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Firm Brochure
Form ADV, Part 2A
January 1, 2025
100 Church Street, Suite 500, Huntsville, AL 35801
Phone: 256-704-5111 ** Fax: 256-704-5110
29 Olmsted Street, Birmingham, AL 35243
Phone: 256-261-3621 ** Fax: 877-896-4586
1Park Place, Suite 585, Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: 410-571-4244 ** Fax 800-310-4191
620-C Red Banks Road, Greenville, NC 27858
Phone: 252-227-4680 ** Fax 703-807-1122
388 Nashua St., Milford, NH 03055
Phone: 603-554-8551 ** Fax: 256-704-5110
25 East Main Street, Suite 201, Chattanooga, TN 37408
Phone: 423-756-4800 ** Fax: 423-475-5377
7000 Executive Center Drive, Suite 100, Brentwood, TN 37027
Phone: 615-373-1992 ** Fax 615-866-9979
8405 Greensboro Drive, Suite 900, McLean, VA 22102
Phone: 703-807-2020 ** Fax: 703-807-1122
This Firm Brochure (“Brochure”) provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Keel Point,
LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at (256)704-5111. Our website
is www.keelpoint.com. Keel Point, LLC is a registered investment adviser with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Additional information about Keel Point, LLC is also available on the SEC’s
website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
You can search the SEC website to find information about Keel Point, LLC by a unique identifying number known
as a Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) number. Keel Point, LLC’s CRD is 127902. Registration of an
investment adviser does not imply any level of skill or training. The information in this brochure has not been approved
or verified by the SEC nor by any state securities authority.
Item 2. Material Changes
This Material Changes section of the Brochure is a summary of specific material changes that have
occurred since the Firm’s March 29, 2024, update. Pursuant to SEC rules, we will ensure that you
receive a summary of any material changes to this and subsequent brochures within 120 days of the
close of our fiscal year. We will provide ongoing disclosure information about material changes as
necessary.
The following items are considered to be material to our business. We have provided a description
to highlight these items and encourage you to further review the detailed disclosures provided in our
Brochure under the relevant section referenced.
Since the last annual amendment filing, Keel Point amended the following items in this brochure:
Item 4: Advisory Business to disclose that:
The Leawood, KS office has been closed.
i)
An Annapolis, MD office has been opened.
ii)
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Keel Point has $3,464,607,203 in regulatory assets under management.
iii)
iv)
The term Assets Under Advisement (“AUA”) is defined and distinguished from Assets
Under Management (“AUM”), and potential use of both terms, separately, in marketing
material may be utilized.
Keel Point, LLC
Item 3. Table of Contents
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. Material Changes .......................................................................................................................................
2
Item 3. Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 3
Item
Item 4. Advisory Business ...................................................................................................................... 4
Item 5. Fees and Compensation .......................................................................................................... 11
Item 6. Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management ...................................................... 22
Item 7. Types of Clients ....................................................................................................................... 22
Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies, and Risk of Loss ............................................... 23
Item 9. Disciplinary Information ......................................................................................................... 27
Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations .............................................................. 27
Item 11. Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading ........... 30
Item 12. Brokerage Practices ............................................................................................................... 31
Item 13. Review of Client Accounts ..................................................................................................... 34
Item 14. Client Referrals and Other Compensation ........................................................................... 35
Item 15. Custody .................................................................................................................................. 37
Item 16. Investment Discretion ............................................................................................................ 38
Item 17. Voting Client Securities ......................................................................................................... 38
Item 18. Financial Information ............................................................................................................ 39
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Item 4. Advisory Business
The Firm’s History and its Owners
Keel Point, LLC was founded in 1998 and Blue Creek Investment Partners, LLC was founded in 2003
(“Blue Creek”). In January of 2015, Keel Point, LLC and Blue Creek merged and with each client’s
individual consent, assets managed by the Firm were assigned to the surviving Blue Creek entity; and that
entity’s name was changed to Keel Point, LLC (in addition to being referred to herein as “Keel Point”,
“KP” or the “Firm” the terms “our” or “us” or “we” may be used as well).
The Firm’s home office is located in Huntsville, Alabama, with branch offices in Birmingham, Alabama;
Annapolis, MD; Brentwood, Tennessee; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Greenville, North Carolina; Milford,
New Hampshire; and McLean, Virginia. Keel Point Partners, LLC (“KPP”) owns the Firm as well
as the following other affiliates: a) Keel Point Capital, LLC (“KPC”), a broker-dealer registered with the SEC
and a member of FINRA and SIPC; b) Keel Point Insurance Advisors, LLC (“KPIA”), a licensed
insurance agency; and c) Keel Point Personal Money Management, LLC (“KPPMM”), an investment
adviser registered with the Alabama Securities Commission that primarily provides non- discretionary
daily money management services for individuals. KPP may own other entities in addition to KP, KPC,
KPIA, and KPPMM. KPP is owned by certain client-investors and members of the Firm’s management
team. Additionally, the Firm has a sub-advisor agreement with KP Convexity SLP, LLC (“KP Convexity”),
a special purpose vehicle whose activities are limited to serving as a special limited partner of certain
private funds in which the Firm serves as the aforementioned sub-adviser, for which the Firm receives fees
for such advisory services.
KPP also owns both Keel Point Trading, LLC (“KPT”) and Keel Point Asset Management Tactical Alpha
Fund (“KPAM Tactical Alpha”). KPT serves as the general partner for KPAM Tactical Alpha.
In 2023 the Firm entered into a transaction whereby Edwards and Stewart transitioned from Granite to
Keel Point, and with their clients’ consent, the accounts that Edwards and Stewart managed for said clients
were assigned from Granite to Keel Point.
Further detail of the Firm’s ownership structure may be found in Item 10: Other Financial Industry
Activities and Affiliations.
The Firm currently offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services, including providing
financial planning, asset allocation, and portfolio construction recommendations, as well as managing client
accounts across a range of asset classes and investments. At our core, we focus on delivering investment advisory
services across a broad spectrum of clients, including individual wealth management and private client services,
Family Office Services (as defined herein below), institutional services, including the construction and
management of investment portfolios, and corporate financial services, including employee benefit and
retirement plan services. However, we do not offer tax, accounting, regulatory, or legal advisory services.
You should seek outside counsel for these services.
The Advisory Services We Offer
The Firm offers clients a seamless combination of an open architecture investment platform with KPC,
its broker-dealer affiliate, for a fully integrated wealth management offering. The Firm employs an open
architecture investment platform to fulfill each client’s investment strategy, which provides investment
exposure to a full range of asset classes via mutual funds, exchange traded funds, options, structured
financial products, and separate accounts managed by KPC or unaffiliated third parties. We also
recommend investments in privately offered pooled investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, private
equity funds or other similar vehicles for clients who are qualified to invest in those funds and for
whom those investments are otherwise deemed to be appropriate.
Currently, the Firm offers its individual, institutional, and corporate clients discretionary and non-
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discretionary investment advisory services primarily through one or more of the following service
platforms:
Keel Point Private Client Services. Investment advisory services for individuals and families;
Keel Point Horizon (“Horizon”) Services. Family Office Services for ultra-high net worth
families;
Keel Point Corporate Services. Group retirement and benefits solutions for businesses; and
Keel Point Asset Management. Outsourced chief investment officer and investment
consulting services for institutions, foundations, endowments, and third-party investment
advisers.
For each service platform, we gather information regarding client goals, investment objectives, and
risk tolerance by conducting extensive interviews with our clients to determine each client’s risk
profile and obtain the necessary information to enable us to construct a tailored investment program
for each client.
As part of our investment advisory services, we monitor the performance of client portfolios against
certain agreed upon benchmarks, assess the performance of any of our Sub-Advisers (as defined in
Item 5: Fees and Compensation), and report results to clients through periodic meetings and
quarterly investment reports.
A more detailed description of each service platform and the types of advisory services offered under
each platform is provided below.
Keel Point Private Client Services
The focus of our Keel Point Private Client platform is providing investment advisory services for
individuals and families, with an emphasis on developing strategic and tactical asset allocations
for the needs of each of our clients. As appropriate, we utilize the services of Sub-Advisers or
co-advisers to assist in the management of a portion of the client’s assets.
We develop strategic and tactical asset allocations for clients based on their financial plan. Client
information not gathered during the financial planning process is obtained through further
personal interviews. We assess the client’s risk tolerance, determine needs and objectives, and
review the client’s current assets. Based on the results of this process, we will make
recommendations for asset allocation, securities, products, or strategies, and/or the selection of
money managers. Each client’s unique situation is taken into account to create and manage an
investment portfolio, including the allocation of client assets among different asset classes such
as equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, hedge funds or other alternative
investments. In all instances, we allocate client assets in accordance with the client’s investment
objectives and risk tolerance in an effort to ensure our investment elections are suitable for the
client.
Clients grant us full discretion, consistent with the parameters of the client’s investment objectives
and risk tolerance, to manage and direct the investment of the client’s assets. Utilizing this
authority, we will make investment decisions related to the client’s account by investing the assets
in securities, strategies and other investments of the types consistent with the client’s investment
objectives, assets available for investment, and risk tolerance based on personal, financial, and
other information provided by the client to us, as such information may be modified or
supplemented from time to time during the term of the client’s investment advisory agreement
(“Investment Policy Statement”).
In a manner consistent with the client’s Investment Policy Statement and under the terms of the
client’s investment advisory agreement, we have the authority to purchase a broad range of types
of investments on the client’s behalf, without distinction between principal and income, including
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mutual funds, exchange traded funds, private funds, hedge funds and other alternative
investments. Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, we have the authority to
determine the asset allocation of the client’s account assets and will allocate and, when
appropriate, reallocate the account assets among investments and asset classifications consistent
with the client’s Investment Policy Statement.
Financial Planning Services. From time to time, as and when requested by the client, we will
provide clients with financial planning or other financial consulting services. Financial planning
includes advice on establishing investment goals, risk tolerance, retirement planning, individual
retirement account and qualified plan distributions, college funding, business planning, estate
and tax planning, insurance analysis, equity compensation, and charitable giving.
As part of our financial planning service offerings, we develop a financial plan for the client, which
will address the client’s goals and require us to gather the client’s personal and financial data,
perform an analysis of such data, perform financial modeling, meet with the client to define their
goals and objectives, discuss recommendations, and monitor the financial plan to address
changing circumstances, including life and goal changes and portfolio rebalancing. Each client’s
financial plan will include one or more of the following concepts:
Examining the client’s net worth, investment accounts (including asset allocation and
repositioning recommendations), retirement accounts and plans, and insurance
policies;
Developing a financial position statement;
Performing cash flow summaries;
Maximizing tax strategies;
Evaluating potential retirement scenarios;
Performing an estate planning review,
Constructing a recommend portfolio; and
Engaging in education planning.
In developing a financial plan, we will provide the client with detailed investment advice and
specific recommendations, but we will not exercise investment discretion or otherwise implement
such advice or recommendations unless otherwise authorized to do so pursuant
to the terms of the client’s investment advisory agreement. In addition, there is no fee or charge
for the financial plan, unless otherwise agreed upon by the client in writing.
We provide a range of customized Family Office Services, including discretionary and non-
discretionary investment advice, to our ultra-high net worth Horizon families that engage us to
manage multi-generational wealth. We address a family’s personal, planning, business, and
financial affairs in an integrated and coordinated manner by gathering information regarding
client goals, investment objectives, and risk tolerance through personal meetings and discussions
with clients, which include performing one or more of the following:
1. Initial Set-up. We obtain the necessary data and historical information from the client to
provide Family Office Services, including reviewing legal agreements, assessing the
client’s overall estate plan, and onboarding the client in our family office platform.
2. Discovery Profile. Following the initial set-up, we perform The Discovery Profile
process, which is designed to clarify the client’s mission, vision, values, and goals, and
which provides us with a basis for identifying the scope of Family Office Services required
by the client.
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3. Wealth Design. As necessary or as requested by the client, we will perform a wealth
design review that focuses on the client’s estate, income tax and philanthropic planning
goals and objectives.
4. Family Office Project Special Services. From time to time and as requested by the
client, we perform projects that are outside of the scope of our core Family Office
Services, including management and private investment due diligence services, which
include engaging and supervising attorneys, performing on site due diligence visits,
analyzing, and reviewing investment documents and performing general due diligence
on investment opportunities.
In addition to providing our family office clients with investment advisory services, our family
office service offerings include providing clients with advice and recommendations involving
wealth design services; estate settlement services; trust administration services; lifestyle
management; investment management, including asset allocation and portfolio construction;
financial planning; education; philanthropic services; tax- and insurance-related services,
including tax planning and coordination of administration of the client’s third-party accountants;
private investment due diligence; and family coaching and mentoring. We are able to offer these
comprehensive wealth management services by partnering with a select group of strategic
partners.
