CASTLE ROCK WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC

Item 1: Cover Page Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure April 2025 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC 1777 Botelho Drive, Suite 105 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 www.crwmadvisors.com Firm Contact: Jennifer Luippold Chief Compliance Officer firm is also available on This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC. If clients have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at (925) 478-8800. 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. the SEC’s website at information about our Additional www.adviserinfo.sec.gov by searching CRD #199513. 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 Castle Rock Wealth Management 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. Since our last annual amendment filing on March 21, 2025, the following material changes have been made: • Our firm has amended Item 5 of this brochure to disclose that for our Comprehensive Portfolio Management service, Clients can be billed monthly in advance. Please see Item 5 of this brochure for more information. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 2 Castle Rock Wealth Management, 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 ................................................................... 9 Item 9: Disciplinary Information..................................................................................................................................... 12 Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations .................................................................................. 12 Item 11: Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactons & Personal Trading .............. 12 Item 12: Brokerage Practices ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Item 13: Review of Accounts or Financial Plans ....................................................................................................... 18 Item 14: Client Referrals & Other Compensation ..................................................................................................... 18 Item 15: Custody .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Item 16: Investment Discretion ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Item 17: Voting Client Securities ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Item 18: Financial Information ........................................................................................................................................ 20 ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 3 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Item 4: Advisory Business Our firm is dedicated to providing 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 California in 2015 and has been. Our firm is wholly owned by James Luippold. Our firm provides asset management and investment consulting 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. Types of Advisory Services Offered Comprehensive Portfolio Management: As part of our Comprehensive Portfolio Management service clients will be provided asset management and financial planning or consulting services. This service is designed to 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 tolerance for risk. Based on what is learned, 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. 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. Upon client request, our firm provides a summary of observations and recommendations for the planning or consulting aspects of this service. Our firm utilizes the sub-advisory services of a third party investment advisory firm or individual advisor to aid in the implementation of an investment portfolio designed by our firm. Before selecting a firm or individual, our firm will ensure that the chosen party is properly licensed or registered. Our firm will not offer advice on any specific securities or other investments in connection with this service. We will provide initial due diligence on third party money managers and ongoing reviews of their management of client accounts. In order to assist in the selection of a third party money manager, our firm will gather client information pertaining to financial situation, investment objectives, and reasonable restrictions to be imposed upon the management of the account. Our firm will periodically review third party money manager reports provided to the client at least annually. Our firm will contact clients from time to time in order to review their financial situation and objectives; communicate information to third party money managers as warranted; and, assist the client in understanding and evaluating the services provided by the third party money manager. Clients will be expected to notify our firm of any changes in their financial situation, investment objectives, or account restrictions that could affect their financial standing. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 4 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Financial Planning & Consulting: Our firm provides a variety of standalone financial planning and consulting services to clients for the management of financial resources based upon an analysis of current situation, goals, and objectives. Financial planning services will typically involve preparing a financial plan or rendering a financial consultation for clients based on the client’s financial goals and objectives. This planning or consulting may encompass Investment Planning, Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Charitable Planning, Education Planning, Corporate and Personal Tax Planning, Cost Segregation Study, Corporate Structure, Real Estate Analysis, Mortgage/Debt Analysis, Insurance Analysis, Lines of Credit Evaluation, or Business and Personal Financial Planning. 