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Item 1: Cover Page
IMS Capital Management LLC
8995 SE Otty Road
Portland, Oregon 97086
(503) 788-4200
www.imscapital.com
www.imsfunds.com
Building Wealth Wisely®
SEC FORM ADV PART 2A
“BROCHURE”
October 20, 2025
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices
of IMS Capital Management LLC (“IMS” or the “Adviser” or “Advisor”). If you have any
questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us by telephone at (503)
788-4200. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or by any state securities
authority.
Additional information about IMS Capital Management LLC (CRD #105939) also is
available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
IMS Capital Management is a registered investment advisor; however, registration
with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or
training.
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Part 2A of Form ADV
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Item 2: Material Changes
We have made the following material changes to this IMS Capital Management LLC brochure
since the prior annual updating amendment dated March 21, 2025:
•
On September 26, 2025, IMS Capital Management Inc.’s corporate structure was
converted from an Oregon corporation to an Oregon limited liability company. The
new name of our firm is IMS Capital Management LLC (“IMS”).
•
Items 5 & 10: On October 1, 2025, Pinnacle Wealth Advisors, LLC (“PWA”), an
investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission also
located in the Portland area, acquired ownership of IMS. PWA itself is owned by
Pinnacle Wealth Holdings, Inc. (87%) (“PWH”) and IMS Holdco Inc. (13%) (“IMSH”).
PWH is majority owned by Aaron Christopherson, with minority interest held by
Randy Gay and Brian Timm. IMSH is majority owned by Carl Marker, with minority
interest held by Chris Magana. PWA intends to continue to operate IMS under its
current SEC registration for an interim period while integrating IMS staff and
migrating IMS clients to PWA. During this period, certain associated persons of PWA
and IMS will be dually registered as investment advisor representatives of both firms.
•
Our firm’s Chief Compliance Officer is Adam Gladstone.
is also
We will update this brochure and disclose in this Item 2 the occurrence of any material
changes with respect to our business in accordance with applicable law. All current clients
will receive a Summary of Material Changes to this and subsequent brochures within 120
days of the close of our fiscal year and certain additional updates regarding changes with
respect to our firm and our business practices as they may occur. Updated information
concerning these changes will be provided to you free of charge. A Summary of Material
Changes
included within our brochure found on the SEC’s website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. You can obtain additional information about our firm by searching
for us on the foregoing website by our firm name or by our unique IARD/CRD number
#105939.
Currently, our brochure may be requested by contacting Adam Gladstone, Chief Compliance
Officer, at (503) 788-4200. Upon request, a copy of this brochure will be provided to you free
of charge.
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Item 3. Table of Contents
Item 1: Cover Page .......................................................................................................................... 1
Item 2: Material Changes ................................................................................................................ 2
Item 3. Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ 3
Item 4. Advisory Business ................................................................................................................ 4
Item 5. Fees and Compensation ...................................................................................................... 4
Item 6. Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management .................................................. 6
Item 7. Types of Clients ................................................................................................................... 6
Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategy and Risk of Loss ............................................... 6
Item 9. Disciplinary Information .................................................................................................... 13
Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations ......................................................... 13
Item 11. Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading ... 13
Item 12. Brokerage Practices ........................................................................................................ 14
Item 13. Review of Accounts ......................................................................................................... 17
Item 14. Client Referrals and Other Compensation ...................................................................... 17
Item 15. Custody ........................................................................................................................... 18
Item 16. Investment Discretion ..................................................................................................... 19
Item 17. Voting Client Securities ................................................................................................... 19
Item 18. Financial Information ...................................................................................................... 20
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Item 4. Advisory Business
IMS is an Oregon corporation and a registered investment advisor (RIA) with the SEC. IMS
was founded by Carl Marker in May of 1988. IMS is owned by Pinnacle Wealth Advisors,
LLC (“PWA”), an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. PWA itself is owned by Pinnacle Wealth Holdings, Inc. (87%) (“PWH”) and
IMS Holdco Inc. (13%) (“IMSH”). PWH is majority owned by Aaron Christopherson, with
minority interest held by Randy Gay and Brian Timm. IMSH is majority owned by Carl
Marker, with minority interest held by Chris Magana. Mr. Marker will continue to serve as
Chief Investment Officer.
IMS primarily provides financial planning, portfolio management, wealth management
services, pension consulting services, educational seminars and workshops, and
newsletter/periodical publications to individuals, high net worth individuals, investment
companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations,
insurance
companies, and other companies.
IMS is provided with financial and investment information by its clients to assist IMS in the
selection of suitable investments. Recommendations made to clients are based on the
specific goals, risk tolerance, tax status and financial situation of the client, as
communicated by our clients to us. Clients may restrict investment in certain securities or
types of securities unless they are invested in one of the three mutual funds managed by
IMS.
“
”
IMS Funds
The investments offered by IMS are primarily through four different strategies; a Capital
Value Strategy and a Strategic Income Strategy, each offered through a mutual fund (IMSCX
), or through separately
and IMSIX collectively referred to herein as the
managed accounts; and a Strategic Allocation Program (SAP) offered only through
separately managed accounts.