Family Office Services often involve the performance of one or more of the following services:
1. Financial Services. We or one or more of our affiliates assist clients with creating a
including developing financial goals, cash flow
comprehensive financial plan,
management, income tax planning, education funding, insurance analysis, debt review,
multi-generational wealth planning, and estate planning.
2. Tax Services. We do assist our clients with tax planning, including interacting with client’s
tax advisors, in the areas of tax compliance, planning, management, risk management,
controversy resolution, and impact on legacy and philanthropic objectives. Although we
assist our clients with such planning, we do not offer tax, accounting, regulatory or legal
advisory services. Clients should seek outside counsel for these services.
3. Generational Planning. In an effort to direct financial and non-financial decisions, we
assist our clients with the creation and management of their complex estate plans.
4. Human Capital Services. We focus on educating succeeding generations within a family
on a variety of topics, including financial literacy and education, mentoring, heir
preparation and development, succession planning and family governance.
5. Philanthropic Services. We assist families with managing charitable giving, including
structuring giving platforms such as family foundations, mission development, and
organizational planning.
6. Reporting Services. We perform reporting services for clients on the portion of their
assets that we do not manage. These reported assets are either managed by the client or
a third-party investment manager but are included in our performance reports.
Keel Point Corporate Services
We provide fiduciary management and investment advisory services, and non-fiduciary
education and consulting services, to a variety of retirement plan participants and plan sponsors,
including group retirement plans, executive benefit plans, group health benefits, group and
individual life insurance, group and individual disability insurance, and group and individual
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long-term care insurance.
Non-Discretionary Retirement Plan Sponsor Consulting Services. In addition to providing
investment advisory services to retirement plan participants and plan sponsors, we provide non-
discretionary investment consulting services to plan sponsors of profit sharing 401(k) plans under
Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”).
As a Section 3(21) investment adviser or non-discretionary adviser, we provide the plan sponsor
with non-binding investment recommendations to the plans regarding fund options that are
available to plan participants.
In providing these services, we do not (i) exercise investment discretion, management, or
authority over the plan assets, (ii) maintain custody or control over client assets, or (iii) undertake
responsibility for execution of trades or administration of the plan. In addition, we are not
otherwise responsible for valuation, recordkeeping, or proxy voting. The plan sponsors are
ultimately required to exercise their discretion to act upon the investment options recommended
by us, with participants being responsible for any individual investment selections made under
the plan.
Discretionary Retirement Plan Services. We offer full discretionary investment management
services to retirement plan sponsors under Section 3(38) of ERISA. In the capacity as an
“investment manager” under Section 3(38) of ERISA, and in exercising our authority as an
“investment manager” with respect to plan assets, we perform the following services on behalf of
the plan and the plan participants: (i) provide portfolio model allocations for retirement plans
utilizing the available investment options under the plan; (ii) develop, manage, monitor and
rebalance the portfolio model allocations in accordance with our model account management
service methodology, as described in Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk
of Loss; (iii) provide ongoing and continuous discretionary investment management to plan
participants electing to invest their plan account assets in one of our portfolio model allocations
based on the participant’s investment objectives, assets available for investment, and risk
tolerance (the “Participant Profile Information”), including reallocation and rebalancing of
participant plan accounts in accordance with our portfolio model allocations; (iv) conduct initial
and on-going meetings with those plan participants electing to invest
in one of our portfolio model allocations to obtain and update the Participant Profile
their plan account assets
Information, including advising each participant about the asset management process and the
available portfolio model allocations that are suitable investment strategies; and (v) allocate assets
of the plan participants among the plan’s approved investment alternatives and exercising
discretionary investment management over participant accounts to diversify, reallocate and
rebalance the account allocations of plan participants in accordance with our portfolio model
allocations.
Keel Point Asset Management Services
Under our Keel Point Asset Management service platform, we work alongside institutions and
other third-party investment advisers to help build and improve their investment portfolios and
portfolio management processes. In this capacity, we serve as an outsourced chief investment
officer (“OCIO”) for these clients.
The Firm’s OCIO investment management solutions are a natural extension of our traditional
investment advisory practice. In our capacity as an OCIO services provider, we perform the
following services:
Investment Management:
o Serve as an investment adviser to our clients’ management team and board of
directors
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o Source investment opportunities
o Perform due diligence on potential investment opportunities including investment
manager due diligence and selection
o Conduct discretionary portfolio management
o Contribute intellectual capital including research, analytics, and market viewpoints in
an effort to monitor investment performance
Portfolio Management:
o Perform portfolio construction and implementation including design of internal
organizational and decision-making structures, automation of internal processes, and
assistance with board or investment committee governance
o Perform asset allocation modeling
o Conduct asset sales or redemptions, including secondary sales of limited partnership
interests
o Perform strategic restructuring of client portfolios
Implementation:
o Develop customized investment solutions that satisfy each client’s organizational
challenges and needs
including evaluating portfolio
o Conduct portfolio performance monitoring
investments for returns and diversification criteria
o Develop investment policies consistent with each client’s portfolio objectives
o Support our clients’ strategic investment mission
o Assist our clients with educating and informing their employees of investment options
and risks
Co-Investment Management Services Under the Keel Point Asset Management service
platform, we offer qualified clients an opportunity to invest in certain funds or strategies in
which we serve as a co-investment manager or sub-advisor. Under certain of these sub-
advisor arrangements, our affiliate, KP Convexity, serves as a special limited partner for the
purpose of receiving a performance-based profit allocation generated by certain private
funds.
Consulting Services We also provide non-discretionary investment consulting services to
clients, including investment supervisory services, asset management services, tax-related
services, and trust services including estate planning. As noted above, Keel Point does not
provide tax and legal advice and clients should contact outside legal and accounting
professionals for such advice. Our investment consulting services also include consulting
arrangements with third-party investment advisers, in which we assist the third-party
investment adviser with the development of investment policy statements, model portfolio
construction, risk analytics, model performance analytics, market views, investment
recommendations and adviser training. Under these consulting arrangements, our services
are limited to non-discretionary asset management or advisory services, with all discretionary
authority remaining with the third-party adviser.
Retirement Plan Sponsor Consulting Services. Non-Discretionary Retirement Plan
Sponsor Consulting Services. In addition to providing investment advisory services to
retirement plan participants and plan sponsors, we provide non-discretionary investment
consulting services to plan sponsors of profit sharing 401(k) plans under Section 3(21) of
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ERISA. As a Section 3(21) investment adviser or non-discretionary adviser, we provide
the plan sponsor with non-binding investment recommendations to the plans regarding
the fund options that are available to plan participants. In providing these services, we
do not exercise investment discretion, management, or authority over the plan assets,
maintain custody or control over client assets, undertake responsibility for execution of
trades or administration of the plan, and are not otherwise responsible for valuation,
recordkeeping, or proxy voting. The plan sponsors are ultimately required to exercise
their discretion to act upon the investment options recommended by us, with participants
being responsible for any individual investment selections made under the plan.
Discretionary Retirement Plan Services. We offer full discretionary investment
management services to retirement plan sponsors under Section 3(38) of ERISA. In the
capacity as an “investment manager” under Section 3(38) of ERISA, and in exercising
our authority as an “investment manager” with respect to plan assets, we perform the
following services on behalf of the plan and the plan participants: (a) provide portfolio
model allocations for retirement plans utilizing the available investment options under
the plan; (b) develop, manage, monitor and rebalance the portfolio model allocations in
accordance with our model account management service methodology, as described in
Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss, below; (c) provide
ongoing and continuous discretionary investment management to plan participants
electing to invest their plan account assets in one of our portfolio model allocations based
on the Participant Profile Information, including reallocation and rebalancing of
participant plan accounts in accordance with our portfolio model allocations; (d) conduct
initial and on-going meetings with those plan participants electing to invest their plan
account assets in one of our portfolio model allocations to obtain and update the
Participant Profile Information, including advising each participant about the asset
management process and the available portfolio model allocations that are suitable
investment strategies; and (e) allocating assets of the plan participants among the plan’s
approved investment alternatives and exercising discretionary investment management
over participant accounts to diversify, reallocate and rebalance the account allocations of
plan participants in accordance with our portfolio model allocations.
Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds
Certain qualified clients are permitted to invest in a third-party Qualified Opportunity Zone
Fund that will provide those clients with exposure to the tax advantages provided by The Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which established a tax-advantaged investment framework for
certain types of investments in newly established Qualified Opportunity Zones within the U.S.
The risks and benefits of investing in Qualified Opportunity Zones are provided in detail in
the Fund’s Private Placement Memorandum.
Wrap Fee Program
Generally, a “wrap fee program” is a program where a firm “wraps” both the assets under
management fees for advisory services and the per transaction fees for execution services into a
single fee charged to the client (may also be referred to herein simply as a “Wrap Fee”). Under a
Wrap Fee arrangement, a client’s fees are the same regardless of the number of transactions in an
account. Conversely, in a non-wrap fee account, a client would pay an asset management fee and a
separate transaction fee for transactions within the account. Wrap Fee Programs may be more
expensive to clients where there is very little trading activity in the account, where a buy and hold
strategy is applied, or where no or low transaction cost investments are utilized. Alternatively, a non-
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wrap program may be more expensive if there is frequent trading activity in the account, if many
transaction-based investments are utilized in the management of the account, or if there is frequent
re-balancing of the account.
The Firm participates in and sponsors a certain wrap fee program, the Granite Financial Wrap Fee
Program (the “Wrap Fee Program”). This allows Keel Point to manage client accounts for a single
fee, that includes both portfolio management services and brokerage fees. Within the wrap
program, the Firm will charge clients one fee, and pay all transaction fees using the fee collected
from the client. Accounts participating in the wrap fee program are not charged higher advisory fees
based on trading activity, however, clients should be aware that the Firm has an incentive to limit
trading activities and/or select investments that may not have a transaction fee for those accounts since
the firm absorbs those transaction fees. Under the Wrap Fee Program, KPC (the Firm’s affiliated
broker-dealer) can serve as the broker-dealer to execute trading in the account, however, the client
does have discretion to choose another broker-dealer. In those cases where the client chooses
another broker-dealer, the client may have to pay a different fee, or may receive a different price for
a security than other clients were charged for the same security. The Wrap Fee Program(s) offered
by the firm include the following:
• Granite Financial Wrap Fee Program
In addition to the advisory services, the Wrap Fee Program includes certain brokerage services of
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of
FINRA and SIPC. Our Firm is independently owned and operated and not an affiliate of Schwab.
Schwab may act solely as a broker-dealer and not as an investment adviser to Wrap Fee Program
clients. Schwab will have no discretion over your account and will act solely on instructions that it
receives from our Firm or you as the client. Schwab has no responsibility for the Firm’s services
and undertakes no duty to you, the client, to monitor the Firm’s management of your account or
other services provided to you by the Firm. Schwab will hold the client’s assets in a brokerage
account and buy and sell securities and execute other transactions when the Firm instructs Schwab
to do so. The Firm does not open the account for you.
Level of Service Offered
Our practice is to align each financial plan, investment program, and advisory service with the specific
needs of the client. Clients are permitted to provide restrictions with regard to our ability to invest
in specific securities or types of securities. Such restrictions are identified in the client’s Investment
Policy Statement, which documents and outlines the client’s mission, vision, values and goals. We
require each client to provide an Investment Policy Statement at the beginning of our relationship.
A more detailed description of our approach to portfolio construction is in Item 8: Methods of
Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2024, our firm had approximately $3,464,607,203 in regulatory assets under
management (also referred to as “AUM” or “Regulatory AUM”). We manage $3,234,503,133 on a
discretionary basis and $230,104,070 on a non-discretionary basis. This amount is reported on ADV
Part 1A, Item 5.F.
Assets Under Advisement
As previously stated herein, as of December 31, 2024, our firm had approximately $3,464,607,203 in
regulatory assets under management (also referred to as “AUM” or “Regulatory AUM”). In addition, we
provide services on an additional approximately $400 million in assets, referred to as assets under
advisement (“AUA”). These assets are not managed on a continuous basis and are not included in the
Regulatory AUM we report to the SEC on Form ADV. Examples of AUA may include retirement plan
consulting relationships, non-discretionary model portfolios, one-time asset allocation advice, or client held
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away assets. The distinction between AUM and AUA is important: AUM reflects our ongoing, supervisory
investment management authority, while AUA reflects advisory or consulting relationships where we do not
exercise direct management control. The combined AUM and AUA (approximately $3.46 billion in AUM
and over $400 million in AUA) amounts to approximately $3,900,000,000. These AUM and AUA figures
may be disclosed in some of the Firm’s marketing materials. Where AUA is disclosed, so too, will be
separate AUM figure.
