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Item 1: Cover Page
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure
February 20, 2026
Rockline Wealth Management LLC
2701 Sunrise Highway
Islip Terrace, NY 11752
www.rocklinewealth.com
Firm Contact:
Gabriel Gallante
Chief Compliance Officer
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Rockline Wealth
Management LLC. If clients have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at 516-
605-1624. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission or by any State Securities Authority. Additional information about our firm is also available
on the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov by searching CRD #324004.
Please note that the use of the term "registered investment adviser" and description of our firm and/or our
associates as "registered" does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Clients are encouraged to review this
Brochure and Brochure Supplements for our firm's associates who advise clients for more information on the
qualifications of our firm and our employees.
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Item 2 Material Changes
Form ADV Part 2 requires registered investment advisers to amend their brochure when information
becomes materially inaccurate. If there are any material changes to an adviser's disclosure brochure,
the adviser is required to notify you and provide you with a description of the material changes.
Since the filing of our last annual updated amendment dated January 31, 2025, we do not have any
material changes to report.
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Item 3 Table Of Contents
Item 1 Cover Page
Item 2 Material Changes
Item 3 Table Of Contents
Item 4 Advisory Business
Item 5 Fees & Compensation
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees & Side-By-Side Management
Item 7 Types of Clients & Account Requirements
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions & Personal Trading
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Item 13 Review of Accounts or Financial Plans
Item 14 Client Referrals & Other Compensation
Item 15 Custody
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
Item 18 Financial Information
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Item 4 Advisory Business
Our firm is dedicated to providing individuals and other types of clients with a wide array of investment
advisory services. Our firm is a limited liability company formed under the laws of the State of New
York in 2018 and has been in business as an investment adviser since 2023. Our firm is wholly owned
by Gabriel Gallante.
The purpose of this Brochure is to disclose the conflicts of interest associated with the investment
transactions, compensation and any other matters related to investment decisions made by our firm or
its representatives. As a fiduciary, it is our duty to always act in the client's best interest. This is
accomplished in part by knowing our client. Our firm has established a service-oriented advisory
practice with open lines of communication for many different types of clients to help meet their financial
goals while remaining sensitive to risk tolerance and time horizons. Working with clients to understand
their investment objectives while educating them about our process, facilitates the kind of working
relationship we value.
Types of Advisory Services Offered
Comprehensive Portfolio Management:
As part of our Comprehensive Portfolio Management service clients will be provided asset
management and financial planning or consulting services. This service is designed to assist clients in
meeting their financial goals through the use of a financial plan or consultation. Our firm conducts client
meetings to understand their current financial situation, existing resources, financial goals, and
tolerance for risk. Based on what is learned, an investment approach is presented to the client,
consisting of individual stocks, bonds, ETFs, options, mutual funds and other public and private
securities or investments. Once the appropriate portfolio has been determined, portfolios are
continuously and regularly monitored, and if necessary, rebalanced based upon the client's individual
needs, stated goals and objectives. Upon client request, our firm provides a summary of observations
and recommendations for the planning or consulting aspects of this service.
Retirement Plan Consulting:
Our firm provides retirement plan consulting services to employer plan sponsors on an ongoing basis.
Generally, such consulting services consist of assisting employer plan sponsors in establishing,
monitoring and reviewing their company's participant-directed retirement plan. As the needs of the plan
sponsor dictate, areas of advising may include:
• Establishing an Investment Policy Statement - Our firm will assist in the development of a
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statement that summarizes the investment goals and objectives along with the broad strategies
to be employed to meet the objectives.
Investment Options - Our firm will work with the Plan Sponsor to evaluate existing investment
options and make recommendations for appropriate changes.
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• Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction - Our firm will develop strategic asset allocation
models to aid Participants in developing strategies to meet their investment objectives, time
horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk.
Investment Monitoring - Our firm will monitor the performance of the investments and notify the
client in the event of over/underperformance and in times of market volatility.
• Participant Education - Our firm will provide opportunities to educate plan participants about
their retirement plan offerings, different investment options, and general guidance on allocation
strategies.
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In providing services for retirement plan consulting, our firm does not provide any advisory services
with respect to the following types of assets: employer securities, real estate (excluding real estate
funds and publicly traded REITS), participant loans, non-publicly traded securities or assets, other
illiquid investments, or brokerage window programs (collectively, "Excluded Assets"). All retirement
plan consulting services shall be in compliance with the applicable state laws regulating retirement
consulting services. This applies to client accounts that are retirement or other employee benefit plans
("Plan") governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"). If
the client accounts are part of a Plan, and our firm accepts appointment to provide services to such
accounts, our firm acknowledges its fiduciary standard within the meaning of Section 3(21) or 3(38) of
ERISA as designated by the Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement with respect to the provision of
services described therein.
Participant Account Management
We use a third-party platform(s) to facilitate management of held away assets such as defined
contribution plan participant accounts, with discretion. The platform allows us to avoid being
considered to have custody of Client funds since we do not have direct access to Client log-in
credentials to affect trades. We are not affiliated with the platform in any way and receive no
compensation from them for using their platform. For certain 401k accounts, plan participants can
authorize us to place trades using the platform. Those clients who do not provide us with such
authorization must place any trades in the 401k accounts themselves through their plan provider.
