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Stash Investments LLC
115 East 34 th St.
P.O. Box 1922
New York, NY 10016
www.stash.com
Wrap Fee Program Brochure ($0 & $12 Tiers)
May 19, 2025
This wrap fee program brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Stash
Investments LLC, doing business as or otherwise known as Stash (“ Stash ”), related to the wrap fee program
sponsored by Stash, an online investment advisory program. Clients of the firm may be referred to as “the
Client,” “you,” “your,” collectively “Clients,” or similar. If the Client has any questions about the contents of this
brochure, please call Stash at (800) 205-5164 or email Stash at support@stash.com. 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. Stash is an investment adviser registered with the SEC.
Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Additional information about Stash is also available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov .
Item 2 - Material Changes
This Wrap Fee Program Brochure (“ Brochure ”) is intended to provide potential and existing Clients with an
overview of Stash. It also contains important disclosures regarding items such as certain practices of Stash,
potential material conflicts of interest, and key potential investment risks. This is the first iteration of this
Brochure, therefore, there are no material changes to report.
Additional information about Stash, including a full copy of the current brochure, is also available on the
SEC’s website ( www.adviserinfo.sec.gov ).
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Item 3 - Table of Contents
Item 2 - Material Changes
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Item 3 - Table of Contents
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Item 4 - Services, Fees and Compensation
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Introduction
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Program Description
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Financial Counseling Service
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Investment Recommendations
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Risk Factors
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Fees
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Brokerage and Custody Services
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Item 5 - Account Requirements and Types of Clients
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Item 6 - Portfolio Manager Selection Evaluation
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Item 7 - Client Information Provided to Portfolio Managers
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Item 8 - Client Contact with Portfolio Managers
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Item 9 - Additional Information
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Disciplinary Information
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Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
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Code of Ethics and Personal Trading
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Trade Handling
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Participation or Interest in Client Accounts
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Review of Accounts
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Client Referrals and Other Compensation
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Financial Information
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Form ADV Part 2B
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Important Information : Throughout this Brochure, Stash Investments LLC shall also be referenced by its
business name “Stash,” or “the firm,” “our,” “we,” or “us.” In addition, the term “advisor” and “adviser” are used
interchangeably.
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Item 4 - Services, Fees and Compensation
Introduction
Stash is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and provides all
investment advisory services exclusively through virtual interaction conducted over the Internet. The primary
focus of Stash is to provide investment advisory services (both personal and impersonal), including a wrap fee
program and financial counseling, which are offered to Clients as well as to prospective clients of the firm via
web-based solutions and online informational resources. Stash helps Clients build smart financial habits and
manage wealth by providing financial education, tools, and guidance, and simplifying and optimizing the way
Clients save and invest.
Stash uses Artificial Intelligence (‘AI”) in various ways to provide services to Clients including but not limited to,
the Stash Money Coach, tools to deliver more personalized advice in the Stash app to clients, assisting clients
in determining their next best action and in the execution of transactions by clients. The Stash Money Coach is
an AI tool built to amplify Stash’s extensive educational materials, customer service knowledge, and investment
advice of the Stash Investments team. The Money Coach is governed by the Terms of Use shown to and
accepted by the user when engaging the Money Coach. Any investment advice the Money Coach provides is
based on advice given within the Stash platform and application. Similar to recommendations made within the
Stash App, Stash does not receive any compensation from any fund or ETF companies for any
recommendations.
Stash does not offer tax, accounting, or legal advice.
Stash is a privately held company headquartered in New York, New York. Stash’s predecessor, Stash
Financial, Inc. (formerly known as Collective Returns, Inc.), a privately held digital financial services company
offering financial products for U.S. based consumers (“Stash Financial”), was founded in October 2015. Stash
was formed in August 2017, acquired all of the assets and liabilities of the investment advisory function of
Stash Financial, and continued the investment advisory business as its wholly owned subsidiary. Information
about Stash’s organizational and ownership structure, as described in more detail further below, and its
directors is provided on Part 1 of Stash’s Form ADV which is available online at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov .
Interested parties may access our website at www.stash.com where they are offered our current Brochure and
Relationship Summary that describes the firm, its services, potential fees, etc., as well as any material conflicts
of interest that could be reasonably expected to impair the rendering of unbiased and objective advice. Our
privacy policy is also provided for reference on our website. The Brochure, Relationship Summary, and the
privacy policy are available to interested parties for their download and/or printing.
Referrals to Third Party Professionals
Stash and/or its affiliates may, from time to time, provide a referral to other unaffiliated third party professionals
(“Third Party Professionals”). Unless otherwise indicated by Stash in writing, Stash does not undertake to, nor
does it perform, specific due diligence regarding Third Party Professionals and such referrals do not constitute
recommendations by Stash of the Third Party Professional or their services. Services provided by Third Party
Professionals are distinct from those provided by Stash and its affiliates and additional terms of service may
apply. Third Party Professionals may be different from the service providers that Stash and its affiliates use to
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provide the same or similar services due to regulatory limitations or other reasons.
Program Description
This Brochure describes the wrap fee program offered by Stash that bundles or “wraps” non-discretionary
(“Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts”) and discretionary (“Discretionary Managed Accounts”) investment
advisory services, brokerage, custody, clearing and settlement, as well as other administrative services
together and charges a single inclusive fee (such program, the “Program”). The Program is designed to
educate Clients to spend less than they earn, pay bills on time, save cash for emergencies, and for Clients
with a Stash Account (as defined below), the Program is also designed for such Clients to invest regularly,
diversify and think long-term, and insure their assets and themselves. By partnering with Clients to support
them in creating healthy financial habits and for Clients with a Stash Account (as defined below), building
well balanced, diversified portfolios that incorporate goals, interests, and beliefs, the Program encourages
long term, sustainable ownership and growth of financial capital.