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 clients. Implementation of the recommendations will be at the discretion of the client. Our firm provides clients with a summary of their financial situation, and observations for financial planning engagements. Financial consultations are not typically accompanied by a written summary of observations and recommendations, as the process is less formal than the planning service. Assuming that all the information and documents requested from the client are provided promptly, plans or consultations are typically completed within 6 months of the client signing a contract with our firm. Retirement Plan Consulting: Our firm provides retirement plan consulting services to employer plan sponsors on an ongoing basis. Generally, such consulting services consist 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: • • Establishing an Investment Policy Statement – Our firm will 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 – Our firm will work with the Plan Sponsor to evaluate existing investment options and make recommendations for appropriate changes. • • Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction – Our firm will develop strategic asset allocation models to aid Participants in developing strategies to meet their investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk. Investment Monitoring – Our firm will monitor the performance of the investments and notify the client in the event of over/underperformance and in times of market volatility. • Participant Education – Our firm will provide opportunities to educate plan participants about their retirement plan offerings, different investment options, and general guidance on allocation strategies. In providing services for retirement plan consulting, 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 ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 5 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  services to such accounts, our firm acknowledges its fiduciary standard within the meaning of Section 3(21) or 3(38) 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 Comprehensive Portfolio Management clients. General investment advice will be offered to our Financial Planning & Consulting, Referrals to Third Party Money Management, and Retirement Consulting clients. Each Comprehensive Portfolio Management client has the opportunity to 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. Participation in Wrap Fee Programs Our firm does not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program. Regulatory Assets Under Management Our firm manages $521,757,846 on a discretionary basis and $0 on a non-discretionary basis as of December 31, 2024. Item 5: Fees & Compensation Compensation for Our Advisory Services Comprehensive Portfolio Management: Investment Advisory Fees in the first quarter of service are prorated to the inception date of the account to the end of the first quarter. The maximum annual fee charged for this service will not exceed 1.65%. Fees to be assessed will be outlined in the advisory agreement to be signed by the client. Annualized fees are either billed on a pro-rata basis monthly or quarterly in advance based on the value of the account(s) on the last day of the previous quarter or month. Our firm bills on cash unless otherwise indicated in writing. Fees are negotiable and will be deducted from client account(s). Our firm does not offer direct invoicing. As part of this process, Clients understand the following: a) 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; b) Clients will provide authorization permitting our firm to be directly paid by these terms. Our firm will send an invoice directly to the custodian; and c) If our firm sends a copy of our invoice to the client, a legend urging the comparison of information provided in our statement with those from the qualified custodian will be included. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 6 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  The maximum annual fee charged to clients utilizing Third Party Managers will not exceed the maximum fee published above for this service. Our firm will debit fees for this service as disclosed in the executed advisory agreement between the client and our firm. This fee shall be in addition to any fees assessed by the chosen third party money manager. The third -party money managers we recommend will not directly charge you a higher fee than they would have charged without us introducing you to them. Third party money managers establish and maintain their own separate billing processes over which we have no control. They will directly bill you and describe how this works in their separate written disclosure documents. Financial Planning & Consulting: Our firm charges financial planning and consulting based clients on a percentage of assets under advisement that will not exceed 1.00%. The Fee-paying arrangements for Financial Planning and Consulting services will be determined on case-by-case basis and will be detailed in the signed financial planning and consulting agreement. Our firm will not require a retainer exceeding $1,200 when services cannot be rendered within 6 months. Retirement Plan Consulting: Our Retirement Plan Consulting services are billed on an a fee based on the percentage of Plan assets under management. The total estimated fee, as well as the ultimate fee charged, is based on the scope and complexity of our engagement with the client. 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 Non-Wrap Clients will incur individual transaction charges for trades executed in their accounts. These transaction fees are separate from our firm’s advisory fees and will be disclosed by the chosen custodian. Schwab does not charge transaction fees for U.S. listed equities and exchange traded funds. Clients may also pay holdings charges imposed by the chosen custodian for certain investments, 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. Wrap clients will not incur transaction costs for trades. Termination & Refunds Either party may terminate the advisory agreement signed with our firm for Comprehensive Portfolio Management services in writing at any time. Upon notice of termination our firm will process a pro-rata refund of the unearned portion of the advisory fees charged in advance. Financial Planning & Consulting clients may terminate their agreement at any time before the delivery of a financial plan by providing written notice. For purposes of calculating refunds, all work performed by us up to the point of termination shall be calculated at the hourly fee currently in effect. Clients will receive a pro-rata refund of unearned fees based on the time and effort expended by our firm. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 7 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Either party to a Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement may terminate at any time by providing written notice to the other party. Full refunds will only be made in cases where cancellation occurs within 5 business days of signing an agreement. After 5 business days from initial signing, either party must provide the other party 30 days written notice to terminate billing. Billing will terminate 30 days after receipt of termination notice. Clients will be charged on a pro-rata basis, which takes into account work completed by our firm on behalf of the client. Clients will incur charges for bona fide advisory services rendered up to the point of termination (determined as 30 days from receipt of said written notice) and such fees will be due and payable. Commissionable Securities Sales Representatives of our firm are registered representatives of Private Client Services, LLC (“PCS”), member FINRA/SIPC. As such they are able to accept compensation for the sale of securities or other investment products, including distribution or service (“trail”) fees from the sale of mutual funds. Clients should be aware that the practice of accepting commissions for the sale of securities presents a conflict of interest and gives our firm and/or our representatives an incentive to recommend investment products based on the compensation received. Our firm generally addresses commissionable sales conflicts that arise when explaining to clients these sales create an incentive to recommend based on the compensation to be earned and/or when recommending commissionable mutual funds, explaining that “no-load” funds are also available. Our firm does not prohibit clients from purchasing recommended investment products through other unaffiliated brokers or agents. 