Adviser will review the current account allocations and when deemed necessary, Adviser will
rebalance the account considering client investment goals and risk tolerance, and any change in
allocations.
Tailoring of Advisory Services
Our firm offers individualized investment advice to our Comprehensive Portfolio Management clients.
General investment advice will be offered to our Retirement Plan Consulting clients.
Each Comprehensive Portfolio Management client has the opportunity to place reasonable restrictions
on the types of investments to be held in the portfolio. Restrictions on investments in certain securities
or types of securities may not be possible due to the level of difficulty this would entail in managing the
account.
Participation in Wrap Fee Programs
Our firm does not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program.
Rollover Recommendations
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
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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.
Regulatory Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2025, our firm manages $655,620,201 on a discretionary basis and $94,011,541
on a non-discretionary basis.
Item 5 Fees & Compensation
Compensation for Our Advisory Services
Comprehensive Portfolio Management:
The maximum annual fee to be charged to the client's account(s) will not exceed 1.50%. The fee to be
assessed to each account will be detailed in the client's signed advisory agreement. Fees are billed on
a pro-rata basis quarterly in advance based on the value of the account(s) on the last day of the
previous quarter. Fees are negotiable and will be deducted from the account(s). Adjustments will be
made for deposits and withdrawals during the quarter. If accounts are opened during the quarter, the
pro-rata advisory fees will be deducted during the next regularly scheduled billing cycle. In some
cases, our firm will agree to direct bill clients. As part of this process, Clients understand the following:
a. The Qualified Custodian sends statements at least quarterly, showing all disbursements for
each account, including the amount of the advisory fees paid to our firm;
b. Clients provide authorization permitting The Qualified Custodian to deduct these fees;
c. The Qualified Custodian calculates the advisory fees for all fee schedules and deducts them
from the client's account.
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Retirement Plan Consulting:
Our Retirement Plan Consulting services are billed on a flat fee basis or a fee based on the percentage
of Plan assets under management. The fee is based on the scope and complexity of our engagement
with the client. Flat fees will not exceed $50,000. Fees based on a percentage of managed Plan assets
will not exceed 1.50%. The fee-paying arrangements will be determined on a case-by-case basis and
will be detailed in the signed consulting agreement.
Other Types of Fees & Expenses
Clients will incur transaction fees for trades executed by their custodian, either based on a percentage
of the dollar amount of assets in the account(s) or via individual transaction charges. These transaction
fees are separate from our firm's advisory fees and will be disclosed by the chosen custodian.
Clients may also pay holdings charges imposed by the custodian for certain investments, charges
imposed directly by a mutual fund, index fund, or exchange traded fund, which shall be disclosed in the
fund's prospectus (e.g., fund management fees and other fund expenses), distribution fees, surrender
charges, variable annuity fees, IRA and qualified retirement plan fees, mark-ups and mark-downs,
spreads paid to market makers, fees for trades executed away from custodian, wire transfer fees and
other fees and taxes on brokerage accounts and securities transactions. Our firm does not receive a
portion of these fees.
Termination & Refunds
Either party may terminate the signed advisory agreement at any time. Upon receipt of your notice of
termination, we will process a pro-rate refund of the unearned portion of the advisory fees charged in
advance at the beginning of the quarter.
Either party to a Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement may terminate at any time by providing written
notice to the other party. Full refunds will only be made in cases where cancellation occurs within 5
business days of signing an agreement. After 5 business days from initial signing, either party must
provide the other party 30 days written notice to terminate billing. Billing will terminate 30 days after
receipt of termination notice. Clients will be charged on a pro-rata basis, which takes into account work
completed by our firm on behalf of the client. Clients will incur charges for bona fide advisory services
rendered up to the point of termination (determined as 30 days from receipt of said written notice) and
such fees will be due and payable.
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees & Side-By-Side Management
Our firm does not charge performance-based fees.
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Item 7 Types of Clients & Account Requirements
Our firm has the following types of clients:
Individuals and High Net Worth Individuals;
Trusts, Estates or Charitable Organizations;
Pension and Profit Sharing Plans;
Corporations, Limited Liability Companies and/or Other Business Types
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Our firm does not impose requirements for opening and maintaining accounts or otherwise engaging
us.
Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss
Methods of Analysis
We use the following methods of analysis in formulating our investment advice and/or managing client
assets:
Fundamental Analysis: The analysis of a business's financial statements (usually to analyze the
business's assets, liabilities, and earnings), health, and its competitors and markets. When analyzing a
stock, futures contract, or currency using fundamental analysis there are two basic approaches one
can use: bottom up analysis and top down analysis. The terms are used to distinguish such analysis
from other types of investment analysis, such as quantitative and technical. Fundamental analysis is
performed on historical and present data, but with the goal of making financial forecasts. There are
several possible objectives: (a) to conduct a company stock valuation and predict its probable price
evolution; (b) to make a projection on its business performance; (c) to evaluate its management and
make internal business decisions; (d) and/or to calculate its credit risk.; and (e) to find out the intrinsic
value of the share.