Item 5. Fees and Compensation
Investment Management Services
For the performance of investment management services, clients pay us periodic asset-based fees
based on the average daily value of the assets maintained in the client’s account managed by us.
Clients may also pay a Wrap Fee under a Wrap Fee Program as discussed in the Wrap Fee Program
section of Item 4 Advisory Business immediately herein above. That Wrap Fee would be calculated
differently than asset based fees or Family Office Services fees.
The asset-based fees are based upon the average daily balance of the client’s account for the preceding
calendar quarter and are payable quarterly in advance at an annual rate as set forth in the fee schedule
below. If our management of the client’s account commences on a day other than the first business day
of a calendar quarter, our billing of the asset-based fee will proceed from the date the account is opened
with us for management and the asset-based fees will be prorated through the end of the quarter. Client
will authorize us in their investment advisory agreement to direct the custodian to pay our asset-based fees
directly from the client’s account based upon a statement that we will send to the custodian. For securities
with a readily verifiable market price, we rely on pricing provided by third-party custodians or other third-
party administrators. If certain average daily values within the client account(s) are not readily available at
the time the quarterly fee is due, we will use the most recent information received from investment
managers, including manager estimates. We use other valuation methods to determine the market value
of assets for other hard to value securities, including certain pooled investment vehicles, private investment
vehicles and other illiquid investments, and held-away private investments. For instance, for pooled
investment vehicle investments, such as hedge funds, that do not regularly report a per unit valuation, we
use the most recently reported fair market value of the client’s holding. A client’s holding in other private
investment vehicles and illiquid investments that do not regularly report a fair market value-based valuation
will be valued by us at cost until the issuer notifies us of a different fair market valuation measure. Held-
away private investments, the investment of which was directed by us, and which are subject to our
investment management, will be valued by us based on a client-provided independent fair market
valuation, and be included in computing a client’s periodic asset-based fee. However, illiquid and held-
away assets, the investment of which is not directed by us, are excluded in computing a client’s asset-based
fee. Instead, these securities will be billed a fixed fee ranging between $500 to $1,500 annually based on
the level of service related to the security.
Client’s asset-based fees are based on a percentage of the assets managed by us for which we provide
investment management services as follows:
Market Value of Assets
Annual Fee
First $1,000,000
1.35%
to and
including
1.10%
From $1,000,000.01
$2,000,000
$2,000,000.01 to
and
including
0.85%
From
$5,000,000
12
to and
including
0.70%
From $5,000,000.01
$10,000,000
to and
including
0.50%
From $10,000,00.01
$25,000,000
$25,000,00.01 and above
0.30%
Our asset-based fees apply to all assets in the client’s account, including assets invested in mutual
funds, money market mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, collective investment funds, common
trust funds, pooled investment funds or similar funds. Client assets invested in such funds may also
be subject to additional fees and expenses charged by the fund. However, we will exclude from
our computation of the asset-based fee any illiquid and held-away assets, the investment of which
was not directed by us. Clients are responsible for verifying the asset-based fee computations;
provided, however, the custodian will send each client a monthly statement showing all amounts
paid from the account, including all management fees paid to us by the custodian.
We reserve the right to discount or waive any fees associated with a client’s account in our sole
discretion. If applicable, any changes to the fee schedule that occur during a quarter will be effective
as of the first day of the next quarter.
Householding. Clients maintaining multiple accounts with us will be permitted to aggregate
the balances of their accounts for purposes of determining the client’s total assets for
calculating their asset-based fees.
Account Termination. The client has the right to terminate the investment advisory
agreement without penalty within five business days after entering into the agreement with
us. In addition, either the client or us has the right to terminate the agreement at any time
upon 30 days’ advance written notice. We will have no responsibility to monitor the
securities or other investments in an account that was terminated; nor will we have any
obligation to liquidate the securities or other investments in the terminated account. Upon
termination of the investment advisory agreement, fees will be prorated up to and including
the date of termination and we will refund to the client any unearned prepaid fees.
Wrap Fee Program
The Wrap Fee Program allows Keel Point to manage client accounts for a single fee, that includes
both portfolio management services and brokerage fees. Within the wrap program, the Firm will
charge clients one fee, and pay all transaction fees using the fee collected from the client. Accounts
participating in the wrap fee program are not charged higher advisory fees based on trading activity,
however, clients should be aware that the Firm has an incentive to limit trading activities and/or
select investments that may not have a transaction fee for those accounts since the firm absorbs those
transaction fees. Under the Wrap Fee Program, KPC (the Firm’s affiliated broker-dealer) can serve
as the broker-dealer to execute trading in the account, however, the client does have discretion to
choose another broker-dealer. In those cases where the client chooses another broker-dealer, the
client may have to pay a different fee, or may receive a different price for a security than the other
clients were charged for the same security.
Schwab’s Brokerage Services In addition to the advisory services, the Wrap Fee Program
includes certain brokerage services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) a broker-dealer
registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC. Our Firm is independently
owned and operated and not an affiliate of Schwab. Schwab may act solely as a broker-dealer
13
and not as an investment adviser to Wrap Fee Program clients. Schwab will have no discretion
over your account and will act solely on instructions that it receives from our Firm or you as
the client. Schwab has no responsibility for the Firm’s services and undertakes no duty to you,
the client, to monitor the Firm’s management of your account or other services provided to
you by the Firm. Schwab will hold the client’s assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell
securities and execute other transactions when the Firm instructs Schwab to do so. The Firm
does not open the account for you.
Fees and Compensation The firm will charge a single asset-based fee for services covered by
the Wrap Fee Program. Billing of fees is in arrears or in advance as memorialized in the
Firm’s advisory contract with each client. Fees are deducted from clients’ assets or clients are
billed for fees incurred, as mutually agreed upon by the Firm and the client. Fees are paid
monthly or quarterly in advance, depending on the terms of the client’s specific advisory
agreement. The monthly fee calculation is based upon the value of the client's account at the
end of the previous month after adjustments for contributions and withdrawals of funds in the
client’s account. Initial and ongoing contributions during a billing period will be charged a
prorated advisory fee for the days from inception to the end of the billing period based on the
inception value. For distributions during the billing period, a portion of the fee will be refunded
to the Client based on the number of days remaining in the billing period and the distribution
value.
Clients may terminate an advisory agreement. If an account is terminated in the middle of a
billing period, a portion of the fee collected in advance will be refunded in an amount equal to
the balance of the fees collected in advance minus the prorated fee based on the number of days
elapsed in the billing period up to and including the day of termination. Clients may terminate
their contract without penalty, for full refund, within five business days of signing the contract.
Thereafter, clients may terminate the contract within thirty days’ written notice. The fee
schedules to be charged for the Wrap Fee Program are listed immediately below:
Market Value of Assets
The first $5,000,000
Annual
Fee
1.00%
.70%
From $5,000,000.01 to and including
$15,000,000
0.40%
From $15,000,000.01 to and
including
$25,000,000
From $25,000,000.01 and above
0.25%
For clients that transition to the Firm due to their advisor joining the Firm, previously contracted
fee schedules will be honored, when possible. This should be the case for clients transitioning
from Granite Financial Partners, LLC, whose investment adviser representatives have joined the
Firm as of 2023.
Fees the Firm Pays Schwab In addition to compensating the Firm for advisory services, the Wrap
Fee paid by you, the client, to the Firm allows the Firm to pay for brokerage and executions services
provided by Schwab. The Firm pays Schwab transaction costs for each executed trade in the Wrap
Fee Program accounts. As a result, the Firm may have a financial incentive to limit
orders for Wrap Fee Program accounts because trades increase the Firm’s transaction costs. Thus,
an incentive exists to trade less frequently in a wrap fee program.
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Contribution Cost Factors – Relative Cost of Wrap Fee Program A wrap fee is not based directly on
the number of transactions in the client’s account(s). Various factors influence the relative cost of
the Firm’s Wrap Fee Program to you, including: i) the cost of the Firm’s investment advice; ii)
custody and brokerage services if you purchase them separately; iii) the types of investments held in
your account; and iv) the frequency, type and size of the trades in your account. The Wrap Fee
Program could cost you more or less than purchasing the Firm’s investment advice and custody /
brokerage services.
Additional Fees and Expenses Our Wrap Fee covers our advisory services, and the brokerage
services provided by Schwab (including custody of assets, equity trades, and ETFs). Although this
generally may provide us with an incentive to not trade your account, it does provide the firm with
an incentive, when the account is actually traded, to execute transactions for your account at Schwab
versus other custodians.
The Firm’s Wrap Fee Program does not include the fees and costs listed below. The fees and costs
below may apply to transactions in your account. Additional fees and costs not included in the Wrap
Fee Program that clients will pay include:
1. Commissions and other fees charged by broker-dealers other than Schwab for transactions in
your account if the Firm uses Schwab’s Prime Brokerage or Trade Away Services. Because you will
pay the Firm’s Wrap Fee in addition to any charges paid to broker-dealers other than Schwab (or
KPC), the Firm has an incentive to execute transactions for your account through Schwab (or KPC).
However, as discussed in more detail in our Brokerage Practices (hereinbelow) the Firm considers
various factors in our best execution analysis and may trade at another broker-dealer (like KPC but
not limited only to KPC) if the Firm believes that it can obtain better execution for you.
Fees charged by mutual fund companies, closed-end funds, ETFs, and other collective
2.
investment vehicles, including but not limited to, sales loads and/or charges and short-term
redemption fees.
3. Markups and markdowns, bid-ask spreads, and selling concessions in connection with
transactions that Schwab executes as principal. Principal transactions contrast with transactions in
which Schwab acts as your agent in effecting trades. Markups and markdowns and bid-ask spreads
are not separate fees but are reflected in the net price at which a trade order is executed.
Fees imposed by third-parties such as transfer taxes, odd-lot differentials, certificate delivery
4.
fees, reorganization fees, and other fees required by law. Schwab may also charge for additional
services such as wire transfer fees and fees for alternative investments.
Conflicts Presented by Additional Compensation Received by the Firm and its Personnel By
receiving the type of compensation described herein above, the Firm and our employees have a
conflict of interest, because such compensation provides an incentive to recommend or direct clients
to invest in securities when other products may be more appropriate. We address this conflict by the
following:
i Due Diligence Determination: We perform due diligence on all potential investments,
to determine whether an investment is appropriate for our clients without regard to any
compensation that we or our representatives earn.
ii Conflict Protocol Policy: When we identify a conflict of interest, such as those described
above, we bring such conflicts to our Conflicts Resolution Committee (“CRC”), formerly
known as the Conflicts Advisory Committee. The CRC protocol is outlined in detail in
15
Appendix A - “Other Conflicts, Risks and Mitigation.”
Compensation of Client Participation Neither the firm, nor any of its representatives receive any
additional compensation beyond advisory fees for the participation of clients in the Wrap Fee
Program. However, compensation received may be more than what would have been received if
the client paid separately for investment advice, brokerage, and other services. Therefore, the Firm
may have a financial incentive to recommend the wrap fee program to clients.
Family Office Services
In addition to the asset-based fees we receive for performing investment management services,
clients receiving Family Office Services will be subject to additional fees based upon the levels of
services performed. Fees for providing Family Office Services outside of the performance of
investment advisory or investment management services are based upon the nature of work or
scope of services, the sophistication of the services provided, the professional level of personnel
required, the resources required for performing such services, and are charged on an annual fixed
fee, hourly or project basis. Family Office Services fees are determined on a case-by-case basis and
will be agreed upon by the client and us, in writing, and described in the client agreement. Annual
family office fees are payable quarterly in advance, and project fees are payable per the terms of
the project including in advance, in installments or at completion of the service. The following is
a summary of the range of fees that we charge clients for providing Family Office Services:
1. Initial One-Time Set-up Fee. Subject to the complexity of the client’s financial
structure, the set-up fee ranges from $20,000 to $75,000.
2. Discovery Profile Fee. Subject to our discretion to waive all or a portion of the fee based
upon the level of Family Office Services provided, we charge a minimum fee of $7,500
for The Discovery Profile.
3. Annual Family Office Fee. Subject to the scope of the services provided and the
complexity of the client’s financial structure, annual fees range from $25,000 to
$400,000. The Annual Family Office fee will be payable quarterly, in advance, and is
deemed to be provided under an annual retainer contract. Therefore, unless the client
terminates such services, the annual retainer contract will renew annually and shall be
subject to a 5% annual fee increase.
4. Family Office Project Special Services Fee. Fees for our performance of Family Office
Project Special Services are determined on a case-by-case basis and are either based
upon agreed upon hourly rates or a fixed contract price.
5. Financial Plan. The fees for preparing a wealth strategy plan on behalf of a client ranges
from $10,000 to $100,000. Additional financial planning fees will be charged on either
a fixed fee or hourly rate basis and will vary based upon the client’s needs and the scope
of services provided.
