Overview

Assets Under Management: $461 million
Headquarters: WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA
High-Net-Worth Clients: 39
Average Client Assets: $9 million

Services Offered

Services: Portfolio Management for Individuals, Portfolio Management for Institutional Clients

Fee Structure

Primary Fee Schedule (FORM ADV PART 2A)

MinMaxMarginal Fee Rate
$0 and above 2.00%
Illustrative Fee Rates
Total AssetsAnnual FeesAverage Fee Rate
$1 million $20,000 2.00%
$5 million $100,000 2.00%
$10 million $200,000 2.00%
$50 million $1,000,000 2.00%
$100 million $2,000,000 2.00%

Clients

Number of High-Net-Worth Clients: 39
Percentage of Firm Assets Belonging to High-Net-Worth Clients: 75.36
Average High-Net-Worth Client Assets: $9 million
Total Client Accounts: 120
Discretionary Accounts: 120

Regulatory Filings

CRD Number: 284787
Last Filing Date: 2024-03-23 00:00:00
Website: https://cbayinvestments.com

Form ADV Documents

Additional Brochure: FORM ADV APPENDIX 1 WRAP BROCHURE (2025-03-17)

View Document Text
Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC 2945 Townsgate Road Suite 200 Westlake Village, CA 91361 Telephone: 805-719-2771 Facsimile: 805-267-7185 March 17, 2025 PART 2A - APPENDIX 1 WRAP FEE PROGRAM BROCHURE This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, contact us at 805-719-2771. 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 Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC is available on the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. 1 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 filed on March 23, 2024, we have no material changes to report. 2 Item 3 Table of Contents Item 1 Cover Page Item 2 Summary of Material Changes Item 3 Table of Contents Item 4 Services, Fees, and Compensation Item 5 Account Requirements and Types of Clients Item 6 Portfolio Manager Selection and Evaluation Item 7 Client Information Provided to Portfolio Managers Item 8 Client Contact with Portfolio Managers Item 9 Additional Information Item 10 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 9 Page 9 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 15 3 Item 4 Services, Fees, and Compensation Description of Firm Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser primarily based in Westlake Village, CA. We are organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of California. We have been providing investment advisory services since August 2016. We are primarily owned by Selwyn Herson and Jon Herson through Port Errol Investments, GP (controlled by Windsor Park Management Co. and Jon H. Cbay). As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as a client or prospective client of our firm. Also, you may see the term Associated Person in this brochure. Our Associated Persons are our firm's officers, employees, and all individuals providing investment advice on behalf of our firm. We offer portfolio management services through a wrap-fee program ("Program") as described in this wrap fee program brochure to prospective and existing clients. We are the sponsor and investment adviser for the Program. A wrap-fee program is a type of investment program that provides clients with asset management and brokerage services for one all-inclusive fee. If you participate in our wrap fee program, you will pay our firm a single fee, which includes money management fees, fees payable to third party money managers, certain transaction costs, and custodial and administrative costs. You are not charged separate fees for the respective components of the total services. We receive a portion of the wrap fee for our services. The overall cost you will incur if you participate in our wrap fee program may be higher or lower than you might incur by separately purchasing the types of securities available in the Program. Prior to becoming a client under the Program, you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with us that sets forth the terms and conditions of the engagement and describes the scope of the services to be provided, and the fees to be paid. Client Investment Process We provide discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services in accordance with your individual investment objectives. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your account. Subject to a grant of discretionary authorization, we have the authority and responsibility to formulate investment strategies on your behalf. This authorization includes deciding which securities to buy and sell, when to buy and sell, and in what amounts, in accordance with your investment program, 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 and/or through trading authorization forms. You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing. If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior to executing any transactions on behalf of your account. You have an unrestricted right to decline to implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis. As part of our portfolio management services, we may use one or more separate account managers or third party advisers to manage a portion of your account on a discretionary basis. The third party adviser may use one or more of their model portfolios to manage your account. We will regularly monitor the performance of your accounts managed by third party adviser(s) that are managed by us, and may terminate any such third party adviser without your prior approval if your account performance declines by a certain percentage (as pre-determined with the client). 4 If we recommend a third party adviser to you, our fee is separate and apart from the third party adviser's fee, which you will pay directly to the third party adviser. We generally recommend third party advisers that offer a wrap program in which you will not be charged separate transaction costs; however, you should refer to the agreement you sign directly with the third party adviser and the third party adviser's Form ADV Part 2 disclosure brochure for fees and other information specific to the third party adviser's program. Assets for program accounts are held at either LPL Financial, LLC, an unaffiliated broker- dealer/custodian, member FINRA/SIPC ("LPL") or the Schwab Advisor Services division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. LPL and Schwab also act as executing broker/dealer for transactions placed in Program accounts, and provide other administrative services as described throughout this Brochure. To compare the cost of the wrap fee program with non-wrap fee portfolio management services, you should consider the frequency of trading activity associated with our investment strategies and the brokerage commissions charged by the broker- dealer and the advisory fees