When the objective of the analysis is to determine what stock to buy and at what price, there are two
basic methodologies investors rely upon: (a) Fundamental analysis maintains that markets may
misprice a security in the short run but that the "correct" price will eventually be reached. Profits can be
made by purchasing the mispriced security and then waiting for the market to recognize its "mistake"
and reprice the security.; and (b) Technical analysis maintains that all information is reflected already
in the price of a security. Technical analysts analyze trends and believe that sentiment changes
predate and predict trend changes. Investors' emotional responses to price movements lead to
recognizable price chart patterns. Technical analysts also analyze historical trends to predict future
price movement. Investors can use one or both of these different but complementary methods for stock
picking. This presents a potential risk, as the price of a security can move up or down along with the
overall market regardless of the economic and financial factors considered in evaluating the stock.
Mutual Fund and/or Exchange Traded Fund ("ETF") Analysis: Analysis of the experience and track
record of the manager of the mutual fund or ETF in an attempt to determine if that manager has
demonstrated an ability to invest over a period of time and in different economic conditions. The
underlying assets in a mutual fund or ETF are also reviewed in an attempt to determine if there is
significant overlap in the underlying investments held in another fund(s) in the Client's portfolio. The
funds or ETFs are monitored in an attempt to determine if they are continuing to follow their stated
investment strategy. A risk of mutual fund and/or ETF analysis is that, as in all securities investments,
past performance does not guarantee future results. A manager who has been successful may not be
able to replicate that success in the future. In addition, as our firm does not control the underlying
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investments in a fund or ETF, managers of different funds held by the Client may purchase the same
security, increasing the risk to the Client if that security were to fall in value. There is also a risk that a
manager may deviate from the stated investment mandate or strategy of the fund or ETF, which could
make the holding(s) less suitable for the Client's portfolio.
Qualitative Analysis: A securities analysis that uses subjective judgment based on unquantifiable
information, such as management expertise, industry cycles, strength of research and development,
and labor relations. Qualitative analysis contrasts with quantitative analysis, which focuses on numbers
that can be found on reports such as balance sheets. The two techniques, however, will often be used
together in order to examine a company's operations and evaluate its potential as an investment
opportunity. Qualitative analysis deals with intangible, inexact concerns that belong to the social and
experiential realm rather than the mathematical one. This approach depends on the kind of intelligence
that machines (currently) lack, since things like positive associations with a brand, management
trustworthiness, customer satisfaction, competitive advantage and cultural shifts are difficult, arguably
impossible, to capture with numerical inputs. A risk in using qualitative analysis is that subjective
judgment may prove incorrect.
Investment Strategies We Use
We use the following strategies in managing client accounts, provided that such strategies are
appropriate to the needs of the client and consistent with the client's investment objectives, risk
tolerance, and time horizons, among other considerations:
Asset Allocation: The implementation of an investment strategy that attempts to balance risk versus
reward by adjusting the percentage of each asset in an investment portfolio according to the investor's
risk tolerance, goals and investment time frame. Asset allocation is based on the principle that different
assets perform differently in different market and economic conditions. A fundamental justification for
asset allocation is the notion that different asset classes offer returns that are not perfectly correlated,
hence diversification reduces the overall risk in terms of the variability of returns for a given level of
expected return. Although risk is reduced as long as correlations are not perfect, it is typically forecast
(wholly or in part) based on statistical relationships (like correlation and variance) that existed over
some past period. Expectations for return are often derived in the same way.
An asset class is a group of economic resources sharing similar characteristics, such as riskiness and
return. There are many types of assets that may or may not be included in an asset allocation strategy.
The "traditional" asset classes are stocks (value, dividend, growth, or sector-specific [or a "blend" of
any two or more of the preceding]; large-cap versus mid-cap, small-cap or micro-cap; domestic, foreign
[developed], emerging or frontier markets), bonds (fixed income securities more generally: investment-
grade or junk [high-yield]; government or corporate; short-term, intermediate, long-term; domestic,
foreign, emerging markets), and cash or cash equivalents. Allocation among these three provides a
starting point. Usually included are hybrid instruments such as convertible bonds and preferred stocks,
counting as a mixture of bonds and stocks. Other alternative assets that may be considered include:
commodities: precious metals, nonferrous metals, agriculture, energy, others.; Commercial or
residential real estate (also REITs); Collectibles such as art, coins, or stamps; insurance products
(annuity, life settlements, catastrophe bonds, personal life insurance products, etc.); derivatives such
as long-short or market neutral strategies, options, collateralized debt, and futures; foreign currency;
venture capital; private equity; and/or distressed securities.
There are several types of asset allocation strategies based on investment goals, risk tolerance, time
frames and diversification. The most common forms of asset allocation are: strategic, dynamic, tactical,
and core-satellite.
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Strategic Asset Allocation: The primary goal of a strategic asset allocation is to create an asset mix
that seeks to provide the optimal balance between expected risk and return for a long-term investment
horizon. Generally speaking, strategic asset allocation strategies are agnostic to economic
environments, i.e., they do not change their allocation postures relative to changing market or
economic conditions.
Dynamic Asset Allocation: Dynamic asset allocation is similar to strategic asset allocation in that
portfolios are built by allocating to an asset mix that seeks to provide the optimal balance between
expected risk and return for a long-term investment horizon. Like strategic allocation strategies,
dynamic strategies largely retain exposure to their original asset classes; however, unlike strategic
strategies, dynamic asset allocation portfolios will adjust their postures over time relative to changes in
the economic environment.
