Overview
- Headquarters
- Midlothian, VA
- Total Firm Assets
- $274 million
- Average High-Net-Worth Client Portfolio Size
- $1.8 million
Fee Structure
Primary Fee Schedule (PART 2A BROCHURE)
| Min | Max | Marginal Fee Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $300,000 | 1.25% |
| $300,001 | $1,000,000 | 0.90% |
| $1,000,001 | $3,000,000 | 0.70% |
| $3,000,001 | $5,000,000 | 0.50% |
| $5,000,001 | and above | 0.35% |
Illustrative Fee Rates
| Total Assets | Annual Fees | Average Fee Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $1 million | $10,050 | 1.00% |
| $5 million | $34,050 | 0.68% |
| $10 million | $51,550 | 0.52% |
| $50 million | $191,550 | 0.38% |
| $100 million | $366,550 | 0.37% |
Clients
- High-Net-Worth Share of Firm Assets
- 67.45%
- Number of High-Net-Worth Clients
- 104
- Total Client Accounts
- 1,254
- Discretionary Accounts
- 1,128
- Non-Discretionary Accounts
- 126
Services Offered
Services: Financial Planning, Portfolio Management for Individuals, Pension Consulting
Regulatory Filings
- SEC CRD Number
- 117917
Primary Brochure: PART 2A BROCHURE (2026-08-05)
View Document Text
James River Asset Management, LLC
15521 Midlothian Tnpk. Suite 100
Midlothian, VA 23113
Telephone: 804-323-0517
August 5, 2026
FORM ADV PART 2A
BROCHURE
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of James River Asset
Management, LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, contact us at 804-323-0517.
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 James River Asset Management, LLC is available on the SEC's website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
James River Asset Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or
training.
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 the filing of our last annual updating amendment, dated March 31, 2026 we have no material changes to
report.
On August 5, 2026 we filed an amendment to disclose the following changes to our Form ADV Part 2A:
1. Our fixed fee for financial planning has changed to between $1,500 to $5,000 depending on the scope
and the nature of the client’s financial planning needs.
2. Our hourly fee for financial planning has changed to $250 per hour.
3. We no longer offer third-party money management services.
4. We no longer use a third-party platform to facilitate management of held away assets such as defined
contribution plan participant accounts.
5. Our investment management fees have changed as follows:
For investment management services of assets held at Charles Schwab & Co., we charge either
1. Under a Tiered Fee Schedule
Assets Under Management
First $300,000
Next $300,000 - $1,000,000
Next $1,000,000 - $3,000,000
Next $3,000,000 - $5,000,000
Next $5,000,000 & Above
Tiered Fee Schedule
1.25%
0.90%
0.70%
0.50%
0.35%
Or
2. A flat fee that is negotiable, not to exceed 1.5%.
Assets in each of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in
writing for exclusion.
For investment management services held at American Funds through their F2 share program we charge
according to the following tiered fee schedule:
Assets Under Management
Up to $249,999.99
Next $250,000 - $499,999.99
Next $500,000 to $999,999.99
Next $1,000,000 and above
Tiered
1.00%
0.75%
0.50%
0.25%
Our annual investment management fee is billed and payable, quarterly, in arrears, based on the average
daily balance.
*Legacy clients may be subject to different fee schedule.
Item 3 Table of Contents
Item 2 Summary of Material Changes .................................................................................................. 2
Item 3 Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 3
Item 4 Advisory Business ...................................................................................................................... 4
Item 5 Fees and Compensation ............................................................................................................ 6
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management ......................................................... 8
Item 7 Types of Clients ......................................................................................................................... 9
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss ................................................... 9
Item 9 Disciplinary Information .......................................................................................................... 12
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations ................................................................ 12
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading .......... 13
Item 12 Brokerage Practices ............................................................................................................... 13
Item 13 Review of Accounts ............................................................................................................... 17
Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation ............................................................................. 18
Item 15 Custody.................................................................................................................................. 18
Item 16 Investment Discretion ........................................................................................................... 19
Item 17 Voting Client Securities .......................................................................................................... 19
Item 18 Financial Information ............................................................................................................ 19
Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers ......................................................................... 19
Item 20 Additional Information .......................................................................................................... 19
Item 4 Advisory Business
Description of Firm
James River Asset Management, LLC (“JRAM” or the Firm) is a registered investment adviser based in Midlothian,
VA. We are organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of Viriginia. We have been
providing investment advisory services since April 1995 and are owned by Lucas Swygard, Managing Member.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each investment advisory
service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your individual needs. As used in
this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to James River Asset Management, LLC and the words "you,"
"your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
Investment Management Services
We offer discretionary investment management services. We offer an initial complimentary meeting to discuss
your needs however our services are initiated only after an agreement is signed. Our investment advice is
tailored to meet your needs and investment objectives. Once we have determined a profile and investment plan
for you, we manage your assets on a discretionary basis. 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.