Based on the information the Client provides on the Platform (as defined below), Stash uses the Platform to
provide the Client with investment advice concerning (i) various publicly traded securities, including exchange
traded funds (“ETFs”), shares of stock of publicly traded companies and/or American depositary receipts
(“Single Stocks”), and/or similarly traded instruments and specific information pertaining to such securities,
which are determined without taking into consideration any Client’s specific facts and circumstances and thus
are impersonal investment advice intended to provide Clients with information regarding a broad array of
publicly traded securities and allow Clients to construct portfolios consistent with their own needs and
objectives; (ii) groupings of one or more platform investment(s), and/or portfolios determined by taking into
consideration each Client’s specific facts and circumstances and thus are personalized investment advice; (iii)
a suite of tools that uses qualitative and/or quantitative inputs to analyze, rank, and/or otherwise distinguish
publicly traded securities and/or portfolios of such securities based on various investment characteristics
and/or factors according to research conducted by Stash, its affiliates, and/or third-party service providers to
(a) assist with a Client’s processes for securities, portfolio, and account type selection and/or monitoring and to
help Clients evaluate Investments and/or (b) recommend certain Investments (as defined below) to Clients
based on Client Information, to the extent the Clients open a Stash Account, and thus is personalized
investment advice; and/or (iv) only for Discretionary Managed Accounts, automated discretionary investment
advice in the form of portfolio management of one or more selected ETFs and/or similarly traded instruments;
and/or (v) the Financial Counseling Service for those Clients who elect the Tier 2 Platform Service. Clients who
select the Tier 1 Platform Service do not have access to Financial Counseling Services and the number of
Securities offered to them will be limited in comparison to Clients who elect the Tier 2 Platform Service.
Stash interacts with Clients primarily through a technology platform developed and maintained by Stash’s
parent company, Stash Financial, Inc. (doing business as “StashInvest”), that is available through Stash’s
website and mobile applications (collectively, the “Platform”). The Program provides investment advice (both
personal and impersonal) and delivers advisory services to Clients through the Platform. Stash does not
generally provide investment advice in person, over the phone, live chat, or in any other manner other than
through the advisory services available on the Platform or automated emails. Stash’s parent company, Stash
Financial, provides technology, marketing, technical, and back-office support for the Program.
Each Client must enter into an investment advisory agreement with Stash (“Advisory Agreement”), that
discusses the services the Client will receive, the fees charged to the Client, and the conditions of the Client’s
relationship with Stash. Information provided to the Client before we accept the Advisory Agreement does not
constitute investment advice under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), and
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should not be relied on as such.
Clients electing to receive brokerage services pursuant to the Program are required to establish a brokerage
account (such account, a “Stash Account”) and enter into an agreement whereby Apex Clearing Corporation, a
New York corporation and registered broker-dealer unaffiliated with Stash (“Apex”), will act as the clearing
broker and qualified custodian for the Client’s Stash Account, and Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, Stash
Capital LLC (“Stash Capital”), will act as an introducing broker-dealer (such agreement, the “Customer
Agreement”). Under the terms of the Customer Agreement, the Client authorizes Stash Capital to introduce all
trades and transactions from Stash to Apex and authorize Apex to establish and carry the Client’s Stash
Account that holds the Client’s securities and cash and records the Client’s transactions in the Program. Stash
Capital may combine orders for purchases or sales for multiple advisory accounts.
Clients may receive Stash’s advisory services pursuant to the Program without opening a Stash Account, or
before a Stash Account has been established. In both cases the advisory services any such Client receives
from Stash will be the Financial Counseling Service (which is impersonal) as defined and described further
below. Additionally, Clients may continue to receive the Financial Counseling Service after any such Client’s
Stash Account has been closed .
Financial Counseling Service
If a Client elects the Tier 2 Platform Service, Stash provides certain components of the Program as either a
distinct or supplemental investment advisory service to Clients (such service, the “Financial Counseling
Service”). The Financial Counseling Service may include a range of financial information, education, analysis,
advice, and recommendations offered on a limited scope basis. The Financial Counseling Service provided by
Stash is impersonal in nature, which means that the advice, whether provided by written material or oral
statements, is not tailored to the individual needs of a specific Client, or group of Clients, and does not purport
to meet the objectives or needs of specific Clients or accounts (such impersonal investment advice that is
provided to Clients as part of the Financial Counseling Service shall be deemed “Financial Counseling
Advice”). Consequently, Stash does not rely on Client Information (as defined below) to provide the Financial
Counseling Service. The Financial Counseling Service is provided to all Stash Clients. However, the type and
delivery of Financial Counseling Advice provided to each Client by Stash may vary, as described in more detail
below.
Clients that elect to purchase the Tier 2 Platform Service receive access to the Financial Counseling Advice as
it relates to one or more guides and educational materials about investing and financial planning for beginner
investors, along with financial planning for retirement, one or more guides and educational materials about
investing and financial planning for families and access to the Market Insights Report (as described further
below). The Market Insights Report is a monthly report on financial markets, sectors, industries, and the
economy. The Market Insights Report includes qualitative and/or quantitative analysis on financial markets.
