients' accounts
•
• assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping, and client reporting
Services that generally benefit only us.
Schwab also offers other services intended to help us manage and further develop our business
enterprise. These services include:
• Educational conferences and events
• Consulting on technology and business needs
• Consulting on legal and compliance related needs
• Publications and conferences on practice management and business succession
• Access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and insurance providers
• Marketing consulting and support
• Recruiting and custodial search consulting
Schwab provides some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third-party vendors to
provide the services to us. Schwab also discounts or waives its fees for some of these services or pays
all or a part of a third party's fees.
Our interest in Schwab's services
The availability of these services from Schwab benefits us because we do not have to produce or
purchase them. We don't have to pay for Schwab's services. Schwab has also agreed to pay for
certain technology, research, marketing, and compliance consulting products and services on our
behalf. These services are not contingent upon us committing any specific amount of business to
Schwab in trading commissions or assets in custody. The fact that we receive these benefits from
Schwab is an incentive for us to recommend the use of Schwab rather than making such a decision
based exclusively on your interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most
favorable execution of your transactions. This is a conflict of interest. We believe, however, that taken
in the aggregate our recommendation of Schwab as custodian and broker is in the best interests of our
clients. Our selection is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of Schwab's services (see
"How we select brokers/ custodians") and not Schwab's services that benefit only us.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
We do not have any soft dollar arrangements.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
We do not receive client referrals from broker-dealers in exchange for cash or other compensation,
such as brokerage services or research.
Directed Brokerage
In limited circumstances, and at our discretion, some clients may instruct our firm to use one or more
particular brokers for the transactions in their accounts. If you choose to direct our firm to use a
particular broker, you should understand that this might prevent our firm from aggregating trades with
other client accounts or from effectively negotiating brokerage commissions on your behalf. This
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practice may also prevent our firm from obtaining favorable net price and execution. Thus, when
directing brokerage business, you should consider whether the commission expenses, execution,
clearance, and settlement capabilities that you will obtain through your broker are adequately favorable
in comparison to those that we would otherwise obtain for you.
Block Trades
We combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for discretionary advisory
accounts we manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "block trading"). We will then distribute a
portion of the shares to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner. Generally, non-
wrap accounts will pay a fixed transaction cost regardless of the number of shares transacted. In
certain cases, each participating account pays an average price per share for all transactions and pays
a proportionate share of all transaction costs on any given day. If you participate in our wrap fee
program described above, you will not pay any portion of the transaction costs in addition to the
program fee. In the event an order is only partially filled, the shares will be allocated to participating
accounts in a fair and equitable manner, typically in proportion to the size of each client's order.
Accounts owned by our firm or persons associated with our firm may participate in block trading with
your accounts; however, they will not be given preferential treatment.
We do not block trade for non-discretionary accounts. Accordingly, non-discretionary accounts may
pay different costs than discretionary accounts pay. If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements
with our firm, we may not be able to buy and sell the same quantities of securities for you and you may
pay higher commissions, fees, and/or transaction costs than clients who enter into discretionary
arrangements with our firm.
Item 13 Review of Accounts
Eva Rohrich, Chief Compliance Officer of Brazos Capital, will monitor your accounts on an ongoing
basis and will conduct account reviews at least quarterly or annually, to ensure the advisory services
provided to you are consistent with your investment needs and objectives. Additional reviews may be
conducted based on various circumstances, including, but not limited to:
• contributions and withdrawals,
• year-end tax planning,
• market moving events,
• security specific events, and/or,
• changes in your risk/return objectives.
The individuals conducting reviews may vary from time to time, as personnel join or leave our firm.
We will provide you with additional or regular written reports in conjunction with account reviews.
Reports we provide to you will contain relevant account and/or market-related information such as an
inventory of account holdings and account performance, etc. You will receive trade confirmations and
monthly or quarterly statements from your account custodian(s).
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation
As disclosed under the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure, persons providing investment
advice on behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents. For information on the conflicts of interest
this presents, and how we address these conflicts, refer to the Fees and Compensation section.
We do not receive any compensation from any third party in connection with providing investment
advice to you nor do we compensate any individual or firm for client referrals.
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Refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we may
receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian.
Item 15 Custody
As paying agent for our firm, your independent custodian will directly debit your account(s) for the
payment of our advisory fees. This ability to deduct our advisory fees from your accounts causes our
firm to exercise limited custody over your funds or securities. We do not have physical custody of any
of your funds and/or securities. Your funds and securities will be held with a bank, broker-dealer, or
other qualified custodian. You will receive account statements from the qualified custodian(s) holding
your funds and securities at least quarterly. The account statements from your custodian(s) will
indicate the amount of our advisory fees deducted from your account(s) each billing period. You should
carefully review account statements for accuracy.
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Before we can buy or sell securities on your behalf, you must first sign our discretionary management
agreement and the appropriate trading authorization forms.
You may grant our firm discretion over the selection and amount of securities to be purchased or sold
for your account(s) without obtaining your consent or approval prior to each transaction. You may
specify investment objectives, guidelines, and/or impose certain conditions or investment parameters
for your account(s). For example, you may specify that the investment in any particular stock or
industry should not exceed specified percentages of the value of the portfolio and/or restrictions or
prohibitions of transactions in the securities of a specific industry or security. Refer to the Advisory
Business section in this brochure for more information on our discretionary management services.
If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we will obtain your approval prior to the
execution of any transactions for your account(s). You have an unrestricted right to decline to
implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis.
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
We will not vote proxies on behalf of your advisory accounts. At your request, we may offer you advice
regarding corporate actions and the exercise of your proxy voting rights. If you own shares of
applicable securities, you are responsible for exercising your right to vote as a shareholder.
