PREMIER ESTATE PLANNERS, LLC

Premier Estate Planners, LLC 16950 19 Mile Road, Suite 4 Clinton Township, MI 48038 Phone: 586-228-7772 Facsimile: 586-228-7776 www.yourplanners.com February 9, 2026 FORM ADV PART 2A BROCHURE This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Premier Estate Planners, LLC. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at 586-228-7772. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") or by any state securities authority. Additional information about Premier Estate Planners, LLC is also available on the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. The searchable IARD/CRD number for Premier Estate Planners, LLC is 122638. Premier Estate Planners, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. 1  Item 2 Summary of Material Changes Form ADV Part 2 requires registered investment advisers to amend their brochure when information becomes materially inaccurate. If there are any material changes to an adviser's disclosure brochure, the adviser is required to notify you and provide you with a description of the material changes. Since our last annual updating amendment dated January 29, 2025, we have no material changes to report. 2  Item 3 Table Of Contents Item 1 Cover Page Item 2 Summary of Material Changes Item 3 Table Of Contents Item 4 Advisory Business Item 5 Fees and Compensation Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management Item 7 Types of Clients Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss Item 9 Disciplinary Information Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading Item 12 Brokerage Practices Item 13 Review of Accounts Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation Item 15 Custody Item 16 Investment Discretion Item 17 Voting Client Securities Item 18 Financial Information Item 19 Additional Information Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 8 Page 10 Page 11 Page 11 Page 14 Page 14 Page 15 Page 15 Page 18 Page 18 Page 19 Page 19 Page 19 Page 19 Page 19 3  Item 4 Advisory Business Description of Services and Fees We are a registered investment adviser based in Clinton Township, Michigan. We are organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Michigan. We have been providing investment advisory services since 2002. Donald P. Carnaghi and Thomas R. Mazza are our principal owners. Premier Estate Planners, LLC ("PEP") is a fee-only independent financial adviser that provides wealth management services by incorporating financial planning and investment portfolio management. We have several relationships with third party investment managers and work with both discretionary and non-discretionary accounts. Our goal is to maximize client wealth through education, commitment and professional partnerships. Currently, we offer the following investment advisory services, which are personalized to each individual client: • Portfolio Management Services • Selection of Other Advisers • Savings Plan Management • Financial Planning Services The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Please refer to the description of each investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your individual needs. Also, you may see the term Associated Person throughout this Brochure. As used in this Brochure, our Associated Persons are our firm's officers, employees, and all individuals providing investment advice on behalf of our firm. Portfolio Management Services We offer discretionary portfolio management services to our clients and prospective clients. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives. If you retain our firm for portfolio management services, we will meet with you to determine your investment objectives, risk tolerance, and other relevant information (the "suitability information") at the beginning of our advisory relationship. We will use the suitability information we gather from our initial meeting to develop a strategy that enables our firm to give you continuous and focused investment advice and/or to make investments on your behalf. As part of our portfolio management services, we may customize an investment portfolio for you in accordance with your risk tolerance and investing objectives. We also provide investment advice for clients currently holding variable annuities within their investment portfolio(s). Although persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm will not receive commissions on the sale of variable annuities to clients, where clients have granted us trading authority, these accounts will be included for our annual AUM reporting obligation and may be included for calculating our annual advisory fee. Please refer to our fee schedule below. We may also invest your assets using a predefined strategy, or we may invest your assets according to one or more model portfolios developed by our firm. Once we construct an investment portfolio for you, or select a model portfolio, we will monitor your portfolio's performance on an ongoing basis, and will rebalance the portfolio as required by changes in market conditions and in your financial circumstances. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your account. Discretionary authorization will allow our firm to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your account without your approval prior to each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by 4  the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm, a limited power of attorney, or trading authorization forms. Clients may impose investment restrictions in the portfolios under our portfolio management services. Our fee for portfolio management services is based on a percentage of the assets we manage and is subject to negotiation. The portfolio management fees range from 0.50% to 1.50% annualized. Assets Under Management Annual Fee First $400,000 1.50% 1.25% Next $350,000 Next $250,000 1.00% 0.75% Next $1 million 0.60% Next $2 million Next $6 million 0.50% *Amounts above $10 million are negotiable Our annual portfolio management fee is billed and payable quarterly in advance based on the value of your account on the last day of the previous quarter. If the portfolio management agreement is executed at any time other than the first day of a calendar quarter, our fees will apply on a pro rata basis, which means that the advisory fee is payable in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. Our advisory fee is negotiable, depending on individual client circumstances. At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee based on the available breakpoints in our fee schedule stated above. We will deduct our fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds and securities. We will deduct our advisory fee only when you have given our firm written authorization permitting the fees to be paid directly from your account. Further, the qualified custodian will deliver an account statement to you at least quarterly. These account statements will show all disbursements from your