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; • Corporations, Limited Liability Companies and/or Other Business Types. Our firm does not impose requirements for opening and maintaining accounts or otherwise engaging us. (Item 8 Followed on Next Page) ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 8 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss Methods of Analysis 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 the overall market in an attempt to predict the price movement of the security. Fundamental Analysis: 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 stock. Technical Analysis: 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 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. Investment Strategies We Use We use the following 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. Long-Term Purchases: 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. Typically, we employ this sub-strategy when we believe the securities to be undervalued; 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 ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 9 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  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. Trading: We purchase securities with the idea of selling them very quickly (typically within 30 days or less). We do this in an attempt to take advantage of our predictions of brief price swings. Trading involves risk that may not be suitable for every investor, and may involve a high volume of trading activity. Each trade generates a commission and the total daily commission on such a high volume of trading can be considerable. Active trading accounts should be considered speculative in nature with the objective being to generate short-term profits. This activity may result in the loss of more than 100% of an investment. Short Sales: We borrow shares of a stock for your portfolio from someone who owns the stock on a promise to replace the shares on a future date at a certain price. Those borrowed shares are then sold. On the agreed-upon future date, we buy the same stock and return the shares to the original owner. We engage in short selling based on our determination that the stock will go down in price after we have borrowed the shares. If we are correct and the stock price has gone down since the shares were purchased from the original owner, the client account realizes the profit. The two primary perceived risks of short selling are that the in the long term, markets trend upward and short selling can expose investors to potentially unlimited risk. Due to the “upside gap”, sellers risk not being able to react until after a significant loss has already been incurred. Margin Transactions: We will purchase stocks for your portfolio with money borrowed from your brokerage account. This allows you to purchase more stock than you would be able to with your available cash, and allows us to purchase stock without selling other holdings. Margin accounts and transactions are risky and not necessarily for every client. The potential risks associated with these transactions are (1) You can lose more funds than are deposited into the margin account; (2) the force sale of securities or other assets in your account; (3) the sale of securities or other assets without contacting you; and (4) you may not be entitled to choose which securities or other assets in your account(s) are liquidated or sold to meet a margin call. 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. We will buy a call if we have determined that the stock will increase substantially before the option expires. A put gives us the holder the right to sell an asset at a certain price within a specific period of time. We will buy a put if we have determined that the price of the stock will fall before the option expires. We will use options to "hedge" a purchase of the underlying security; in other words, we will use an option purchase to limit the potential upside and downside of a security we have purchased for your portfolio. We use "covered calls", in which we sell an option on security you own. In 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. We use a "spreading strategy", in which we purchase two or more option contracts (for example, a call option that you buy and a call option that you sell) for the same underlying security. This effectively puts you on both sides of the market, but with the ability to vary price, time and other factors. The potential risks associated with these transactions are that (1) all options expire. The closer the option gets to expiration, the quicker ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 10 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  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. Risk of Loss 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. Market Risk – The price of any security or the value of an entire asset class can decline for a variety of reasons outside of adviser’s control, including, but not limited to, changes in the macroeconomic environment, unpredictable market sentiment, forecasted or unforeseen economic developments, interest rates, regulatory changes, and domestic or foreign political, demographic, or social events. Volatility and Correlation Risk – Clients should be aware that CRWM’s asset selection process is based in part on a careful evaluation of past price performance and volatility in order to evaluate future probabilities. However, it is possible that different or unrelated asset classes may exhibit similar price changes in similar directions which may adversely affect a Client, and may become more acute in times of market upheaval or high volatility. