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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.
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Item 2 Summary of Material Changes
Form ADV Part 2 requires registered investment advisers to amend their brochure when information
becomes materially inaccurate. If there are any material changes to an adviser's disclosure brochure,
the adviser is required to notify you and provide you with a description of the material changes.
Since our last annual updating amendment filed on March 23, 2024, we have no material changes to
report.
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Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 1 Cover Page
Item 2 Summary of Material Changes
Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 4 Advisory Business
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
Item 7 Types of Clients
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Item 13 Review of Accounts
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Item 15 Custody
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
Item 18 Financial Information
Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers
Item 20 Additional Information
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Item 4 Advisory Business
Description of Firm
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;
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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.
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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
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
We have not provided information on other financial industry activities and affiliations because we do
not have any relationship or arrangement that is material to our advisory business or to our clients with
any of the types of entities listed below.
1. broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, or government securities dealer or broker.
2. investment company or other pooled investment vehicle (including a mutual fund, closed-end
investment company, unit investment trust, private investment company or "hedge fund," and
offshore fund).
3. other investment adviser or financial planner.
4. futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, or commodity trading advisor.
5. banking or thrift institution.
6. accountant or accounting firm.
7. lawyer or law firm.
8. insurance company or agency.
9. pension consultant.
10.real estate broker or dealer.
11.sponsor or syndicator of limited partnerships.
Recommendation of Other Advisers
We may recommend that you use a third party money manager ("TPMM") based on your needs and
suitability. We will 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.
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Personal Trading Practices
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to
you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because
we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will
receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated
with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities.
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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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