Tactical Asset Allocation: Tactical asset allocation is a strategy in which an investor takes a more
active approach that tries to position a portfolio into those assets, sectors, or individual stocks that
show the most potential for perceived gains. While an original asset mix is formulated much like
strategic and dynamic portfolio, tactical strategies are often traded more actively and are free to move
entirely in and out of their core asset classes
Core-Satellite Asset Allocation: Core-Satellite allocation strategies generally contain a 'core' strategic
element making up the most significant portion of the portfolio, while applying a dynamic or tactical
'satellite' strategy that makes up a smaller part of the portfolio. In this way, core-satellite allocation
strategies are a hybrid of the strategic and dynamic/tactical allocation strategies mentioned above.
Equity Securities: Equity securities represent an ownership position in a company. Equity securities
typically consist of common stocks. The prices of equity securities fluctuate based on, among other
things, events specific to their issuers and market, economic and other conditions. For example, prices
of these securities can be affected by financial contracts held by the issuer or third parties (such as
derivatives) relating to the security or other assets or indices. There may be little trading in the
secondary market for particular equity securities, which may adversely affect our firm 's ability to value
accurately or dispose of such equity securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or
not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the value and/or liquidity of equity securities.
Investing in smaller companies may pose additional risks as it is often more difficult to value or dispose
of small company stocks, more difficult to obtain information about smaller companies, and the prices
of their stocks may be more volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies. Clients should
have a long-term perspective and, for example, be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.
Exchange Traded Funds ("ETFs"): An ETF is a type of Investment Company (usually, an open-end
fund or unit investment trust) whose primary objective is to achieve the same return as a particular
market index. The vast majority of ETFs are designed to track an index, so their performance is close
to that of an index mutual fund, but they are not exact duplicates. A tracking error, or the difference
between the returns of a fund and the returns of the index, can arise due to differences in composition,
management fees, expenses, and handling of dividends. ETFs benefit from continuous pricing; they
can be bought and sold on a stock exchange throughout the trading day. Because ETFs trade like
stocks, you can place orders just like with individual stocks - such as limit orders, good-until-canceled
orders, stop loss orders etc. They can also be sold short. Traditional mutual funds are bought and
redeemed based on their net asset values ("NAV") at the end of the day. ETFs are bought and sold at
the market prices on the exchanges, which resemble the underlying NAV but are independent of it.
However, arbitrageurs will ensure that ETF prices are kept very close to the NAV of the underlying
securities. Although an investor can buy as few as one share of an ETF, most buy in board lots.
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Anything bought in less than a board lot will increase the cost to the investor. Anyone can buy any ETF
no matter where in the world it trades. This provides a benefit over mutual funds, which generally can
only be bought in the country in which they are registered.
One of the main features of ETFs is their low annual fees, especially when compared to traditional
mutual funds. The passive nature of index investing, reduced marketing, and distribution and
accounting expenses all contribute to the lower fees. However, individual investors must pay a
brokerage commission to purchase and sell ETF shares; for those investors who trade frequently, this
can significantly increase the cost of investing in ETFs. That said, with the advent of low-cost
brokerage fees, small or frequent purchases of ETFs are becoming more cost efficient.
Fixed Income: Fixed income is a type of investing or budgeting style for which real return rates or
periodic income is received at regular intervals and at reasonably predictable levels. Fixed-income
investors are typically retired individuals who rely on their investments to provide a regular, stable
income stream. This demographic tends to invest heavily in fixed-income investments because of the
reliable returns they offer. Fixed-income investors who live on set amounts of periodically paid income
face the risk of inflation eroding their spending power.
Some examples of fixed-income investments include treasuries, money market instruments, corporate
bonds, asset-backed securities, municipal bonds and international bonds. The primary risk associated
with fixed-income investments is the borrower defaulting on his payment. Other considerations include
exchange rate risk for international bonds and interest rate risk for longer-dated securities. The most
common type of fixed-income security is a bond. Bonds are issued by federal governments, local
municipalities and major corporations. Fixed-income securities are recommended for investors seeking
a diverse portfolio; however, the percentage of the portfolio dedicated to fixed income depends on your
own personal investment style. There is also an opportunity to diversify the fixed-income component of
a portfolio. Riskier fixed-income products, such as junk bonds and longer-dated products, should
comprise a lower percentage of your overall portfolio.
The interest payment on fixed-income securities is considered regular income and is determined based
on the creditworthiness of the borrower and current market rates. In general, bonds and fixed-income
securities with longer-dated maturities pay a higher rate, also referred to as the coupon rate, because
they are considered riskier. The longer the security is on the market, the more time it has to lose its
value and/or default. At the end of the bond term, or at bond maturity, the borrower returns the amount
borrowed, also referred to as the principal or par value.
Long-Term Purchases: Our firm may buy securities for your account and hold them for a relatively
long time (more than a year) in anticipation that the security's value will appreciate over a long horizon.
The risk of this strategy is that our firm could miss out on potential short-term gains that could have
been profitable to your account, or it's possible that the security's value may decline sharply before our
firm makes a decision to sell.