In most cases, you will receive proxy materials directly from the account custodian. However, in the
event we were to receive any written or electronic proxy materials, we would forward them directly to
you by mail, unless you have authorized our firm to contact you by electronic mail, in which case, we
would forward any electronic solicitations to vote proxies.
Item 18 Financial Information
Our firm does not have any financial condition or impairment that would prevent us from meeting our
contractual commitments to you. We do not take physical custody of client funds or securities, or serve
as trustee or signatory for client accounts, and, we do not require the prepayment of more than $1,200
in fees six or more months in advance. Therefore, we are not required to include a financial statement
with this brochure. Currently Brazos Capital operates in a negative equity position.
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We have not filed a bankruptcy petition at any time in the past ten years.
Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers
We are a federally registered investment adviser; therefore, we are not required to respond to this
item.
Item 20 Additional Information
Your Privacy
We view protecting your private information as a top priority. Pursuant to applicable privacy
requirements, we have instituted policies and procedures to ensure that we keep your personal
information private and secure.
We do not disclose any non-public personal information about you to any non-affiliated third parties,
except as permitted by law. In the course of servicing your account, we may share some information
with our service providers, such as transfer agents, custodians, broker-dealers, accountants,
consultants, and attorneys.
We restrict internal access to non-public personal information about you to employees, who need that
information in order to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical and procedural
safeguards that comply with regulatory standards to guard your non-public personal information and to
ensure our integrity and confidentiality. We will not sell information about you or your accounts to
anyone. We do not share your information unless it is required to process a transaction, at your
request, or required by law.
You will receive a copy of our privacy notice prior to or at the time you sign an advisory agreement with
our firm. Thereafter, we will deliver a copy of the current privacy policy notice to you on an annual
basis. Contact our main office at the telephone number on the cover page of this brochure if you have
any questions regarding this policy.
If you decide to close your account(s) we will adhere to our privacy policies, which may be amended
from time to time.
If we make any substantive changes in our privacy policy that would further permit or require
disclosures of your private information, we will provide written notice to you. Where the change is
based on permitted disclosures, you will be given an opportunity to direct us as to whether such
disclosure is acceptable. Where the change is based on required disclosures, you will only receive
written notice of the change. You may not opt out of the required disclosures.
If you have questions about our privacy policies contact our main office at the telephone number on the
cover page of this brochure and ask to speak to the Chief Compliance Officer.
Trade Errors
In the event a trading error occurs in your account, our policy is to restore your account to the position
it should have been in had the trading error not occurred. Depending on the circumstances, corrective
actions may include canceling the trade, adjusting an allocation, and/or reimbursing the account.
Reimbursements can take the form of a direct payment or reduction in fees for a period of time. In the
event a trade error results in a profit, the client may retain the profit.
Class Action Lawsuits
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We do not determine if securities held by you are the subject of a class action lawsuit or whether you
are eligible to participate in class action settlements or litigation nor do we initiate or participate in
litigation to recover damages on your behalf for injuries as a result of actions, misconduct, or
negligence by issuers of securities held by you.
IRA Rollover Considerations
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that you withdraw the assets
from your employer's retirement plan and roll the assets over to an individual retirement account
("IRA") that we will manage on your behalf. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our
management, we will charge you an asset based fee as set forth in the agreement you executed with
our firm. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment advice on
our behalf have an incentive to recommend a rollover to you for the purpose of generating fee based
compensation rather than solely based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or
otherwise, to complete the rollover. Moreover, if you do complete the rollover, you are under no
obligation to have the assets in an IRA managed by our firm.
Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan. Also,
current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before they retire or change
jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options
are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of:
1. Leaving the funds in your employer's (former employer's) plan.
2. Moving the funds to a new employer's retirement plan.
3. Cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan.
4. Rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account.
Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and before making a change we encourage
you to speak with your CPA and/or tax attorney.
If you are considering rolling over your retirement funds to an IRA for us to manage here are a few
points to consider before you do so:
1. Determine whether the investment options in your employer's retirement plan address your
needs or whether you might want to consider other types of investments.
a. Employer retirement plans generally have a more limited investment menu than IRAs.
b. Employer retirement plans may have unique investment options not available to the
public such as employer securities, or previously closed funds.
2. Your current plan may have lower fees than our fees.
a. If you are interested in investing only in mutual funds, you should understand the cost
structure of the share classes available in your employer's retirement plan and how the
costs of those share classes compare with those available in an IRA.
b. You should understand the various products and services you might take advantage of
at an IRA provider and the potential costs of those products and services.
3. Our strategy may have higher risk than the option(s) provided to you in your plan.
4. Your current plan may also offer financial advice.
5. If you keep your assets titled in a 401k or retirement account, you could potentially delay your
required minimum distribution beyond age 70.5.
6. Your 401k may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA; each state may vary.
a. Generally, federal law protects assets in qualified plans from creditors. Since 2005, IRA
assets have been generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies. However, there
can be some exceptions to the general rules so you should consult with an attorney if
you are concerned about protecting your retirement plan assets from creditors.
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7. You may be able to take out a loan on your 401k, but not from an IRA.
8. IRA assets can be accessed any time; however, distributions are subject to ordinary income tax
and may also be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty unless they qualify for an exception
such as disability, higher education expenses or the purchase of a home.
9. If you own company stock in your plan, you may be able to liquidate those shares at a lower
capital gains tax rate.
10.Your plan may allow you to hire us as the manager and keep the assets titled in the plan name.
It is important that you understand the differences between these types of accounts and to decide
whether a rollover is best for you. Prior to proceeding, if you have questions contact your investment
adviser representative, or call our main number as listed on the cover page of this brochure.
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