6. Management and Due Diligence Services. Fees for management and due diligence
services are determined on a case-by-case basis and are either a fixed fee or agreed upon
hourly rates.
7. Hourly Rates. Fees for providing other Family Office Services are determined on a case-
by-case basis and agreed upon by us and the client in writing in advance and will be based
upon the nature of work or scope of services, the sophistication of the services provided,
the professional level of personnel required, and the resources required for performing
such services. Such services will be performed in accordance with the following hourly
rates or as otherwise agreed upon by us and the client in writing.
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Chairman
$720
Senior Family Wealth Director
$500
Family Office Counsel
$500
Family Office Tax Accountant
$415
Family Wealth Manager / Advisor $415
Senior Family Office Associate
$275
Family Office Associate
$200
Family Office Administrator
$130
We may, in our sole discretion, adjust these hourly rates based on other fees already paid by the
client, the level of other services being performed by us on behalf of the client, or as we determine
from time to time.
Financial Planning Services
To the extent that we are providing a client with investment management services, other than
charging the asset-based fee and fund-related compensation, if any, we do not charge for financial
planning services. However, if we are providing the client with financial planning and consulting
services only, we will charge the client an agreed upon hourly or flat rate fee for such services, which
will be determined based upon the facts and circumstances of the client’s financial situation and
the complexity of the financial plan or service requested.
Grandfathering of Fee Arrangements
In limited circumstances, clients with accounts that were in place before the current fee schedule are
charged fees in accordance with the fee schedule in effect at the time the client entered into the
advisory relationship with us and in accordance with the terms of their investment advisory
agreement.
Other Fees and Charges
In addition to the investment management fees and family office fees paid to us, clients will incur
other fees, charges and expenses based upon the investments that we or the clients select. Such
additional fees, charges and expenses include:
Brokerage Commissions, Custodian Fees and Other Transaction Fees Clients must establish
an account with: i) Fidelity’s Institutional Wealth Services, a division of Fidelity Brokerage
Services LLC (“IWS”); ii) Charles Schwab & Co, Inc. (“Schwab”), a broker dealer registered
with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC; or iii) another third-party custodian
designated by the client and approved by us. G e n e r a l l y , clients with accounts at IWS or
Schwab do not pay any brokerage commissions. For clients with accounts at a custodian other
than IWS or Schwab, all brokerage commissions, custodial fees and service charges, stock
transfer fees and other similar charges incurred in connection with transactions for the client’s
account will generally be paid out of the client’s assets held at the custodian.
In addition, as described in this Item 5: Fees and Compensation, clients participating in certain
programs, such as a wrap fee program, may incur applicable fees, commissions, charges and
other charges or expenses associated with the transactions within the client’s account, including
brokerage commissions, transaction charges, exchange fees, wire transfer charges, transfer
taxes, odd lot differentials, non-activity fees, electronic fund processing fees and other related
expenses.
17
Clients investing in alternative investments are responsible for any associated custodial fees. In
addition, certain of our investment adviser representatives also serve in the capacity as
registered representatives of our affiliated broker-dealer, KPC, and may receive 12b-1 fees. See
Item 12: Brokerage Practices, below, for additional information on our brokerage practices.
Mutual Fund, Exchange-Traded Funds and Pooled Investment Vehicles Fees and Expenses
Fees paid for our advisory services are separate from and in addition to the fees and expenses
that are charged to clients by mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or other pooled investment
vehicles. Clients invested in these funds or investment vehicles are required to pay all fees and
expenses applicable to investment in the funds or investment vehicles. These fees are described
in each fund’s or pooled investment vehicle’s prospectus or offering documents and generally
include a separate management fee (sometimes referred to as an expense ratio), fund expenses,
and distribution fees. Clients are also solely responsible for additional charges imposed by third
parties incurred in connection with investments in mutual funds, exchange- traded funds or
other pooled investment vehicles, which include, but are not limited to, management fees, 12b-
1 and sub-transfer agent fees, administrative service and similar fees, transfer taxes, transaction
fees, deferred sales charges, and redemption fees.
Annual fund management fees charged by third party fund managers generally range from 1%
to 2%. However, certain funds that we invest the client’s assets in invest in other funds (referred
to as a “fund of funds”). Clients that invest in fund of funds also bear a proportionate share of
the fees and expenses of each underlying investment fund. Certain managers of funds in which
we invest also charge performance fees, which typically range from 5% to 20% or more of the
fund’s annual net profits. These fees reduce the client’s returns.
In addition, certain clients that are invested in pooled investment vehicles pay higher or lower
fees than similarly situated clients that are invested in the same pooled investment vehicle. The
amount of fees varies as a result of negotiations or other factors, including the particular
circumstances of the client, the size and scope of the overall relationship, or as otherwise agreed
with specific clients.
Insurance Fees and Expenses From time to time, we exercise our discretionary investment
management authority to purchase on behalf of clients’ private placement variable annuity or
private placement life insurance products from third party insurance providers. If we purchase
such insurance products for a client’s account, the client will incur a management fee from the
third party insurance provider, which fee is separate from and in addition to the asset-based fee
that we charge clients for performing investment management services. However, we will reduce
the client’s asset-based fee by the amount of the management fee paid to the third party insurance
provider so that the client does not pay any additional fees in connection with our decision to
purchase such insurance products.
Separately Managed Account Program Fees For client assets invested in the separately managed
account program, clients are charged a single management fee based on the amount of assets
under management, which fee is inclusive of all costs and fees for investment management
services, brokerage services and custodial services. The management fee for the separately
managed account program is payable quarterly in advance based on the average daily balance of
the client’s account for the prior calendar quarter. Upon termination of the investment advisory
agreement governing the investment of the client’s assets in a separately managed account
program, the management fee will be prorated up to and including the effective termination date
and any unearned portion of the prepaid management fee will be refunded to the client.
Sub-Adviser Fees In certain instances, we delegate some or all of our investment authority to,
or otherwise use the services of, third-party investment advisers, investment sub-advisers,
investment managers, investment sub-managers and investment consultants (collectively, “Sub-
Advisers”) to help manage a portion of the client’s assets. The client is responsible for paying
18
any fees charged by Sub-Advisers, which fees are separate from and in addition to the asset-
based fees paid to us for performing investment advisory services. If we retain a new or
replacement Sub-Adviser, we will inform the client of the fees payable to any such new or
replacement Sub-Adviser within a reasonable time after the effective date of such retention or
replacement. Pursuant to the terms of our investment advisory agreement, clients authorize the
custodian to deduct any Sub-Adviser fees directly from the client’s account based upon a
statement sent by the Sub-Adviser to the custodian. In some instances, Sub-Advisers will
invoice us for such fees, and we will request that the custodian deduct the Sub-Adviser fee
directly from the client’s account for further remittance to the Sub-Adviser.
Fee Sharing Arrangements In limited circumstances, we will enter into fee sharing arrangements
with other investment managers in connection with certain designated funds for which we assist
the investment managers in the development and financial seeding of the funds. Under the terms
of these arrangements, we are compensated for our role in growing the designated funds through
both a primary fee split arrangement and, as the aggregate net management fees of a fund attain
certain specified levels, a secondary fee split agreement. As with other pooled investment
vehicles, we also earn investment advisory fees or other fund-related fees based on clients that
the third-party investment managers refer to us.
Co-Investment Management Fees In the case of the investment management services we
provide under co-investment management or sub-advisor arrangements, we are compensated
based on a percentage of the assets co-managed by us and our co-investment manager. In
addition, under certain of these arrangements, our affiliate, KP Convexity, is entitled to a
performance-based profit allocation based upon the performance of certain private funds,
which performance-based profit allocation will be remitted by KP Convexity to us in its entirety
in exchange for our performance of the supervisory support services. Accordingly, there is a
financial incentive for us to recommend our co-investment managers over other third-party
investment advisers who do not have an agreement with us. Similarly, there may be other third-
party investment advisers and/or programs that could provide similar services to clients at a
lower cost. We carefully discuss this potential conflict with each client so that the client can
make an informed decision on whether to invest in any co-investment strategies.
Compensation for the Sale of Mutual Funds and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles The Firm
and our financial advisors receive compensation for the sale of certain mutual funds and other
pooled investment vehicles to clients. Such compensation creates an incentive for us and our
financial advisors to recommend such investments based on the compensation received. As
discussed above, the Firm or our affiliates receive shareholder service or 12b-1 fees from
mutual funds as compensation for distribution and administrative services in connection with
the sale of such products. Our recommendation of mutual funds and other investments where
we share in the fees and profits result in additional compensation to us and our financial
advisors. In such arrangements, payments to us generally increase as the amount of assets
invested by clients in such mutual funds and other investments increases. This arrangement
creates an incentive for us to recommend or select mutual funds or other investments that are
advised, managed, or sponsored by us. All of these fees, which range from 10 to 25 basis points,
are disclosed in the prospectus or other offering document. Under no circumstances will we
recommend funds where we receive a commission or front-end or contingent deferred sales
charge.
Research and Development Costs As noted herein, clients that invest in mutual funds,
exchange-traded funds or other pooled investment vehicles will bear the expenses of the
particular fund or vehicle. We may, however, in our capacity as investment manager or co-
manager to the fund or vehicle, be reimbursed from the fund or vehicle certain expenses
incurred by us in connection with research and due diligence performed by our principals and
19
employees. Reimbursement will be at a fixed annual rate and will be disclosed to clients. Such
expenses would have otherwise been borne by us if the assets were managed outside the funds.
This creates a conflict of interest for us to encourage clients to invest in the funds. To address
this conflict of interest, we have policies and procedures for reviewing and supervising
investment recommendations to ensure that all recommendations are suitable for the client.
Consulting Services Fees From time to time, we enter into consulting arrangements in which,
for a mutually agreed upon fee, we recommend Keel Point products and strategies based upon
the client’s needs and objectives, including the selection and monitoring of investments made
by the Keel Point Distressed Access Fund. The payment of consulting services fees is separate
from and in addition to any fees that we receive for other services or products.
With respect to our performance of consulting services on behalf of the Keel Point Distressed
Access Fund, we develop or have pre-existing business or personal relationships with certain
underlying fund managers, underlying funds and/or their principals, employees, or investors.
These relationships and any actual or perceived benefits accruing to the Firm can influence the
selection of the underlying fund managers and underlying funds in which the Keel Point
Distressed Access Fund invests. However, the general partner, in its capacity as manager of the
Distressed Access Fund, and not us, has the legal authority to choose the underlying fund
managers and underlying funds. In addition, our affiliated broker-dealer, KPC, will receive a
portion of the management fee paid by certain limited partners of the Distressed Access Fund
that are introduced by KPC, with such fee ranging from 20 to 25 basis points per annum.
Notwithstanding that the consulting service fee and the management fee from those limited
partners are generated by separate and distinct investor asset bases, the receipt by us and our
affiliated broker-dealer, KPC, of a consulting service fee and a portion of the management fee
from certain limited partners of the Distressed Access Fund are an incentive to launch the
Distressed Access Fund due to the potential benefit of remuneration. In addition, the receipt
of compensation paid to us, and our affiliates can influence our recommendation of the
Distressed Access Fund to our clients over other funds, collective investment vehicles or
programs offering similar strategies, even if such other funds, vehicles, or programs are offered
for lower fees or have better performance results, or both.
Prepaid Fees
The majority of our investment advisory agreements, including our Family Office Services agreements,
requires clients to pay for our investment advisory services quarterly in advance. Clients, however,
have the right to terminate their investment advisory agreements without penalty within five (5)
business days after entering into the agreement. In addition, either party has the right to terminate
the agreement at any time upon thirty (30) days’ advance written notice to the other party. Upon
termination of the investment advisory agreement, fees paid in advance will be prorated up to and
including the date of termination and any unearned portion will be refunded to the client.
However, reporting services fees, certain Family Office Services fees and, in limited circumstances,
investment advisory fees, are charged in arrears. Upon termination of any such agreements, we will
calculate the fees due and payable up to and including the date of termination and deduct such fees
from the client’s account.
Other Compensation
We act as investment adviser to certain pooled investment vehicles such as private investment funds,
hedge funds, and private equity funds in which we may invest client assets (“Keel Point Sponsored
Vehicles”). In addition, we may also invest client assets in pooled investment vehicles where Keel
Point is not the controlling investment manager, but in which we have an economic interest
(“Economic Interest Vehicles”). In most cases, these entities are created to meet certain minimum
investment requirements of hedge funds, private equity funds and other similar fund investments
20
that we have determined would be suitable for clients. We or an affiliate receive a portion of the
management fees, performance fees, or both, charged by the underlying funds or separate account
manager.