As of December 31, 2024, IMS had assets under management in the approximate amount
of $406,912,207.00. Of that amount, approximately $16,602,193.00 were non-
discretionary assets and approximately $390,310,014.00 were discretionary assets.
Item 5. Fees and Compensation
Our Standard Fee Schedule is generally as follows:
Total Assets Under Management Per Acct Annual Management
$0 to $1,500,000
$1,500,001 to $3,000,000
$3,000,001 to $5,000,000
Fee
1.00%
0.85%
0.75%
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$5,000,001 to $15,000,000
$15,000,001 to $25,000,000
0.65%
0.50%
The management fee schedule is used for the majority of accounts and the minimum
account size is generally $250,000; however, both are negotiable, at our discretion. The
minimum account size may be lower on various separate account turnkey platforms, where
service and distribution are provided by a third party.
’
Client agrees to pay a quarterly, semi-annual or annual fee to IMS for its services; the
s account or billed directly to the client.
management fee can be deducted from the client
Fees are based on the stated percentage of the total value of accounts under management.
’
The management fee is calculated usually in one way. IMS shall determine the fair market
value of assets held in the client
s account on a daily basis, multiply the average daily value
for the prior month by the yearly management fee divided by twelve. The quarterly fee is
then calculated by summing up the three trailing monthly fees. These calculations are done
for fees paid in arrears.
’
In the event a client closes or transfers out their account, the bill will be calculated on a
prorated basis. Holdings in the IMS Funds are charged at the expense ratio for each fund
and are not billed additionally by IMS at the fee schedule published above. The expense
ratio is available in the IMS Fund
s prospectus.
Management fees are not contingent upon investment results, usually. Fees are negotiable
and may vary based on account size, type of investments, how active the account is, any
specialized services requested, etc. IMS may provide financial planning and investment
consultation services on an hourly basis, for a flat fee or on a retainer basis. IMS generally
bills for these services at a rate of $90 per hour. Flat and retainer fees are determined by
the number of hours that are anticipated for the project. Fees are agreed upon in advance
and are based on the nature of the services to be performed.
’
’
Other fees the client might incur include: (i) annual account fees or other administrative
fees, such as wire fees, charged by your custodian or broker-dealer; (ii) underwriting or
dealer concessions or related compensation in connection with securities acquired in
underwritten offerings; (iii) certain odd lot differentials, transfer taxes, brokerage fees,
transaction fees, transaction fees mandated by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, postage
and handling fees, and charges imposed by law with regard to transactions in the client
s
account; and (iv) advisory fees and expenses of mutual funds (including money market
funds), ETFs, closed-end investment companies or other managed investments, if any are
held in client
s account.
“
”
PWA
Dual Registration of Investment Advisor Representatives. On October 1, 2025, Pinnacle
Wealth Advisors, LLC (
), an investment advisor registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, acquired ownership of IMS. IMS is an affiliate of PWA by virtue of
shared management and control. PWA intends to continue to operate IMS under its current
SEC registration for an interim period while integrating IMS staff and migrating IMS clients
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to PWA. For purposes of client account administration and to ensure the orderly transition
of client accounts from IMS, certain associated persons of PWA and IMS will be dually
registered as investment advisor representatives of both firms. It is expected that such
dually registered persons will recommend that clients of IMS migrate their accounts to
PWA in the future, as PWA and IMS seek to consolidate their respective investment
advisory businesses over time. PWA does not expect to recommend that clients engage the
services of IMS. The dual registration of our personnel is expected to terminate after the
interim period.
See also Item 10 of this Brochure regarding other financial industry activities and
affiliations.
Item 6. Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
IMS has one accredited investor client from whom, in addition to a management fee as
described in Item 5, IMS receives a percentage of realized gains as a performance fee. In
addition, certain client accounts may have higher asset-based fees than other accounts.
When IMS and its investment personnel manage more than one client account a potential
exists for one client account to be favored over another client account. IMS and its
investment personnel have a greater incentive to favor client accounts that pay IMS higher
fees.
Item 7. Types of Clients
IMS offers investment advice and wealth management services to; individuals, high net
worth individuals, insurance companies, investment companies, pension and profit-
sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business
entities. Account minimums start at $250,000 but are negotiable.
Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategy and Risk of Loss
As set forth above, the investments offered by IMS are primarily through four different
strategies; a Capital Value Strategy, a Dividend Growth Strategy and a Strategic Income
Strategy, each offered through the IMS Funds and/or through separately managed
accounts; and a Strategic Allocation Program (SAP) offered only through separately
managed accounts. IMS will also develop a customized portfolio of fixed income and/or
equity securities designed to meet the specific needs of the client. The methods of analysis
include fundamental research, cyclical analysis as well as use of quantitative tools and
investment approach.