account. You should review all statements for accuracy. We will also receive a duplicate copy of your account statements. You may terminate the portfolio management agreement upon 30-days' written notice to our firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees. Selection of Other Advisers As part of our investment advisory services, we will recommend that you use the services of a third party investment adviser ("TPA") to manage your entire, or a portion of your, investment portfolio. After gathering information about your financial situation and objectives, we will recommend that you engage a specific TPA or investment program. Factors that we take into consideration when making our recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: the TPA's performance, methods of 5  analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. We will periodically monitor the TPA(s)' performance to ensure its management and investment style remains aligned with your investment goals and objectives. The TPA(s) will actively manage your portfolio and will assume discretionary investment authority over your account. We will assume discretionary authority to hire and fire TPA(s) and/or reallocate your assets to other TPA(s) where we deem such action appropriate. We do not charge you a separate fee for the selection of other advisers. We will share in the advisory fee you pay directly to the TPA. The advisory fee you pay to the TPA is established and payable in accordance with the disclosure brochure provided by each TPA to whom you are referred and therefore the value of your accounts managed by each TPA are not eligible to be combined for purposes of fee breakpoints available under our Portfolio Management Services as described above. These fees may or may not be negotiable. Our compensation may differ depending upon the individual agreement we have with each TPA. As such, we may have an incentive to recommend one TPA over another TPA with whom we have less favorable compensation arrangements or other advisory programs offered by TPAs with which we have no compensation arrangements. You will be required to sign an agreement directly with the recommended TPA(s). You may terminate your advisory relationship with the TPA according to the terms of your agreement with the TPA. You should review each TPA's disclosure brochure for specific information on how you may terminate your advisory relationship with the TPA and how you may receive a refund, if applicable. You should contact the TPA directly for questions regarding your advisory agreement with the TPA. Savings Plan Management Premier Estate Planners, LLC acts as a solicitor for an investment advisory program that provides continuous advice to individuals on the investment options available to them within their company- sponsored qualified savings plan (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), 457). Investment decisions for individual accounts are based upon the Investor Profile information collected and qualified by the Premier Estate Planners, LLC Investment Advisor Representative. Client portfolios are comprised of mutual fund shares and, in certain circumstances, individual securities may be held (generally company stock in the form of a unitized fund). Based on changes in a client's Investor Profile information, the markets and/or the economy, the Savings Plan Management program provider (Retirement Management Systems Inc.) may make allocation changes to the client's savings plan account on the client's behalf. Custody and execution services for Savings Plan Management are provided by the custodian and/or third party administrator selected by the company sponsored defined contribution plan. There is no relationship between Premier Estate Planners, LLC and the provider of such services. The fee for Savings Plan Management ("SPM") is either a fixed fee per 12-month period per account (discounts may apply),or an annual asset based fee in accordance with following schedule: Account Value Fixed Fee Asset Based Fee $0 to $250,000 $480 0.25% $250,000 to $500,000 $720 0.25% $500,000 to $750,000 $960 0.25% Over $750,000 $1,200 0.25% 6  The account management fee is payable upon acceptance of the SPM Agreement, and due on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, as selected by client. The SPM Agreement is automatically renewable every twelve months and shall remain in effect until such time as either party to the Agreement receives written notice from the other party of its desire to cancel the agreement. The ending or termination of the Agreement does not affect Investor's obligation to pay the annual fee. Client may terminate this advisory service without penalty within five (5) business days of signing an advisory agreement with the program provider. Retirement Management Systems, Inc. ("RMS") is the third party service provider (program provider) upon whom we rely to service Savings Plan Management Client accounts. RMS provides various administrative, technology and advisory support services. Clients grant RMS discretion over Client accounts in order to fulfill the Savings Plan Management program obligations. Please review the RMS ADV Part 2A and Privacy Policy for more information regarding their handling of Client accounts for the Savings Plan Management program. Financial Planning Services We offer broad-based, modular, and consultative financial planning services to our clients and prospective clients. Financial planning will typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their individual needs. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will meet with you to gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide to our firm we will deliver a written plan to you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives. Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the financial information you provide to our firm. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation, goals, objectives, or needs change. You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing securities transactions with any brokerage firm. We charge an hourly fee ranging from $100 to $250 for financial planning services, depending on the scope and complexity of the plan, your situation, and your financial objectives. An estimate of the total time/cost will be determined at the start of the advisory relationship. In limited circumstances, the cost/time could potentially exceed the initial estimate. In such cases, we will notify you and request that you approve the additional fee. We require that you pay 50% of the fee in advance and the remaining portion upon the completion of the services rendered. We will not require prepayment of a fee more than six months in advance and in excess of $1,200. At our discretion, we may waive or offset a portion of the financial planning fee should you choose to implement the plan through our portfolio management services. You may terminate the financial planning agreement by providing