In certain limited circumstances, we charge an additional management fee, performance fee, or
both, to clients related to investment in Keel Point Sponsored Vehicles and Economic Interest
Vehicles that is separate from and in addition to the fees charged by the underlying funds. However,
in those cases, we do not share in the management fee or performance fee of the underlying fund.
In all instances, however, clients will be charged our standard investment advisory fee for
management of the client’s assets. These fee arrangements are disclosed in the relevant offering
documents provided to clients and clients are required to consent to such arrangements.
Conflicts Presented by Additional Compensation Received by the Firm and its Personnel
By receiving additional compensation, we and our employees have a conflict of interest because such
compensation provides us with an incentive to recommend or direct clients to invest in these
securities when there could be other more appropriate products. We address this conflict by
performing a due diligence determination and adhering to our conflict policy.
In the event that we determine that the investment in a Keel Point Sponsored Vehicle or Economic
Interest Vehicle is appropriate for any of our ERISA or individual retirement account clients, we or
our affiliates may receive fees in accordance with the terms of ERISA Class Prohibited Transaction
Exemption (“PTE”) 77-4, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor. For purposes of complying with
PTE 77-4, we will invest the assets of ERISA or individual retirement account clients in Keel Point
Sponsored Vehicles based on our determination that such investment vehicles are appropriate for
the client’s investment objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity, and diversification goals. In addition,
ERISA and individual retirement account clients investing in Keel Point Sponsored Vehicles or
Economic Interest Vehicle will not be charged any sales commissions (including 12b-1 fees) or
undisclosed redemption fees, and the clients will not be charged both an investment advisory fee and
a management fee for its investment. We avoid charging these clients both investment advisory and
management fees by either waiving our account-level investment management fee or charging the
client an account-level fee but then providing a credit to the client for the client’s pro rata share of
investment advisory fees paid to us by the Keel Point Sponsored Vehicle or Economic Interest
Vehicle.
Other Options for Clients
In lieu of purchasing investment vehicles in which we have a conflict of interest, clients have the
option to purchase other securities products that we recommend through non-affiliated brokers or
agents. These products would generally be publicly traded equity and fixed income securities, mutual
funds, exchange traded funds, and private pooled investments.
Disclosure Regarding Compensation Received by the Firm and its Personnel
None of the Firm’s revenue is from commissions and other selling compensation. However, certain
of our employees are also registered representatives of our affiliated broker-dealer, KPC, and, in
such capacity, receive selling compensation as described in this Item 5: Fees and Compensation.
Reduction of Advisory Fees for Commissions or Markups
In certain limited instances, such as in the case of ERISA clients, we reduce our investment advisory
fees to offset any 12b-1 fees that we receive. However, under no circumstances do we charge ERISA
or individual retirement account clients both investment advisory fees and commissions or other
selling compensation. In addition, we do not generally receive any markups.
Item 6. Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
Except under limited circumstances and only when authorized pursuant to the terms of the client’s
21
investment advisory agreement, we do not charge advisory fees on a share of the capital appreciation
of the funds or securities in a client account (so-called performance-based fees) for individual clients.
Where the client and us agree to a performance-based fee arrangement, the terms of such
arrangement is reflected in the client’s investment advisory agreement. However, as described in
Item 5: Fees and Compensation, we, or our affiliate, KP Convexity, receive performance-based fees
or allocations related to performance for certain fund investments made by the Firm's clients that
invest in affiliated investment fund vehicles as described in Item 10: Other Financial Industry
Activities and Affiliations. These payments are subject to Section 205(a)(1) of the Advisers Act, in
accordance with the available exemptions thereunder, including the exemption set forth in Advisers
Act Rule 205-3, which requires that performance-based fees only be charged to “qualified clients”
(as such term is defined in Rule 205-3).
These fund investments create a conflict of interest because the additional compensation we receive
provides an incentive for us to direct qualifying clients to invest in such fund investments based on
our potential to receive a performance-based fee separate from and in addition to the asset-based fee
we charge clients for managing their accounts, when another strategy or investment that does not pay
a performance-based fee would be more appropriate. In addition, performance-based compensation
provides us with an incentive to recommend a particular investment, when a lower risk investment
that does not have a performance-based fee would be more appropriate.
We address this conflict by (1) analyzing whether a product is appropriate for a client without regard
to whether we, or an affiliate, earn additional compensation for the transaction, (2) ensuring that
alternative investments (including affiliated investment fund vehicles) are suitable for each client, (3)
ensuring that these investments are long-term investments for which the Firm generally does not
receive an ongoing management fee, (4) assessing if the terms of the affiliated investment vehicles
are reasonable in comparison to other similarly structured third-party investment alternatives, and
(5) providing clients with clear disclosure as to how the performance-based fee is calculated.
Item 7. Types of Clients
We provide services to the following types of clients:
Individuals, including high net worth individuals
•
• Pension and corporate retirement plans
• Trusts, estates, and charitable organizations
• Corporations or other business entities
• Family offices
Minimum Account Size and Account Opening Requirements
Core Portfolio Strategies Program. The minimum account size is $50,000, but in some cases, we
are willing to accept a lower minimum.
Standalone Tactical Program. The minimum account size is $150,000, but in some cases, we are
willing to accept a lower minimum.
We have full discretion to allow or not allow exceptions for minimum account size requirements.
Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies, and Risk of Loss
Methods of Analysis
We provide investment advisory services to clients based on the individual needs, goals and
objectives of each client. We use a team-driven fundamental and quantitative process to create
diversified long-term and tactical portfolios which meet clients' personal investment goals and
objectives within the constraints of their risk tolerance, liquidity needs, time horizons, tax situations
22
and investment restrictions.
We develop strategic and tactical asset allocations for clients based on analysis of short-term and
strategic macro and microeconomic themes. Various methods of quantitative modelling are used to
assure client portfolios are within predefined risk tolerances. We recommend, when deemed
appropriate, Sub-Advisers for the management of a portion of client assets and, occasionally, co-
advisers. We base these recommendations on a rigorous analysis of a wide universe of available
managers. We evaluate managers’ track records using robust statistical analysis and managers’ skill
based on a multi-step qualitative examination.
We assist clients in determining the appropriate asset allocation to achieve their investment
objectives and then direct client assets into various investment vehicles, as appropriate, including,
but not limited to: (i) individual securities; (ii) investment company securities (i.e., mutual funds); (iii)
fund investments; and (iv) Keel Point Sponsored Vehicles. In addition, the Firm advises clients on
where best to locate these investment vehicles, whether in qualified or non-qualified accounts, and
how to most effectively transition from their current portfolio to a recommended target portfolio.
As part of the investment advisory services, the Firm also creates and manages various strategic
investment portfolios and programs designed to achieve specified investment objectives within
predefined risk parameters. A portion of client portfolios can be allocated to one or more of these
investment strategies if the related allocations are deemed to be consistent with client investment
objectives and risk tolerances. In some cases, the Firm will recommend that a substantial portion of
a client’s investment portfolio be allocated to one strategic investment portfolio. The Firm monitors
the performance of all client portfolios, including the performance of the recommended investment
vehicles.
In addition to our qualitative research and quantitative tools, we use many other sources of
information for evaluating portfolio performance include Bloomberg, news services, general
economic, market and financial information, financial newspapers, third party research materials,
inspection of corporate activities, prospectuses, and Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Investment Strategies
All of our Programs use statistical modeling in an effort to ensure that each of the portfolios
represented in the various Programs stays within defined risk parameters associated with the
designated strategic investment objectives for each portfolio. In addition, the investment framework
used for each Program offers each of the portfolios in the Program the latitude to be periodically
overallocated to specified market segments that are performing well and defensively repositioned
during periods of prolonged market stress.
Core Portfolio Strategies Program. The Firm manages four portfolios of equity, fixed income,
and alternative investments within its Core Portfolio Strategies Program. These investments are
either exchange traded or traded at NAV on a daily basis and generally provide passive exposure
to market segments. The four portfolios in this Program have different asset allocations designed
to achieve different investment objectives and levels of risk. The portfolios are consistently
positioned in diversified equity, fixed income, and alternative investment exposure consistent with
predefined risk parameters.
Fund Strategies Program The Firm manages four portfolios of equity, fixed income, and
alternative investments within its Fund Strategies Program. These investments are either
exchange traded or traded at NAV on a daily basis and include both active and passive exposure
to market segments. The four portfolios in this Program have different asset allocations designed
to achieve different investment objectives and levels of risk. The portfolios are consistently
positioned in diversified equity, fixed income, and alternative investment exposure consistent with
predefined risk parameters.
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Multi-Asset Program Under the Firm’s Multi-Asset Program, we manage four portfolios of
equity, fixed income, and alternative investments. These investments are either exchange traded
or traded at NAV on a daily basis and include both active and passive exposure to market
segments. The four portfolios have different asset allocations designed to achieve different
investment objectives and levels of risk, as well as tactical allocations that reflect recent market
trends and market volatility. With respect to each portfolio, generally 75% of the portfolio is
consistently positioned strategically in diversified equity, fixed income, and alternative investment
exposure consistent with predefined risk parameters, and up to 25% of the portfolio is invested
in tactical allocations, which are actively repositioned within targeted sectors of the capital
markets exhibiting relative performance strength. Potential tactical allocations are identified
using both internal and external quantitative models, as well as the Firm’s qualitative assessment
of global capital markets. The Multi-Asset Program is designed to experience higher turnover
than the Funds Strategies Program. Depending on market conditions, the tactical feature within
the Multi-Asset Program can lead the portfolios in the Program to have significantly different risk
characteristics than the Fund Strategies Program.
Standalone Tactical Program Under its Standalone Tactical Program, the Firm manages a tactical
portfolio that reflects recent market trends and market volatility, which is actively repositioned
within targeted sectors of the capital markets exhibiting relative performance strength, with the
identification of potential tactical allocations occurring using both internal and external
quantitative models and the Firm’s qualitative assessment of global capital markets. The Program
is designed to experience higher turnover than our other investment programs. Depending on
market conditions, the portfolio utilized under this Program can have risk characteristics that are
significantly different from our other investment programs.
Keel Point Advisor Strategies Program The Firm manages four portfolios of equity, fixed
income, and alternative investments within its Advisor Strategies Program. In addition to
investments that are exchange traded or traded at NAV on a daily basis, the Advisor Strategies
Program can use investments that cannot be sold daily (e.g., structured notes and interval funds).
The four portfolios used in this Program have different asset allocations designed to achieve
different investment objectives and levels of risk. Each of the portfolios is consistently positioned
in diversified equity, fixed income, and alternative investment exposure consistent with predefined
risk parameters.
Customization We offer clients the ability to make some customizations to certain of the
investment programs described above. Other than the Standalone Tactical Program, all of our
programs can be run with equity allocations in our Global sleeve, where baseline regional
exposures follow a global equity index prior to any tilts we implement, or our U.S. Centric sleeve
which uses a blend of a global and U.S. equity index. The Core Program can be modified to
include equity investments with a socially responsible or Biblically responsible investment
process. The bond investments in Core and Fund Strategies can be replaced with a municipal
bond manager sleeve or a bond ladder.
Material Risks Associated with Our Investment Strategies
All investments in securities and investment programs have certain risks that are borne by the
investor, including a risk of loss of an investor’s principal and any profits that have not been realized.
Our investment approach constantly keeps the risk of loss in mind and seeks to match your
investment objectives and risk tolerance with the appropriate investment strategy. Generally, you
must invest in securities that have a higher risk of loss in order to obtain a higher potential for long-
term gains. However, there is no guarantee that our investment strategies will meet your objectives
or protect the assets in your account from losses. Depending on the type of securities you invest in,
your account will be subject to one or more of the following investment risks:
24
Interest-rate Risk. Fluctuations in interest rates can cause investment prices to fluctuate. For
example, when interest rates rise, yields on existing bonds become less attractive, causing their
market values to decline.
Market Risk. The price of a security, bond, or mutual fund can drop in reaction to tangible and
intangible events and conditions and, therefore an account’s investment value can decline due to
changes in general economic, political, social and market conditions. This type of risk is caused
by external factors independent of a security’s particular underlying circumstances.
Inflation Risk. When any type of inflation is present, purchasing power will erode at the rate of
inflation.
Currency Risk. Foreign (non-U.S.) investments are subject to fluctuations in the value of the
dollar against foreign currencies, which is also referred to as exchange rate risk.
Reinvestment Risk. This is the risk that future proceeds from investments will have to be
reinvested at a potentially lower rate of return (i.e., interest rate). This primarily relates to fixed
income securities.