charged by investment advisers. Changes in Your Financial Circumstances In providing the contracted services, we are not required to verify any information we receive from you or from your other professionals (e.g., attorney, accountant, etc.) and we are expressly authorized to rely on the information you provide. Furthermore, unless you indicate to the contrary, we shall assume that there are no restrictions on our services, other than to manage your account in accordance with your designated investment objectives. It is responsibility to promptly notify us if there are ever any changes in your financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services. The Program Fee We charge an annual "wrap-fee" for participation in the Program depending upon the market value of your assets under our management. You are not charged separate fees for the different components of the services provided by the Program. Our firm pays all trade expenses of trades placed on your behalf. Our Program fee includes the fee we pay to any separate account manager for their management of your account and the broker-dealer's transaction or execution costs. Assets in each of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in writing for exclusion. In special circumstances, and in our sole discretion, we may negotiate a lesser management fee based upon certain criteria (i.e., anticipated future earning capacity, dollar amount of assets to be managed, related accounts, account composition, pre-existing client relationship, account retention, etc.). Our annual fee for portfolio management services under the wrap fee program ranges up to 2.00% of the market value of your assets under our management. Assets in each of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in writing for exclusion. Our annual portfolio management fee is billed and payable quarterly in advance based on the account balance at the end of the billing period. If the portfolio management agreement is executed at any time other than the first day of a calendar quarter, our fees will apply on a pro rata basis, which means that the advisory fee is payable in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. The specific fees payable to our firm will be clearly set forth in the management agreement you sign with our firm. As a client, you should be aware that the wrap fee charged by our firm may be higher (or lower) than those charged by others in the industry, and that it may be possible to obtain the same or similar services from other firms at lower (or higher) rates. A client may be able to obtain some or all of the 5 types of services available through our firm's wrap fee program on an individual basis through other firms and, depending on the circumstances, the aggregate of any separately paid fees may be lower or higher than the annual fees shown above. Withdrawal of Assets You may withdraw account assets on notice to our firm, and subject to the usual and customary securities settlement procedures. However, we design our portfolios as long-term investments and asset withdrawals may impair the achievement of your specific investment objectives. Payment of Fees We will deduct our fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds and securities. We will deduct our advisory fee only when you have given our firm written authorization permitting the fees to be paid directly from your account. Further, the qualified custodian will deliver an account statement to you at least quarterly. These account statements will show all disbursements from your account. You should review all statements for accuracy. Termination of Advisory Relationship You may terminate the portfolio management agreement upon written notice to our firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees. Upon termination of accounts held at the broker-dealer/custodian, they will deliver securities and funds held in the account per your instructions unless you request that the account be liquidated. After the wrap fee program agreement has been terminated, transactions are processed at the prevailing brokerage rates/fees. You become responsible for monitoring your own assets and our firm has no further obligation to act upon or to provide advice with respect to those assets. Wrap Fee Program Disclosures • • The benefits under a wrap fee program depend, in part, upon the size of the Account, the management fee charged, and the number of transactions likely to be generated in the Account. For example, a wrap fee program may not be suitable for Accounts with little trading activity. In order to evaluate whether a wrap fee program is suitable for you, you should compare the Program Fee and any other costs of the Program with the amounts that would be charged by other advisers, broker-dealers, and custodians, for advisory fees, brokerage and other execution costs, and custodial services comparable to those provided under the Program. In considering the investment programs described in this brochure, you should be aware that participating in a wrap fee program may cost more or less than the cost of purchasing advisory, brokerage, and custodial services separately from other advisers or broker-dealers. • Our firm and Associated Persons receive compensation as a result of your participation in the Program. This compensation may be more than the amount our firm or the Associated Persons would receive if you paid separately for investment advice, brokerage, and other services. Accordingly, a conflict of interest exists because our firm and our Associated Persons have a financial incentive to recommend the Program. • Similar advisory services may be available from other registered investment advisers for lower fees. • We do not charge our clients higher advisory fees based on their trading activity, but you should be aware that we may have an incentive to limit our trading activities in your account(s) because we are charged for executed trades. 6 Additional Fees And Expenses The Program Fee includes the costs of brokerage commissions for transactions executed through LPL Financial, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, an unaffiliated broker-dealer/custodian and registered investment adviser ("LPL") (or a broker-dealer designated by LPL) or the Schwab Advisor Services division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. The Program Fee also includes charges relating to the settlement, clearance, or custody of securities in the Account. The Program Fee does not include mark-ups and mark-downs, dealer spreads or other costs associated with the purchase or sale of securities, interest, taxes, or other costs, such as national securities exchange fees, charges for transactions not executed through LPL or Schwab, costs associated with exchanging currencies, wire transfer fees, or other fees required by law or imposed by third parties. The Account will be responsible for these additional fees and expenses. The wrap program fees that you pay to our firm for portfolio management 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. 