As part of our investment management services, in addition to other types of investments (see disclosures below
in this section), we may invest your assets according to one or more model portfolio(s) developed by our firm.
These models are designed with varying degrees of risk tolerance ranging from capital preservation to aggressive
growth. Clients whose assets are invested in model portfolios may not set restrictions on the specific holdings or
allocations within the model, nor the types of securities that can be purchased in the model. Nonetheless, you
may impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities in your account. In such cases, this
may prevent you from investing in certain models that are managed by our firm.
We manage assets held at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., or through American Funds. Certain assets may also be
held at Mutual Securities, Inc, through the Evolve Program.
Standard financial planning services are included within our investment management services at no additional
fee.
Financial Planning and Consulting Services
We offer 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 your individual needs. These
services can range from broad-based financial planning to consultative or single subject planning. If you retain us
for financial planning services, we will meet with you to gather information about your financial circumstances
and objectives. We may also use financial planning software to determine your current financial position and to
define and quantify your long-term goals and objectives. Once we 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 will deliver a
written plan to you, 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.
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.
We also offer financial consulting services that primarily involve advising clients on specific financial-related
topics. The topics we address may include, but are not limited to, risk assessment/management, investment
planning, financial organization, or financial decision making/negotiation.
Pension Consulting Services
We offer pension consulting services to employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries based upon the needs of the
plan and the services requested by the plan sponsor or named fiduciary. In general, these services may include
an existing plan review and analysis, plan-level advice regarding fund selection and investment options,
education services to plan participants, investment performance monitoring, and/or ongoing consulting. These
pension consulting services will generally be non-discretionary and advisory in nature. The ultimate decision to
act on behalf of the plan shall remain with the plan sponsor or other named fiduciary.
We may also assist with participant enrollment meetings and provide investment-related educational seminars to
plan participants on such topics as:
• Diversification;
• Asset allocation;
• Risk tolerance; and
• Time horizon
Our educational seminars may include other investment-related topics specific to the particular plan.
We may also provide additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually negotiated basis.
All services, whether discussed above or customized for the plan based upon requirements from the plan
fiduciaries (which may include additional plan-level or participant-level services) shall be detailed in a written
agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the plan documents.
Wrap Fee Program
We do not sponsor or manage a Wrap Fee Program.
Types of Investments
We offer advice on corporate debt securities (other than commercial paper), municipal securities, mutual fund
shares and Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”).
Additionally, we may advise you on various types of investments 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.
Since our investment strategies and advice are based on each client’s specific financial situation, the investment
advice we provide to you may be different or conflicting with the advice we give to other clients regarding the
same security or investment.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
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 work to act in your best interest and not put our interest
ahead of yours. As such we will:
• 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, 2025, we manage a total of $273,776,635 in assets under management. We manage
$254,300,527 in discretionary assets and $19,476,108 in nondiscretionary assets.
Item 5 Fees and Compensation
Investment Management Fees
For investment management services of assets held at Charles Schwab & Co., we charge either
3. Under a Tiered Fee Schedule
Assets Under Management
First $300,000
Next $300,000 - $1,000,000
Next $1,000,000 - $3,000,000
Next $3,000,000 - $5,000,000
Next $5,000,000 & Above
Tiered Fee Schedule
1.25%
0.90%
0.70%
0.50%
0.35%
Or
4. A flat fee that is negotiable, not to exceed 1.5%.
Assets in each of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in writing for
exclusion.
For investment management services held at American Funds through their F2 share program we charge
according to the following tiered fee schedule:
Assets Under Management
Up to $249,999.99
Next $250,000 - $499,999.99
Next $500,000 to $999,999.99
Next $1,000,000 and above
Tiered
1.00%
0.75%
0.50%
0.25%
Our annual investment management fee is billed and payable, quarterly, in arrears, based on the average daily
balance.