’
The Capital Value Strategy
s investment objective is growth. The portfolio invests in 40 to
60 domestic, seasoned and undervalued, primarily mid-cap and large-cap stocks, which
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have positive momentum characteristics. Stocks are carefully researched using proprietary
tools and must fit into at least one of seven strategic focus areas.
’
The Strategic Income Strategy
s investment objective is high current income. The portfolio
–
invests primarily in bonds, yet it may hold other income-producing securities such as
paying common stocks, income trusts, REITs, etc. for
preferred stocks, dividend
opportunistic reasons. Bonds can be any maturity; however, the strategy generally has less
exposure to rising interest rates than a typical bond fund. Dividends from the IMS Strategic
Income Fund (IMSIX) are paid monthly.
’
The Strategic Allocation Program Strategy
s investment objective is long-term growth. Risk
is managed through diversification, the level of fixed income exposure and rebalancing
adjustments that center around the seasonally strong and weak market cycles. A
proprietary screening tool is used to select fund managers or ETFs across all major market
capitalizations (small, mid and large-cap), investment styles (growth and value), domestic
and international, which may include stocks, bonds, precious metals and REITs.
’
Each strategy retains market, interest rate and reinvestment risk. Also, our strategies are
tilted towards value (over growth) which also is cyclical. Performance may be more volatile
if a client
s account employs margin.
The firm's research process employs a scoring model used to evaluate all companies on a
consistent basis and a similar model for mutual funds and ETFs. Factors in the models
include; fundamental financial ratios, organic growth, debt to equity levels, analyst
sentiment, PEG ratios, percent down from high, capital expenditures (intensity & trend),
reason for decline, product cycle length, seasoning (elapsed time since decline), repurchase
cycle length, earnings surprises, barriers to competition, earnings revisions, immunity to
product obsolescence, catalysts, expense ratios, earning ratios, sales charges (loads),
manager duration, pre-tax total return, best and worst quarter, after-tax total yield,
portfolio turnover and fund flow.
The firm employs a number of different sources for research including but not limited to
financial newspapers and magazines, research materials prepared by others, corporate
rating services, timing services, annual reports, prospectuses, filings with the SEC, company
press releases, analysis tools, and networks integrating data, news and analytics.
IMS has been retained as investment manager to the IMS Funds and, subject to the
authorization of the Trusts' Board of Trustees, provides a continuous program of
supervision for the Funds' assets. Under its Investment Advisory Agreement with the IMS
Funds, IMS is entitled to compensation for its management services to the IMS Funds, based
on the IMS Funds' daily average net assets at the annual average rates, which are identified
in the IMS Funds' prospectuses. The IMS retirement plan, principals of IMS, and employees
of IMS may be shareholders of the IMS Funds. IMS may recommend to current and
prospective clients that they invest in the IMS Funds as an alternative to a separately
managed account.
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Risk of Loss
All investing and trading activities involve a risk of loss, including the potential loss of
capital. Although the Advisor will attempt to moderate these risks, no assurance can be
given that the investment activities of an account we advise will achieve the investment
objectives of such account or avoid losses. Past performance is not an indicator of future
results. Direct and indirect investing in securities involves risk of loss that you should be
prepared to bear. The Advisor does 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 you from losses due to market corrections or declines. The Advisor
cannot offer any guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will be
met.
Except as may otherwise be provided by law, the Advisor is not liable to clients for:
•
•
•
Any loss that you may suffer by reason of any investment decision made or
other action taken or omitted by us in good faith;
Any loss arising from our adherence to your instructions or the disregard of
our recommendations made to you; or
Any act or failure to act by a custodian or other third party to your account.
The information included in this Brochure does not include every potential risk associated
with an investment strategy, technique or type of security applicable to a particular client
account. You are encouraged to ask questions regarding risks applicable to a particular
strategy or investment product and read all product-specific risk disclosures. It is your
responsibility to give us complete information and to notify the Advisor of any changes in
financial circumstances or goals.
Description of Material, Significant or Unusual Risks
There are certain additional risks associated when investing in securities; including, but
not limited to:
•
Market Risk: Either the stock market as a whole, or the value of an individual
company, goes down resulting in a decrease in the value of client investments.
This is also referred to as systemic risk.
•
Inflation Risk: The Firm’s portfolios face inflation risk, which results from the
variation in the value of cash flows from a financial instrument due to inflation,
as measured in terms of purchasing power. When inflation is present, a dollar
today will not buy as much as a dollar next year, because purchasing power is
eroding at the rate of inflation.
•
Interest Rate Risk: The price of most fixed income securities moves in the
opposite direction of the change in interest rates. For example, as interest rates
rise, the prices of fixed income securities fall. If the Firm holds a fixed income
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security to maturity, the change in its price before maturity may have little
impact on the Firm portfolios’ performance. However, if the Firm determines
to sell the fixed income security before the maturity date, an increase in interest
rates could result in a loss.
•
Equity (stock) market risk: Common stocks are susceptible to general stock
market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market
confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. If you held common
stock, or common stock equivalents, of any given issuer, you would generally
be exposed to greater risk than if you held preferred stocks and debt
obligations of the issuer.
