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Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC
2400 East Commercial Boulevard
Suite 706
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
Telephone: 704-643-5000
Facsimile: 704-943-7296
May 2, 2025
FORM ADV PART 2A
BROCHURE
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Integrated
Financial Strategies, LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please
contact us at 704-643-5000. 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 Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC is available on the SEC's website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Integrated Financial Strategies, 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 dated March 29, 2024, there have been the
following material changes to report:
1. The principal address change to 2400 East Commercial Boulevard, Suite 706, Fort Lauderdale,
FL 33308
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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 Services and Fees
Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC is a registered investment adviser based in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. We are organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the Stateof Florida.We have
been providing investment advisory services since 2012. Kelly G. Burke is our principal owner.
Currently, we offer Portfolio Management Services and Retirement Income Planning, which are
personalized to each individual client.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Please 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 Integrated Financial
Strategies, LLC and the words "you", "your" and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective
client of our firm.
Portfolio Management Services
We offer discretionary and non-discretionary Portfolio Management Services. Our investment advice is
tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives. If you retain our firm for Portfolio
Management Services, we will meet with you to determine your investment objectives, risk tolerance,
and other relevant information at the beginning of our advisory relationship. We will use the information
we gather to develop a strategy that enables our firm to give you continuous and focused investment
advice and/or to make investments on your behalf. As part of our Portfolio Management Services, we
will customize an investment portfolio for you according to your risk tolerance and investing objectives.
Once we construct an investment portfolio for you we will monitor your portfolio's performance on an
ongoing basis, and will rebalance the portfolio as required by changes in market conditions and in your
financial circumstances.
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. 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.
Retirement Income Planning
We offer Retirement Income Planning 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. If you retain our firm for Retirement Income Planning, we will meet with you to gather
information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also use financial planning
software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify your long-term goals
and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and non-financial), we will
develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide to
our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we may deliver a written plan to
you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Retirement income plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you,
and on the financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial
situation, goals, objectives, or needs change.
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You are under no obligation to act on our recommendations. Should you choose to act on any of our
recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the retirement income plan through any of our
other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing
securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
Web-based Financial Consulting and Planning Services
We offer web-based consulting 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. Depending on the level of service chosen we will assist clients with the following:
Account aggregation and portfolio review, e-mail access to advisor to ask general financial questions,
access to monthly educational webinars and our educational video library, semi-annual or quarterly
account reviews, and call in availability for specific financial advice.
You are under no obligation to act on our recommendations. Should you choose to act on any of our
recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the recommendations through any of our other
investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing securities
transactions with any brokerage firm.
In addition, we offer web-based financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of
advisory services to clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an
analysis of their individual needs. These services can range from broad-based financial planning to
consultative or single subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will
work with you to gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also
use financial planning software to help 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 written plan to
you. The plan is designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the
financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation,
goals, objectives, or needs change so that we can update your plan, which is included in our
membership fees.
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.
Wrap Fee Program(s)
We are a portfolio manager and a sponsor of a Wrap Fee Program, which is a type of investment
program where clients pay a single fee that includes administrative fees, management fees, and
commissions. If you participate in our Wrap Fee Program, you will pay our firm a single fee, which
includes our money management fees, 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. For more information concerning the Wrap
Fee Program, please see Appendix 1 to this Brochure.
Types of Investments
We primarily offer advice on equity securities, corporate debt securities, variable annuities, mutual
funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
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Additionally, we may advise you on any type of investment that we deem appropriate based on your
stated goals and objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your
portfolio at the inception of our advisory relationship.
You may request that we refrain from investing in particular securities or certain types of securities.
You must provide these restrictions to our firm in writing.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field
Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the
following acknowledgment to you.
When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual
retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement
accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a
special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under
this special rule's provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent
advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in
your best interest.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2024, we provide continuous management services for $380,000,000 in client
assets on a discretionary basis, and $75,000,000 in client assets on a non-discretionary basis.
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Portfolio Management Services
Our fee for Portfolio Management Services is based on a percentage of your assets we manage and is
set forth in the following fee schedule:
Account Value
$1 to $250,000
$250,001 to $750,000
$750,001 to $1,250,000
$1,250,001 and up
Maximum Fee
1.75%
1.50%
1.35%
1.15%
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Our annual Portfolio Management fee is billed and payable quarterly in advance based on the value of
your account on the last trading day of the previous quarter. Our advisory fee is negotiable, depending
on individual client circumstances. In limited circumstances, we may charge advisory fees that slightly
exceed our standard tiered fee scheduled (noted above) where the client relationship is more complex
in nature and/or requires additional advisory assistance.
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. If you become a client after
the first day of a calendar quarter, your fees will be billed in arrears for that quarter only and then
quarterly in advance for all subsequent calendar quarters.