written notice to our firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the agreement. If you have pre- paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees. 7  Types of Investments We offer advice on equity securities, corporate debt securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities, investment company securities, unit investment trusts, closed end funds, U.S. Government securities and options contracts on securities. Additionally, we may advise you on any type of investment that we deem appropriate based on your stated goals and objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your portfolio at the inception of our advisory relationship. IRA Rollover Recommendations Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the following acknowledgment to you. When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under this special rule's provisions, we must: • Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent advice); • Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal advice); • Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments; • Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best interest; • Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and • Give you basic information about conflicts of interest. We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in your best interest. Assets Under Management As of December 31, 2025, we provide continuous management services for $143,083,416 in client assets on a discretionary basis, and $83,864,693 in client assets on a non-discretionary basis. Item 5 Fees and Compensation Please refer to the "Advisory Business" section in this Brochure for information on our advisory fees, fee paying arrangements and refund policy according to each service we offer. Additional Fees and Expenses As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may invest, or recommend that you invest, in mutual funds and exchange traded funds. The fees that you pay to our firm for investment advisory services are separate and distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange traded funds (described in each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally include a management fee and other fund expenses. You may also incur transaction charges and/or brokerage fees when purchasing or selling securities. These charges and fees are typically imposed by 8  the broker-dealer or custodian through whom your account transactions are executed. We do not share in any portion of the brokerage fees/transaction charges imposed by the broker-dealer or custodian. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you should review all the fees charged by mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others. For information on our brokerage practices, please refer to the "Brokerage Practices" section of this Brochure. Compensation for the Sale of Other Investment Products Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed as independent insurance agents. These persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products, including insurance products they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are separate and in addition to our advisory fees. Although insurance products sold by Associated Persons of our firm compliment the investment advisory services offered to you, the receipt of two types of compensation presents a conflict of interest. However, you are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to purchase insurance products through any person affiliated with our firm. Numismatics On occasion we offer clients investment advice regarding the purchase of numismatics. Generally, advice is only given on graded, certified and encapsulated coins which are purchased through a dealer. Before advising a client to purchase numismatics, we determine the suitability of the purchase of graded, certified and encapsulated coins for the client. Clients are advised that the purchase of numismatics involves risk in that the market for such coins is volatile and thinly capitalized. As a result, the price and timing of the sale of numismatics is subject to the relative lack of liquidity in the market for such coins. Short-term price swings are possible and there's no guarantee of a profit or guarantee against loss in connection with the purchase of numismatics. Clients are advised that the purchase numismatics should be made on a long-term basis of a minimum of three to ten years. We receive a commission upon the purchase of the numismatic by a client. Disclosure of the amount of the commission will be made to clients considering the purchase of graded coins. The receipt of commission for this recommendation constitutes a conflict of interest. You are not obligated, contractually or otherwise, to use the services of any coin dealer we recommend and you may utilize the coin dealer of your choice. Any material conflicts of interest between you and our firm, or our employees are disclosed in this Disclosure Brochure. If at any time, additional material conflicts of interest develop, we will provide you with written notification of the material conflicts of interest or an updated Disclosure Brochure. IRA Rollover Considerations As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that you withdraw the assets from your employer's retirement plan and roll the assets over to an individual retirement account ("IRA") that we will manage on your behalf. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our management, we will charge you an asset based fee as set forth in the agreement you executed with our firm. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment advice on our behalf have an incentive to recommend a rollover to you for the purpose of generating fee based compensation rather than solely based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the rollover. Moreover, if you do complete the rollover, you are under no obligation to have the assets in an IRA managed by our firm. Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan. Also, current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before they retire or change jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of each. 9  An employee will typically have four options: 1. Leaving the funds in your employer's (former employer's) plan. 2. Moving the funds to a new employer's retirement plan. 3. Cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan. 4. Rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and before making a change we encourage you to speak with your CPA and/or tax attorney. If you are considering rolling over your retirement funds to an IRA for us to manage here are a few points to consider before you do so: 1. Determine whether the investment options in your employer's retirement plan address your needs or whether you might want to consider other types of investments. a. Employer retirement plans generally have a more limited investment menu than IRAs. b. Employer retirement plans may have unique investment options not available to the public such as employer securities, or previously closed funds. 