•
Company Risk: When investing in stock positions, there is always a certain level
of company or industry specific risk that is inherent in each investment. This is
also referred to as unsystematic risk and can be reduced through appropriate
diversification. There is the risk that the company will perform poorly or have
its value reduced based on factors specific to the company or its industry. For
example, if a company’s employees go on strike or the company receives
unfavorable media attention for its actions, the value of the company may be
reduced.
•
Liquidity Risk: Certain assets may not be readily converted into cash or may
have a very limited market in which they trade. You may experience the risk
that your investment or assets within your investment may not be able to be
liquidated quickly, thus, extending the period of time by which you may receive
the proceeds from your investment. Liquidity risk can also result in
unfavorable pricing when exiting (i.e., not being able to quickly get out of an
investment before the price drops significantly) a particular investment and
therefore can have a negative impact on investment returns.
•
ETF and Mutual Fund Risk: When investing in an ETF or mutual fund, a client
will bear additional expenses based on the client’s pro rata share of the ETF’s
or mutual fund’s operating expenses, including the potential duplication of
management fees. The risk of owning an ETF or mutual fund generally reflects
the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF or mutual fund holds.
Clients will also incur brokerage costs when purchasing ETFs.
•
Risks Associated with Fixed Income: When investing in fixed income
instruments such as bonds or notes, the issuer may default on the bond and be
unable to make payments. Further, interest rates may increase, and the
principal value of your investment may decrease. Individuals who depend on
set amounts of periodically paid income face the risk that inflation will erode
their spending power.
•
Reinvestment Risk: This is the risk that future proceeds from investments may
have to be reinvested at a potentially lower rate of return (i.e., interest rate).
This primarily relates to bonds.
•
Call Risk: Bonds that are callable carry an additional risk because they may be
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called prior to maturity depending on current interest rates thereby increasing
the likelihood that reinvestment risk may be realized.
•
Credit Risk: The price of a bond depends on the issuer’s credit rating, or
perceived ability to pay its debt obligations. Consequently, increases in an
issuer’s credit risk, may negatively impact the value of a bond investment.
•
Options Risk: Options on securities may be subject to greater fluctuations in
value than an investment in the underlying securities. Purchasing and writing
put, and call options are highly specialized activities and entail greater than
ordinary investment risks.
•
Speculation Risk: The commodities markets are populated by traders whose
primary interest is in making short-term profits by speculating whether the
price of a security will go up or go down. The speculative actions of these
traders may increase market volatility that could drive down the prices of
commodities.
•
Geopolitical Risk: The risk an investment's returns could suffer as a result of
political changes or instability in a country. Instability affecting investment
returns could stem from a change in government, legislative bodies, other
foreign policy makers or military control.
•
Currency Risk: Overseas investments are subject to fluctuations in the value of
the dollar against the currency of the investment’s originating country. This is
also referred to as exchange rate risk.
•
Foreign Market Risk: The securities markets of many foreign countries,
including emerging countries, have substantially less trading volume than the
securities markets of the United States, and securities of some foreign
companies are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable
United States companies. As a result, foreign securities markets may be subject
to greater influence by adverse events generally affecting the market, by large
investors’ trading significant blocks of securities, or by large dispositions of
securities, than as it is in the United States. The limited liquidity of some foreign
markets may affect our ability to acquire or dispose of securities at a price and
time it believes is advisable. Further, many foreign governments are less stable
than that of the United States. There can be no assurance that any significant,
sustained instability would not increase the risks of investing in the securities
markets of certain countries.
•
Counterparty and Broker Credit Risk: Certain assets will be exposed to the
credit risk of the counterparties when engaging in exchange-traded or off-
exchange transactions. There may be a risk of loss of assets on deposit with or
in the custody of a broker in the event of the broker’s bankruptcy, the
bankruptcy of any clearing broker through which the broker executes and
clears transactions, or the bankruptcy of an exchange clearinghouse.
•
Leverage Risk: Although the Advisor does not typically employ leverage in the
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implementation of its investment strategies, some ETPs and CEFs employ
leverage. IMS Capital does have a few clients that use margins periodically.
Leverage increases returns to investors if the investment strategy earns a
greater return on leveraged investments than the strategy’s cost of such
leverage. However, the use of leverage exposes investors to additional levels of
risk and loss that could be substantial.
•
Market Volatility: The profitability of the portfolios substantially depends upon
the Firm correctly assessing the future price movements of stocks, bonds,
options on stocks, and other securities and the movements of interest rates.
The Firm cannot guarantee that it will be successful in accurately predicting
price and interest rate movements.
•
Management Risk: Your investments will vary with the success and failure of
our investment strategies, research, analysis and determination of portfolio
securities. If you implement our financial planning recommendations and our
investment strategies do not produce the expected results, you may not achieve
your objectives.
•
Force Majeure Events Risk: This is the risk that there may be an act of God,
terrorist act, global health pandemic, failure of utilities or other similar
circumstance not within the reasonable control of the Program that may have
an unknown and potentially catastrophic effect on the global markets.