*Legacy clients may be subject to different fee schedule.
If the investment 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. Our advisory fee is negotiable, depending on individual client
circumstances.
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 you have given our firm written authorization permitting
the fees to be paid directly from your account. Further, the qualified custodian will deliver an account statement
to you at least quarterly. These account statements will show all disbursements from your account. You should
review all statements for accuracy.
You may terminate the investment management agreement upon written notice. You will incur a pro rata charge
for services rendered prior to the termination of the investment 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..
Financial Planning and Consulting Fees
We charge a fixed fee for financial planning services, which generally ranges between $1,500 to $5,000. The first
half of the estimated fee is due in advance of services rendered with the remaining balance payable upon
completion of the contracted services. The fee is negotiable depending upon the complexity and scope of the
plan, your financial situation, and your objectives. We do not require you to pay fees six or more months in
advance. Should the engagement last longer than six months between acceptance of financial planning
agreement and delivery of the financial plan, any prepaid unearned fees will be promptly returned to you less a
pro rata charge for bona fide financial planning services rendered to date. At our discretion, we may offset our
financial planning fees to the extent you implement the financial plan through our Investment Management
Service.
We also charge an hourly fee of $250 for financial consulting services. The hourly fee is negotiable depending on
the scope and complexity of the services rendered. Our consulting fee is payable upon completion of the agreed
upon consulting services
You may terminate the financial planning agreement upon written notice to our firm. If you have pre-paid
financial planning fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees. If financial
planning fees are payable in arrears, you will be responsible for a prorated fee based on services performed prior
to termination of the financial planning agreement.
.
Pension Consulting Services
Our advisory fees for these customized services will be negotiated with the plan sponsor or named fiduciary on a
case-by-case basis.
You may terminate the pension consulting services agreement upon written notice to our firm. You will incur a
pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the 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.
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 the fees
charged by mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others. For information on our brokerage
practices, refer to the Brokerage Practices section of this brochure.
We have established a relationship with Mutual Securities through the Evolve program in which we act as a
Fiduciary Advisor to the brokerage business held at Mutual Securities which includes, but is not limited to,
variable annuity products. JRAM receives a portion of the trails that come in from the brokerage business. You
are not charged a fee on assets held in this program.
Compensation for the Sale of Securities or Other Investment Products
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed as independent insurance agents. These
persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products, including insurance products
they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are separate and in addition to our advisory
fees. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment advice on behalf of our
firm who are insurance agents have an incentive to recommend insurance products to you for the purpose of
generating commissions rather than solely based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or
otherwise, to purchase insurance products through any person affiliated with our firm.
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
We do not accept performance-based fees or participate in side-by-side management. Performance-based fees
are fees that are based on a share of a capital gains or capital appreciation of a client's account. Side-by-side
management refers to the practice of managing accounts that are charged performance-based fees while at the
same time managing accounts that are not charged performance-based fees. Our fees are calculated as
described in the Fees and Compensation section above, and are not charged on the basis of a share of capital
gains upon, or capital appreciation of, the funds in your advisory account.
Item 7 Types of Clients
We offer investment advisory services to individuals (other than high net worth individuals), high net worth
individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations and corporations or other businesses not listed above.
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
manage effectively.
We may also combine account values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and
other types of related accounts to meet the stated minimum.
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Our Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies
We build proprietary models according that are managed by our internal investment committee. Our range of
portfolios covers a traditional risk spectrum from capital preservation to aggressive growth. Through the use of
customized benchmarks, we regularly monitor our performance and review our holdings to track our progress
and the quality of the funds we use.
We use one or more of the following methods of analysis or investment strategies when providing investment
advice to you.
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.
Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial situation. As such,
we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon,
financial information, liquidity needs and other various suitability factors. Your restrictions and guidelines may
affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you notify us immediately with respect to any
material changes to your financial circumstances, including for example, a change in your current or expected
income level, tax circumstances, or employment status.
Cash Management
In managing the cash maintained in your account, we utilize the sole exclusive cash vehicle (money market) made
available by the custodian. There may be other cash management options away from the custodian available to
you with higher yields or safer underlying investments.
Tax Considerations
Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications. However, unless we specifically
agree otherwise, and in writing, tax efficiency is not our primary consideration in the management of your assets.