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. We may trade client accounts on margin. Each client must sign a separate margin agreement before margin is extended to that client account. Fees for advice and execution on these securities are based on the total asset value of the account, which includes the value of the securities purchased on margin. While a negative amount may show on a client's statement for the margined security as the result of a lower net market value, the amount of the fee is based on the absolute market value. This creates a conflict of interest where we have an incentive to encourage the use of margin to create a higher market value and therefore receive a higher fee. The use of margin may also result in interest charges in addition to all other fees and expenses associated with the security involved. Compensation for the Sale of Other Investment Products Some individuals 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. Brokerage Practices If you participate in the Program, you will be required to establish an account with a broker- dealer/custodian we recommend. If you do not direct our firm to execute transactions through such broker-dealer/custodian, we reserve the right to not accept your account. Not all advisers require their clients to direct brokerage. We believe that the recommended broker-dealer/custodian provides quality execution services for you at competitive prices. Price is not the sole factor we consider in evaluating best execution. We also consider the quality of the brokerage services provided by recommended broker-dealers/custodians including the value of their reputation, execution capabilities, commission rates, and responsiveness to our clients and our firm. Economic Benefits As a registered investment adviser, we have access to the institutional platform of your account custodian. As such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account custodian and/or other brokerage firm. These products may include financial publications, information 7 about particular companies and industries, research software, and other products or services that provide lawful and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our investment decision- making responsibilities. Such research products and services are provided to all investment advisers that utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and are not considered to be paid for with soft dollars. However, you should be aware that the commissions charged by a particular broker for a particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another broker who did not provide research services or products might charge. Products & Services Available to Us From Schwab Schwab Advisor Services (formerly called Schwab Institutional) is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like ours. They provide us and our 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 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 and at no charge to us as long as we maintain a total of at least $10 million of our clients' assets in accounts at Schwab. Services that Benefit Client 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 clients or their account(s). Services that May Not Directly Benefit Clients Schwab also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but may not directly benefit the client or their account(s). These products and services assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts. They include investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We may use this research to service all or some 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: • 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. Schwab also offers other services intended to help us 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, it will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to us. Schwab may also discount or waive its fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party's fees. 8 Irrespective of direct or indirect benefits to our client through Schwab, we strive to enhance the client's experience, help reach their goals and put their interests before that of our firm or its associated persons. 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. Item 5 Account Requirements and Types of Clients We offer investment advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, foundations, corporations, and other business entities. In general, we require a minimum of $5,000,000 to open and maintain an advisory account. At our discretion, we may waive this minimum account size. Item 6 Portfolio Manager Selection and Evaluation We are the sponsor of the Program. Separate account managers are selected for participation in the Program by a documented due diligence review that we conduct. The information reviewed covers, for example, qualifications, investment philosophies, and past performance of the Separate account manager. We do not independently verify and cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information received, including performance information, from a third party or any other source. On an ongoing basis, we will review the manager(s) participating in the Program to determine whether they should continue to participate in the Program. We make no representation regarding the performance of any investment strategy, or security, recommended by any manager participating in the Program. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. 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 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 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. Our Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies Our philosophy is to focus on risk adjusted performance. We believe in the following principles: • Think about the downside first • Patience is a virtue • Look at things from different perspectives • Focus on what you can control • Be a learning machine • We are very curious and are avid readers and frequent travelers We utilize multiple methods of analysis to form and develop our investment strategies: 9 Third-Party Advisers and Separate Account Managers- We advise you on how to allocate your assets among various classes of securities or third-party advisers and separate account managers. In these situations, we primarily rely on investment portfolios and strategies developed by the separate account managers or third-party advisers and their portfolio managers. We may replace/recommend replacing a third-party adviser if there is a significant deviation in characteristics or performance from the stated strategy and/or benchmark. 