At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household
to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and
your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining
account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee
based on the available breakpoints in our fee schedule stated above.
We will deduct our fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds
and securities. We will deduct our advisory fee only when the following requirements are met:
• You provide our firm with written authorization permitting the fees to be paid directly from your
account held by the qualified custodian.
• The qualified custodian agrees to send you an invoice, at least quarterly, indicating all amounts
dispersed from your account including the amount of the advisory fee paid directly to our firm.
You may terminate the Portfolio Management agreement upon 30-days' written notice to our firm. You
will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the 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.
If you have any questions about the statement(s) you receive from the qualified custodian call our main
office number located on the cover page of this brochure.
Web-based Financial Consulting and Planning Services
We charge a fixed fee for web-based financial consulting services. Our service and associated fee
structure allows us to provide services to those who may have little to no investable assets. We begin
with a monthly fixed advisory fee which is due at the beginning of each month. We offer three options
for web-based financial consulting designed to meet your individual need and circumstances as
follows:
Silver Package
The annual fixed fee for this service is $469.00 payable in twelve monthly installments of $39.00 at the
beginning of each monthly period. The following services are included in the Silver Package
• Account aggregation (Use of eMoney)
• 24/7 email access to me to answer general financial questions. (No specific investment
questions here.)
Access to our monthly pre-recorded educational webinars.
Access to educational video library.
•
•
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Gold Package
The annual fixed fee for this services is $1,188.00 payable in twelve monthly installments of $99.00 at
the beginning of each monthly period. There is a one time upfront fee of $250.00 for a comprehensive
review of your current brokerage and retirement accounts that are not being managed by our firm on
a continuous basis. The following services are included in the Gold Package:
• All service provided in the Silver package.
• Semi-annual account reviews with one hour of time allotted for a conference call for each
review.
• One hour of time per month via a conference call to discuss any financial topic or
predetermined topic with specific investment recommendations provided.
Platinum Package
The annual fixed fee for this services is $2,388.00 payable in twelve monthly installments of $199.00 at
the beginning of each monthly period. There is a one-time upfront fee of $250.00 for a comprehensive
review of your current brokerage and retirement accounts that are not being managed by our firm on
a continuous basis. The following services are included in the Gold Package:
• All services provided in the Silver and Gold Packages.
• Quarterly account reviews with one hour of time allotted for a conference call for each review.
•
Includes monitoring client portfolio holdings on a weekly basis with a monthly portfolio summary
report provided using Morningstar.
• Unlimited phone calls to advisor.
• Specific investment recommendations provided.
The fee and the required form of payment will be stated in your agreement with Integrated Financial
Strategies, LLC. Following your prior written authorization, your fees will be deducted through
automatic ACH withdrawals / credit card that you set up in advance for payment.
Clients who desire comprehensive financial planning services in addition to our web-based consulting
will be charge an hourly fee of $199.00 for these services which are outside the scope of the services
listed above, which is negotiable depending on the scope and complexity of the service, your situation,
and your financial objectives. An estimate of the total time/cost will be determined at the start of the
advisory relationship. In limited circumstances, the cost/time could potentially exceed the initial
estimate. In such cases, we will notify you and request that you approve the additional fee.
We also offer advice on single subject financial planning/general consulting services at the same
hourly rate.
You may terminate the Web-based Financial Consulting agreement upon 30-days' written notice to our
firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the 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. Clients who cancel their service will lose
access to their information with eMoney, so we recommend that you print the latest version of your
plan before you cancel.
We will not require prepayment of a fee more than six months in advance and in excess of $1,200.
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Retirement Income Planning
We charge a fixed fee for Retirement Income Planning which generally ranges from $750 to $5,000.
The fee is negotiable depending upon the complexity and scope of the plan, your financial situation,
and your objectives. An estimate of the total time/cost will be determined at the start of the advisory
relationship. In limited circumstances, the cost/time could potentially exceed the initial estimate. In
such cases, we will notify you in advance and request that you approve the additional fee.
We require that you pay 50% of the fee in advance and the remaining portion upon the completion of
the services rendered. We will not require prepayment of a fee more than six months in advance and in
excess of $500. Should the engagement last longer than six months between acceptance of
the Retirement Income Planning agreement and delivery of the retirement income plan, any prepaid
unearned fees will be promptly returned to you less a pro rata charge for bona fide services rendered
to date.
At our discretion, we may offset our Retirement Income Planning fees to the extent you implement the
retirement income plan through our Portfolio Management Service.
You may terminate the Retirement Income Planning agreement by providing written notice to our firm.
You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the agreement. If you
have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those
fees.