•
Accuracy of Public Information: The Firm selects investments, in part, on the
basis of information and data filed by issuers with various government
regulators or made directly available to the Firm by the issuers or through
sources other than the issuers. Although the Firm evaluates all such
information and data and sometimes seeks independent corroboration when it
is considered appropriate and reasonably available, the Firm is not in a position
to confirm the completeness, genuineness, or accuracy of such information and
data. In some cases, complete and accurate information is not available.
•
Trading Limitations: For all securities, instruments and/or assets listed on an
exchange, including options listed on a public exchange, the exchange generally
has the right to suspend or limit trading under certain circumstances. Such
suspensions or limits could render certain strategies difficult to complete or
continue and subject the account to loss. Also, such a suspension could render
it impossible for the Firm to liquidate positions and thereby expose the Client
account to potential losses.
•
Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities: In some cases, the Firm
recommends mutual funds. There are several risks involved with these funds.
These funds have portfolio managers that trade the fund’s investments in
agreement with the fund’s objective and in line with the fund prospectus.
•
While these investments generally provide diversification there are some risks
involved especially if the fund is concentrated in a particular sector of the
market, uses leverage, or concentrates in a certain type of security (i.e., foreign
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equities). The returns on mutual funds can be reduced by the costs to manage
the funds. And the shares rise and fall in value according to the supply and
demand. Open end funds may have a diluted effect on other investors’ interest
due to the structure of the fund while closed end funds have limited shares
which rise and fall in value according to supply and demand in the market. In
addition, closed end funds are priced daily and as a result they may trade
differently than the daily net asset value (NAV).
•
Firm’s Investment Activities: The Firm’s investment activities involve a
significant degree of risk. The performance of any investment is subject to
numerous factors which are neither within the control of nor predictable by
the Firm. Such factors include a wide range of economic, political, competitive
and other conditions (including acts of terrorism and war) that may affect
investments in general or specific industries or companies. The markets may
be volatile, which may adversely affect the ability of the Firm to realize profits
on behalf of its Clients. As a result of the nature of the Firm’s investing activities,
it is possible that the Firm’s results may fluctuate substantially from period to
period.
•
Material Non-Public Information: By reason of their responsibilities in
connection with other activities of the Firm and/or its principals or employees,
certain principals or employees of the Firm and/or its affiliates may acquire
confidential or material non-public information or be restricted from initiating
transactions in certain securities. The Firm will not be free to act upon any such
information. Due to these restrictions, the Firm may not be able to initiate a
transaction that it otherwise might have initiated and may not be able to sell
an investment that it otherwise might have sold.
•
Legal and Regulatory Risks: The regulation of the U.S. and non-U.S. securities
and futures markets investment funds has undergone substantial change in
recent years and such change may continue. In particular, in light of the recent
market turmoil there have been numerous proposals, including bills that have
been introduced in the U.S. Congress, for substantial revisions to the regulation
of financial institutions generally. Some of the additional regulation includes
requirements that private fund managers register as investment advisers
under the Advisers Act and disclose various information to regulators about
the positions, counterparties and other exposures of the private funds
managed by such managers. Further, the practice of short selling has been the
subject of numerous temporary restrictions, and similar restrictions may be
promulgated at any time. Such restrictions may adversely affect the returns of
Underlying Investment Funds that utilize short selling. The effect of such
regulatory change on the accounts and/or the underlying investment funds,
while impossible to predict, could be substantial and adverse.
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Item 9. Disciplinary Information
There are no legal or disciplinary events that are material to the evaluation of our advisory
business or the integrity of our management.
Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
“
”
PWA
“
”
“
”
PWH
IMSH
), an investment advisor
On October 1, 2025, Pinnacle Wealth Advisors, LLC (
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, acquired ownership of IMS. PWA
itself is owned by Pinnacle Wealth Holdings, Inc. (87%) (
) and IMS Holdco Inc.
). PWH is majority owned by Aaron Christopherson, with minority interest
(13%) (
held by Randy Gay and Brian Timm. IMSH is majority owned by Carl Marker, with minority
interest held by Chris Magana. In connection with the IMS acquisition, PWA also acquired
two mutual funds managed by IMS; the IMS Capital Value Fund trading as IMSCX and the
IMS Strategic Income Fund trading as IMSIX. Both mutual funds are registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. PWA intends to continue to operate IMS under its
current SEC registration for an interim period while integrating IMS staff and migrating IMS
clients to PWA. During this period, certain associated persons of PWA and IMS will be dually
registered as investment advisor representatives of both firms.
Doug Kintzinger, an advisor of IMS currently sits on the Board of Directors for NextJob, Inc.
and Hampton Affiliates - all non-investment related, privately held companies. To the
extent there are any conflicts of interest between these entities and IMS and/or Doug
Kintzinger, such conflicts are disclosed.