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. 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 time. Technical Analysis - involves studying past price patterns, trends and interrelationships in the financial markets to assess risk-adjusted performance and predict the direction of both the overall market and specific securities. Risk: The risk of market timing based on technical analysis is that our analysis may not accurately detect anomalies or predict future price movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all information known about the security and day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may follow random patterns and may not be predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy. Margin Transactions- a securities transaction in which an investor borrows money to purchase a security, in which case the security serves as collateral on the loan. 10 Risk: If the value of the shares drops sufficiently, the investor will be required to either deposit more cash into the account or sell a portion of the stock in order to maintain the margin requirements of the account. This is known as a "margin call." An investor's overall risk includes the amount of money invested plus the amount that was loaned to them. Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial situation. As such, we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs and other various suitability factors. Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you notify us immediately with respect to any material changes to your financial circumstances, including for example, a change in your current or expected income level, tax circumstances, or employment status. Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities When recommending securities, we primarily recommend mutual funds. However, we may 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. 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. 11 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. Proxy Voting 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 7 Client Information Provided to Portfolio Managers 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. 12 You will receive a copy of our privacy notice prior to or at the time you sign an advisory agreement with our firm. 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 you with a copy of our updated privacy notice. 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. Item 8 Client Contact with Portfolio Managers Without restriction, you should contact our firm with any questions regarding your Program account. You should contact us with respect to changes in your investment objectives, risk tolerance, or requested restrictions placed on the management of your Program assets. Item 9 Additional Information 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. 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. 13 Recommendation of Other Advisers We may recommend that you use a third party money manager ("TPMM") based on your needs and suitability. We will not receive separate compensation, directly or indirectly, from the TPMM for recommending that you use their services. Moreover, we do not have any other business relationships with the recommended TPMM(s). 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. 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. Review of Accounts With respect to our portfolio management services, a member of our team, (Mr. Selwyn Herson, Chairman, Mr. Andrew Lowenstein, CCO/CFO, or Mr. Jon Herson, President) will monitor your account(s) on an ongoing basis and will conduct account reviews at least quarterly, 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. We may provide you with additional or regular written reports in conjunction with account reviews, depending on our specific agreement with you. 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). 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation We receive economic benefits from LPL for providing investment advice or other advisory services to you. Through our use of LPL, we are entitled to receive economic benefits. As part of our fiduciary duty, we endeavor at all times to put the interests of our clients first. Clients should be aware, however, that the receipt of economic benefits by our firm from a non-client in and of themselves creates a potential conflict of interest and may influence our choice in providing services to your account. This arrangement does not cause our clients to pay any additional transaction fees beyond those that are traditionally charged by our firm and/or other service providers. 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. 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. Block Trades We do not combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for advisory accounts we manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "block trading") because we invest primarily in mutual funds which do not trade in blocks, and oversee third party investment advisers in which case we do not execute securities transactions. Trade Errors In the event a trading error occurs in your account, our policy is to restore your account to the position it should have been in had the trading error not occurred. Depending on the circumstances, corrective actions may include canceling the trade, adjusting an allocation, and/or reimbursing the account. Class Action Lawsuits We do not determine if securities held by you are the subject of a class action lawsuit or whether you are eligible to participate in class action settlements or litigation nor do we initiate or participate in litigation to recover damages on your behalf for injuries as a result of actions, misconduct, or negligence by issuers of securities held by you. Financial Information Our firm does not have any financial condition or impairment that would prevent us from meeting our contractual commitments to you. We do not take physical custody of client funds or securities, or serve as trustee or signatory for client accounts, and we do not require the prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees six or more months in advance. Therefore, we are not required to include a financial statement with this brochure. We have not filed a bankruptcy petition at any time in the past ten years. Item 10 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers We are a federally registered investment adviser; therefore, we are not required to respond to this item. 15