Additional Fees and Expenses
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may invest, or recommend that you invest, in
mutual funds and exchange traded funds. The fees that you pay to our firm for investment advisory
services are separate and distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange
traded funds (described in each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally
include a management fee and other fund expenses. You will also incur transaction charges and/or
brokerage fees when purchasing or selling securities. These charges and fees are typically imposed by
the broker-dealer or custodian through whom your account transactions are executed. We do not
share in any portion of the brokerage fees/transaction charges imposed by the broker-dealer or
custodian. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you should review all fees charged by
mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others. For information on our brokerage practices,
please refer to the Brokerage Practices section of this brochure.
Compensation for the Sale of Securities or Other Investment Products
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm may be registered representatives with
Fortune Financial Services, Inc. a securities broker-dealer, and member FINRA and SIPC. In their
capacity as registered representatives, these persons may receive commission-based compensation in
connection with the purchase and sale of securities, including 12b-1 fees for the sale of investment
company products. Compensation earned by these persons in their capacities as registered
representatives is 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 registered
representatives have an incentive to effect securities transactions for the purpose of generating
commissions. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to purchase securities products
through any person affiliated with our firm.
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm may be 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
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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.
At our discretion, we may offset our advisory fees to the extent persons associated with our firm earn
commissions in their separate capacities as insurance agents and/or registered representatives.
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
We charge performance-based fees to "qualified clients" having a net worth greater than $2,100,000 or
for whom we manage at least $1,000,000 immediately after entering an agreement for our services.
Performance-based fees are fees based on a share of capital gains or capital appreciation of a client's
account. The fixed portion of the fee will not exceed 1% per annum of current portfolio equity, payable
Quarterly. The performance fee is generally equal to a maximum of 10% of the annual gross profits,
once a minimum Plus 10% return has been achieved within a 12-month period. Fees will be adjusted
for deposits and withdrawals made during the 12-month period. In the event the client makes a
complete withdrawal from the account on a date other than year-end, fees will be due at the time of
withdrawal. Refer to the Fees and Compensation section above for additional information on this topic.
We manage accounts that are charged performance-based fees while at the same time managing
accounts (perhaps with similar objectives) that are not charged performance-based fees ("side-by-side
management"). Performance-based fees and side-by-side management create conflicts of interest,
which we have identified and described in the following paragraphs.
Performance-based fees create an incentive for our firm to make investments that are riskier or more
speculative than would be the case absent a performance fee arrangement. In order to address this
potential conflict of interest, a senior officer of our firm periodically reviews client accounts to ensure
that investments are suitable and that the account is being managed according to the client's
investment objectives and risk tolerance.
Performance-based fees may also create an incentive for our firm to overvalue investments which lack
a market quotation. In order to address such conflict, we have adopted policies and procedures that
require our firm to "fairly value" any investments, which do not have a readily ascertainable value.
Side-by-side management might provide an incentive for our firm to favor accounts for which we
receive a performance-based fee. For example, we may have an incentive to allocate limited
investment opportunities, such as initial public offerings, to clients who are charged performance-
based fees over clients who are charged asset based fees only. To address this conflict of interest, we
have instituted policies and procedures that require our firm to allocate investment opportunities (if they
are suitable) in an effort to avoid favoritism among our clients, regardless of whether the client is
charged performance fees.
Item 7 Types of Clients
We offer investment advisory services to individuals (including high net worth individuals), corporations
and other business entities.
In general, we do not require a minimum dollar amount to open and maintain an advisory account;
however, we have the right to terminate your account if it falls below a minimum size which, in our sole
opinion, is too small to effectively manage.
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Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
We will use one or more of the following methods of analysis or investment strategies when providing
investment advice to you:
Charting Analysis - involves the gathering and processing of price and volume pattern information for
a particular security, sector, broad index or commodity. This price and volume pattern information is
analyzed. The resulting pattern and correlation data is used to detect departures from expected
performance and diversification and predict future price movements and trends.
• Risk: Our charting analysis may not accurately detect anomalies or predict future price
movements. Current prices of securities may reflect all information known about the security
and day-to-day changes in market prices of securities may follow random patterns and may not
be predictable with any reliable degree of accuracy.
Technical Analysis - involves studying past price patterns, trends, and interrelationships in the
financial markets to assess risk-adjusted performance and predict the direction of both the overall
market and specific securities.
• Risk: The risk of market timing based on technical analysis is that our analysis may not
accurately detect anomalies or predict future price movements. Current prices of securities may
reflect all information known about the security and day-to-day changes in market prices of
securities may follow random patterns and may not be predictable with any reliable degree of
accuracy.
Fundamental Analysis - involves analyzing individual companies and their industry groups, such as a
company's financial statements, details regarding the company's product line, the experience and
expertise of the company's management, and the outlook for the company and its industry. The
resulting data is used to measure the true value of the company's stock compared to the current
market value.