Mutual Funds: A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests that
money in a variety of differing security types based on the objectives of the fund. The portfolio of the
fund consists of the combined holdings it owns. Each share represents an investor's proportionate
ownership of the fund's holdings and the income those holdings generate. The price that investors pay
for mutual fund shares are the fund's per share net asset value ("NAV") plus any shareholder fees that
the fund imposes at the time of purchase (such as sales loads). Investors typically cannot ascertain the
exact make-up of a fund's portfolio at any given time, nor can they directly influence which securities
the fund manager buys and sells or the timing of those trades. With an individual stock, investors can
obtain real-time (or close to real-time) pricing information with relative ease by checking financial
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websites or by calling a broker or your investment adviser. Investors can also monitor how a stock's
price changes from hour to hour—or even second to second. By contrast, with a mutual fund, the price
at which an investor purchases or redeems shares will typically depend on the fund's NAV, which is
calculated daily after market close.
The benefits of investing through mutual funds include: (a) Mutual funds are professionally managed
by an investment adviser who researches, selects, and monitors the performance of the securities
purchased by the fund; (b) Mutual funds typically have the benefit of diversification, which is an
investing strategy that generally sums up as "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Spreading
investments across a wide range of companies and industry sectors can help lower the risk if a
company or sector fails. Some investors find it easier to achieve diversification through ownership of
mutual funds rather than through ownership of individual stocks or bonds.; (c) Some mutual funds
accommodate investors who do not have a lot of money to invest by setting relatively low dollar
amounts for initial purchases, subsequent monthly purchases, or both.; and (d) At any time, mutual
fund investors can readily redeem their shares at the current NAV, less any fees and charges
assessed on redemption.
Mutual funds also have features that some investors might view as disadvantages: (a) Investors must
pay sales charges, annual fees, and other expenses regardless of how the fund performs. Depending
on the timing of their investment, investors may also have to pay taxes on any capital gains
distributions they receive. This includes instances where the fund performed poorly after purchasing
shares.; (b) Investors typically cannot ascertain the exact make-up of a fund's portfolio at any given
time, nor can they directly influence which securities the fund manager buys and sells or the timing of
those trades.; and (c) With an individual stock, investors can obtain real-time (or close to real-time)
pricing information with relative ease by checking financial websites or by calling a broker or your
investment adviser. Investors can also monitor how a stock's price changes from hour to hour—or
even second to second. By contrast, with a mutual fund, the price at which an investor purchases or
redeems shares will typically depend on the fund's NAV, which the fund might not calculate until many
hours after the investor placed the order. In general, mutual funds must calculate their NAV at least
once every business day, typically after the major U.S. exchanges close.
When investors buy and hold an individual stock or bond, the investor must pay income tax each year
on the dividends or interest the investor receives. However, the investor will not have to pay any capital
gains tax until the investor actually sells and makes a profit. Mutual funds, however, are different.
When an investor buys and holds mutual fund shares, the investor will owe income tax on any ordinary
dividends in the year the investor receives or reinvests them. Moreover, in addition to owing taxes on
any personal capital gains when the investor sells shares, the investor may have to pay taxes each
year on the fund's capital gains. That is because the law requires mutual funds to distribute capital
gains to shareholders if they sell securities for a profit, and cannot use losses to offset these gains.
Short-Term Purchases: When utilizing this strategy, our firm may also purchase securities with the
idea of selling them within a relatively short time (typically a year or less). Our firm does this in an
attempt to take advantage of conditions that our firm believes will soon result in a price swing in the
securities our firm purchase.
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Risk of Loss
Investing in securities involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear. While the stock
market may increase and the account(s) could enjoy a gain, it is also possible that the stock market
may decrease and the account(s) could suffer a loss. It is important that clients understand the risks
associated with investing in the stock market, and that their assets are appropriately diversified in
investments. Clients are encouraged to ask our firm any questions regarding their risk tolerance.
Economic Risk: The prevailing economic environment is important to the health of all businesses.
Some companies, however, are more sensitive to changes in the domestic or global economy than
others. These types of companies are often referred to as cyclical businesses. Countries in which a
large portion of businesses are in cyclical industries are thus also very economically sensitive and
carry a higher amount of economic risk. If an investment is issued by a party located in a country that
experiences wide swings from an economic standpoint or in situations where certain elements of an
investment instrument are hinged on dealings in such countries, the investment instrument will
generally be subject to a higher level of economic risk.
ETF & Mutual Fund Risk: When investing in an ETF or mutual fund, you will bear additional expenses
based on your pro rata share of the ETF's or mutual fund's operating expenses, including the potential
duplication of management fees. The risk of owning an ETF or mutual fund generally reflects the risks
of owning the underlying securities, the ETF, or mutual fund holds. Clients will also incur brokerage
costs when purchasing ETFs.
Equity (Stock) Market Risk: Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations
and, volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers
change. If you held common stock, or common stock equivalents, of any given issuer, you would
generally be exposed to greater risk than if you held preferred stocks and debt obligations of the
issuer.
Fixed Income Securities Risk: Typically, the values of fixed-income securities change inversely with
prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed-income securities is interest rate risk,
which is the risk that their value will generally decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause
your account value to likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed income securities may
react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. Fixed-
income securities are also subject to credit risk, prepayment risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk.
Credit risk is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or
that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of a bond to
decline.