Primary Brochure: FORM ADV PART 2A (2025-03-17)

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Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC 2945 Townsgate Road Suite 200 Westlake Village, CA 91361 Telephone: 805-719-2771 Facsimile: 805-267-7185 March 17, 2025 FORM ADV PART 2A BROCHURE This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, contact us at 805-719-2771. 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 Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC is available on the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. 1 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 filed on March 23, 2024, we have no material changes to report. 2 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 Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 Page 9 Page 9 Page 9 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 14 Page 16 Page 16 Page 16 Page 17 Page 17 Page 17 Page 17 Page 17 3 Item 4 Advisory Business Description of Firm Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser primarily based in Westlake Village, CA. We are organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of CA. We have been providing investment advisory services since August 2016. We are primarily owned by Selwyn Herson and Jon Herson through Port Errol Investments, GP (controlled by Windsor Park Management Co. and Jon H. Cbay). 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 Cruden Bay Investment Management, LLC and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm. Portfolio Management Services/Wrap Fee Program We offer custom portfolio management services to our clients. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives. We offer discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your account. Discretionary authorization will allow us to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your account without your approval prior to each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm and the appropriate trading authorization forms. You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased or sold for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing. We may also offer non-discretionary portfolio management services. If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior to executing any transactions on behalf of your account. You have an unrestricted right to decline to implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis. As part of our portfolio management services, we may use one or more separate account managers or third party advisers to manage a portion of your account on a discretionary basis. The third party adviser may use one or more of their model portfolios to manage your account. We will regularly monitor the performance of your accounts managed by third party adviser(s) that are managed by us, and may terminate any such third party adviser without your prior approval if your account performance declines by a certain percentage (as pre-determined with the client). Our portfolio management services are typically provided as part of a wrap fee program, which is a type of investment program that provides clients with access to separate account managers for a single fee that includes administrative fees, management fees, and transaction charges. If you participate in our wrap fee program, you will pay our firm a single fee, which includes our money management fees, advisory fees payable to separate account managers, certain transaction costs, and custodial and administrative costs. We receive a portion of the wrap fee for our services. The overall cost you will incur if you participate in our wrap fee program may be higher or lower than you might incur by separately purchasing the types of securities available in the program. If we recommend a third party adviser to you, our fee is separate and apart from the third party adviser's fee, which you will pay directly to the third party adviser. We generally recommend third party advisers that offer a wrap program in which you will not be charged separate transaction costs; 4 however, you should refer to the agreement you sign directly with the third party adviser and the third party adviser's Form ADV Part 2 disclosure brochure for fees and other information specific to the third party adviser's program. Consulting Services In limited circumstances, we may provide consulting services with respect to client assets not continuously managed by our firm. Consulting services may include assisting the client in conducting asset evaluations, subsequent periodic reviews of the assets under advisement, and periodic recommendations as needed. This service is offered only to certain clients who have engaged us for portfolio management services. Financial Planning Services We offer financial planning services which typically involves 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 review and analyze the information you provide to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we will deliver a plan to you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives. With respect to clients who have engaged our firm's portfolio management services, we may provide consultative or modular financial planning on specific topics selected by the client. This service is provided at the client's request and the fee for such services is included in the client's portfolio management fee. 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. If you have not engaged us for discretionary portfolio management services, 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. Types of Investments We offer advice on the selection of separately managed account managers, third party advisers and on mutual funds and other types of investments based on your stated goals and objectives. We don't offer any proprietary products, and as a consequence, we endeavor to offer objective advice. Refer to the Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss below for additional disclosures on this topic. Assets Under Management As of March 7, 2025, we provide continuous management services for $467,699,208 in client assets on a discretionary basis. We do not provide continuous management services to non-discretionary accounts. 