• Risk: The risk of fundamental analysis is that information obtained may be incorrect and the
analysis may not provide an accurate estimate of earnings, which may be the basis for a stock's
value. If securities prices adjust rapidly to new information, utilizing fundamental analysis may
not result in favorable performance.
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.
We may use short-term trading, short sales, and/or options as investment strategies when managing
your account(s). None of these strategies are a fundamental part of our overall investment strategy,
but we may use one or more occasionally when we determine that they are suitable given your stated
investment objectives and tolerance for risk.
• Short-term trading generally involves selling securities within 30 days of purchasing them. This
type of trading may include buying and selling securities frequently in an effort to capture
significant market gains and avoid significant losses. However, there is a risk that frequent
trading can negatively affect investment performance, particularly through increased brokerage
and other transactional costs and taxes.
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• Short Sales are securities transactions in which an investor sells securities that were borrowed
in anticipation of a price decline. A short sale requires the investor to return an equal number of
shares at some point in the future. Although a short seller will profit if the stock goes down in
price, potential losses can be unlimited if the price of the shares increases.
• An option is the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a particular security at a specified
price before the expiration date of the option. When an investor sells an option, he or she must
deliver to the buyer a specified number of shares if the buyer exercises the option. The seller
pays the buyer a premium (the market price of the option at a particular time) in exchange for
writing the option. Options are complex investments and can be very risky, especially if the
investor does not own the underlying stock. In certain situations, an investor's risk can be
unlimited.
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 horizon, financial information, liquidity needs, and other various
suitability factors. Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio.
Our investment process is based on the fundamental value of a firm's equity or bonds. We look to
purchase securities that exhibit a current market value that is substantially less than our view of
intrinsic value. We are prepared to hold those assets as long term (multiple years) positions. Our sell
discipline is governed by changes in macro circumstances or our determination of a security's full
valuation. Our goal is to mitigate risk by diversification and by mixing in securities with a low correlation
to the stock market when appropriate.
Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC always considers the client's stated goals, investment time
horizon, and risk tolerance when constructing that individual client's portfolio. We believe diversification
among asset classes and industry sectors is a primary component of portfolio construction. We
recommend investments primarily in individual stocks, individual bonds, mutual funds and exchange
traded funds (ETFs).
The first component of client portfolio construction is determining what percentage of funds will be held
in stocks (equities), bonds (fixed income), and cash. Within equity allocations, assets are allocated to
Large Cap companies, Small and Mid Cap companies, and Foreign owned companies. Equity
investments will generally be the more volatile portion of the portfolio, with a long term goal of capital
appreciation. Fixed income investments are generally expected to be more stable and less volatile
than equities, but may also experience volatility due to rising interest rates or changes in credit
standing. Fixed Income investments are used primarily to generate interest income as well as provide
stability to the portfolio. Generally, more aggressive portfolios will have more equities and fewer fixed
income investments, while more conservative portfolios will have fewer equities and more fixed income
investments.
Many of our client portfolios will invest in individual stocks. When buying individual stocks, we primarily
invest in Large Cap companies for which significant amounts of information and financial data are
readily available for analysis. These stocks tend to have larger number of shares traded on a daily
basis, which provides for greater liquidity should the advisor wish to sell the security. Our investment
plans diversify stocks among industry sectors (for example, Information Technology, Energy, and
Industrials). In total there are 10 industry sectors in which we typically invest. We attempt to further
control risk by investing in several stocks within each sector so that no single company becomes a
concentrated holding.
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No amount of diversification or asset allocation can guarantee a portfolio will not experience volatility or
loss of principal. More aggressive portfolios, which are predominately equity weighted, will have
greater potential for capital appreciation, but in return for this opportunity must accept greater volatility
and loss potential. We do not try to "time the market" by jumping in and out of stocks or day trading
portfolios. We believe the most appropriate time to make significant changes to a portfolio allocation is
when a client's goals or tolerance for risk changes.
Tax Considerations
Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications. Our investment
advisors attempt to manage portfolios in a tax efficient manner, as lowering taxes can be an extremely
important part of increasing a client's overall return. We generally consider each client's tax situation
before purchasing securities or making trades; however, there will certainly be instances where our
management will result in a tax burden to the client due to realized gains, interest or dividend income
or other factors. Since we are not accountants or CPAs, we strongly recommend that you consult with
a tax professional regarding the investing of your assets.
Moreover, as a result of revised IRS regulations, custodians and broker-dealers will begin reporting the
cost basis of equities acquired in client accounts on or after January 1, 2011. Your custodian will
default to the FIFO (First-In First-Out) 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, please provide written notice to our firm immediately and we will alert your account
custodian of your individually selected accounting method. Please note that 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.
Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities
As disclosed under the Advisory Business section in this brochure, we primarily recommend equity
securities, corporate debt securities, variable annuities, mutual fund shares, and ETFs. However, we
may recommend 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 it.