Inflation Risk: Inflation risk involves the concern that in the future, your investment or proceeds from
your investment will not be worth what they are today. Throughout time, the prices of resources and
end-user products generally increase and thus, the same general goods and products today will likely
be more expensive in the future. The longer an investment is held, the greater the chance that the
proceeds from that investment will be worth less in the future than what they are today. Said another
way, a dollar tomorrow will likely get you less than what it can today.
Market Risk: The value of your portfolio may decrease if the value of an individual company or
multiple companies in the portfolio decreases or if our belief about a company's intrinsic worth is
incorrect. Further, regardless of how well individual companies perform, the value of your portfolio
could also decrease if there are deteriorating economic or market conditions. It is important to
understand that the value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply, in response to changes in
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the market, and you could lose money. Investment risks include price risk as may be observed by a
drop in a security's price due to company specific events (e.g. earnings disappointment or downgrade
in the rating of a bond) or general market risk (e.g. such as a "bear" market when stock values fall in
general). For fixed-income securities, a period of rising interest rates could erode the value of a bond
since bond values generally fall as bond yields go up. Past performance is not a guarantee of future
returns.
Description of Material, Significant or Unusual Risks
Our firm generally invests client cash balances in money market funds, FDIC Insured Certificates of
Deposit, high-grade commercial paper and/or government backed debt instruments. Ultimately, our
firm tries to achieve the highest return on client cash balances through relatively low-risk conservative
investments. In most cases, at least a partial cash balance will be maintained in a money market
account so that our firm may debit advisory fees for our services related to our Comprehensive
Portfolio Management service, as applicable.
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
There are no legal or disciplinary events that are material to the evaluation of our advisory business or
the integrity of our management.
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations
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 such as a broker-dealer, futures commission merchant,
commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor or any other relationships or arrangements
with other financial services companies that pose conflicts of interest.
Representatives of our firm are insurance agents/brokers. They offer insurance products and receive
customary fees as a result of insurance sales. A conflict of interest exists as these insurance sales
create an incentive to recommend products based on the compensation adviser and/or our supervised
persons may earn. To mitigate this potential conflict, our firm will act in the client's best interest.
Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions &
Personal Trading
As a fiduciary, it is an investment adviser's responsibility to provide fair and full disclosure of all
material facts and to act solely in the best interest of each of our clients at all times. Our fiduciary duty
is the underlying principle for our firm's Code of Ethics, which includes procedures for personal
securities transaction and insider trading. Our firm requires all representatives to conduct business with
the highest level of ethical standards and to comply with all federal and state securities laws at all
times. Upon employment with our firm, and at least annually thereafter, all representatives of our firm
will acknowledge receipt, understanding and compliance with our firm's Code of Ethics. Our firm and
representatives must conduct business in an honest, ethical, and fair manner and avoid all
circumstances that might negatively affect or appear to affect our duty of complete loyalty to all clients.
This disclosure is provided to give all clients a summary of our Code of Ethics. If a client or a potential
client wishes to review our Code of Ethics in its entirety, a copy will be provided promptly upon request.
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Our firm recognizes that the personal investment transactions of our representatives demands the
application of a Code of Ethics with high standards and requires that all such transactions be carried
out in a way that does not endanger the interest of any client. At the same time, our firm also believes
that if investment goals are similar for clients and for our representatives, it is logical, and even
desirable, that there be common ownership of some securities.
Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to
you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because
we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will
receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated
with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities.
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Selecting a Brokerage Firm
While our firm does not maintain physical custody of client assets, we are deemed to have custody of
certain client assets if given the authority to withdraw assets from client accounts (see Item 15
Custody, below). Client assets must be maintained by a qualified custodian. Our firm seeks to
recommend a custodian who will hold client assets and execute transactions on terms that are overall
most advantageous when compared to other available providers and their services. The factors
considered, among others, are these:
Research services provided
Ability to provide investment ideas
Execution facilitation services provided
Record keeping services provided
Custody services provided
Frequency and correction of trading errors
Ability to access a variety of market venues
Expertise as it relates to specific securities
Financial condition
Business reputation
Quality of services
• Timeliness of execution
• Timeliness and accuracy of trade confirmations
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We maintain relationships with several broker-dealers including LPL Financial ("Custodian"). 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.
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Our firm receives support services and/or products from broker-dealers, which assist the firm to better
monitor and service program accounts maintained at the broker-dealer; however, some of the services
and products benefit our firm and not client accounts. These support services and/or products may be
received without cost, at a discount, and/or at a negotiated rate, and may include the following:
investment-related research
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• pricing information and market data
• software and other technology that provide access to client account data
• compliance and/or practice management-related publications
• consulting services
• attendance at conferences, meetings, and other educational and/or social events
• marketing support
• computer hardware and/or software
• other products and services used by our firm in furtherance of its investment advisory business
operations
Broker-dealers may provide these services and products directly, or may arrange for third party
vendors to provide the services or products to Advisor. In the case of third party vendors, the particular
broker-dealer may pay for some or all of the third party's fees.
These support services are provided to our firm based on the overall relationship between our firm and
the broker-dealer. It is not the result of soft dollar arrangements or any other express arrangements
with the broker-dealer that involves the execution of client transactions as a condition to the receipt of
services. Our firm will continue to receive the services regardless of the volume of client transactions
executed with the broker-dealer. Clients do not pay more for services as a result of this arrangement.