5 Item 5 Fees and Compensation Portfolio Management Services/Wrap Fee Program Our annual fee for portfolio management services under the wrap fee program ranges up to 2.00% of the market value of your assets under our management. Assets in each of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in writing for exclusion. Our annual portfolio management fee is billed and payable quarterly in advance based on the account balance at the end of the billing period. If the portfolio management agreement is executed at any time other than the first day of a calendar quarter, our fees will apply on a pro rata basis, which means that the advisory fee is payable in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. The specific fees payable to our firm will be clearly set forth in the management agreement you sign with our firm. You may terminate the portfolio management agreement upon written notice to our firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees. You may be required to sign an agreement directly with the recommended third party adviser. You may terminate your advisory relationship with the third party adviser according to the terms of your agreement with the third party adviser. You should review each third party adviser's brochure for specific information on how you may terminate your advisory relationship with the third party adviser. You should contact the third party adviser directly for questions regarding your advisory agreement with the third party adviser. Consulting Services Our consulting services, if offered, are provided as part of our portfolio management fee. No additional fee applies to this service. Financial Planning Services We charge a fixed fee for financial planning services, which ranges up to $15,000 depending upon the complexity and scope of the plan, your financial situation, and your objectives. Fees are payable as invoiced. We do not require you to pay fees six or more months in advance. Should the engagement last longer than six months between acceptance of financial planning agreement and delivery of the financial plan, any prepaid unearned fees will be promptly returned to you less a pro rata charge for bona fide financial planning services rendered to date. With respect to clients who have engaged us for portfolio management services, our financial planning services are also provided at no additional cost to clients and are only offered to existing portfolio management clients. Additional Fees and Expenses The wrap fee program includes the costs of brokerage commissions for transactions executed through LPL Financial, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, an unaffiliated broker-dealer/custodian and registered investment adviser ("LPL") (or a broker-dealer designated by LPL) or the Schwab Advisor Services division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. The wrap fee program also includes charges relating to the settlement, clearance, or custody of securities in the account. The wrap fee program fee does not include mark-ups and mark-downs, dealer spreads or other costs associated with the purchase or sale of securities, interest, taxes, or other costs, such as national securities exchange fees, charges for transactions not executed through LPL or Schwab, costs associated with exchanging currencies, wire transfer fees, or other fees required by law or 6 imposed by third parties. The account will be responsible for these additional fees and expenses. The wrap program fees that you pay to our firm for portfolio management 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. 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. We may trade client accounts on margin. Each client must sign a separate margin agreement before margin is extended to that client account. Fees for advice and execution on these securities are based on the total asset value of the account, which includes the value of the securities purchased on margin. While a negative amount may show on a client's statement for the margined security as the result of a lower net market value, the amount of the fee is based on the absolute market value. This creates a conflict of interest where we have an incentive to encourage the use of margin to create a higher market value and therefore receive a higher fee. The use of margin may also result in interest charges in addition to all other fees and expenses associated with the security involved. Compensation for the Sale of Investment Products Some individuals 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. 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: 7 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. 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. 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. 8 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, high net worth individuals, foundations, corporations, and other business entities. In general, we require a minimum of $5,000,000 to open and maintain an advisory account. At our discretion, we may waive this minimum account size. Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss Our Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies Our philosophy is to focus on risk adjusted performance. We believe in the following principles: • Think about the downside first • Patience is a virtue • Look at things from different perspectives • Focus on what you can control • Be a learning machine • We are very curious and are avid readers and frequent travelers We utilize multiple methods of analysis to form and develop our investment strategies: Third Party Advisers and Separate Account Managers- We advise you on how to allocate your assets among various classes of securities or third party advisers and separate account managers. In these situations, we primarily rely on investment portfolios and strategies developed by the separate account managers or third party advisers and their portfolio managers. We may replace/recommend replacing a third party adviser if there is a significant deviation in characteristics or performance from the stated strategy and/or benchmark. 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. 9 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. 