2. Your current plan may have lower fees than our fees. a. If you are interested in investing only in mutual funds, you should understand the cost structure of the share classes available in your employer's retirement plan and how the costs of those share classes compare with those available in an IRA. b. You should understand the various products and services you might take advantage of at an IRA provider and the potential costs of those products and services. 3. Our strategy may have higher risk than the option(s) provided to you in your plan. 4. Your current plan may also offer financial advice. 5. If you keep your assets titled in a 401k or retirement account, you could potentially delay your required minimum distribution beyond age 72. 6. Your 401k may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA; each state may vary. a. Generally, federal law protects assets in qualified plans from creditors. Since 2005, IRA assets have been generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies. However, there can be some exceptions to the general rules so you should consult with an attorney if you are concerned about protecting your retirement plan assets from creditors. 7. You may be able to take out a loan on your 401k, but not from an IRA. 8. IRA assets can be accessed any time; however, distributions are subject to ordinary income tax and may also be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty unless they qualify for an exception such as disability, higher education expenses or the purchase of a home. 9. If you own company stock in your plan, you may be able to liquidate those shares at a lower capital gains tax rate. 10. Your plan may allow you to hire us as the manager and keep the assets titled in the plan name. It is important that you understand the differences between these types of accounts and to decide whether a rollover is best for you. Prior to proceeding, if you have questions contact your investment adviser representative, or call our main number as listed on the cover page of this brochure. Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management We do not accept performance-based fees or participate in side-by-side management. Side-by-side management refers to the practice of managing accounts that are charged performance-based fees while at the same time managing accounts that are not charged performance-based fees. Performance-based fees are fees that are based on a share of capital gains or capital appreciation of a client's account. Our fees are calculated as described in the Advisory Business section above, and are not charged on the basis of a share of capital gains upon, or capital appreciation of, the funds in your advisory account. 10  Item 7 Types of Clients We offer investment advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business entities. We do not impose minimum investment amounts in our portfolio management services. Additionally, the Third Party Advisers ("TPAs") we refer you to may also impose investment minimums. Please refer to the disclosure documents provided for TPA account requirements and minimums. Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss Our Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies We may use one or more of the following methods of analysis or investment strategies when providing investment advice to you: Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial situation. As such, we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs, and other various suitability factors. Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you notify us immediately with respect to any material changes to your financial circumstances, including for example, a change in your current or expected income level, tax circumstances, or employment status. We will not perform quantitative or qualitative analysis of individual securities. Instead, we will advise you on how to allocate your assets among various classes of securities or third party money managers. We primarily rely on investment model portfolios and strategies developed by the third party money managers and their portfolio managers. We may replace/recommend replacing a third party money manager if there is a significant deviation in characteristics or performance from the stated strategy and/or benchmark. Tax Considerations Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications. However, unless we specifically agree otherwise, and in writing, tax efficiency is not our primary consideration in the management of your assets. Regardless of your account size or any other factors, we strongly recommend that you consult with a tax professional regarding the investing of your assets. Custodians and broker-dealers must report the cost basis of equities acquired in client accounts. Your custodian will default to the First-In First-Out ("FIFO") accounting method for calculating the cost basis of your investments. You are responsible for contacting your tax advisor to determine if this accounting method is the right choice for you. If your tax advisor believes another accounting method is more advantageous, provide written notice to our firm immediately and we will alert your account custodian of your individually selected accounting method. Decisions about cost basis accounting methods will need to be made before trades settle, as the cost basis method cannot be changed after settlement. Risk of Loss Investing in securities involves risk of loss that you should be prepared to bear. We do not represent or guarantee that our services or methods of analysis can or will predict future results, successfully identify market tops or bottoms, or insulate clients from losses due to market corrections or declines. We cannot offer any guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will be met. Past performance is in no way an indication of future performance. 11  Other Risk Considerations When evaluating risk, financial loss may be viewed differently by each client and may depend on many different risks, each of which may affect the probability and magnitude of any potential losses. The following risks may not be all-inclusive, but should be considered carefully by a prospective client before retaining our services. Liquidity Risk: The risk of being unable to sell your investment at a fair price at a given time due to high volatility or lack of active liquid markets. You may receive a lower price or it may not be possible to sell the investment at all. Credit Risk: Credit risk typically applies to debt investments such as corporate, municipal, and sovereign fixed income or bonds. A bond issuing entity can experience a credit event that could impair or erase the value of an issuer's securities held by a client. Inflation and Interest Rate Risk: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to changes in inflation and interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and may reduce the purchasing power of a client's future interest payments and principal. Inflation also generally leads to higher interest rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income investments to decline. Horizon and Longevity Risk: The risk that your investment horizon is shortened because of an unforeseen event, for example, the loss of your job. This may force you to sell investments that you were expecting to hold for the long term. If you must sell at a time that the markets are down, you may lose money. Longevity Risk is the risk of outliving your savings. This risk is particularly relevant for people who are retired, or are nearing retirement. Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities We primarily recommend ETF's. However, we may advise on other types of investments as appropriate for you since each client has different needs and different tolerance for risk. Each type of security has its own unique set of risks associated with it and it would not be possible to list here all of the specific risks of every type of investment. Even within the same type of investment, risks can vary widely. However, in very general terms, the higher the anticipated return of an investment, the higher the risk of loss associated with the investment. Money Market Funds: A money market fund is technically a security. The fund managers attempt to keep the share price constant at $1/share. However, there is no guarantee that the share price will stay at $1/share. If the share price goes down, you can lose some or all of your principal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") notes that "While investor losses in money market funds have been rare, they are possible." In return for this risk, you should earn a greater return on your cash than you would expect from a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") insured savings account (money market funds are not FDIC insured). Next, money market fund rates are variable. In other words, you do not know how much you will earn on your investment next month. The rate could go up or go down. If it goes up, that may result in a positive outcome. However, if it goes down and you earn less than you expected to earn, you may end up needing more cash. A final risk you are taking with money market funds has to do with inflation. Because money market funds are considered to be safer than other investments like stocks, long-term average returns on money market funds tends to be less than long term average returns on riskier investments. Over long periods of time, inflation can eat away at your returns. Certificates of Deposit: Certificates of deposit ("CD") are generally a safe type of investment since they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company ("FDIC") up to a certain amount. However, because the returns are generally low, there is risk that inflation outpaces the return of the 12  CD. Certain CDs are traded in the market place and not purchased directly from a banking institution. In addition to trading risk, when CDs are purchased at a premium, the premium is not covered by the FDIC. Municipal Securities: Municipal securities, while generally thought of as safe, can have significant risks associated with them including, but not limited to: the credit worthiness of the governmental entity that issues the bond; the stability of the revenue stream that is used to pay the interest to the bondholders; when the bond is due to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character paying the same amount of interest or yield to maturity. Stocks: There are numerous ways of measuring the risk of equity securities (also known simply as "equities" or "stock"). In very broad terms, the value of a stock depends on the financial health of the company issuing it. However, stock prices can be affected by many other factors including, but not limited to the class of stock (for example, preferred or common); the health of the market sector of the issuing company; and, the overall health of the economy. In general, larger, better established companies ("large cap") tend to be safer than smaller start-up companies ("small cap") are but the mere size of an issuer is not, by itself, an indicator of the safety of the investment. Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds: Mutual funds and exchange traded funds ("ETF") are professionally managed collective investment systems that pool money from many investors and invest in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, or any combination thereof. The fund will have a manager that trades the fund's investments in accordance with the fund's investment objective. While mutual funds and ETFs generally provide diversification, risks can be significantly increased if the fund is concentrated in a particular sector of the market, primarily invests in small cap or speculative companies, uses leverage (i.e., borrows money) to a significant degree, or concentrates in a particular type of security (i.e., equities) rather than balancing the fund with different types of securities. ETFs differ from mutual funds since they can be bought and sold throughout the day like stock and their price can fluctuate throughout the day. The returns on mutual funds and ETFs can be reduced by the costs to manage the funds. Also, while some mutual funds are "no load" and charge no fee to buy into, or sell out of, the fund, other types of mutual funds do charge such fees which can also reduce returns. Mutual funds can also be "closed end" or "open end". So-called "open end" mutual funds continue to allow in new investors indefinitely whereas "closed end" funds have a fixed number of shares to sell which can limit their availability to new investors. ETFs may have tracking error risks. For example, the ETF investment adviser may not be able to cause the ETF's performance to match that of its Underlying Index or other benchmark, which may negatively affect the ETF's performance. In addition, for leveraged and inverse ETFs that seek to track the performance of their Underlying Indices or benchmarks on a daily basis, mathematical compounding may prevent the ETF from correlating with performance of its benchmark. In addition, an ETF may not have investment exposure to all of the securities included in its Underlying Index, or its weighting of investment exposure to such securities may vary from that of the Underlying Index. Some ETFs may invest in securities or financial instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, but which are expected to yield similar performance. Variable Annuities: A variable annuity is a form of insurance where the seller or issuer (typically an insurance company) makes a series of future payments to a buyer (annuitant) in exchange for the immediate payment of a lump sum (single-payment annuity) or a series of regular payments (regular- payment annuity). The payment stream from the issuer to the