IMS sponsored the organization of and has an active interest in the IMS Funds. The IMS
Funds are diversified, open-end series of 360 Funds, a Delaware statutory business trust
and are commonly referred to as mutual funds.
On occasion, IMS also acts as a consultant to retirement plans.
Item 11. Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
and Personal Trading
The Advisor has adopted a Code of Ethics (“Code”) for the purpose of instructing its
personnel of their ethical obligations and to provide rules for their personal securities
transactions. The Adviser and its personnel owe a duty of loyalty, fairness and good faith
towards their clients, and the obligation to adhere not only to the specific provisions of the
Code but to the general principles that guide the Code. The Code of Ethics covers a range of
topics that includes general ethical principles, reporting personal securities trading,
exempted transactions, prohibited purchases, reporting ethical violations, distribution of
the Code of Ethics and review and enforcement processes. The Adviser will provide a copy
IMS Capital Management
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of the Code to any client or prospective client upon request by contacting us by telephone
at (503) 788-4200.
’
“
”
The owners and/or employees of IMS may own shares of the IMS Funds. Employees are
discretionary client accounts as long
allowed to buy and sell securities that are held in IMS
Transactions Involving Securities
as the employee adheres to the practices outlined in the
Held in IMS Strategies
section of the Code. The Advisor recognizes that the personal
investment transactions of members and employees of our firm demand the application of
a Code of Ethics and require that all such transactions be carried out in a way that does not
endanger the interest of any client. At the same time, we believe that if investment goals
are similar for clients and for members and employees of our firm, it is logical and even
desirable that there be common ownership of some securities. Therefore, in order to
prevent conflicts of interest, we have in place a set of procedures (including a pre- clearing
procedure) with respect to transactions effected by our members, officers and employees
for their personal accounts. Employee trading in securities, other than those that meet the
definition of exempt securities, require CCO pre-approval to trade. Policies and procedures
have been adopted to prevent the misuse of material non-public information and to detect
and prevent insider trading. IMS and its employees' transactions are monitored to ensure
there is no violation of these policies and procedures.
Further, in order to monitor compliance with our personal trading policy, the Advisor has
a quarterly securities transaction reporting system for all of our associates. Upon
employment or affiliation and at least annually thereafter, all supervised persons will sign
an acknowledgement that they have read, understand, and agree to comply with our Code
of Ethics. The Advisor also reserves the right to disapprove any proposed transaction that
may have the appearance of improper conduct.
The Advisor or individuals associated with the Advisor may buy and sell some of the same
securities for its own account that the Advisor buys and sells for its clients, subject to the
timing limitations stated in the Code.
Where appropriate the Advisor will purchase a security for all of its existing accounts for
which the investment is appropriate before purchasing any of the securities for their own
account and, likewise, when it determines that securities should be sold, where appropriate
will cause these securities to be sold from all of its advisory accounts prior to permitting
the selling of the securities from its accounts. In some cases, Advisor may buy or sell
securities for its own account for reasons not related to the strategies adopted by the
Advisor's clients. All buys and sells in the Advisor's account must be cleared through the
Chief Compliance Officer before they are initiated.
Item 12. Brokerage Practices
Except to the extent that the Client directs otherwise, the Advisor may use its discretion in
recommending a broker-dealer. The Client is not obligated to effect transactions through
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any broker-dealer recommended by Advisor. In recommending broker-dealers, Advisor
will generally seek “best execution.” In recommending a broker-dealer, the Advisor will
comply with its fiduciary duty to obtain best execution and with the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and will take into account such relevant factors as (a) price, (b) the broker-
dealer's facilities, reliability and financial responsibility, (c) the ability of the broker-dealer
to effect transactions, particularly with regard to such aspect as timing, order size and
execution of order, (d) the research and related brokerage services provided by such
broker or dealer to the Advisor, notwithstanding that the account may not be the direct or
exclusive beneficiary of such services and (e) any other factors the Advisor considers to be
relevant.
Clients with separately managed accounts may request that a particular broker process
their securities transactions or IMS will suggest brokers. When recommending a broker
IMS will consider a number of factors including price and execution for a particular
transaction. In the case where a client chooses the broker-dealer for custody and trade
execution, there is a possibility that the client may not be able to achieve best or the same
execution as the other clients the firm is trading for. When feasible IMS may group or block
various client orders (have the ability to but do not practice this for the most part) to more
efficiently execute orders and receive reduced commission rates. Such block orders may be
executed at various prices, and where block orders are not executed in total, IMS attempts
to allocate executed trades on a basis which will be fair to clients over time. Clients who
choose their own broker may not be able to benefit from blocked trades. IMS considers,
among other things, the size of the order, the broker's ability to effect and settle the
transaction promptly and reliably, integrity, and financial condition in determining the
broker's execution capability.