There is no corresponding commitment made by our firm to the broker-dealer or any other entity to
invest any specific amount or percentage of client assets in any specific securities as a result of the
arrangement. However, because Advisor receives these benefits from a broker-dealer, there is a
potential conflict of interest. The receipt of these products and services presents a financial incentive
for Advisor to recommend that its clients use a particular broker-dealer's custodial platform rather than
another custodian's platform.
Broker-dealers we recommend have services that include access to a broad range of investment
products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products
available through the broker-dealers we recommend include some to which we might not otherwise
have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our client
Economic Benefits
As a registered investment adviser, we have access to the institutional platform of your account
custodian. As such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account
custodian and/or other brokerage firm. These products may include financial publications, information
about particular companies and industries, research software, and other products or services that
provide lawful and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our investment decision-
making responsibilities. Such research products and services are provided to all investment advisers
that utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and are not considered to be paid for with
soft dollars. However, you should be aware that the commissions charged by a particular broker for a
particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another broker who did
not provide research services or products might charge. In addition to investment research, the
Custodian also makes available software and other technology that:
• Provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account
statements)
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• 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 client's accounts
• Assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping, and client reporting
The Custodian also makes available to our firm other services intended to help manage and further
develop our business. Some of these services assist our firm to better monitor and service program
accounts maintained at the Custodian. Many of these services, however, benefit only our firm. These
support services and/or products may be provided without cost, at a discount, and/or at a negotiated
rate, and include practice management-related publications; consulting services; attendance at
conferences and seminars, meetings, and other educational and/or social events; marketing support;
and other products and services used by our firm in furtherance of the operation and development of
its investment advisory business.
The availability of these services from the broker-dealers we recommend benefits us because we do
not have to produce or purchase them. We do not have to pay for the broker-dealer's services. (These
services are not contingent upon us committing any specific amount of business to the broker-dealer in
trading commissions or assets in custody.) This may create an incentive to recommend that you
maintain your account with a broker-dealer we recommend, based on our interest in receiving the
broker-dealer's services that benefit our business rather than based on your interest in receiving the
best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of your transactions. This is a
potential conflict of interest. We believe, however, that our selection of a broker-dealer as custodian is
in the best interests of our clients. Our selection is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price
of the broker-dealer's services and not the broker-dealer's services that benefit only us.
Client Transactions in Return for Soft Dollars
Our firm does not have any soft dollar arrangements.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
Our firm does not receive brokerage for client referrals.
Directed Brokerage
In certain circumstances, and at our discretion, some clients may instruct our firm to use one or more
particular brokers for the transactions in their accounts. If you choose to direct our firm to use a
particular broker, you should understand that this might prevent our firm from aggregating trades with
other client accounts or from effectively negotiating brokerage commissions on your behalf. This
practice may also prevent our firm from obtaining favorable net price and execution. Thus, when
directing brokerage business, you should consider whether the commission expenses, execution,
clearance, and settlement capabilities that you will obtain through your broker are adequately favorable
in comparison to those that we would otherwise obtain for you.
Special Considerations for ERISA Clients
A retirement or ERISA plan client may direct all or part of portfolio transactions for its account through
a specific broker or dealer in order to obtain goods or services on behalf of the plan. Such direction is
permitted provided that the goods and services provided are reasonable expenses of the plan incurred
in the ordinary course of its business for which it otherwise would be obligated and empowered to pay.
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ERISA prohibits directed brokerage arrangements when the goods or services purchased are not for
the exclusive benefit of the plan. Consequently, our firm will request that plan sponsors who direct plan
brokerage provide us with a letter documenting that this arrangement will be for the exclusive benefit of
the plan.
Aggregation of Purchase or Sale
Our firm provides investment management services for various clients. There are occasions on which
portfolio transactions may be executed as part of concurrent authorizations to purchase or sell the
same security for numerous accounts served by our firm, which involve accounts with similar
investment objectives. Although such concurrent authorizations potentially could be either
advantageous or disadvantageous to any one or more particular accounts, they are affected only when
our firm believes that to do so will be in the best interest of the effected accounts. When such
concurrent authorizations occur, the objective is to allocate the executions in a manner which is
deemed equitable to the accounts involved. In any given situation, our firm attempts to allocate trade
executions in the most equitable manner possible, taking into consideration client objectives, current
asset allocation and availability of funds using price averaging, proration and consistently non-arbitrary
methods of allocation.
Accounts owned by our firm or persons associated with our firm may participate in aggregated trading
with your accounts; however, they will not be given preferential treatment.
Mutual Fund Share Classes
Mutual funds are sold with different share classes, which carry different cost structures. Each available
share class is described in the mutual fund's prospectus. When we purchase, or recommend the
purchase of, mutual funds for a client, we select the share class that is deemed to be in the client's
best interest, taking into consideration the availability of advisory, institutional or retirement plan share
classes, initial and ongoing share class costs, transaction costs (if any), tax implications, cost basis
and other factors. We also review the mutual funds held in accounts that come under our management
to determine whether a more beneficial share class is available, considering cost, tax implications, and
the impact of contingent or deferred sales charges.