Business Risk. These risks are associated with a particular industry or a particular company
within an industry. The performance of the company and/or the industry can carry a higher risk
due to potential reversals in profitability. For example, oil-drilling companies depend on finding
oil and then refining it, a lengthy process, before they can generate a profit. Therefore, oil-drilling
companies carry a higher risk of profitability than an electric company, which generates its
income from a steady stream of customers who buy electricity irrespective of the economic
environment.
While the Firm’s investment approach is to provide managed risk management services, you
should be aware that investments increase or decrease in value and that each strategy’s past
performance is no guarantee of future results. As described below, certain investments carry
additional risks that will not be present in other investments:
Private Fund Investments. Investments in private funds contain certain risks. They are generally
outlined as follows:
1. Liquidity. We cannot guarantee our ability to redeem client assets from a private fund in
a timely manner. Partnership and LLC member interests are not easily transferable, even
on the secondary market, and are subject to redemption limitations.
2. Transparency. We are limited in our ability to monitor the investment activities of private
funds. Advisers to private fund investments do not always provide detailed information
on their portfolio positions and, therefore, you will not be able to objectively assess the
risk of such underlying fund investments.
3. Side letters. Certain investors get preferential treatment in the areas of liquidity,
transparency, and fees.
4. Reliance on Key Personnel. Most fund advisers are dependent on the services of a small
number of key technical and management personnel and loss of their services could have
a material adverse effect on the fund’s performance and, due to lock-up provisions, you
could be restricted from exiting the fund in a timely manner.
5. Similar Funds. Investment managers often advise similar funds and, subject to the fee
structures for those funds, the investment managers can allocate certain limited
investment opportunities to funds generating higher fees for the investment manager.
6. Valuation. We rely upon the investment managers of private funds to provide accurate
valuation information pertaining to our clients’ capital balances. We generally have
limited information regarding the holdings of the private funds in which client accounts
25
are invested and are normally unable to independently verify valuations provided by the
managers to these private funds.
7. Leverage. Certain funds use leverage (borrowed funds) to increase their securities
holdings, which will magnify both gains and losses by the amount of the leverage.
8. Lack of Regulatory Oversight. Private funds typically operate under one or more
exemptions from registration with the applicable regulatory authorities. Additionally,
certain investment managers to private funds are exempt from registration with the
applicable regulatory authorities. Accordingly, private funds and their managers are often
subject to little, if any, direct scrutiny from any regulatory authority.
9. Return of Balances Previously Redeemed. Under extraordinary circumstances, following
a redemption from a private fund, the client may be required to return all, or a portion
of the redemption proceeds it received from the private fund to such private fund. For
instance, if the private fund later determines that its NAV was previously misstated, a
client will be required to return the applicable portion of the redemption proceeds to the
extent required by applicable law or the private fund’s organizational or offering
documents. Other circumstances, such as indemnification obligations, could also require
a client to return the proceeds to a private fund.
The specific risks associated with the funds are outlined in the private placement memoranda
for the funds.
Mutual Funds. We invest client funds in mutual funds, some of which are highly specialized.
Mutual fund investing involves risk, some of which are described below:
1. Stock market performance risk. The risk that stock, bond, or commodity prices overall,
will decline. Investment returns will fluctuate and are subject to market volatility, so that
an investor’s shares, when redeemed or sold, will be worth more or less than their original
cost.
2. Manager risk. The risk that poor security selection or focus on securities in a particular
sector, category, or group of companies will cause the mutual fund to underperform
relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Investors cannot
influence the securities bought and sold, or the timing of transactions.
3. Non diversification risk. The risk that a fund’s performance will be adversely affected
disproportionately by the poor performance of relatively few stocks or even a single stock.
Certain funds are non-diversified, which means that they invest a greater percentage of
their assets in the securities of a small number of issuers as compared with other mutual
funds.
A detailed description of the risks is contained in each mutual fund’s prospectus. Clients should
carefully read each mutual fund’s prospectus.
Item 9. Disciplinary Information
Registered investment advisers are required to disclose in their Disclosure Brochures all material
facts regarding any legal or disciplinary events that would be material to a client’s evaluation of the
advisory firm or the integrity of its management. We have no such material events to disclose.
Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
In some cases, our representatives also represent our affiliates or third parties as insurance agents,
broker-dealer representatives, or both. Some of our representatives and other employees also sell
26
insurance products, hold licenses as insurance agents of our affiliate, KPIA, and represent one or
more unaffiliated insurance product providers. Some of our registered representatives and other
employees also act as registered representatives of our affiliate, KPC. KPC is a registered broker-
dealer with the SEC and a member of FINRA. Some of our representatives and other employees
also act as investment adviser representatives of our affiliate, KPPMM. The activities conducted by
our employees as insurance agents and broker-dealer representatives of our affiliates create certain
conflicts of interest.
Clients Can Open NFS Accounts Through Our Employees Representing Keel Point Capital.
KPC provides a variety of execution and other brokerage services to clients that are clients of
both the Firm and KPC on a fully disclosed basis through its clearing broker, National Financial
Services, LLC, a Fidelity Investments company (“NFS”). NFS is not affiliated with us or KPC.
Clients Can Conduct Unrelated Transactions Through Our Employees Representing Keel Point
Capital. Certain of our clients use the services of KPC for transactions outside of the client’s
investment management account maintained with us. In those cases, our representatives who are
registered representatives of KPC will recommend securities or other products and will receive
customary commissions or other compensation if such products are purchased through KPC.
The Firm does not act as a custodian of client assets. The client always maintains asset control.
The Firm can place discretionary trades for clients under a limited power of attorney. KPC shares
office space and certain overhead expenses with the Firm, and, in some cases, our officers and
investment adviser representatives also represent KPC as broker-dealer representatives. In
addition, as authorized by the client’s investment advisory agreement, the
Firm directs a material percentage of client transactions to KPC. Where transactions are affected
through KPC, KPC will act on an agency basis to the extent permitted by law and will be entitled
to compensation consistent with the customary and prevailing compensation that KPC receives
for similar services in the ordinary course of KPC’s business.
Clients Can Purchase Insurance Products Through Our Employees Representing Keel Point
Insurance Advisors. Certain of our clients purchase insurance advisory services, including
insurance products, from KPIA. In such cases, KPIA will receive customary commissions or
other compensation on insurance products sold to the Firm’s clients.
This relationship creates a conflict of interest because we will occasionally recommend insurance
products to clients for which KPIA receives a commission, when a more appropriate or less
expensive product is available from an unaffiliated third party. This conflict is addressed by
analyzing if the insurance product is consistent with the client’s investment objectives and
financial situation without consideration of the compensation that will be earned by our affiliate,
KPIA.
Clients Can Conduct Unrelated Transactions Through Our Employees Representing Keel Point
Personal Money Management. Certain of our clients use the services of KPPMM for the
performance of non-discretionary, personal money management services. Certain employees of
KPPMM are also employees of the Firm and, as described in Item 14: Client Referrals and
Other Compensation, these employees may recommend the use of our investment management
services in return for the payment of a referral fee. This referral arrangements creates a conflict
of interest because certain employees of KPPMM have an incentive to refer its clients to us. This
conflict is addressed by ensuring the referral arrangement is appropriately disclosed to clients
and prohibiting any KPPMM employee referring clients to us from acting as our investment
adviser representative on behalf of such referred clients. Therefore, none of our employees that
are also KPPMM employees will be permitted to receive both a referral fee and an advisory fee
for the same client.
Clients Can Be Owners of Our Firm. Certain clients of our Firm are also owners of our parent,
27
KPP, which creates a conflict of interest that, in certain instances, results in such clients
attempting to unduly influence our management decisions, including decisions related to
reduced fee structures and allocation of limited investment opportunities. We address this
conflict by maintaining and conducting a conflicts review process, which is administered by our
Conflicts Resolution Committee.
Keel Point Sponsored Vehicles; Co-Investment Management Vehicles
In addition, as described below, we solicit certain clients to invest in partnerships or funds in which
we or one of our affiliates acts as a manager, co-manager, or sub-advisor.
The Keel Point Distressed Access Fund, LLC invests in two (2) distressed private equity funds. We
act as the manager of the Distressed Access Fund and, in accordance with the operating
agreement of the Distressed Access Fund, are entitled to receive an annual carried interest
payment of five percent (5%) upon investors earning a specified preferred return on their
investment. We no longer charge a management fee for the Distressed Access Fund.
The Keel Point Tactical Alpha Fund, LP invests in a portfolio of securities designed to exceed the
market return of a balanced risk benchmark. This fund does not charge a management fee.
However, it does charge a performance fee on net investment returns in excess of the
benchmark. This fund may also invest a portion of its assets in a fund managed by an unaffiliated
third party, in which case investors will pay a management fee to the third party manager.
The Lavaca Capital Convexity Fund LP and the Lavaca Capital Convexity Fund II LP invest in
U.S. listed equity options strategies that seek to create convex payouts and reduce risk. The
Funds seek to generate enough income via option spreads to fund the amplified upside
participation and the downside protection. As a seed partner to the Funds and a sub-adviser to
the investment manager of the Funds, Lavaca Capital, we share investment advisory fees with
Lavaca Capital for client investments in this strategy, including an annual management fee
percent that is separate from and in addition to the asset-based fee that we charge the client for
managing its account. In addition, our affiliate, KP Convexity, receives a portion of the
performance-based profit allocation generated by the Funds. The receipt of these additional
fees creates a conflict of interest and gives us an incentive to recommend the strategy based on
the compensation received. The fee arrangement and conflict of interest are fully disclosed to
each client before they invest in the strategy.
As stated above, in addition to the management fee and performance fee included in the
Fund(s), Keel Point clients pay a fixed percentage charge for assets under management
(“AUM”) which would include an investment in the fund.
Layering of Fees
Investors in the Lavaca Convexity Fund that are also Keel Point clients are subject to two (2)
fee structures related to the investment: 1) Keel Point fees based on AUM, and 2) both the
management fee and performance fee of the Lavaca Convexity Fund. Without regard to the
returns of Lavaca Convexity Fund, a Keel Point client could pay fewer overall fees to Keel
Point if the client’s investment in Lavaca Convexity Fund was substituted for an investment
that did not require a portion of the fund’s fees to be paid to Keel Point. The client’s overall
fees paid could be more or less if invested in a substitute investment, depending on if the
substitute investment’s fees are higher than or less than Lavaca Convexity Fund management
and performance fees.
Because Keel Point generates additional fees from assets invested in the Lavaca Convexity
Fund, such additional fees could cause Keel Point to bias its investment advice towards
28
recommending
investment
in Lavaca Convexity Fund
if
the
investing in Lavaca Convexity Fund. In addition, certain Keel Point employees, including
those that advise clients, receive additional compensation based on the amount of assets
invested in Lavaca Convexity Fund, as well as the performance of Lavaca Convexity Fund.
This compensation structure creates a conflict, as certain Keel Point employees have an
incentive to recommend investment in Lavaca Convexity Fund over other investments based
on the additional compensation received. However, clients are not charged any additional
fees and do not incur any additional costs by virtue of the additional compensation paid to
certain Keel Point employees. Keel Point addresses this conflict of interest by disclosing the
additional employee compensation associated with investment in Lavaca Convexity Fund and
investment
only
recommendation is appropriate for the client based on the client’s investment objectives and
risk tolerance.
Performance-Based Profit Allocations
The Lavaca Convexity Fund provides for a performance fee for outperforming the S&P 500
Index. This performance fee could provide an incentive to make investment decisions in
Lavaca Convexity Fund that are riskier or more speculative in order to generate greater
performance fees than would otherwise be the case in the absence of such performance-
based arrangements.
Other Affiliated Vehicles
We also solicit certain of our clients to invest in funds in which we or one of our affiliates maintains
a minority economic interest in the fund’s manager. In these situations, for our role as co-investment
manager, we or an affiliate receive compensation separate from and in addition to the asset-based fee we
receive for managing client accounts (See Item 5: Fees and Compensation). The receipt of this
compensation creates a conflict of interest because we have a financial incentive to recommend that clients
invest in this Fund over other similar funds when the other funds may be more appropriate or less costly.
We address this conflict of interest by following a pre-determined process in an effort to ensure that
our investment decisions, capital allocations, and recommendations for capital allocations are only
after performing due diligence, including consideration of each client’s investment objectives, risk
tolerance, financial information and other factors we believe are relevant for making an informed
and reasoned decision regarding the appropriateness of the investment, including the nature of, and
the required steps to mitigate, the conflicts. We also perform ongoing due diligence on all funds to
ensure maintaining such investments is appropriate for our clients, which includes conducting
periodic reviews of client accounts. Depending on the circumstances, conflicts are referred to our
Conflicts Resolution Committee and are otherwise subject to our conflicts review process.