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. Technical Analysis - involves studying past price patterns, trends and interrelationships in the financial markets to assess risk-adjusted performance and predict the direction of both the overall market and specific securities. Risk: The risk of market timing based on technical analysis is that our analysis may not accurately detect anomalies or predict future price movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all information known about the security and day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may follow random patterns and may not be predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy. Margin Transactions- a securities transaction in which an investor borrows money to purchase a security, in which case the security serves as collateral on the loan. Risk: If the value of the shares drops sufficiently, the investor will be required to either deposit more cash into the account or sell a portion of the stock in order to maintain the margin requirements of the account. This is known as a "margin call." An investor's overall risk includes the amount of money invested plus the amount that was loaned to them. Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial situation. As such, we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs and other various suitability factors. Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you notify us immediately with respect to any material changes to your financial circumstances, including for example, a change in your current or expected income level, tax circumstances, or employment status. 10 Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities When recommending securities, we primarily recommend mutual funds. However, we may 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. 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. Price Volatility of Digital Assets Risk: A principal risk in trading Digital Assets is the rapid fluctuation of market price. The value of client portfolios relates in part to the value of the Digital Assets held in the client portfolio and fluctuations in the price of Digital Assets could adversely affect the value of a client's portfolio. There is no guarantee that a client will be able to achieve a better than average market price for Digital Assets or will purchase Digital Assets at the most favorable price available. The price of Digital Assets achieved by a client may be affected generally by a wide variety of complex factors such as supply and demand; availability and access to Digital Asset service providers (such as payment processors), exchanges, miners or other Digital Asset users and market participants; perceived or actual security vulnerability; and traditional risk factors including inflation levels; fiscal policy; interest rates; and political, natural and economic events. 11 Digital Asset Service Providers Risk: Service providers that support Digital Assets and the Digital Asset marketplace(s) may not be subject to the same regulatory and professional oversight as traditional securities service providers. Further, there is no assurance that the availability of and access to virtual currency service providers will not be negatively affected by government regulation or supply and demand of Digital Assets. Accordingly, companies or financial institutions that currently support virtual currency may not do so in the future. Custody of Digital Assets Risk: Under the Advisers Act, SEC registered investment advisers are required to hold securities with "qualified custodians," among other requirements. Certain Digital Assets may be deemed to be securities. Some Digital Assets do not currently fall under the SEC definition of security and therefore many of the companies providing Digital Assets custodial services fall outside of the SEC's definition of "qualified custodian". Accordingly, clients seeking to purchase actual digital coins/tokens/currencies may need to use nonqualified custodians to hold all or a portion of their Digital Assets. Government Oversight of Digital Assets Risk: Regulatory agencies and/or the constructs responsible for oversight of Digital Assets or a Digital Asset network may not be fully developed and subject to change. Regulators may adopt laws, regulations, policies or rules directly or indirectly affecting Digital Assets their treatment, transacting, custody, and valuation. 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. 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. 12 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 not receive separate compensation, directly or indirectly, from the TPMM for recommending that you use their services. Moreover, we do not have any other business relationships with the recommended TPMM(s). Refer to the Advisory Business section above for additional disclosures on this topic. Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading Description of Our Code of Ethics We strive to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing our practices. Therefore, our Code of Ethics includes guidelines for professional standards of conduct for persons associated with our firm. Our goal is to protect your interests at all times and to demonstrate our commitment to our fiduciary duties of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing with you. All persons associated with our firm are expected to adhere strictly to these guidelines. Persons associated with our firm are also required to report any violations of our Code of Ethics. Additionally, we maintain and enforce written policies reasonably designed to prevent the misuse or dissemination of material, non-public information about you or your account holdings by persons associated with our firm. Clients or prospective clients may obtain a copy of our Code of Ethics by contacting us at the telephone number on the cover page of this brochure. Participation or Interest in Client Transactions Neither our firm nor any persons associated with our firm has any material financial interest in client transactions beyond the provision of investment advisory services as disclosed in this brochure. 