annuitant has an unknown duration based principally upon the date of death of the annuitant. At this point, the contract will terminate and the remainder of the funds accumulated forfeited unless there are other annuitants or beneficiaries in 13  the contract. Annuities can be purchased to provide an income during retirement. Unlike fixed annuities that make payments in fixed amounts or in amounts that increase by a fixed percentage, variable annuities, pay amounts that vary according to the performance of a specified set of investments, typically bond and equity mutual funds. Variable annuities may impose a variety of fees and expenses, including administrative fees; underlying fund expenses; and charges for special features, all of which can reduce the return. Earnings in a variable annuity do not provide all the tax advantages of 401(k)s and other before-tax retirement plans. Once the investor starts withdrawing money from their variable annuity, earnings are taxed at the ordinary income rate, rather than at the lower capital gains rates applied to other non-tax-deferred vehicles which are held for more than one year. Proceeds of most variable annuities do not receive a "step-up" in cost basis when the owner dies like stocks, bonds and mutual funds do. Structured Products: A structured product, also known as a market-linked product, is generally a pre- packaged investment strategy based on derivatives, such as a single security, a basket of securities, options, indices, commodities, debt issuances, and/or foreign currencies, and to a lesser extent, swaps. Structured products are usually issued by investment banks or affiliates thereof. They have a fixed maturity, and have two components: a note and a derivative. The derivative component is often an option. The note provides for periodic interest payments to the investor at a predetermined rate, and the derivative component provides for the payment at maturity. Some products use the derivative component as a put option written by the investor that gives the buyer of the put option the right to sell to the investor the security or securities at a predetermined price. Other products use the derivative component to provide for a call option written by the investor that gives the buyer of the call option the right to buy the security or securities from the investor at a predetermined price. A feature of some structured products is a "principal guarantee" function, which offers protection of principal if held to maturity. However, these products are not always Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured; they may only be insured by the issuer, and thus have the potential for loss of principal in the case of a liquidity crisis, or other solvency problems with the issuing company. Investing in structured products involves a number of risks including but not limited to: fluctuations in the price, level or yield of underlying instruments, interest rates, currency values and credit quality; substantial loss of principal; limits on participation in any appreciation of the underlying instrument; limited liquidity; credit risk of the issuer; conflicts of interest; and, other events that are difficult to predict. Item 9 Disciplinary Information We are required to disclose the facts of any legal or disciplinary events that are material to your evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management. We do not have any required disclosures under this item. Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations We have not provided information on other financial industry activities and affiliations because we do not have any relationship or arrangement that is material to our advisory business or to our clients with any of the types of entities listed below. 1. broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, or government securities dealer or broker; 2. investment company or other pooled investment vehicle (including a mutual fund, closed-end investment company, unit investment trust, private investment company or "hedge fund," and offshore fund); 3. futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, or commodity trading adviser; 4. banking or thrift institution; 5. accountant or accounting firm; 6. lawyer or law firm; 14  7. insurance company or agency; 8. pension consultant; 9. real estate broker or dealer; and/or 10.sponsor or syndicator of limited partnerships. Recommendation of Other Advisers We may recommend that you use a third party adviser ("TPA") based on your needs and suitability. We will share in the compensation paid to the TPA for recommending that you use their services. You are not obligated, contractually or otherwise, to use the services of any TPA we recommend. Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading Description of Our Code of Ethics We strive to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing our practices. Therefore, our Code of Ethics includes guidelines for professional standards of conduct for our Associated Persons. Our goal is to protect your interests at all times and to demonstrate our commitment to our fiduciary duties of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing with you. All of our Associated Persons are expected to adhere strictly to these guidelines. Our Code of Ethics also requires that certain persons associated with our firm submit reports of their personal account holdings and transactions to a qualified representative of our firm who will review these reports on a periodic basis. Persons associated with our firm are also required to report any violations of our Code of Ethics. Additionally, we maintain and enforce written policies reasonably designed to prevent the misuse or dissemination of material, non-public information about you or your account holdings by persons associated with our firm. Our Code of Ethics is available to you upon request. You may obtain a copy of our Code of Ethics by contacting Donald P. Carnaghi at 586-228-7772. Personal Trading Practices Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our Associated Persons shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities. Item 12 Brokerage Practices We recommend the brokerage and custodial services of AXOS Advisor Services or Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) (whether one or more "Custodian"). Your assets must be maintained in an account at a "qualified custodian," generally a broker-dealer or bank. In recognition of the value of the services the Custodian provides, you may pay higher commissions and/or trading costs than those that may be available elsewhere. Our selection of custodian is based on many factors, including the level of services provided, the custodian's financial stability, and the cost of services provided by the custodian to our clients, which includes the yield on cash sweep choices, commissions, custody fees and other fees or expenses. We are not affiliated with AXOS Advisor Services or Schwab. We seek to recommend a custodian/broker that will hold your assets and execute transactions on terms that are, overall, the most favorable compared to other available providers and their services. We consider various factors, including: • Capability to buy and sell securities for your account itself or to facilitate such services. 