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, more well established
companies ("large cap") tend to be safer than smaller start-up companies ("small cap") but the mere
size of an issuer is not, by itself, an indicator of the safety of the investment.
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Bonds: Corporate debt securities (or "bonds") are typically safer investments than equity securities,
but their risk can also vary widely based on: the financial health of the issuer; the risk that the issuer
might default; when the bond is set to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to
maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character
paying the same rate of return.
Mutual Funds and ETFs: Mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) 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. Exchange traded funds 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.
Variable Annuities: A variable annuity is a form of insurance where the seller or issuer (typically an
insurance company) makes a series of future payments to a buyer (annuitant) in exchange for the
immediate payment of a lump sum ( single-payment annuity ) or a series of regular payments ( regular-
payment annuity ). The payment stream from the issuer to the annuitant has an unknown duration
based principally upon the date of death of the annuitant. At this point the contract will terminate and
the remainder of the funds accumulated forfeited unless there are other annuitants or beneficiaries in
the contract. Annuities can be purchased to provide an income during retirement. Unlike fixed annuities
that make payments in fixed amounts or in amounts that increase by a fixed percentage, variable
annuities, pay amounts that vary according to the performance of a specified set of investments,
typically bond and equity mutual funds. Many variable annuities typically impose asset-based sales
charges or surrender charges for withdrawals within a specified period. Variable annuities may impose
a variety of fees and expenses, in addition to sales and surrender charges, such as: mortality and
expense risk charges; administrative fees; underlying fund expenses; and charges for special features,
all of which can reduce the return. Earnings in a variable annuity do not provide all the tax advantages
of 401(k)s and other before-tax retirement plans. Once the investor starts withdrawing money from
their variable annuity, earnings are taxed at the ordinary income rate, rather than at the lower capital
gains rates applied to other non-tax-deferred vehicles which are held for more than one year. Proceeds
of most variable annuities do not receive a "step-up" in cost basis when the owner dies like stocks,
bonds, and mutual funds do. Some variable annuities offer "bonus credits". These are usually not free.
In order to fund them, insurance companies typically impose mortality and expense charges and
surrender charge periods. In an exchange of an existing annuity for a new annuity (so-called 1035
exchanges) the new variable annuity may have a lower contract value and a smaller death benefit;
may impose new surrender charges or increase the period of time for which the surrender charge
applies; may have higher annual fees; and provide another commission for the broker.
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
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm may be licensed as independent insurance
agents and/or registered representatives of Fortune Financial Services, Inc. Commissions earned by
these persons are separate and in addition to our advisory fees. These practices present a conflict of
interest because persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm who are insurance agents
and/or registered representatives may have an incentive to recommend insurance or
securities products to you for the purpose of generating commissions. You are under no obligation,
contractually or otherwise, to purchase insurance or securities products through any person affiliated
with our firm.
We are affiliated with Financial Planning Services, Inc (FPS), an investment adviser which provides
discretionary investment portfolio management services through common ownership. Our
recommendation of FPS to provide portfolio management services creates a conflict of interest since
our affiliate would earn additional compensation as a result of using their services. You are under no
obligation to use FPS as a portfolio manager.
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 have any material financial interest in client
transactions beyond the provision of investment advisory services as disclosed in this brochure.
Personal Trading Practices
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to
you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because
we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will
receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated
with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Aggregated Trading
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell securities for you at the same time we or
persons associated with our firm buy or sell such securities for our own account. We may also combine
our orders to purchase securities with your orders to purchase securities ("aggregated trading"). Refer
to the Brokerage Practices section in this brochure for information on our aggregated trading practices.
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A conflict of interest exists in such cases because we have the ability to trade ahead of you and
potentially receive more favorable prices than you will receive. To eliminate this conflict of interest, it is
our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated with our firm shall have priority over your
account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
The custodian and brokers we use
We do not maintain custody of your assets that we manage, although we may be deemed to have
custody of your assets if you give us authority to withdraw assets from your account (see Item 15—
Custody, below). Your assets must be maintained in an account at a "qualified custodian," generally a
broker-dealer or bank. We recommend that our clients use Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a
registered broker- dealer, member SIPC, as the qualified custodian.
We are independently owned and operated and are not affiliated with Schwab. Schwab will hold your
assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell securities when we instruct them to. While we
recommend that you use Schwab as custodian/broker, you will decide whether to do so and will open
your account with Schwab by entering into an account agreement directly with them. Conflicts of
interest associated with this arrangement are described below as well as in Item 14 (Client referrals
and other compensation). You should consider these conflicts of interest when selecting your
custodian.
We do not open the account for you, although we may assist you in doing so. Even though your
account is maintained at Schwab, we can still use other brokers to execute trades for your account as
described below (see "Your brokerage and custody costs").