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and any historical returns, expected returns, or probability projections may not reflect actual future performance. Liquidity and Valuation Risk – High volatility and/or the lack of deep and active liquid markets for a security may prevent a Client from selling her securities at all, or at an advantageous time or price because CRWM and the Client’s Broker may have difficulty finding a buyer and may be forced to sell at a significant discount to market value. Some securities (including ETFs) that hold or trade financial instruments may be adversely affected by liquidity issues as they manage their portfolios. Credit Risk – CRWM cannot control and Clients are exposed to the risk that financial intermediaries or security issuers may experience adverse economic consequences that may include impaired credit ratings, default, bankruptcy or insolvency, any of which may affect portfolio values or management. This risk applies to assets on deposit with any Broker utilized by Client, notwithstanding asset segregation and insurance requirements that are beneficial to Broker clients generally. In addition, exchange trading venues or trade settlement and clearing intermediaries could experience adverse events that may temporarily or permanently limit trading or adversely affect the value of Client securities. Finally, any issuer of securities may experience a credit event that could impair or erase the value of the issuer’s securities held by a Client. Legislative and Tax Risk – Performance may directly or indirectly be affected by government legislation or regulation, which may include, but is not limited to: changes in investment advisor or securities trading regulation; change in the U.S. government’s guarantee of ultimate payment of principal and interest on certain government securities; and changes in the tax code that could affect interest income, income characterization and/or tax reporting obligations (particularly for ETF securities dealing in natural resources). CRWM does not engage in financial or tax planning, and in certain circumstances a Client may incur taxable income on their investments without a cash distribution to pay the tax due. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 11 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Alternative Investments - The performance of alternative investments (limited Partnerships) can be volatile and may have limited liquidity. An investor could lose all or a portion of their investment. Such investments often have concentrated positions and investments that may carry higher risks. Client should only have a portion of their assets in these investments. 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 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 Comprehensive Portfolio Management services, as applicable. 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 registered representatives of Private Client Services, LLC., member FINRA/SIPC. As a result of these transactions, they receive commissions. A conflict of interest exists as these commissionable securities sales create an incentive to recommend products based on the compensation earned. To mitigate this potential conflict, our firm will act in the client’s best interest. Certain Advisory Persons of Castle Rock are also licensed insurance professionals. Mr. Luippold is a partner of Castle Rock Insurance Group. Implementations of insurance recommendations are separate and apart from the Advisory Person’s role with Castle Rock. As insurance professionals, these Advisory Persons may receive customary commissions and other related revenues from the various insurance companies whose products are sold. Commissions generated by insurance sales do not offset regular advisory fees. This may cause a conflict of interest in recommending certain products of the insurance companies. Clients are under no obligation to implement any recommendations made by Advisory Persons or the Advisor. 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. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 12 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  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 demands 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. In order to prevent conflicts of interest, our firm has established procedures for transactions effected by our representatives for their personal accounts1. In order to monitor compliance with our personal trading policy, our firm has pre-clearance requirements and a quarterly securities transaction reporting system for all of 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. Related persons of our firm may buy or sell securities and other investments that are also recommended to clients. In order 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. In order 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 Custodian & Brokers Used 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 Item 15 Custody, below). Client assets must be maintained in an account at a “qualified custodian,” generally a broker-dealer or bank. Our firm recommends that clients use Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, as the qualified custodian. Our firm is independently owned and operated, and not affiliated with Schwab. Schwab will hold client assets in 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. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 13 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  a brokerage account and buy and sell securities when instructed. While our firm recommends that clients use Schwab as custodian/broker, clients will decide whether to do so and open an account with Schwab by entering into an account agreement directly with them. Our firm does not open the account. 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: • • • 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 • availability of other products and services that benefit our firm, as discussed below (see “Products & Services Available from Schwab”) Custody & Brokerage Costs Schwab generally does not charge a separate for custody services, but is compensated by charging commissions or other fees to clients on trades that are executed or that settle into the Schwab account. For some accounts, Schwab may charge your account a percentage of the dollar amount of assets in the account in lieu of commissions. Schwab’s commission rates and/or asset-based fees applicable to client accounts were negotiated based on our firm’s commitment to maintain a minimum threshold of assets statement equity in accounts at Schwab. This commitment benefits clients because the overall commission rates and/or asset-based fees paid are lower than they would be if our firm had not made the commitment. In addition to commissions or asset-based fees, Schwab charges a flat dollar amount as a “prime broker” or “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 account. These fees are in addition to the commissions or other compensation paid to the executing broker-dealer. Because of this, in order to minimize client trading costs, our firm has Schwab execute most trades