Regardless of your account size or any other factors, we strongly recommend that you consult with a tax
professional regarding the investing of your assets.
Custodians and broker-dealers must report the cost basis of equities acquired in client accounts. Your custodian
will default to the First-In First-Out ("FIFO") accounting method for calculating the cost basis of your investments.
You are responsible for contacting your tax advisor to determine if this accounting method is the right choice for
you. If your tax advisor believes another accounting method is more advantageous, provide written notice to our
firm immediately and we will alert your account custodian of your individually selected accounting method.
Decisions about cost basis accounting methods will need to be made before trades settle, as the cost basis
method cannot be changed after settlement.
Risk of Loss
Investing in securities involves risk of loss that you should be prepared to bear. We do not represent or
guarantee that our services or methods of analysis can or will predict future results, successfully identify market
tops or bottoms, or insulate clients from losses due to market corrections or declines. We cannot offer any
guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will be met. Past performance is in no way an
indication of future performance.
Other Risk Considerations
When evaluating risk, financial loss may be viewed differently by each client and may depend on many different
risks, each of which may affect the probability and magnitude of any potential losses. The following risks may not
be all-inclusive, but should be considered carefully by a prospective client before retaining our services.
•
Liquidity Risk: The risk of being unable to sell your investment at a fair price at a given time due to high
volatility or lack of active liquid markets. You may receive a lower price or it may not be possible to sell
the investment at all.
•
• Credit Risk: Credit risk typically applies to debt investments such as corporate, municipal, and sovereign
fixed income or bonds. A bond issuing entity can experience a credit event that could impair or erase the
value of an issuer’s securities held by a client.
Inflation and Interest Rate Risk: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to
changes in inflation and interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and
may reduce the purchasing power of a client’s future interest payments and principal. Inflation also
generally leads to higher interest rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income
investments to decline.
• Horizon and Longevity Risk: The risk that your investment horizon is shortened because of an unforeseen
event, for example, the loss of your job. This may force you to sell investments that you were expecting
to hold for the long term. If you must sell at a time that the markets are down, you may lose money.
Longevity Risk is the risk of outliving your savings. This risk is particularly relevant for people who are
retired, or are nearing retirement.
• Cybersecurity Risk -- These risks include both intentional and unintentional events at the firm or one of
its third-party counterparties or service providers, that may result in a loss or corruption of data, result
in the unauthorized release or other misuse of confidential information, and generally compromise our
ability to conduct its business. A cybersecurity breach may also result in a third-party obtaining
unauthorized access to our clients’ information, including social security numbers, home addresses,
account numbers, account balances, and account holdings. We have established business continuity
plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity
breaches. However, there are inherent limitations in these plans and systems, including that certain risks
may not have been identified, in large part because different or unknown threats may emerge in the
future. As such, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because we do not
directly control the cybersecurity systems of our third-party service providers. There is also a risk that
cybersecurity breaches may not be detected.
Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities
We recommend various types of securities and we do not primarily recommend one particular type of security
over another since each client has different needs and different tolerance for risk. Each type of security has its
own unique set of risks associated with it and it would not be possible to list here all of the specific risks of every
type of investment. Even within the same type of investment, risks can vary widely. However, in very general
terms, the higher the anticipated return of an investment, the higher the risk of loss associated with the
investment. A description of the types of securities we may recommend to you and some of their inherent risks
are provided below.
Municipal Securities: Municipal securities, while generally thought of as safe, can have significant risks associated
with them including, but not limited to: the credit worthiness of the governmental entity that issues the bond;
the stability of the revenue stream that is used to pay the interest to the bondholders; when the bond is due to
mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be
possible to replace it with a bond of equal character paying the same amount of interest or yield to maturity.
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 Exchange Traded Funds: Mutual funds and exchange traded funds ("ETF") are professionally
managed collective investment systems that pool money from many investors and invest in stocks, bonds, short-
term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, or any combination thereof. The fund will
have a manager that trades the fund's investments in accordance with the fund's investment objective. While
mutual funds and ETFs generally provide diversification, risks can be significantly increased if the fund is
concentrated in a particular sector of the market, primarily invests in small cap or speculative companies, uses
leverage (i.e., borrows money) to a significant degree, or concentrates in a particular type of security (i.e.,
equities) rather than balancing the fund with different types of securities. ETFs differ from mutual funds since
they can be bought and sold throughout the day like stock and their price can fluctuate throughout the day. The
returns on mutual funds and ETFs can be reduced by the costs to manage the funds. Also, while some mutual
funds are "no load" and charge no fee to buy into, or sell out of, the fund, other types of mutual funds do charge
such fees which can also reduce returns. Mutual funds can also be "closed end" or "open end". So-called "open
end" mutual funds continue to allow in new investors indefinitely whereas "closed end" funds have a fixed
number of shares to sell which can limit their availability to new investors.