How we select brokers/custodians
We seek to recommend a custodian/broker that will hold your assets and execute transactions. When
considering whether the terms that Schwab provides are, overall, most advantageous to you when
compared with other available providers and their services, we consider a wide range of factors,
including:
• Combination of transaction execution services and asset custody services (generally without a
separate fee for custody)
• Capability to execute, clear, and settle trades (buy and sell securities for your account)
• Capability to facilitate transfers and payments to and from accounts (wire transfers, check
requests, bill payment, etc.)
• Breadth of available investment products (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds
"[ETFs", etc.)
• Availability of investment research and tools that assist us in making investment decisions
• Quality of services
• Competitiveness of the price of those services (commission rates, margin interest rates, other
fees, etc.) and willingness to negotiate the prices
• Reputation, financial strength, security, and stability
• Prior service to us and our clients
• Availability of other products and services that benefit us, as discussed below (see "Products
and services available to us from Schwab")
Your brokerage and trading costs
For our clients' accounts that Schwab maintains, Schwab generally does not charge you separately for
custody services but is compensated by charging you commissions or other fees on trades that it
executes or that settle into your Schwab account. Certain trades (for example, many mutual funds, and
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U.S. exchange-listed equities and ETFs) may not incur Schwab commissions or transaction fees.
Schwab is also compensated by earning interest on the uninvested cash in your account in Schwab's
Cash Features Program. These fees are in addition to the commissions or other compensation you
pay the executing broker-dealer.
We are not required to select the broker or dealer that charges the lowest transaction cost, even if that
broker provides execution quality comparable to other brokers or dealers. Although we are not required
to execute all trade through Schwab, we have determined that having Schwab execute most trades is
consistent with our duty to seek "best execution" of your trades. Best execution means the most
favorable terms for a transaction based on all relevant factors, including those listed above (see "How
we select brokers/ custodians"). By using another broker or dealer you may pay lower transaction
costs.
Products and services available to us from Schwab
Schwab Advisor Services™ is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like
ours. They provide us and our clients with access to their institutional brokerage services (trading,
custody, reporting, and related services), many of which are not typically available to Schwab retail
customers. However, certain retail investors may be able to get institutional brokerage services from
Schwab without going through our firm. 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 at no charge to us. Following is
a more detailed description of Schwab's support services:
Services that benefit you. Schwab's institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range
of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The
investment products available through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise have
access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients. Schwab's
services described in this paragraph generally benefit you and your account.
Services that do not directly benefit you. Schwab also makes available to us other products and
services that benefit us but do not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services
assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts and operating our firm. They include
investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We use this research to service all
or a substantial number of our clients' accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab. In
addition to investment research, Schwab also makes available software and other technology that:
• Provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account
statements)
• Facilitate trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts
• Provide pricing and other market data
• Facilitate payment of our fees from our clients' accounts
• Assist with back-office functions, record keeping, and client reporting
Services that generally benefit only us. Schwab also offers other services intended to help us
manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include:
• Educational conferences and events
• Consulting on technology and business needs
• Publications and conferences on practice management and business succession
• Access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and insurance providers
• Marketing consulting and support
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Schwab provides some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third-party vendors to
provide the services to us. Schwab also discounts or waives its fees for some of these services or pays
all or a part of a third party's fees. Schwab also provides us with other benefits, such as occasional
business entertainment of our personnel. If you did not maintain your account with Schwab, we would
be required to pay for these services from our own resources.
Our interest in Schwab's services
The availability of these services from Schwab benefits us because we do not have to produce or
purchase them. We don't have to pay for Schwab's services. The fact that we receive these benefits
from Schwab is an incentive for us to recommend the use of Schwab rather than making such decision
based exclusively on your interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most
favorable execution of your transactions. This is a conflict of interest. We believe, however, that taken
in the aggregate, our recommendation of Schwab as custodian and broker is in the best interests of
our clients. Our selection is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of Schwab's services
(see "How we select brokers/custodians") and not Schwab's services that benefit only us.
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
We routinely recommend that you direct our firm to execute transactions through Schwab. As such, we
may be unable to achieve the most favorable execution of your transactions and you may pay higher
brokerage commissions than you might otherwise pay through another broker-dealer that offers the
same types of services. Not all investment advisers require their clients to direct brokerage.
In limited circumstances, and at our discretion, some clients may instruct our firm to use one or more
particular brokers for the transactions in their accounts. If you choose to direct our firm to use a
particular broker, you should understand that this might prevent our firm from aggregating trades with
other client accounts 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.