Item 11. Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal
Trading
Code of Ethics
As required by law, we have adopted a Code of Ethics (“Code”) describing our standards of business
conduct, establishing policies and procedures to handle potential conflicts of interest that arise from
providing advisory services to our clients, and requiring our and our employees’ compliance with
federal securities laws. Our Code recognizes that we are a fiduciary and acts as a reminder to
employees that our responsibility to our clients is to provide effective and proper professional
investment management advice based upon unbiased independent judgment.
Our Code is based upon the principle that our employees owe a duty of loyalty, fairness and good
29
faith to our clients and to conduct activities in a manner to avoid (i) serving their own personal
interests ahead of our clients’ interests, (ii) taking inappropriate advantage of their position as an
employee, (iii) any actual or potential conflicts of interest, or (iv) any abuse of their position of trust
and responsibility. Also, our Code is designed to preclude activities which lead to, or give the
appearance of, conflicts of interest, to protect our clients by educating our employees as to our
expectations and the laws governing our business, and incorporating procedures that allow us to
monitor employee activity for compliance with the Code.
Our Code also provides that no officer or employee is permitted to trade securities, either
personally or on behalf of others, while in possession of material, non-public information with
respect to any such securities, or communicate such information to others, other than as required
or permitted by the Code.
To receive a copy of our Code, please contact the Firm’s Chief Compliance Officer at
compliance@keelpoint.com.
Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
We and certain of our employees recommend certain securities, investment products and
investment managers in which we, the employee, or a related person have a material interest,
including those as disclosed above in Item 5: Fees and Compensation and Item 10: Other Financial
Industry Activities and Affiliations.
In addition, a potential conflict of interest exists with respect to our investment of client assets in
Northlane Capital Partners II, LP because two of Northland Capital Partners’ principals are current
Firm clients. However, other than advisory fees due and payable under our existing client advisory
agreement, we do not provide to, or receive from, either of the principals, directly or indirectly, with
any financial incentives related to our selection of Northlane Capital Partners as an investment.
Personal Trading Activities of Advisory Personnel
From time to time, our employees buy or sell securities for their own accounts that are also held,
have been, or will be purchased or sold for the accounts of our clients. This represents a conflict of
interest by creating opportunities for certain advisory employees to take advantage of the client by
using the employee’s prior knowledge to trade ahead of the client and potentially receive more
favorable prices. To ensure that no employee prefers his or her own interest over our clients, our
Code requires pre-clearance of all personal securities transactions with certain limited exceptions. In
addition, on a periodic basis, supervisory personnel review the trading activity of employees to ensure
compliance with the requirements of the Firm’s trading policy.
Item 12. Brokerage Practices
In selecting brokers to effect portfolio transactions, we consider many factors in addition to and other
than costs, including our duty to seek “best execution” (which is the obligation to seek to execute
securities transactions for a client on terms that are most favorable to the client under the
circumstances), speed, efficiency, familiarity with potential purchasers or sellers, confidentiality, the
financial strength and stability of the broker, products or services offered by the broker that will
benefit our clients, and other considerations that we consider relevant. We recommend, and the
majority of our clients elect, to use IWS or Schwab as their custodian and to execute the trades we
advise or recommend. However, our clients retain sole authority to select a different or additional
custodian for their accounts.
Research and Soft Dollar Benefits
From time to time and to the extent permitted under applicable law, we will use investment products
that provide us with unsolicited research and other investment or market-related information that
30
assists us in performing our investment decision-making responsibilities on behalf of our clients. The
Firm does not select particular investment products to receive such research and other investment
or market-related information.
The Firm’s relationships with brokerage firms that provide such services to us at no cost, benefits te
Firm because we do not have to produce or purchase these services separately. Therefore, the receipt
of such services can influence, or be perceived as influencing, our decision to allocate brokerage
business to those firms to execute client transactions based on our interest in continuing to receive
such services that benefits our business rather than based on the interests of our clients receiving the
most favorable execution of client transactions.
When appropriate under its discretionary authority and consistent with its duty to seek best
execution, Keel Point may direct trades for client accounts to brokers who provide Keel Point with
brokerage and research services. The client commissions used to acquire brokerage and research
services are known as "soft dollars." Keel Point complies with Section 28(e) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, which provides a "safe harbor" allowing an investment adviser to pay more
than the lowest available commission for brokerage and research services if it determines in good
faith that: (1) the brokerage and research services fall within the definitions set forth in Section 28(e);
(2) the brokerage and research services provide lawful and appropriate assistance in the investment
decision-making process; and (3) the commission paid is reasonable in relation to the brokerage and
research services provided.
The use of soft dollars to pay for research and brokerage services may present Keel Point with
conflicts of interest because (1) it receives an indirect benefit that it does not have to pay for from its
resources, and (2) Keel Point may be incentivized to select brokers based on receiving brokerage and
research services rather than receiving the most favorable execution.
The receipt of brokerage and research services in exchange for soft dollars benefits our firm by
allowing it to supplement its own research and analysis activities, to receive the views and information
from research experts, and to gain access to persons having special expertise on certain companies,
industries, areas of economy, and market factors. Such brokerage and research services are made
available to Keel Point in connection with its investment decision-making responsibilities and
enhance Keel Point’ capability to discharge those responsibilities. These products and services are
useful for Keel Point’ investment decision-making and generally benefit all client accounts but are
not necessarily utilized for the specific account that generated the soft dollars. Some clients may
benefit from the research and brokerage products obtained from soft dollars despite the fact that
their trade commissions may not be used to pay for these services. Keel Point does not attempt to
allocate the relative costs or benefits of brokerage and research services among client accounts
because it believes that, in the aggregate, the brokerage and research services it receives benefit all
clients and assists Keel Point in fulfilling its overall investment responsibilities. The soft dollar
relationships with custodians may influence the firm’s judgment in allocating brokerage business and
create a conflict of interest.
We examined this potential conflict of interest when we chose to enter into the relationship with
IWS and we have determined that our relationship with IWS is in our clients' best interests and
satisfies our obligations to our clients, including our duty to seek best execution, particularly because
we pay all transaction costs on client trades with those brokers.
Except as otherwise disclosed above in Item 5: Fees and Compensation(ie. the Wrap Fee Program)
our clients do not pay brokerage commissions or transaction costs to custodians for trades we advise or
recommend. In addition, in recognition of our duty to obtain best execution, we systematically and
periodically review our policies regarding broker selection for all of our investment programs. For
instance, we have established a Best Execution Committee consisting of members from portfolio
management, trading and compliance, the purpose of which is to review the quality of execution and
31
brokerage allocation activities by the Firm.
On a daily basis, we review the trade blotter, and on a semi-annual basis, the Best Execution
Committee reviews the execution of trades. The Best Execution Committee has also established
guidelines for selecting brokers for trading purposes and as noted above, will not select a broker
based on our receipt of research from the broker or any other soft dollar arrangement.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
We do not enter into client referral arrangements in exchange for selecting or recommending or
directing client transactions to broker-dealers.
Directed Brokerage
We do not generally recommend clients to direct brokerage to particular broker-dealers. However,
for certain types of securities and options investments selected by clients, we will direct clients to use
our affiliated broker-dealer, KPC. The commissions and transaction fees charged by KPC may be
higher or lower than what other broker-dealers charge, and this practice could cost clients more
money. However, as stated herein, we generally recommend that client transactions be affected
through IWS pursuant to the discretionary brokerage authority granted to us by our clients.
However, from time to time, clients will direct us to effect securities transactions through a particular
broker-dealer.
Where a client directs us to use particular broker-dealers, it is the client’s responsibility to negotiate
commission rates on transactions executed through such broker-dealers, and we are not responsible
for and do not evaluate the brokerage services provided to the client, the execution quality or the
commission rates paid by the client. As a result of such direction, a client can lose possible
advantages including the following:
1. We will not have the ability to negotiate prices and obtain best execution for such trades.
Therefore, engaging in directed brokerage can cost clients more money through higher
commissioner rates than those paid by our other clients or less favorable pricing, resulting
in a less favorable trade execution.
2. Directed brokerage accounts are not able to participate in aggregated transactions in
which we batch client transactions with orders for other accounts that we manage, which
can preclude directed brokerage accounts from obtaining volume discounts or more
favorable terms that might be available for aggregated transactions.
We believe the execution of transactions for our clients through KPC brings value to the
management relationship because of a commission discount and other valuable brokerage services
offered through NFS. We do not receive any payments from KPC for the placement of business
through KPC. However, KPC and us jointly market services together.
Trade Aggregation
As a part of our efforts to obtain best execution, negotiate favorable commission rates, or allocate
differences in prices and commissions equitably among clients, we sometimes aggregate orders or
use a block trade for several clients. If trades are not aggregated, it can impact execution and price,
with certain clients getting better pricing than others. We effect block trade transactions in a manner
designed to ensure that no participating client is favored over any other client. Specifically, under
this procedure, transactions are averaged as to share price and costs and allocated among clients
participating in the trade on a pro rata basis. We typically make allocations at the end of the trading
day. In unusual circumstances, we will make subsequent reallocations to address specific account
restrictions or cash availability. Any client order partially filled will, as a general matter, be rewritten
on the following day as a new order and allocated pro rata in proportion to each client’s original
order.
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In all instances in which the Firm engages in trade aggregation, consistent with our fiduciary duty, we
equitably allocate investment opportunities and trades among all participating client accounts. In
doing so, we take into consideration the available cash in the client’s account and the client’s needs,
suitability, investment objectives, restrictions and guidelines and other factors deemed appropriate
in making investment allocation decisions. We conduct periodic reviews of client performance and
purchase and sales reports to ensure that no client or group of clients is being systematically favored
or harmed in the selection and allocation of investment opportunities.
The Firm does not participate in hot issues, including initial public offerings.
Institutional Accounts
Unless requested by the client, we will not use KPC as a broker-dealer for executing transactions
involving institutional accounts. However, unless instructed by the client to use a particular broker,
we will select brokers for such accounts. In addition, we do not engage in any step-out trade
arrangements.
Wrap Fee Program
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services provides the previously metioned Wrap Fee Program
with access to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services’ institutional trading and custody services,
which are typically not available to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services retail investors.
These services generally are available to independent investment advisers on an unsolicited basis, at
no charge to them so long as a total of at least $10 million of the adviser’s clients’ assets are
maintained in accounts at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Advisor Services includes brokerage services that are related to the execution of securities
transactions, custody, research, including that in the form of advice, analyses and reports, and access
to mutual funds and other investments that are otherwise generally available only to institutional
investors or would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment. For the Wrap Fee
Program client accounts maintained in its custody, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services
generally does not charge separately for custody services but is compensated by account holders
through commissions or other transaction-related or asset-based fees for securities trades that are
executed through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services or that settle into Charles Schwab &
Co., Inc. Advisor Services accounts.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services also makes available to the Firm other products and
services that benefit the Firm but may not benefit its clients’ accounts. These benefits may include
national, regional, or Firm specific educational events organized and/or sponsored by Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. Advisor Services. Other potential benefits may include occasional business
entertainment of personnel of the Firm by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services personnel,
including meals, invitations to sporting events, including golf tournaments, and other forms of
entertainment, some of which may accompany educational opportunities. Other of these products
and services assist the Firm in managing and administering clients’ accounts. These include software
and other technology (and related technological training) that provide access to client account data
(such as trade confirmations and account statements), facilitate trade execution (and allocation of
aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts, if applicable), provide research, pricing
information and other market data, facilitate payment of Firm fees from its clients’ accounts (if
applicable), and assist with back-office training and support functions, recordkeeping and client
reporting. Many of these services generally may be used to service all or some substantial number
of the Firm’s accounts. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services also makes available to the
Firm other services intended to help the Firm manage and further develop its business enterprise.
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These services may include professional compliance, legal and business consulting, publications and
conferences on practice management, information technology, business succession, regulatory
compliance, employee benefits providers, and human capital consultants, insurance, and marketing.
In addition, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services may make available, arrange and/or pay
vendors for these types of services rendered to the Firm by independent third parties. Charles
Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services may discount or waive fees it would otherwise charge for some
of these services or pay all or a part of the fees of a third-party providing these services to the Firm.
The Firm is independently owned and operated and not affiliated with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Advisor Services.
Keel Point may, via written arrangement, retain third parties to act as solicitors for the Firm’s
investment management services. All compensation with respect to the foregoing will be fully
disclosed to each client to the extent required by applicable law. Keel Point will ensure each solicitor
is properly registered in the appropriate jurisdiction(s). Such referral activities will be conducted in
accordance with Rule 206(4)-3 under the Advisers Act, where applicable.
Item 13. Review of Client Accounts
Review of Client Accounts
We perform a comprehensive review of client accounts at least annually to determine whether, based
on the client’s Investment Policy Statement, the investment strategy that we are using is consistent
with the client’s goals, objectives, and risk tolerance, and to monitor the performance of the account
including the individual holdings in the account. We perform more frequent reviews of accounts
when significant changes in the market occur or if we become aware of significant changes in a client’s
financial or other circumstances.