The Financial Counseling Service will either supplement other investment advisory services made available to
Clients or, on a limited basis, will be offered separately from the investment and brokerage services related to
other investment advisory services made available through the Platform. The Financial Counseling Service is
the only advisory service that will be provided to certain Clients by Stash unless such Clients elect to and are
approved by Stash to open a Stash Account.
The Financial Counseling Service does not include brokerage services for Client assets and is not based on or
meant to replace a comprehensive evaluation of any Client’s entire financial circumstances. In such cases
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Stash will not place any trades on the Client’s behalf, and the Client is fully responsible for determining
whether, when, and by what means to implement any analysis and recommendations made available through
the Financial Counseling Service and for making the Client’s own investment decisions. The Client will be
responsible for any fees and expenses incurred for such implementation.
Clients that are offered and elect to only receive the Financial Counseling Service from Stash complete a
streamlined registration process and do not complete the Suitability Questionnaire, described further below.
Such Clients are only required to (i) provide Stash with a name, date of birth, telephone number, home
address, and email address; (ii) select a subscription plan; and (iii) agree to pay the Stash Fee.
Investment Recommendations
The Program is designed to encourage healthy saving and investing habits and provide Clients exposure to
capital markets. Through the Program, Stash offers access to automated guidance designed to help Clients
save, invest, and learn about personal finance. As stated above, based on Client Information (as defined
below) provided by the Client, Stash uses the Platform to provide investment advice to Clients with Stash
Accounts with regard to publicly traded securities and/or portfolios of such securities, including unaffiliated
ETFs, Single Stocks, and/or allocations of ETFs and/or Single Stocks (“Allocations”), which are developed by
Stash (collectively, “Investments”). Stash also provides Clients with a Stash Account with the ability to earn
interest on cash held in their Stash Account through the Apex FDIC-Insured Sweep Program (“Sweep
Program”) in accordance with the Sweep Program Terms and Conditions . Investments are selected such that
Client portfolios may gain exposure to a broad range of companies, industries, economic sectors, geographic
regions, social beliefs, and investment strategies. Stash’s process for selecting Investments (discussed in
greater detail further below) is designed to help Clients build portfolios diversified across asset classes and
risk-reward estimations. Stash reserves the right to change, in its sole discretion from time to time and without
prior notice to Clients: (i) the number of Investments available through the Program that it deems appropriate to
address the risk tolerances and investment time horizons of Clients; (ii) the ETFs and/or Single Stocks that
comprise each of the Allocations; and (iii) the relative weightings of the ETFs and/or Single Stocks within each
of the Allocations.
Clients with Stash Accounts who make contributions to their Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts and are
responsible for directing purchases and sales of specific Investments in such accounts.
For a Client that elects to open a Stash Account, as part of the Program, Stash, through the Platform, will
review the Client’s present financial situation (as the Client reports it through the Suitability Questionnaire as
defined below), provide the Client with financial education content, provide the Client’s Recommendations (as
defined below) based on the Client risk score, monitor and track the Client’s assets under management, and
provide statements and confirmations for the Client’s Stash Account. Each Client that elects to open a Stash
Account inputs personal information via the Client registration process (“Suitability Questionnaire”), which
may include, but is not limited to, information about your identity, liquidity needs, age, e-mail address, physical
address, location, nationality, citizenship, tax residency, financial situation, or other information which you
supply through the Platform (“Client Information”).
Stash will periodically remind Clients to review and update their Client Information. Clients should promptly
update their Client Information if there are any material changes. In addition, Stash shall have no liability for
Client’s failure to promptly inform Stash of changes in Client’s financial and/or economic situation, Client’s
investment objectives, or any restrictions Clients wish to impose that may affect the management of the assets
in the Stash Accounts. If the Client feels any of the questions are unclear or the Client does not understand
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why the information is being sought, please contact us at (800) 205-5164. Clients should take care when
inputting answers or information. If the Client enters inaccurate information, the resulting Recommendations
may not be suitable for the Client.
Stash will not vote proxies on behalf of the Client’s Stash Accounts. Additionally, Stash will not render any
advice with respect to voting of proxies solicited by or with respect to issuers. Clients may receive proxy
materials directly from a third-party vendor on behalf of Stash and are responsible for voting the shares in their
Stash Accounts. Further, when Stash receives notice of a vote regarding a corporate action, legal proceeding,
or other related matter for a security in the Client’s Stash Account, Stash or a third party may forward such
notice to the Client’s email, provided that the email address on file for the Client’s Stash Account is valid. It
shall be the Client’s sole responsibility on whether to vote and how to vote and whether to engage in any legal
proceeding.
Based solely on certain of the information provided by the Client via the Suitability Questionnaire, the Platform
uses an algorithm to analyze such information (“Risk Score Algorithm”) and provides the Client with access to
curated Investments and general recommendations regarding financial habits, diversification, and portfolio
construction (such Investments and general recommendations, “Recommendations”). While Stash is
responsible for maintaining the Risk Score Algorithm, Stash does not override the Risk Score Algorithm to
provide alternative Recommendations to any particular Client, whether based on any additional criteria
provided by the Client, market and/or economic conditions, or otherwise. Clients should understand that the
Risk Score Algorithm relies upon answers to questions relating to risk tolerance (i.e., a proxy for the Client’s
ability and willingness to lose some or all the assets in the Client’s account in exchange for greater potential
investment returns) and investment time horizon (e.g., a proxy for how long the Client expects to invest in order
to achieve the Client’s investment goal) provided through the Suitability Questionnaire and that such answers
serve as inputs to the Risk Score Algorithm, which generates a risk score that coincides with certain
Recommendations. However, Clients should also understand that Stash does not utilize the entirety of all
information provided by the Client in providing personalized investment advice. Stash does not consider any
additional information about the Client not covered in the Suitability Questionnaire in making
Recommendations. Stash’s Recommendations are designed to help promote diversification and long-term
growth as appropriate within the context of Client-specific risk tolerance and investment time horizon.