Block Trades
We combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for advisory accounts we
manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "block trading"). We will then distribute a portion of
the shares to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner. The distribution of the shares
purchased is typically proportionate to the size of the account, but it is not based on account
performance or the amount or structure of management fees. Subject to our discretion regarding
factual and market conditions, when we combine orders, each participating account pays an average
price per share for all transactions and pays a proportionate share of all transaction costs. Accounts
owned by our firm or persons associated with our firm may participate in block trading with your
accounts; however, they will not be given preferential treatment.
Aggregated Trades
We combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for discretionary advisory
accounts we manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "aggregated trading"). We will then
distribute a portion of the shares to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner. Generally,
non-wrap accounts will pay a fixed transaction cost regardless of the number of shares transacted. In
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certain cases, each participating account pays an average price per share for all transactions and pays
a proportionate share of all transaction costs on any given day. If you participate in our wrap fee
program described above, you will not pay any portion of the transaction costs in addition to the
program fee. In the event an order is only partially filled, the shares will be allocated to participating
accounts in a fair and equitable manner, typically in proportion to the size of each client's order.
Accounts owned by our firm or persons associated with our firm may participate in aggregated trading
with your accounts; however, they will not be given preferential treatment.
We do not aggregate trades for non-discretionary accounts. Accordingly, non-discretionary accounts
may pay different costs than discretionary accounts pay. If you enter into non-discretionary
arrangements with our firm, we may not be able to buy and sell the same quantities of securities for
you and you may pay higher commissions, fees, and/or transaction costs than clients who enter into
discretionary arrangements with our firm.
Item 13 Review of Accounts
Asset/Portfolio Management
Either Kelly Gene Burke, Managing Member, Thomas Joseph Scharf or Thomas Raymond Suliman
will monitor your accounts on an ongoing basis and will conduct account reviews at least quarterly or
more frequently upon your request. The reviews are designed to ensure that the advisory services
provided to you and/or the portfolio mix is consistent with your stated 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 will provide you with additional or regular written reports in conjunction with account reviews.
Reports we provide to you will contain relevant account and/or market-related information such as an
inventory of account holdings and account performance, etc. In addition, you will receive trade
confirmations and monthly or quarterly statements from your account custodian(s).
Retirement Income Planning
Either Kelly Gene Burke, Managing Member, Thomas Joseph Scharf or Thomas Raymond
Suliman will review your Retirement Income Plan annually or more frequently upon your request. The
review is designed to ensure that the planning advice made to you is consistent with your stated
investment needs and objectives. Written updates to the financial plan will be provided in conjunction
with the review. Such reviews and updates will be subject to our then current hourly rate depending on
the complexity of the update. We will provide regular written reports to you for retirement income
planning. If you implement financial planning advice, you will receive trade confirmations and monthly
or quarterly statements from relevant account custodians.
Financial Plans
Either Kelly Gene Burke, Managing Member, Thomas Joseph Scharf or Thomas Raymond
Suliman will review financial plans as needed. These reviews are provided as part of the contracted
services. We do not access additional fees for financial plan reviews. Generally, we will contact you
periodically to determine whether any updates may be needed based on changes in your
circumstances. Changed circumstances may include, but are not limited to marriage, divorce, birth,
death, inheritance, lawsuit, retirement, job loss and/or disability, among others. We recommend
meeting with you at least annually to review and update your plan if needed. Additional reviews will be
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conducted upon your request. Written updates to the financial plan may be provided in conjunction with
the review. Updates to your financial plan may be subject to our then current hourly rate, which you
must approve in writing and in advance of the update. If you implement financial planning advice, you
will receive trade confirmations and monthly or quarterly statements from relevant custodians.
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation
We do not receive any compensation from any third party in connection with providing investment
advice to you nor do we compensate any individual or firm for client referrals.
Please refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits
we may receive resulting from our relationship with Schwab.
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, please refer to the Fees and Compensation section.
As disclosed under the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure, persons providing investment
advice on behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents, and are registered representatives with
Fortune Financial Services, Inc., a securities broker-dealer, and a member of the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. For information on the
conflicts of interest this presents, and how we address these conflicts, refer to the Fees and
Compensation section.
We do not receive any compensation from any third party in connection with providing investment
advice to you nor do we compensate any individual or firm for client referrals.
Refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we may
receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian.
Item 15 Custody
As paying agent for our firm, your independent custodian will directly debit your account(s) for the
payment of our advisory fees. This ability to deduct our advisory fees from your accounts causes our
firm to exercise limited custody over your funds or securities. We do not have physical custody of any
of your funds and/or securities. Your funds and securities will be held with a bank, broker-dealer, or
other qualified custodian. You will receive account statements from the qualified custodian(s) holding
your funds and securities at least quarterly. The account statements from your custodian(s) will
indicate the amount of our advisory fees deducted from your account(s) each billing period. You should
carefully review account statements for accuracy.