Generally, in addition to a broker's ability to provide "best execution," we may also consider
the value of "research" or additional brokerage products and services a broker- dealer has
provided or may be willing to provide. This is known as paying for those services or
products with "soft dollars." Because many of the services or products could be considered
to provide a benefit to the firm, and because the "soft dollars" used to acquire them are
client assets, the firm could be considered to have a conflict of interest in allocating client
brokerage business; and it could receive valuable benefits by selecting a particular broker
or dealer to execute client transactions and the transaction compensation charged by that
broker or dealer might not be the lowest compensation the firm might otherwise be able to
negotiate. In addition, the firm could have an incentive to cause clients to engage in more
securities transactions than would otherwise be optimal in order to generate brokerage
compensation with which to acquire products and services.
“
”
safe harbor
The firm's use of soft dollars is intended to comply with the requirements of Section 28(e)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Section 28(e) provides a
for
investment managers who use commissions or transaction fees paid by their advised
accounts to obtain investment research services that provide lawful and appropriate
assistance to the manager in performing investment decision-making responsibilities.
As required by Section 28(e), the firm will make a good faith determination that the amount
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of commission or other fees paid is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and
research services provided. That is, before placing orders with a particular broker, we
generally determine, considering all the factors described below, that the compensation to
be paid is reasonable in relation to the value of all the brokerage and research products and
services provided. In making this determination, we typically consider not only the
particular transaction or transactions, and not only the value of brokerage and research
services and products to a particular client, but also the value of those services and
products in our performance of our overall responsibilities to all of our clients. In some
cases, the commissions or other transaction fees charged by a particular broker-dealer for
a particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another
broker-dealer who did not provide research services or products might charge.
firm
in the performance of
its
“
”
soft-dollars
"Research" products and services we may receive from broker-dealers may include
economic surveys, data, and analyses; financial publications; recommendations or other
information about particular companies and industries (through research reports and
otherwise); and other products or services (e.g., computer services and equipment,
including hardware, software, and data bases) that provide lawful and appropriate
assistance to the
investment decision-making
responsibilities. Consistent with Section 28(e), brokerage products and services (beyond
traditional execution services) consist primarily of computer services and software that
permit us to effect securities transactions and perform functions incidental to transaction
execution. We generally use such products and services in the conduct of our investment
decision-making generally, not just for those accounts whose commissions may be
considered to have been used to pay for the products or services. Services we have paid
with
in the last fiscal year include; Bloomberg for fixed income research;
Morningstar for mutual fund and stock screening and ValueLine.
The firm may use some products or services not only as "research" and as brokerage (i.e.,
to assist in making investment decisions for clients or to perform functions incidental to
transaction execution) but for our administrative and other purposes as well. In these
instances, we make a reasonable allocation of the cost of the products and services so that
only the portion of the cost that is attributable to making investment decisions and
executing transactions are paid with commission dollars and we bear the cost of the
balance. Our interest in making such an allocation differs from clients' interest, in that we
have an incentive to designate as much as possible of the cost as research and brokerage in
order to minimize the portion that the firm must pay directly.
Although shares of mutual funds can be purchased and redeemed without payment of
transactions fees, we may, consistent with our duty of best execution, determine to cause
client accounts to pay transaction fees that may be higher than those obtainable from other
broker- dealers when purchasing shares of certain mutual funds in order to obtain
“research.” This research may not be used for the exclusive benefit of the clients who pay
transaction fees in purchasing mutual fund shares.
A broker-dealer through which the firm wishes to use soft dollars may establish "credits"
arising out of brokerage business done in the past, which may be used to pay, or reimburse
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the firm for, specified expenses. In other cases, a broker-dealer may provide or pay for the
service or product and suggest a level of future business that would fully compensate it.
The actual level of transactional business the firm does with a particular broker-dealer
during any period may be less than such a suggested level, but may exceed that level and
may generate unused soft dollar "credits." We do not exclude a broker- dealer from
receiving business simply because the broker-dealer has not been identified as providing
soft dollar research products and services, although we may not be willing to pay the same
commission to such broker-dealer as we would have paid had the broker- dealer provided
such products and services.
Item 13. Review of Accounts
Mutual and index funds receive a quarterly performance review and they are also reviewed
for performance relative to their peer groups and other factors on an annual basis. Security
positions are reviewed as frequently as daily. IMS' personnel perform reviews of all
separately managed accounts no less than quarterly.
There is currently no limit on the number of accounts that can be reviewed by any
individual at IMS. Accounts are reviewed for consistency with the investment strategy and
performance. Reviews may also be triggered by changes in a client’s personal, tax, and
financial status and market events.
Clients receive a quarterly summary from IMS in addition to their monthly or quarterly
statements from their custodians. The IMS summary includes an overview of the account
performance, allocation, positions and amounts
invested. Clients are also sent
confirmations following each brokerage account transaction unless confirmations have
been waived.
Item 14. Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Schwab provides IMS with access to Schwab’ institutional trading and custody services,
which are typically not available to Schwab retail investors. These services generally are
available to independent investment advisers on an unsolicited basis, at no charge to them
so long as a total of at least $10 million of the adviser’s clients’ assets are maintained in
accounts at Schwab. Schwab includes brokerage services that are related to the execution
of securities transactions, custody, research, including that in the form of advice, analyses
and reports, and access to mutual funds and other investments that are otherwise generally
available only to institutional investors or would require a significantly higher minimum
initial investment. For IMS client accounts maintained in its custody, Schwab generally does
not charge separately for custody services but is compensated by account holders through
commissions or other transaction- related or asset-based fees for securities trades that are
executed through Schwab or that settle into Schwab accounts.