Stash generally adjusts its Recommendations from time to time in response to or in anticipation of changing
market conditions and other factors. We will make Recommendations for Stash Accounts based on a
combination of the risk tolerance and investment time horizon of each Client. For example, more conservative
risk scores are typically associated with Recommendations that result in a greater percentage of assets
allocated to fixed-income and cash asset classes, rather than to the equity asset class. However, more
aggressive risk scores are typically associated with Recommendations that result in a greater percentage of
assets allocated to the equity asset class, rather than to fixed-income and cash asset classes. The Client
should carefully consider the Recommendations.
When participating in the Program, Clients with Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts are limited to the
purchase of Investments made available to them through the Platform; however, Clients are not required to
follow all Recommendations. Clients with Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts may, subject to certain
restrictions, implement investment decisions and/or strategies via the Platform that do not coincide with the
Recommendations. Furthermore, Clients may cause the Risk Score Algorithm to generate Recommendations
based on a different set of investment characteristics including risk tolerance, objectives, and/or time horizon at
any time by revising the information they provide through the Suitability Questionnaire. The Risk Score
Algorithm is solely responsible for determining the Recommendations provided to each Client based on
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information provided by the Client.
Clients should carefully review and consider the information available on the Platform about each
Recommendation, in any applicable ETF prospectus, and in any applicable public company filing or report
before making any investment decision. Clients may impose reasonable investment restrictions on the
management of the Client’s Stash Account by means of the Client’s own investment discretion. Such
restrictions may result in a Client’s Stash Account being concentrated in one or a few sectors, industries, or
securities. Concentrated positions typically increase the risk and volatility of the Stash Account and may result
in a less diversified portfolio. Clients that implement an investment decision that is outside the scope of the
Recommendations should understand that such a decision may not be appropriate based on the Client’s risk
score and that the Client’s portfolio may perform worse over any time horizon than a portfolio designed
according to the Recommendations.
Stash’s investment advice is primarily based on the following principles: (i) equities, as an asset class,
generally have a high probability of outperforming other broadly accessible and liquid asset classes in the long
term, (ii) adjusted for fees, low cost passive investing (e.g., beta strategies), implemented using low-cost index
based ETFs, generally outperform high cost (e.g., alpha-seeking) active funds, (iii) fixed income assets hedge
portfolios against equity drawdown (i.e., negative returns), (iv) diversification across asset classes reduces the
volatility of investment performance, and (v) adapting investment advice to an investor’s emotional biases and
personal beliefs results in a greater commitment to consistent investing on the part of the investor.
Stash employs a variety of methods and approaches when considering Investments and making
Recommendations. Furthermore, when selecting and monitoring Investments, Stash considers a number of
qualitative and quantitative factors. Stash’s primary sources of information for such considerations include,
among others, data provided by third-party data providers and Client portfolio information from Apex, the third
party custodian for Stash Accounts.
The ETFs made available through the Program represent exposure to a broad array of strategies (e.g.,
conservative, modest, aggressive balanced risk funds), asset classes (e.g., small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap
US equities, fixed income, real estate, commodities), industries (e.g., healthcare, defense, consumer), and
social beliefs (e.g., millennials, water focused, environmentally focused). In Stash’s due diligence and analysis
process, Stash focuses its evaluation on long-term issues related to the management of each ETF, both
qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative factors may include fundamental changes in a manager’s investment
philosophy, organizational structure (e.g., manager tenure), and financial condition (including any significant
changes in total assets under management). Quantitative factors may include adherence to fund objectives,
performance, volatility, liquidity, and expenses. No single factor will determine whether an ETF should be
added, retained, or eliminated; however, certain factors may carry more weight than others in Stash’s final
analysis.
Portfolio Diversification Analysis is available only for taxable brokerage accounts. Portfolio Diversification
Analysis examines a Client’s portfolio and calculates a diversification score given your risk profile, the
appropriate asset allocation given your risk level, and your current portfolio composition while recommending
various ways to achieve further diversification.
With respect to the Single Stocks made available through the Program, Stash employs data-driven
quantitative analysis and/or a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis in order to implement the
review and selection of Investments. Single Stocks are equity securities that are issued by companies
representative of the U.S. stock market and economy, that are highly liquid and actively traded on U.S.
national stock exchanges, and that collectively represent a wide distribution of market betas when considering
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all of the Single Stocks made available through the Program. However, no single factor will determine whether
a Single Stock should be added, retained, or eliminated, and certain factors may carry more weight than
others in Stash’s final analysis.
As part of the analysis and review process, Stash may add, remove, re-categorize or replace Investments
available under the Program. In the event an Investment is removed, it will no longer be available for
additional investing. In the event an Investment is removed and replaced with another substantially similar
Investment, Stash may liquidate Client positions to cash and recommend reinvestment in the replacement
Investment. In the event an Investment is re-categorized from a suitability standpoint, the Investment will no
longer be recommended to the Client and may be liquidated to cash.