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Trustee Services
Persons associated with our firm may serve as trustees to certain accounts for which we also provide
investment advisory services. In all cases, the persons associated with our firm have been appointed
trustee as a result of a family or personal relationship with the trust grantor and/or beneficiary and not
as a result of employment with our firm. Therefore, we are not deemed to have custody over the
advisory accounts for which persons associated with our firm serve as trustee.
Wire Transfer and/or Standing Letter of Authorization
Our firm, or persons associated with our firm, may effect wire transfers from client accounts to one or
more third parties designated, in writing, by the client without obtaining written client consent for each
separate, individual transaction, as long as the client has provided us with written authorization to do
so. Such written authorization is known as a Standing Letter of Authorization. An adviser with authority
to conduct such third party wire transfers on a client's behalf has access to the client's assets, and
therefore has custody of the client's assets in any related accounts.
However, we do not have to obtain a surprise annual audit, as we otherwise would be required to by
reason of having custody, as long as we meet the following criteria:
1. You provide a written, signed instruction to the qualified custodian that includes the third party's
name and address or account number at a custodian;
2. You authorize us in writing to direct transfers to the third party either on a specified schedule or
from time to time;
3. Your qualified custodian verifies your authorization (e.g., signature review) and provides a
transfer of funds notice to you promptly after each transfer;
4. You can terminate or change the instruction;
5. We have no authority or ability to designate or change the identity of the third party, the
address, or any other information about the third party;
6. We maintain records showing that the third party is not a related party to us nor located at the
same address as us; and
7. Your qualified custodian sends you, in writing, an initial notice confirming the instruction and an
annual notice reconfirming the instruction.
We hereby confirm that we meet the above criteria.
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Before we can buy or sell securities on your behalf, you must first sign our discretionary management
agreement, and the appropriate trading authorization forms.
You may grant our firm discretion over the selection and amount of securities to be purchased or sold
for your account(s) without obtaining your consent or approval prior to each transaction. You may
specify investment objectives, guidelines, and/or impose certain conditions or investment parameters
for your account(s). For example, you may specify that the investment in any particular stock or
industry should not exceed specified percentages of the value of the portfolio and/or restrictions or
prohibitions of transactions in the securities of a specific industry or security. Please 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.
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Item 17 Voting Client Securities
Generally, 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
such 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 solicitation to vote proxies.
On occasion, we may agree to accept authorization from you to vote proxies. In such cases we will
determine how to vote proxies based on our reasonable judgment of the vote most likely to produce
favorable financial results for you. Proxy votes generally will be cast in favor of proposals that maintain
or strengthen the shared interests of shareholders and management, increase shareholder value,
maintain or increase shareholder influence over the issuer's board of directors and management, and
maintain or increase the rights of shareholders. Generally, proxy votes will be cast against proposals
having the opposite effect. However, we will consider both sides of each proxy issue. Unless we
receive specific instructions from you, we will not base votes on social considerations.
In the event you wish to direct our firm on voting a particular proxy, you should contact us at the
number listed on the cover page of this Disclosure Brochure with your instruction.
Conflicts of interest between you and our firm, or a principal of our firm, regarding certain proxy issues
could arise. If we determine that a material conflict of interest exists, we will take the necessary steps
to resolve the conflict before voting the proxies. For example, we may disclose the existence and
nature of the conflict to you, and seek direction from you as to how to vote on a particular issue; we
may abstain from voting, particularly if there are conflicting interests for you (for example, where your
account(s) hold different securities in a competitive merger situation); or, we will take other necessary
steps designed to ensure that a decision to vote is in your best interest and was not the product of the
conflict.
We keep certain records required by applicable law in connection with our proxy voting activities. You
may obtain information on how we voted proxies and/or obtain a full copy of our proxy voting policies
and procedures by making a written or oral request to our firm.
Item 18 Financial Information
We are not required to provide a balance sheet or other financial information to our clients because we
do not require the prepayment of fees in excess of $1,200 and six months or more in advance; we do
not take custody of client funds or securities; and, we do not have a financial condition that is
reasonably likely to impair our ability to meet our commitments to you. Moreover, we have never been
the subject of a bankruptcy petition.
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
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We view protecting your private information as a top priority. Pursuant to applicable privacy
requirements, we have instituted policies and procedures to ensure that we keep your personal
information private and secure.
We do not disclose any nonpublic 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 nonpublic 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 nonpublic personal information and to
ensure our integrity and confidentiality. We will not sell information about you or your accounts to
anyone. We do not share your information unless it is required to process a transaction, at your
request, or required by law.
You will receive a copy of our privacy notice prior to or at the time you sign an advisory agreement with
our firm. Thereafter, we will deliver a copy of the current privacy policy notice to you on an annual
basis. Please contact our main office at the telephone number on the cover page of this brochure if you
have any questions regarding this policy.
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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