15  • The likelihood that your trades will be executed. • Availability of investment research and tools. • Overall quality of services. • Competitiveness of price. • Reputation, financial strength, and stability. • Existing relationship with our firm and our other clients. We maintain relationships with several broker-dealers. While you are free to choose any broker-dealer or other service provider as your custodian, we recommend that you establish an account with a brokerage firm with which we have an existing relationship. Such relationships may include benefits provided to our firm, including but not limited to market information and administrative services that help our firm manage your account(s). We believe that the recommended broker-dealers provide quality execution services for our clients at competitive prices. Price is not the sole factor we consider in evaluating best execution. We also consider the quality of the brokerage services provided by recommended broker-dealers, including the value of the firm's reputation, execution capabilities, commission rates, and responsiveness to our clients and our firm. In recognition of the value of the services recommended broker-dealers provide, you may pay higher commissions and/or trading costs than those that may be available elsewhere. Products and services available to us from Schwab Schwab Advisor Services™ is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like us. They provide us and our clients with access to their institutional brokerage services (trading, custody, reporting, and related services), many of which are not typically available to Schwab retail customers. However, certain retail investors may be able to get institutional brokerage services from Schwab without going through us. Schwab also makes available various support services. Some of those services help us manage or administer our clients' accounts, while others help us manage and grow our business. Schwab's support services are generally available on an unsolicited basis (we don't have to request them) and at no charge to us. Following is a more detailed description of Schwab's support services: Services that benefit you. Schwab's institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products available through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients. Schwab's services described in this paragraph generally benefit you and your account. Services that do not directly benefit you. Schwab also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but do not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts and operating our firm. They include investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We use this research to service all or a substantial number of our clients' accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab. In addition to investment research, Schwab also makes available software and other technology that: • Provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account statements) • Facilitate trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts • Provide pricing and other market data • Facilitate payment of our fees from our clients' accounts • Assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping, and client reporting 16  Services that generally benefit only us. Schwab also offers other services intended to help us manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include: • Educational conferences and events • Consulting on technology and business needs • Consulting on legal and related compliance needs • Publications and conferences on practice management and business succession • Access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and insurance providers • Marketing consulting and support Schwab provides some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to us. Schwab also discounts or waives its fees for some of these services or pays all or a part of a third party's fees. Schwab also provides us with other benefits, such as occasional business entertainment of our personnel. If you did not maintain your account with Schwab, we would be required to pay for these services from our own resources. Our Interest in Schwab's Services The availability of these services from Schwab benefits us because we do not have to produce or purchase them. We don't have to pay for Schwab's services. These services are not contingent upon us committing any specific amount of business to Schwab in trading commissions or assets in custody. The fact that we receive these benefits from Schwab is an incentive for us to recommend the use of Schwab rather than making such a decision based exclusively on your interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of your transactions. This is a conflict of interest. We believe, however, that taken in the aggregate, our selection of Schwab as custodian and broker is in the best interests of our clients. Our selection is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of Schwab's services (see "How we select brokers/ custodians") and not Schwab's services that benefit only us. Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits We do not have any soft dollar arrangements. Directed Brokerage We routinely recommend that you direct our firm to execute transactions through AXOS Advisor Services or Schwab. As such, we may be unable to achieve the most favorable execution of your transactions and you may pay higher brokerage commissions than you might otherwise pay through another broker-dealer that offers the same types of services. Not all advisers require their clients to direct brokerage. Brokerage for Client Referrals We do not receive client referrals from broker-dealers in exchange for cash or other compensation, such as brokerage services or research. Block Trades Transactions for each client generally will be effected independently, unless we decide to purchase or sell the same securities for several clients at approximately the same time. We may, but are not obligated to, combine multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for advisory accounts we manage (this practice is commonly referred to as "block trading"). We will then distribute a portion of the shares to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner. The distribution of the shares purchased is typically proportionate to the size of the account, but it is not based on account performance or the amount or structure of management fees. Subject to our discretion regarding factual and market conditions, when we combine orders, each participating account pays an average price per share for all transactions and pays a proportionate share of all transaction costs on