The ETF or Single Stock shares purchased or sold on behalf of a Client and/or held in a Stash Account may be
either whole shares or fractional shares, depending upon the amounts a Client invests in any ETF or Single
Stock. Stash enables Clients to invest in dollar-based quantities, whereby a Client can buy a fixed dollar
amount rather than a quantity of shares. Stash aggregates all dollar-based purchases, and Stash Capital
introduces whole share orders to Apex for execution. Thereafter, Stash allocates the fractional shares to
individual Stash Accounts. To the extent that Stash Capital trades fractional shares of any ETF or Single Stock
on behalf of Clients, it does so by allocating any excess fractional shares to Stash’s fractional facilitation
account carried by Apex, and Stash in turn accumulates fractional shares and manages its fractional facilitation
account through trades in whole share quantities in accordance with Stash and Apex’s policies and procedures
as they pertain to the management of such accounts and positions. Stash, Stash Capital, and Apex each
reserves the right, at any time and each in its sole discretion, without prior notice to Clients, to change the
details of the policies and procedures governing the mechanics of trading fractional shares, including, without
limitation, allocation calculation and rounding procedures. Fractional shares are typically unrecognized and
illiquid outside of a Stash Account and, as a result, fractional shares may not be marketable or transferrable to
another brokerage account. In the event of a liquidation or transfer of the assets in a Stash Account to another
account, Stash may convert such fractional shares to cash.
Sweep Program
Generally, free credit balances, including any cash balances and funds pending for investment, in a Stash
Account are automatically invested or “swept” daily, or at such other interval as determined by Apex, into one
or more bank deposit accounts in accordance with the Sweep Program described in the Sweep Program
Terms and Conditions available on the Stash website at https://www.stash.com/disclosurelibrary . Cash
provides liquidity and preservation of capital. The Client’s cash is held in an FDIC-insured interest-bearing
bank account at one or more banks participating in the Sweep Program. Clients should check their Apex
account statements for the applicable interest rate.
As described in the Advisory Agreement, Clients are automatically enrolled in the Sweep Program. The
Sweep Program earns interest and a portion of the amount earned is paid to Clients, Stash Capital (Stash’s
affiliated broker-dealer), and Apex Clearing. Stash Capital may provide various administrative services with
respect to the assets participating in the Sweep Program and is compensated for these services. Due to the
additional economic benefit to Stash Capital, when assets in the Client’s Stash Account are subject to the
Sweep Program a conflict of interest exists. Additional information about Stash’s conflicts of interest, as well
as the benefits Stash receives is noted in greater detail in Item 9 of this Brochure.
For the services provided by Stash under the Advisory Agreement, and the custodial and brokerage services
provided by the custodian and the broker under the Customer Agreement (if any), the Client agrees to pay a
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“per-tier” fee in order to establish and maintain one or more individual accounts (the “Stash Fee”).
Dividend Reinvestment
Clients may elect to participate in the dividend reinvestment feature for their taxable brokerage account to
reinvest dividends.
Retirement Accounts
When Stash acts in an investment advisory capacity, it has a fiduciary obligation to act in its Client’s best
interests in accordance with the Advisers Act. Fiduciary status under the Advisers Act is different from
fiduciary status under other laws, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended (“ERISA”), or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”). Therefore, the fact that
Stash may be acting as a fiduciary under the Advisers Act does not mean that it is a fiduciary under any other
law.
Stash may, in its sole discretion, impose limitations on the investment services and strategies that are available
to Individual Retirement Accounts (“ IRAs ”) and Roth IRAs, collectively, (“Retirement Accounts”), including, but
not limited to, the Apex Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program (“Securities Lending Program”) and the Sweep
Program. If a Client maintains both Retirement Accounts and Stash Accounts other than Retirement Accounts,
any advice or recommendations made by Stash for a Stash Account that is not a Retirement Account does not
apply to and should not be used by the Client for any decision made by a Retirement Account, which may
present different considerations.
Before deciding to roll over a Retirement Account, you should consider your personal circumstances and
needs. If you are considering moving from one account to another, you typically can decide among a number
of options such as: (i) keep the assets in the existing plan or account, (ii) roll over the assets to your new
employer’s plan (if applicable), (iii) and/or roll over the assets to an IRA. These options may offer different
benefits and drawbacks in the context of your overall planning and retirement goals. Some general
considerations include fees and expenses, available investment options, distribution rules including required
minimum distributions, tax considerations, protection from creditors and legal judgments, differences in service
levels, and other factors that may be specific to your circumstances. Any communications by Stash to you
about rollovers are provided to you solely on the basis that they are educational and intended to provide you
with general information that does not address your specific personal circumstances. They are not intended to
be an individualized recommendation that you take any particular action.
For purposes of Stash’s status as a fiduciary under the Internal Revenue Code, Stash does not provide advice,
make recommendations, enroll, or otherwise assist IRAs in participating in any investment program or vehicle
wherein Stash or any of its affiliates receives a share of revenue of the program or vehicle in addition to the
Stash Fee (for example, in connection with any money market or bank sweep programs offered through the
custodian) where prohibited by law .
Risk Factors
The below summary of risk factors does not purport to be a comprehensive discussion of all the risks
associated with a Client’s specific Stash Account. Rather, it is a general description of certain risks inherent in
the Program. Clients should refer to Client’s Advisory Agreement and the prospectuses and shareholder
reports for the ETFs and Single Stocks offered through the Program for additional information.
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Stash does not guarantee any level of performance or that any Client will avoid losses in the Client’s
Stash Account(s). Any investment in securities involves the possibility of financial loss. When
evaluating risk, financial loss may be viewed differently by each Client and may depend on many
different risk factors that change over time. Clients need to understand that investments in Stash
Accounts are subject to various market, volatility, liquidity, asset-specific, and other risks inherent in
investing. The investment decisions Clients make based on Stash’s advisory services will not always
be profitable nor can Stash guarantee any particular level of investment performance. Clients should
remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investments carry some level of
risk. Clients may lose some or all of the money they invest, including the principal, and should be
prepared to bear the loss of assets invested.