13 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. Item 12 Brokerage Practices We recommend the brokerage and custodial services of LPL Financial, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, an unaffiliated broker-dealer/custodian ("LPL") and the Schwab Advisor Services division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, to maintain custody of clients' assets and to effect trades for their accounts. We believe that the recommended broker-dealer provides quality execution services for you at competitive prices. Price is not the sole factor we consider in evaluating best execution. We also consider the quality of the brokerage services provided by the recommended broker-dealers, including the value of their reputation, execution capabilities, commission rates, and responsiveness to our clients and our firm. Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits We do not have any soft dollar arrangements. Economic Benefits As a registered investment adviser, we have access to the institutional platform of your account custodian. As such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account custodian and/or other brokerage firm. These products may include financial publications, information about particular companies and industries, research software, and other products or services that provide lawful and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our investment decision- making responsibilities. Such research products and services are provided to all investment advisers that utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and are not considered to be paid for with soft dollars. However, you should be aware that the commissions charged by a particular broker for a particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another broker who did not provide research services or products might charge. If you participate in our portfolio management program, you will be required to establish an account with a custodian we recommend. If you do not direct our firm to execute transactions through such custodian, we reserve the right to not accept your account. Not all advisers require their clients to direct brokerage. Products & Services Available to Us From Schwab Schwab Advisor Services (formerly called Schwab Institutional) is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like ours. They provide us and our 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 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 and at no charge to us as long as we maintain a total of at least $10 million of our clients' assets in accounts at Schwab. 14 Services that Benefit Client 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 clients or their account(s). Services that May Not Directly Benefit Clients Schwab also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but may not directly benefit the client or their account(s). These products and services assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts. They include investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We may use this research to service all or some 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: • 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. Schwab also offers other services intended to help us 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, it will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to us. Schwab may also discount or waive its fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party's fees. Irrespective of direct or indirect benefits to our client through Schwab, we strive to enhance the client's experience, help reach their goals and put their interests before that of our firm or its associated persons. 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 effectively negotiating brokerage commissions on your behalf. This 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. 15 Block Trades We do not combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for advisory accounts we manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "block trading") because we invest primarily in mutual funds which do not trade in blocks, and oversee third party investment advisers in which case we do not execute securities transactions. Item 13 Review of Accounts With respect to our portfolio management services, a member of our team (Mr. Selwyn Herson, Chairman, Mr. Andrew Lowenstein, CCO/CFO, or Mr. Jon Herson, President) will monitor your account(s) on an ongoing basis and will conduct account reviews at least quarterly, 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. We may provide you with additional or regular written reports in conjunction with account reviews, depending on our specific agreement with you. 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 We receive economic benefits from LPL and Schwab for providing investment advice or other advisory services to you. Through our use of LPL and Schwab, we are entitled to receive economic benefits. As part of our fiduciary duty, we endeavor at all times to put the interests of our clients first. Clients should be aware, however, that the receipt of economic benefits by our firm from a non-client in and of themselves creates a potential conflict of interest and may influence our choice in providing services to your account. This arrangement does not cause our clients to pay any additional transaction fees beyond those that are traditionally charged by our firm and/or other service providers. 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. 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. 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 16 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 limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing. 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. 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. 17 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. 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 you with a copy of our updated privacy notice. 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. Class Action Lawsuits We do not determine if securities held by you are the subject of a class action lawsuit or whether you are eligible to participate in class action settlements or litigation nor do we initiate or participate in litigation to recover damages on your behalf for injuries as a result of actions, misconduct, or negligence by issuers of securities held by you. 18