any given day. 17  Mutual Fund Share Classes Mutual funds are sold with different share classes, which carry different cost structures. Each available share class is described in the mutual fund's prospectus. When we purchase, or recommend the purchase of, mutual funds for a client, we select the share class that is deemed to be in the client's best interest, taking into consideration cost, tax implications, and other factors. When the fund is available for purchase at net asset value, we will purchase, or recommend the purchase of, the fund at net asset value. We also review the mutual funds held in accounts that come under our management to determine whether a more beneficial share class is available, considering cost, tax implications, and the impact of contingent deferred sales charges. Item 13 Review of Accounts Donald P. Carnaghi and Thomas R. Mazza, principals of the firm, will monitor your accounts on an ongoing basis and will conduct account reviews at least quarterly for our portfolio management clients and semi-annually for accounts managed by a third party adviser. We will also provide reviews upon your request. We conduct reviews to ensure that the advisory services provided to you and the portfolio mix are consistent with your stated investment needs and objectives. Additional reviews may be conducted based on various circumstances, including, but not limited to: • contributions and withdrawals; • year-end tax planning; • market moving events; • security specific events; and/or, • changes in your risk/return objectives. You will receive trade confirmations and monthly or quarterly statements from your account custodian(s). If you have engaged our firm for financial planning services only, we will review your written financial plan only upon your request and for an additional fee. Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation As disclosed under the "Fees and Compensation" section in this Brochure, persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents. For information on the conflicts of interest this presents, and how we address these conflicts, please refer to the "Fees and Compensation" section. We act as a solicitor for an investment advisory program that provides continuous advice to individuals on the investment options available to them within their company-sponsored qualified savings plan (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), 457). Please see Item 4 above Advisory Business - Savings Plan Management for more details. We do not compensate any individual or firm for client referrals. Refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we may receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian. 18  Item 15 Custody We directly debit your account(s) for the payment of our advisory fees. This ability to deduct our advisory fees from your accounts causes our firm to exercise limited custody over your funds or securities. We do not have physical custody of any of your funds and/or securities. Your funds and securities will be held with a bank, broker-dealer, or other qualified custodian. You will receive account statements from the qualified custodian(s) holding your funds and securities at least quarterly. The account statements from your custodian(s) will indicate the amount of our advisory fees deducted from your account(s) each billing period. You should carefully review account statements for accuracy. If you have a question regarding your account statement or if you did not receive a statement from your custodian, please contact Don Carnaghi at 586-228-7772. Item 16 Investment Discretion Before we can buy or sell securities on your behalf, you must first sign our discretionary management agreement, a limited power of attorney, and/or trading authorization forms. You may grant our firm discretion over the selection and amount of securities to be purchased or sold for you account(s) without obtaining your consent or approval prior to each transaction. Please refer to the "Advisory Business" section in this Brochure for more information on our discretionary management services. Item 17 Voting Client Securities Proxy Voting We will not vote proxies on behalf of your advisory accounts. At your request, we may offer you advice regarding corporate actions and the exercise of your proxy voting rights. If you own shares of common stock, ETFs or mutual funds, you are responsible for exercising your right to vote as a shareholder. In most cases, you will receive proxy materials directly from the account custodian. However, in the event we were to receive any written or electronic proxy materials, we would forward them directly to you by mail, unless you have authorized our firm to contact you by electronic mail, in which case, we would forward any electronic solicitation to vote proxies. Item 18 Financial Information We are not required to provide financial information to our clients because we do not: require the prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees and six or more months in advance, or take custody of client funds or securities, or • • • have a financial condition that is reasonably likely to impair our ability to meet our commitments to you. Item 19 Additional Information Your Privacy We view protecting your private information as a top priority. Pursuant to applicable privacy requirements, we have instituted policies and procedures to ensure that we keep your personal information private and secure. 19  We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you to any nonaffiliated third parties, except as permitted by law. In the course of servicing your account, we may share some information with our service providers, such as transfer agents, custodians, broker-dealers, accountants, consultants, and attorneys. We restrict internal access to nonpublic personal information about you to employees who need that information in order to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical and procedural safeguards that comply with regulatory standards to guard your nonpublic personal information and to ensure our integrity and confidentiality. We will not sell information about you or your accounts to anyone. We do not share your information unless it is required to process a transaction, at your request, or required by law. You will receive a copy of our privacy notice prior to or at the time you sign an advisory agreement with our firm. Thereafter, we will deliver a copy of the current privacy policy notice to you on an annual basis. Please contact Don Carnaghi at 586-228-7772 if you have any questions regarding this policy. Trade Errors In the event a trading error occurs in your account, our policy is to restore your account to the position it should have been in had the trading error not occurred. Depending on the circumstances, corrective actions may include canceling the trade, adjusting an allocation, and/or reimbursing the account. If a trade error results in a profit, you will keep the profit. 20