Reliance on Technology
The techniques and methodologies utilized by Stash in offering investment advice are fundamentally
dependent on technology, including hardware, software and telecommunications systems. The data gathering,
research, forecasting, Recommendation generation, order execution, trade allocation, risk management,
operational, back office and accounting systems, among others, utilized by Stash are all highly automated
and/or computerized. Such automation and computerization are dependent upon an extensive amount of
proprietary software and third-party hardware and software. Stash typically does not utilize design documents
or specifications when building its proprietary software. The proprietary software code thus typically serves as
the only definitive documentation and specification for how such software should perform.
Stash’s proprietary software and third-party hardware and software are known to have errors, omissions,
imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, “Coding Errors”). Coding Errors in third-party hardware and
software are generally entirely outside of the control of Stash.
Stash, however, seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of Coding Errors through a certain degree of
internal testing and real-time monitoring, and the use of independent safeguards in the overall Platform and
often, with respect to proprietary software, in the software code itself. Despite such testing, monitoring and
independent safeguards, Coding Errors may result in, among other things, the generation of unanticipated
Recommendations, the failure to execute trades in a timely fashion, and/or the failure to properly gather and
organize available data, all of which can and may have adverse (and potentially materially adverse) effects on
Stash Accounts and/or the Client’s performance.
Coding Errors are often extremely difficult to detect, and, in the case of proprietary software, the difficulty of
detecting Coding Errors is exacerbated by the lack of design documents or specifications. Regardless of how
difficult their detection appears in retrospect, some of these Coding Errors may go undetected for long periods
of time and some may never be detected. The degradation or impact caused by these Coding Errors can
compound over time. Moreover, Stash may detect certain Coding Errors that it chooses, in its sole discretion,
not to address or fix. While Stash may not perform a materiality analysis on many of the Coding Errors
discovered in its software code, Stash believes that the testing and monitoring performed on such software will
enable Stash to identify and address those Coding Errors that a prudent person managing a digital investment
program would identify and address by correcting the Coding Errors. Clients should assume that Coding
Errors and their ensuing risks and impact are an inherent part of investing with a digital investment adviser
such as Stash. Accordingly, Stash does not expect to disclose discovered Coding Errors to the Clients.
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Stash seeks, on an ongoing basis, to create adequate backups of software and hardware where possible but
there is no guarantee that such efforts will be successful.
Further, to the extent that an unforeseeable software or hardware malfunction or problem is caused by a
defect, security breach, virus or other outside force, Clients may be materially adversely affected.
Artificial Intelligence Risk
Although Stash has standards governing the design, development, and testing of AI before it is put into
production with clients, there is a risk that systems may not perform as intended or as disclosed. Stash
periodically modifies its algorithms, computer systems’ code, or underlying assumptions, and these changes
may have unintended consequences. Stash conducts testing designed to ensure that our AI uses continue to
function as intended when new code is introduced, and existing code is updated. Although such testing is
intended to ensure that changes do not create unintended consequences, clients should understand that
testing, no matter how comprehensive, cannot guarantee the absence of code-related issues. Though care is
taken by Stash to validate these systems, they carry risks including but not limited to misspecification,
inaccurate information, and conflicts of interest that users should be aware of.
Reliance on Data
The Program is highly reliant on the gathering, cleaning, culling and analysis of large amounts of data from
third-party and other external sources. It is not possible or practicable, however, to factor all relevant, available
data into generating Recommendations. Stash will use its discretion to determine what data to gather with
respect to any Recommendation and what subset of that data the Platform takes into account to generate
Recommendations. The data used in the Program is obtained or derived from sources believed to be reliable,
but Stash does not verify such data and cannot guarantee its accuracy and completeness. In addition, due to
the automated nature of such data gathering and the fact that much of this data comes from third-party
sources, it is inevitable that not all desired and/or relevant data will be available to, or processed by, Stash at
all times. In such cases, Stash often will continue to generate Recommendations based on the data available
to it. Additionally, Stash may determine that certain available data, while potentially useful in generating
Recommendations, is not cost effective to gather due to either the technology costs or third-party vendor costs
and, in such cases, Stash will not utilize such data. Clients should be aware that, for all of the foregoing
reasons and more, there is no guarantee that any specific data or type of data will be utilized in generating
Recommendations, nor is there any guarantee that the data actually utilized in generating Recommendations
will be (i) the most accurate data available or (ii) free of errors. Clients should assume that the foregoing
limitations and risks associated with gathering, cleaning, culling and analyzing large amounts of data from
third-party and other external sources are an inherent part of investing with a digital investment adviser.
The Platform also relies on information provided by Clients in generating Recommendations. The
Recommendations are highly reliant on the accuracy of the information provided to Stash by Clients. If a Client
were to provide Stash with inaccurate information, this could materially impact the quality and applicability of
the Recommendations. In addition, the Recommendations are limited in scope to the questions Stash asks
through the Suitability Questionnaire.
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Statistical Measurement Error
Many of the techniques and methodologies employed by Stash in offering investment advice rely on patterns
inferred from the historical series of prices and other data. Even if all of the assumptions underlying such
techniques and methodologies were met exactly, the techniques and methodologies can only rely on an
underlying prediction of future financial market behavior, not afford certainty. There can be no assurance that
future performance will match the underlying prediction. Furthermore, most statistical procedures cannot fully
match the complexity of the financial markets and as such, results of their application are uncertain. In
addition, changes in underlying market conditions can adversely affect the performance of any statistical
technique or methodology.