Client Reports
Periodic Statement Provided by Custodian. Clients will receive quarterly or monthly statements from
their designated custodian showing all transactions that occurred in the client’s account during the
period covered by the account statement and the market value of securities held in the account at
the end of the period covered by the account statement.
Other Reports. In addition to the periodic statements provided by the client’s designated custodian,
we provide clients with written quarterly reports showing the performance of their account in relation
to appropriate indices for the period covered by the report, which will include a list of the client’s
holdings with valuations and the quarterly adviser management fee. Upon request, clients can receive
the report on a more frequent basis than quarterly. We recommend that clients promptly and
carefully compare the statements provided by their designated custodian with the statements and
reports provided by us and to promptly notify us in writing of any errors or discrepancies.
For clients receiving financial planning services, we will provide reports according to the level and
purpose of planning requested by the client.
Item 14. Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Economic Benefits from Third Parties
As described in Item 5: Fees and Compensation and Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities
and Affiliations, above, we, our affiliates, and our investment adviser representatives, receive
commissions and other compensation from unaffiliated investment advisers, broker-dealers and
other third parties. These arrangements, how they benefit us, and the related conflicts of interest
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are described in Item 5: Fees and Compensation and Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities
and Affiliations.
We may receive economic benefits from our custodians, typically in the form of products and
services that our custodians make available to investment advisers whose clients maintain their
accounts with those custodians. The actual products and services that benefit us and the potential
conflicts of interest are also described in Item 12: Brokerage Practices.
As previously stated herein, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services provides the Wrap Fee
Program with access to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services’ institutional trading and custody
services, which are typically not available to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services retail
investors. These services generally are available to independent investment advisers on an unsolicited
basis, at no charge to them so long as a total of at least $10 million of the adviser’s clients’ assets are
maintained in accounts at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Advisor Services includes brokerage services that are related to the execution of securities
transactions, custody, research, including that in the form of advice, analyses and reports, and access
to mutual funds and other investments that are otherwise generally available only to institutional
investors or would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment. For the Wrap Fee
Program client accounts maintained in its custody, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services
generally does not charge separately for custody services but is compensated by account holders
through commissions or other transaction-related or asset-based fees for securities trades that are
executed through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services or that settle into Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. Advisor Services accounts.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services also makes available to the Firm other products and
services that benefit the Firm but may not benefit its clients’ accounts. These benefits may include
national, regional, or Firm specific educational events organized and/or sponsored by Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. Advisor Services. Other potential benefits may include occasional business
entertainment of personnel of the Firm by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services personnel,
including meals, invitations to sporting events, including golf tournaments, and other forms of
entertainment, some of which may accompany educational opportunities. Other of these products
and services assist the Firm in managing and administering clients’ accounts. These include software
and other technology (and related technological training) that provide access to client account data
(such as trade confirmations and account statements), facilitate trade execution (and allocation of
aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts, if applicable), provide research, pricing
information and other market data, facilitate payment of Firm fees from its clients’ accounts (if
applicable), and assist with back-office training and support functions, recordkeeping and client
reporting. Many of these services generally may be used to service all or some substantial number
of the Firm’s accounts. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services also makes available to the
Firm other services intended to help the Firm manage and further develop its business enterprise.
These services may include professional compliance, legal and business consulting, publications and
conferences on practice management, information technology, business succession, regulatory
compliance, employee benefits providers, and human capital consultants, insurance, and marketing.
In addition, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services may make available, arrange and/or pay
vendors for these types of services rendered to the Firm by independent third parties. Charles
Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services may discount or waive fees it would otherwise charge for some
of these services or pay all or a part of the fees of a third-party providing these services to the Firm.
The Firm is independently owned and operated and not affiliated with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Advisor Services.
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Keel Point may, via written arrangement, retain third parties to act as solicitors for the Firm’s
investment management services. All compensation with respect to the foregoing will be fully
disclosed to each client to the extent required by applicable law. Keel Point will ensure each solicitor
is properly registered in the appropriate jurisdiction(s). Such referral activities will be conducted in
accordance with Rule 206(4)-3 under the Advisers Act, where applicable.
Referral Arrangements
We will from time to time enter into referral arrangements with third parties to refer clients to us.
Under these arrangements, we pay these third parties a percentage of the management fee for
soliciting clients. In addition, we are party to a solicitor agreement with our affiliate, KPPMM,
pursuant to which KPPMM solicits its clients to use our investment advisory-related services and,
in exchange, we pay KPPMM a referral fee based on a percentage of the advisory-related fees that
we receive from such referrals. Our clients, including any referred clients, are not charged any
additional advisory fees, and do not incur any additional costs, by virtue of the referral fee paid to
third parties or KPPMM. All of these referral arrangements are conducted in accordance with
applicable law and regulation, including Rule 206(4)-1 under the Advisers Act.
Compensation to Our Employees
Under certain circumstances, our representatives and employees of our affiliates receive a portion
of some or all of their compensation in the form of cash referral fees. These fees are generally
calculated as a percentage of the investment advisory fees generated from the assets referred to by
the party and will vary dependent upon the product or service involved. Under no circumstances
will the compensation paid for providing referrals result in any additional fees or charges to the client
being referred.
Certain of our investment adviser representatives are also investment adviser representatives of
KPPMM or registered representatives of KPC and receive referral or other compensation in
connection with services provided to our clients by KPPMM or KPC. Our investment adviser
representatives will recommend to their clients the services of KPPMM or KPC and such employees,
in their capacity as investment adviser representatives of KPPMM or registered representatives of
KPC, will receive compensation in connection with non-discretionary personal money management
services or securities transactions performed on behalf of our clients.
From time to time, our investment adviser representatives also recommend to their clients the
services of our affiliated insurance agency, KPIA. KPIA will receive insurance commissions as a
result of such referrals.
The Firm’s affiliation with KPPMM, KPC and KPIA, and the potential referral or other
compensation which our investment adviser representatives receive, represents a potential conflict
of interest in that such factors provide an incentive for our investment adviser representatives to refer
potential clients to KPPMM, KPC or KPIA rather than unaffiliated service providers. However,
KPPMM, KPC and KPIA, and not the referring representative or the Firm, is solely responsible for
determining whether the potential client satisfies the applicable eligibility criteria and whether to
accept the clients. None of our employees or our affiliates’ employees, including KPPMM, KPC
and KPIA, will be permitted to receive both a referral fee and an advisory fee for the same client.
In addition, we and our investment adviser representatives refer our clients to a variety of affiliated
and non-affiliated investments funds. In addition to the advisory fees that we receive for managing
our client’s account, we or an affiliate receive compensation related to our client’s investment in such
investment funds, including management fees, performance fees, shareholder service or 12b-1 fees.
These investment funds and fees are described in Item 5: Fees and Compensation and Item 10:
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Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations.
Other Compensation and Benefits
From time to time, we receive or have access to free or discounted industry information, online
access to client accounts for trading or administrative purposes, and other non-research services from
broker-dealers or third-party providers. In addition, occasionally, our affiliate KPC or its clearing
firm, NFS, provide us with a newsletter or other publications pertaining to compliance, marketing,
practice management or other relevant industry topics. In addition, IWS or NFS or other related or
unrelated parties occasionally sponsor events, such as workshops or conferences, at reduced cost or
no cost. These benefits are not based on us giving particular investment advice, such as buying
particular securities for our clients. Under no circumstances do any clients pay additional fees or
commissions to any custodian or broker-dealer in exchange for us receiving these products or
services.
Item 15. Custody
All assets of client accounts are required to be held at a third-party qualified custodian. Neither the
Firm nor KPC are a qualified custodian. Clients are permitted to designate another qualified
custodian in lieu of, or in addition, to Schwab or IWS, to serve as custodian of the assets in their
account.
The designated qualified custodian holds all client account assets and will provide account
statements to the client directly, at least quarterly. Clients should promptly and carefully review the
account statements. In addition to the account statements provided by the designated custodian, we
provide clients with quarterly statements and performance reports.
We urge clients to compare the account statements received directly from the designated custodian
with the quarterly statements and performance reports provided by us and promptly notify us in
writing if there are any errors or discrepancies. In addition, we will periodically confirm that the
qualified custodian is providing clients with monthly account statements on a timely basis.
Under normal circumstances, we do not permit our employees, agents, or representatives to accept
or maintain custody of client assets. However, in limited circumstances, we will be deemed to have
custody as a result of (i) related persons serving as the general partner to certain private funds,
including the Keel Point Distressed Access Fund, or (ii) the Firm serving in the capacity of trustee
for certain client accounts. However, in all instances in which the Firm is deemed to have custody
of client funds or securities, we have adopted appropriate policies and procedures and perform
reviews to ensure that our policy is properly implemented.
Item 16. Investment Discretion
We accept discretionary investment authority to manage our clients’ investment management
accounts. Prior to our exercising such investment discretion, our clients must grant us such authority
by executing an investment advisory agreement. As part of the terms of the agreement, the Firm will
have full discretion to supervise, manage, and direct a client’s investments, as agent and attorney-in-
fact, with full power and authority to purchase, sell, reinvest, exchange, convert, trade in and
otherwise deal with the client’s assets, place all orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the
client’s account with brokers or dealers selected by us, and execute any documentation that we deem
necessary or advisable in carrying out the terms of the investment advisory agreement.
Although the investment advisory agreements grant us the authority, without obtaining specific client
consent, to make investment decisions on behalf of clients, we do so in a manner consistent with the
client’s investment objectives, assets available for investment, and risk tolerance. Clients have the
right to place restrictions and limitations on our authority through client-imposed investment
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objectives, limitations and parameters.
Item 17. Voting Client Securities
The level of discretion and the authority that we exercise over proxy voting will depend on the nature
of the client’s account.
With respect to accounts for which we maintain discretionary investment management authority,
unless the client designates otherwise, we will have the authority to vote proxies for securities and to
act in connection with a proposed subscription right, tender right, rights offering or similar corporate
action relating to securities held in the client’s account. For client accounts that are an ERISA Plan,
the client has the right to direct us not to vote proxies for securities held in the account if such right
to vote proxies has been expressly reserved to the Plan’s trustees or another named fiduciary.
We have adopted and implemented written policies and procedures for voting proxies on behalf of
our clients to comply with the provisions of Rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers Act. In adherence
with the requirements of the Rule, we have adopted a policy designed to ensure proxies are voted in
the best interest of our clients. To provide consistency in our voting of proxies on behalf of clients,
we have engaged Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”), a third-party proxy corporate
governance research service, to assist in analyzing proxies and to perform certain voting functions for
client accounts. We have determined that ISS’s Proxy Voting Guidelines are designed to further the
interest of clients and, therefore, have directed ISS to vote client proxies in accordance with its Proxy
Voting Guidelines. These Guidelines address a broad range of issues, including board size and
composition, executive compensation, anti-takeover proposals, capital structure proposals and social
responsibility issues, and are intended to be general voting parameters on issues that arise most
frequently. We monitor ISS’s voting of proxies and periodically review the Guidelines to ensure
ISS’s policies align with the best interest of our clients.
If a client wishes to direct a vote in a particular solicitation, the client must contact us at least one
week in advance of the vote date to discuss details of the vote. In addition, clients have the right to
choose to retain the right to vote proxies for investments held in their accounts. If a client has
retained the right to vote proxies for investments held in their account, those clients should receive
their proxies from the qualified custodian that maintains their account. These clients should contact
their qualified custodian with any questions about a particular proxy or action.
We seek to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interest of our clients and not as the product of
a conflict of interest. We identify any conflicts that exist between our interests or the interests of our
employees and the client by reviewing our relationship with the issuer of each security in an effort to
determine if we or any of our employees has any financial, business, or personal relationship with
the issuer. If a material conflict of interest exists, our Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Operating
Officer will determine whether it is appropriate to disclose the conflict to the affected client, to give
the affected client an opportunity to vote the proxy itself, or to address the voting issue through other
objective means, such as voting in a manner consistent with a predetermined voting policy or
pursuant to an independent third-party voting recommendation.
Clients may obtain a copy of the Firm’s proxy voting policy, including a report of how we have voted
proxies affecting our clients’ accounts, by submitting a request, in writing, to:
Chief Compliance Officer
100 Church Street SW, Suite 500
Huntsville, AL 35801
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Item 18. Financial Information
The Firm does not require nor solicit prepayment for six months or more in advance of an amount
more than one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) in fees per client. Accordingly, the Firm is not
required to include a balance sheet with this Brochure.
We do not have any financial condition that is likely to impair our ability to meet our contractual
commitments to our clients, and we have never been the subject of a bankruptcy petition.
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