ETFs may have tracking error risks. For example, the ETF investment adviser may not be able to cause the ETF’s
performance to match that of its Underlying Index or other benchmark, which may negatively affect the ETF's
performance. In addition, for leveraged and inverse ETFs that seek to track the performance of their Underlying
Indices or benchmarks on a daily basis, mathematical compounding may prevent the ETF from correlating with
performance of its benchmark. In addition, an ETF may not have investment exposure to all of the securities
included in its Underlying Index, or its weighting of investment exposure to such securities may vary from that of
the Underlying Index. Some ETFs may invest in securities or financial instruments that are not included in the
Underlying Index, but which are expected to yield similar performance.
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
We are required to disclose the facts of any legal or disciplinary events that are material to a client's evaluation of
our advisory business or the integrity of our management. We do not have any required disclosures under this
item.
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
We have not provided information on other financial industry activities and affiliations because we do not have
any relationship or arrangement that is material to our advisory business or to our clients with any of the types of
entities listed below.
1. broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, or government securities dealer or broker;
2. investment company or other pooled investment vehicle (including a mutual fund, closed-end investment
company, unit investment trust, private investment company or "hedge fund," and offshore fund);
3. other investment adviser or financial planner;
4. futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, or commodity trading adviser;
5. banking or thrift institution;
6. accountant or accounting firm;
7. lawyer or law firm;
8. insurance company or agency;
9. pension consultant;
10. real estate broker or dealer; and/or
11. sponsor or syndicator of limited partnerships.
Guidewater LLC
We are affiliated through common ownership and control with Guidewater LLC. Guidewater LLC partners with
special needs individuals and their families to assist in navigating their complex needs. Guidewater LLC provides
resource coordination and advocacy services to this community. Guidewater LLC is owned by RRLH Services Inc,.
which is owned by Lucas Swygard. Clients of our firm may be clients of Guidewater, LLC.
Insurance
Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm may be licensed as 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 from our advisory fees. See the Fees and
Compensation section in this brochure for more information on the compensation received by insurance agents
who are affiliated with our firm.
James River Wealth Advisers LLC
JRAM is also affiliate with James River Wealth Advisors (“JRWA”). JRWA is set up for internal administrative
purposes and provides no direct services to clients.
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, nonpublic information about you or your account holdings by persons associated with
our firm.
Clients or prospective clients may obtain a copy of our Code of Ethics by contacting us at the telephone number
on the cover page of this brochure.
Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
Neither our firm nor any persons associated with our firm has any material financial interest in client transactions
beyond the provision of investment advisory services as disclosed in this brochure.
Personal Trading Practices
Our firm or persons associated with our firm 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.
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
We recommend the brokerage and custodial services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (whether one or more
"Custodian"). We also use American Funds and Mutual Securities, Inc., to custody certain mutual fund and
variable securities. Your assets must be maintained in an account at a “qualified custodian,” generally a broker-
dealer or bank. In recognition of the value of the services the Custodian provides, you may pay higher
commissions and/or trading costs than those that may be available elsewhere. Our selection of custodian is
based on many factors, including the level of services provided, the custodian’s financial stability, and the cost of
services provided by the custodian to our clients, which includes the yield on cash sweep choices, commissions,
custody fees and other fees or expenses.
We seek to recommend a custodian/broker that will hold your assets and execute transactions on terms that are,
overall, the most favorable compared to other available providers and their services. We consider various factors,
including:
• Capability to buy and sell securities for your account itself or to facilitate such services.
• The likelihood that your trades will be executed.
• Availability of investment research and tools.
• Overall quality of services.
• Competitiveness of price.
• Reputation, financial strength, and stability.
• Existing relationship with our firm and our other clients.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
We do not have any soft dollar arrangements.