Cybersecurity Risk
The information and technology systems of Stash and its affiliates, as well as of key service providers,
including third-party vendors, central agents, exchanges, clearing houses, and other financial institutions
(including Apex), are vulnerable to potential damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures,
computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches, usage
errors by their respective professionals, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes,
floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Stash, and thus indirectly the Stash Accounts, could be adversely
impacted if any of the aforementioned parties is the subject of a cyber-attack or other information security
event. Although Stash has (directly or through its affiliates) implemented various measures designed to
manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for
extended periods of time or cease to function properly, it may be necessary for Stash or a service provider to
make a significant investment to fix or replace them and to seek to remedy the effect of such issues. The
failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans for any reason could cause significant interruptions
in Stash’s ability to transact business on behalf of Stash Accounts and result in a failure to maintain the
security, confidentiality, or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information. While many investment
advisers are subject to the same or similar risks in respect of their operations, these risks are particularly acute
with respect to Stash due to Stash’s fundamental dependence on technology.
Diversification Risk
Stash Accounts may be concentrated in particular geographic areas, industries, sectors, exchanges,
strategies, types of Investments, issuers, companies, or other shared characteristics. Any such concentration
magnifies risks associated with the Investments held in such Stash Accounts, including the risk of significant
losses. While using a diversified portfolio to reduce risk is a widely accepted investment principle,
diversification cannot reduce risk to zero, and the returns on a diversified portfolio during any given time period
may be lower than the returns on one or more Investments concentrated in a geographic area, industry, sector,
strategy, type of Investment, issuer, company, or other shared characteristic that was profitable during that time
period. In general, less diversification will tend to expose the applicable Stash Account to greater volatility
and/or risk than would be the case with a more broadly diversified portfolio. Even if a particular Stash Account
were diversified, however, there can be no assurance that such diversification would reduce volatility or risk.
Stash Accounts may not always be diversified across markets, industries, geographic areas, or asset classes.
The negative impact on the value of the assets held in a Stash Account due to adverse movements in a
particular economy or industry or in the value of particular Investments could be considerably greater than if
the Program did not permit concentration in Investments to such a significant extent. If a Stash Account
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becomes concentrated in a limited number of Investments, such Stash Account’s performance will not
necessarily correlate with the performance of the markets on which Investments held by the Stash Account are
traded. In such cases, any loss with respect to an Investment may have a significant adverse impact on the
value of a Stash Account.
For Discretionary Managed Accounts, Stash will use the Platform to provide automated, discretionary
investment advice for you based on certain Client Information that you provide. The Program does not consider
the entire range of information provided through the Platform for purposes of selecting the Automated Selected
Investments and managing Discretionary Managed Accounts. The Investments selected by Stash that
comprise each of the Discretionary Managed Accounts shall be collectively referred to hereunder as
“Automated Selected Investments.” You should understand that the Platform currently relies solely on the
questions relating to investment time horizon and risk tolerance in selecting Automated Selected Investments,
and that these factors are not weighted equally. You agree to access and review through the Platform
information identifying and describing the Automated Selected Investments at least annually. You may change
your investment objectives and risk and financial parameters attributable to your Discretionary Managed
Account at any time by revising your Client Information, which may generate changes to the set portfolio
allocation of your Automated Selected Investments in your Discretionary Managed Account. Any such changes
to your Discretionary Managed Account are subject to Stash’s review and approval. If such changes are
approved by Stash, you acknowledge and agree that Stash will generate changes to the set portfolio allocation
of your Automated Selected Investments in your Discretionary Managed Account that are consistent with your
updated Client Information, and Stash will notify you of the timing of any such changes in accordance with your
Advisory Agreement. You are not able to directly change your Automated Selected Investments, other than as
expressly stated in the Advisory Agreement (for example, by imposing reasonable restrictions as permitted in
your Discretionary Managed Account). While your Discretionary Managed Account may include investment
advice that trades your holdings such that over time such holdings maintain close replication of a particular
allocation, there is no guarantee, representation, warranty, or covenant that the holdings in your Discretionary
Managed Account will match any particular allocation. Various factors (including the timing and frequency of
deposits and withdrawals, market volatility and disruptions, fractional share allocation and trading procedures,
the timing and frequency of Stash’s choice of or changes to holdings in your Discretionary Managed Account,
access interruptions, and hardware or software failures) can impact the extent to which holdings in your
Discretionary Managed Account will replicate any particular allocation at any particular point in time.
Risks Associated with Single Stocks
The value of Single Stocks fluctuates in response to issuing company, political, market, and economic
developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as over the long term, and different parts of
the market and different types of Single Stocks can react differently to these developments. For example, large
cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, and “growth” stocks can react differently from “value”
stocks. Issuing company, political, or economic developments can affect a single company, companies within
an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. There is a chance that stock
prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and
falling prices. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuing company can also impact the market as a
whole. A security’s market value also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry, such as
labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry, or factors that
affect a particular company, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for
the company’s products or services. Terrorism and related geopolitical risks have also led, and may in the
future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world
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economies and markets generally.
Risks Associated with Newly Issued Securities
There are a variety of risk factors typically associated with investing in newly issued securities, any one of
which may have a material and adverse effect on the price of the issuer’s common stock. Such risk factors
include the following:
● Issuer’s Lack of Operating History : An issuer that has recently engaged in an IPO or other public
offering may be in the early stages of development with a history of little or no revenues and may
operate at a loss following the offering. Such issuers are typically subject to the difficulties,
uncertainties, and risks associated with the establishment of a new business such as manufacturing
capability, limited production lines, lack of marketing expertise, the existence of more experienced or
better capitalized competition, and reliance on a few large suppliers or customers.