Item 13 Review of Accounts or Financial Plans
Our management personnel or financial advisors review accounts on at least an annual basis for our
Comprehensive Portfolio Management clients. The nature of these reviews is to learn whether client
accounts are in line with their investment objectives, appropriately positioned based on market
conditions, and investment policies, if applicable. Our firm does not provide written reports to clients,
unless asked to do so.
Our firm may review client accounts more frequently than described above. Among the factors which
may trigger an off-cycle review are major market or economic events, the client's life events, requests
by the client, etc.
Retirement Plan Consulting clients receive reviews of their retirement plans for the duration of the
service. Our firm also provides ongoing services where our advisors will meet with clients with upon
their request to discuss updates to their plans, changes in their circumstances, etc.
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Item 14 Client Referrals & Other Compensation
As disclosed under Item 10, Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations, persons providing
investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents. They offer insurance products
and receive customary fees as a result of insurance sales. For information on the conflicts of interest
this presents, and how we address these conflicts, refer to Item 10, Other Financial Industry Activities
and Affiliations.
Refer to Item 12, Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we
may receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian.
Client Referrals
We do not receive any compensation from any third party in connection with providing investment
advice to you nor do we compensate any individual or firm for client referrals.
We may refer clients to unaffiliated third-party service providers for accounting, commercial lending
and legal services. Clients are under no obligation to engage the services of the unaffiliated third-party
service provider and clients do so at their own discretion. We are not responsible or liable for any of
the services provided by these unaffiliated third-parties and the firm is not compensated for these
referrals.
Refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we may
receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian.
Item 15 Custody
Deduction of Advisory Fees:
While our firm does not maintain physical custody of client assets (which are maintained by a qualified
custodian, as discussed above), we are deemed to have custody of certain client assets if given the
authority to withdraw assets from client accounts, as further described below under "Third Party Money
Movement." All of our clients receive account statements directly from their qualified custodian(s) at
least quarterly upon opening of an account. We urge our clients to carefully review these statements.
Additionally, if our firm decides to send its own account statements to clients, such statements will
include a legend that recommends the client compare the account statements received from the
qualified custodian with those received from our firm. Clients are encouraged to raise any questions
with us about the custody, safety or security of their assets and our custodial recommendations.
Third Party Money Movement:
On February 21, 2017, the SEC issued a no-action letter ("Letter") with respect to Rule
206(4)‐2 ("Custody Rule") under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ("Advisers Act"). The
letter provided guidance on the Custody Rule as well as clarified that an adviser who has the power to
disburse client funds to a third party under a standing letter of authorization ("SLOA") is deemed to
have custody. As such, our firm has adopted the following safeguards in conjunction with our
custodian:
The client provides an instruction to the qualified custodian, in writing, that includes the client's
signature, the third party's name, and either the third party's address or the third party's account
number at a custodian to which the transfer should be directed.
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• The client authorizes the investment adviser, in writing, either on the qualified custodian's form
or separately, to direct transfers to the third party either on a specified schedule or from time to
time.
• The client's qualified custodian performs appropriate verification of the instruction, such as a
signature review or other method to verify the client's authorization, and provides a transfer of
funds notice to the client promptly after each transfer.
• The client has the ability to terminate or change the instruction to the client's qualified
custodian.
• The investment adviser has no authority or ability to designate or change the identity of the third
party, the address, or any other information about the third party contained in the client's
instruction.
• The investment adviser maintains records showing that the third party is not a related party of
the investment adviser or located at the same address as the investment adviser.
• The client's qualified custodian sends the client, in writing, an initial notice confirming the
instruction and an annual notice reconfirming the instruction.
Trustee Services
Persons associated with our firm may serve as trustees to certain accounts for which we also provide
investment advisory services. In all cases, the persons associated with our firm have been appointed
trustee as a result of a family or personal relationship with the trust grantor and/or beneficiary and not
as a result of employment with our firm. Therefore, we are not deemed to have custody over the
advisory accounts for which persons associated with our firm serve as trustee.
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Clients have the option of providing our firm with investment discretion on their behalf, pursuant to an
executed investment advisory client agreement. By granting investment discretion, our firm is
authorized to execute securities transactions, determine which securities are bought and sold, and the
total amount to be bought and sold. Should clients grant our firm non-discretionary authority, our firm
would be required to obtain the client's permission prior to effecting securities transactions. Limitations
may be imposed by the client in the form of specific constraints on any of these areas of discretion with
our firm's written acknowledgement.
Item 17 Voting Client Securities
Our firm does not accept the proxy authority to vote client securities. Clients will receive proxies or
other solicitations directly from their custodian or a transfer agent. In the event that proxies are sent to
our firm, our firm will forward them to the appropriate client and ask the party who sent them to mail
them directly to the client in the future. Clients may call, write or email us to discuss questions they
may have about particular proxy votes or other solicitations.
Item 18 Financial Information
Our firm is not required to provide financial information in this Brochure because:
• Our firm does not require the prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees when services cannot be
rendered within 6 months.
• Our firm does not take custody of client funds or securities.
• Our firm does not have a financial condition or commitment that impairs our ability to meet
contractual and fiduciary obligations to clients.
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Our firm has never been the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding.
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