for the accounts. Products & Services Available from Schwab Schwab Advisor Services (formerly called Schwab Institutional) is Schwab’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 Schwab retail customers. Schwab also makes available various support services. Some of those services help manage or administer our client accounts while others help ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 14 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  manage and grow our business. Schwab’s 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’s 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’s support services: Services that Benefit Clients 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 our firm might not otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by firm clients. Schwab’s services described in this paragraph generally benefit clients and their accounts. Services that May Not Directly Benefit Clients Schwab 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’s 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. In addition to investment research, Schwab 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; facilitates payment of our fees from our clients’ accounts; and • • provides pricing and other market data; • • assists with back-office functions, recordkeeping and client reporting. Services that Generally Benefit Only Our Firm Schwab also offers other services intended to help manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include: technology, compliance, legal, and business consulting; • educational conferences and events • • publications and conferences on practice management and business succession; and • access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants and insurance providers. Schwab may provide some of these services itself. In other cases, Schwab will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to our firm. Schwab may also discount or waive fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party’s fees. Schwab 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, 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 15 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Our Interest in Schwab’s Services. The availability of these services from Schwab 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, a conflict of interest exists as our firm may have incentive to require that clients maintain their accounts with Schwab based on our interest in receiving Schwab’s 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 as a custodial recommendation. Our firm examined this potential conflict of interest when our firm chose to recommend Schwab 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 as a custodian and broker is the best interest of our clients. It is primarily supported by the scope, quality and price of Schwab’s services, and not Schwab’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 of our clients but not necessarily all at any one particular time. Client Brokerage Commissions Qualified Custodians 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. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 16 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  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 effected. Clients may seek to limit our authority in this area by directing that 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 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 other clients’ orders and that direction of brokerage may hinder best execution. Special Considerations for ERISA Clients A retirement or ERISA plan client may direct all or part of portfolio transactions for its account through a specific broker or dealer in order 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. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 17 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Item 13: Review of Accounts or Financial Plans Our management personnel or financial advisors review accounts on at least an annual basis for our Comprehensive Portfolio Management and Third Party Money Management 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. Our firm does not provide written reports to clients, unless asked to do so. Verbal reports to clients take place on at least an annual basis when our Comprehensive Portfolio Management and Third-Party Money Management 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. Financial Planning clients do not receive reviews of their written plans unless they take action to schedule a financial consultation with us. Our firm does not provide ongoing services to financial planning clients, but are willing to meet with such clients upon their request to discuss updates to their plans, changes in their circumstances, etc. Financial Planning clients do not receive written or verbal updated reports regarding their financial plans unless they separately engage our firm for a post-financial plan meeting or update to their initial written financial plan. Retirement Plan Consulting 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 Consulting 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 Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Our firm receives economic benefit from Schwab in the form of the support products and services made available to our firm and other independent investment advisors that have their clients maintain accounts at Schwab. These products and services, how they benefit our firm, and the related conflicts of interest are described above (see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices). The availability of Schwab’s products and services is not based on our firm giving particular investment advice, such as buying particular securities for our clients. Referral Fees 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). ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 18 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Item 15: Custody Our firm does not have custody of client funds or securities. All of our clients receive account statements directly from their qualified custodians 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. 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 our 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 Our firm manages accounts on a discretionary basis. After you sign an agreement with our firm, we’re allowed to buy and sell investments in your account without asking you in advance. Any limitations will be described in the signed advisory agreement. We will have discretion until the advisory agreement is terminated by you or our firm. ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 19 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC  Item 17: Voting Client Securities 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 20 Castle Rock Wealth Management, LLC