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information
Schwab also makes available to IMS other products and services that benefit IMS but may
not benefit its clients’ accounts. These benefits may include national, regional or IMS
specific educational events organized and/or sponsored by Schwab. Other potential
benefits may include occasional business entertainment of personnel of IMS by Schwab
personnel, including meals, invitations to sporting events, including golf tournaments, and
other forms of entertainment, some of which may accompany educational opportunities.
Other of these products and services assist IMS in managing and administering clients’
accounts. These include software and other technology (and related technological training)
that provide access to client account data (such as trade confirmations and account
statements), facilitate trade execution (and allocation of aggregated trade orders for
multiple client accounts, if applicable), provide research, pricing information and other
market data, facilitate payment of IMS’s fees from its clients’ accounts (if applicable), and
assist with back-office training and support functions, recordkeeping and client reporting.
Many of these services generally may be used to service all or some substantial number of
IMS’s accounts. Schwab also makes available to IMS other services intended to help IMS
manage and further develop its business enterprise. These services may include
professional compliance, legal and business consulting, publications and conferences on
practice management,
technology, business succession, regulatory
compliance, employee benefits providers, and human capital consultants, insurance and
marketing. In addition, Schwab may make available, arrange and/or pay vendors for these
types of services rendered to IMS by independent third parties. Schwab may discount or
waive fees it would otherwise charge for some of these services or pay all or a part of the
fees of a third-party providing these services to IMS. IMS is independently owned and
operated and not affiliated with Schwab..
In addition, IMS has a referral arrangement with a prior owner of a company purchased by
IMS. The prior owner is not a current employee of IMS, however IMS pays the prior owner
up to 40% of its advisory fee for each successful client introduction/referral.
Item 15. Custody
IMS does not have physical custody of client funds or securities. However, investment
advisers are deemed to have “custody” of client funds if they have the ability to directly
debit advisory fees from client accounts. Because IMS has authorization to directly debit
certain client’s account(s) for payment of advisory fees, IMS is deemed to exercise limited
custody over client assets. IMS is responsible for assuring that the account’s independent,
qualified custodian will provide account statements directly to clients at least quarterly,
and that the client’s statement will clearly label the advisor’s fee.
Qualified custodians that hold client assets will provide account statements directly to
clients at their address of record at least quarterly. The statement will indicate all amounts
disbursed from the account including the amount of management fees paid directly to IMS.
Clients are encouraged to carefully review the statements provided by their custodians.
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Item 16. Investment Discretion
IMS has the authority to determine the amounts of each and the specific securities to be
bought or sold without obtaining client consent in its capacity as a portfolio manager for
the IMS Funds or separately managed accounts. In this capacity IMS will also select the
broker-dealers for trade execution for the funds at its discretion. In selecting a broker for
any transaction or series of transactions, IMS may consider a number of factors, including,
for example, net price, the financial stability and reputation of the broker, the quality of the
investment research, investment strategies, special execution capabilities, clearance,
settlement, custody, recordkeeping and other services provided by such broker. Allocation
of investment opportunities among the IMS Funds and separately managed accounts may
be compromised if one receives preferential treatment.
Separately managed account clients may have the ability to view IMS Fund holdings before
the general public. Any restrictions or limitations on the Adviser’s discretionary authority
for separately managed accounts must be made in writing.
Item 17. Voting Client Securities
For all IMS Program accounts, the client should know that IMS will not vote any proxies for
securities or exercise voting rights pertaining to investment in a client’s account (including
without limitation matters relating to conversions, exchanges, mergers, stock splits, rights
offerings, recapitalizations and reorganizations). IMS also will not act for clients in any legal
proceedings, including bankruptcies or class actions, involving securities held or previously
held by a client’s account. It is the client’s responsibility to vote any proxies for securities,
exercise voting rights, or take any legal actions pertaining to investments in his or her
account. Ordinarily, the custodian will forward proxies or other communications
pertaining to investments in client’s account to client. Client should contact IMS if he or she
does not receive proxies or other mailings pertaining to the investments in the account.
’
Client also should understand that IMS will not be responsible or liable for Schwab, Fidelity
or other custodians
failure to send proxies or related communications on a timely basis.
Proxies for the IMS Funds are outsourced to Broadridge, who uses Glass Lewis & Co
standard recommendations for votes and records the proxy votes that they do on behalf of
IMS. Broadridge offers a website which is reviewed by the CCO to ensure proxies are voted.
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Item 18. Financial Information
IMS does not have any financial commitments that might impair our current or future
ability to meet our contractual commitments to clients and we have not been the subject of
a bankruptcy petition at any time during the past ten years.
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