Economic Benefits
As a registered investment adviser, we have access to the institutional platform of your account custodian. As
such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account custodian and/or other
brokerage firm. These products may include financial publications, information about particular companies and
industries, research software, and other products or services that provide lawful and appropriate assistance to
our firm in the performance of our investment decision-making responsibilities. Such research products and
services are provided to all investment advisers that utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and
are not considered to be paid for with soft dollars. However, you should be aware that the commissions charged
by a particular broker for a particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another
broker who did not provide research services or products might charge.
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
require 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 require 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. Not all advisors require their clients
to use a particular broker-dealer or other custodian selected by the adviser. 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 select 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 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.
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:
1. Provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account statements)
2. Facilitate trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts
3. Provide pricing and other market data
4. Facilitate payment of our fees from our clients’ accounts
5. 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:
1. Educational conferences and events
2. Consulting on technology and business needs
3. Publications and conferences on practice management and business succession
4. Access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and insurance providers
5. Marketing consulting and support
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. These services are not contingent upon us committing any specific
amount of business to Schwab in trading commissions or assets in custody. The fact that we receive these
benefits from Schwab is an incentive for us to [recommend/request/ require] 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 selection 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 require that you direct our firm to execute transactions through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.. 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 advisers require their clients to direct brokerage.
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, participating accounts will pay a fixed
transaction cost regardless of the number of shares transacted. In 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. 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.
Mutual Fund Share Classes
Mutual funds are sold with different share classes, which carry different cost structures. Each available share
class is described in the mutual fund's prospectus. When we purchase, or recommend the purchase of, mutual
funds for a client, we select the share class that is deemed to be in the client’s best interest, taking into
consideration the availability of advisory, institutional or retirement plan share classes, initial and ongoing share
class costs, transaction costs (if any), tax implications, cost basis and other factors. We also review the mutual
funds held in accounts that come under our management to determine whether a more beneficial share class is
available, considering cost, tax implications, and the impact of contingent or deferred sales charges.
Item 13 Review of Accounts
The investment adviser representative assigned to your account will monitor your accounts on an ongoing basis
and will conduct account reviews at least annually, to ensure the advisory services provided to you are consistent
with your investment needs and objectives. More frequent reviews may be triggered by changes in an account
holder’s personal, tax or financial status. Geopolitical and macroeconomic specific events may also trigger
reviews. The individuals conducting reviews may vary from time to time, as personnel join or leave our firm.
We will provide you with quarterly written reports. Reports we provide to you will contain relevant account
and/or market-related information such as an inventory of account holdings and account performance, etc. You
will receive trade confirmations and monthly or quarterly statements from your account custodian(s).
The investment adviser representative assigned to your account will review financial plans as needed, depending
on the arrangements made with you at the inception of your advisory relationship to ensure that the advice
provided is consistent with your investment needs and objectives. 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 conducted upon your request. Such reviews
and updates may be subject to our then current hourly rate. Written updates to the financial plan may be
provided in conjunction with the review. 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
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc - Institutional
We receive an economic benefit from Schwab in the form of the support products and services it makes available
to us and other independent investment advisors whose clients maintain their accounts at Schwab. We benefit
from the products and services provided because the cost of these services would otherwise be borne directly by
us, and this creates a conflict. You should consider these conflicts of interest when selecting a custodian. These
products and services, how they benefit us, and the related conflicts of interest are described above (see Item
12—Brokerage Practices
As disclosed under the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure, persons providing investment advice on
behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents. For information on the conflicts of interest this presents, and
how we address these conflicts, refer to the Fees and Compensation section.
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.
Item 15 Custody
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.
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
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. Refer to the Advisory Business section in this brochure for more information on our
discretionary management services.
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
We will not vote proxies on behalf of your advisory accounts. At your request, we may offer you advice regarding
corporate actions and the exercise of your proxy voting rights. If you own shares of applicable securities, you are
responsible for exercising your right to vote as a shareholder.
In most cases, you will receive proxy materials directly from the account custodian. However, in the event we
were to receive any written or electronic proxy materials, we would forward them directly to you by mail, unless
you have authorized our firm to contact you by electronic mail, in which case, we would forward any electronic
solicitations to vote proxies.
Item 18 Financial Information
We have not filed a bankruptcy petition at any time in the past ten years.
Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers
We are a federally registered investment adviser; therefore, we are not required to respond to this item.
Item 20 Additional Information
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.