● Potential Volatility : There can be no assurance that an active trading market will develop or be
sustained following an IPO. Following an IPO, the market price for the securities may be subject to
significant fluctuations in response to numerous factors such as lack of liquidity, general market
volatility, and other factors unrelated to the operating performance of the issuer.
● Additional Financing : An issuer that operates at a loss or with limited cash flow following an IPO will
generally be required to secure additional financing in order to fund its operations. If the issuer decides
to issue additional equity securities, it is possible that their issuance will result in dilution of the interests
of existing shareholders. To the extent that the issuer incurs indebtedness, the issuer will be subject to
certain risks including interest rate fluctuations and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to make
scheduled payments. In addition, indebtedness of an issuer is typically prioritized over common
stockholders for purposes of distributing the issuer’s assets in the event of bankruptcy. There is also
the possibility that the issuer will be unable to locate financing on satisfactory terms or may be required
to significantly curtail its operations.
● Dependence on Key Personnel : An issuer is often highly dependent on the services of key technical
and management personnel and loss of their services could have a material adverse effect on the
issuer’s business or operations.
● Proprietary Rights and Licenses : Because many issuers depend on proprietary and/or licensed
technology in their operations, their success is therefore closely related to their ability to obtain and
enforce intellectual property protection for such technology. There exists the possibility that certain
patents would not be sufficiently broad to protect key aspects of the issuer’s or its licenser’s technology,
so that competitors would be able to duplicate the issuer’s products or that patent laws would not
provide effective legal or injunctive remedies to prevent infringement. Patents are also frequently
challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by competitors; litigation of patent or infringement claims may
result in substantial cost and diversion of resources.
● Business Expansion : Rapid and substantial demand for products may lead to delays in meeting delivery
schedules. Such delays, if recurring, can increase the risk that customers will seek to meet all or a
portion of their needs from the issuer’s competitors. To the extent that the issuer seeks to expand to
meet demand, the costs of doing so may be underestimated.
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● Dependence on Key Suppliers : Some issuers rely significantly on a limited group of suppliers to obtain
product components or materials. If an issuer is unable to obtain sufficient quantities or such
components or materials fail to meet specifications, delays or reductions in shipments may result.
● Dependence on a Limited Number of Customers : An issuer’s primary customer base may be limited to a
small number of customers, loss of any one of which could have a material adverse effect on the
issuer’s business and financial condition.
● Competition : Most issuers experience significant competition in their product lines from other
companies, including larger companies, which have access to greater financial, technical, and other
resources. It may be difficult for an issuer to continue to make investments necessary to maintain its
competitive position.
● Rapid Technological Change : Issuers are subject to technological changes and are susceptible to the
risk that future technologies will render those products or technologies obsolete. Such issuers may be
unable to develop or introduce new products or enhancements to existing products and processes in a
timely enough manner to achieve market acceptance or satisfy customer needs.
Risks Associated with ETFs
ETFs are subject to the fees and expenses of the ETF, which may include a management fee, other fund
expenses and a distribution fee. A Client’s positions in ETFs are subject to a number of risks associated with
the management and market conditions of the ETF. These include (but are not limited to):
● Delisting : An ETF may be delisted and liquidated at the discretion of its issuer. Should a Stash Account
hold a position in an ETF when it is delisted, such Stash Account may be subject to costs associated
with the ETF’s liquidation, counterparty risk against the issuer, and additional taxes due to cash
distributions from the liquidation.
● Market Maker Instability : The supply and demand of ETF shares are kept in balance by its authorized
participants. The authorized participants of an ETF may, purposefully or by mistake, destabilize the
supply-demand balance of an ETF, causing tracking error of the ETF to its constituent securities that
may negatively affect the value of the ETF.
● Hidden Illiquidity : The liquidity of an ETF is determined not only by the ETF’s own market liquidity but
how easy or difficult it is to transact in the ETF’s constituent securities. If one or more of an ETF’s
constituent securities becomes difficult to buy or sell, the ETF may become difficult to transact or
experience tracking error that negatively affects the value of the ETF. As a result, the market price of
ETF shares could experience significant premiums or discounts relative to the value of the assets
underlying the shares.
● Constituent Fluctuation : Many ETFs attempt to track their underlying indices closely. However, the
issuer may in its discretion temporarily introduce securities to the ETF that are not part of the index.
This may introduce additional risks and tracking error that may negatively affect the value of the
ETF.
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● Additional Taxation : Depending on the ETF's structure, investors may be subject to additional taxation
on distributions from ETFs.
Cryptocurrency ETF Risks
Stash offers access to Cryptocurrency ETFS. These ETFs give exposure to cryptocurrencies and are highly
volatile. Prices may experience dramatic swings in short periods of time. While there may be opportunities for
gains, there is also significant risk of loss.
Risks Associated with Real Estate Related Securities
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) are subject to the risks incident to the ownership and operation of real
estate generally. Some of the risks associated with REITs are declines in the value of real estate, risks related
to general and local economic conditions, dependency on management skill, heavy cash flow dependency,
possible lack of availability of mortgage funds, overbuilding, extended vacancies of properties, increased taxes
and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to costs resulting from the clean-up of
environmental problems, liability to third parties for damages resulting from environmental problems, casualty
or condemnation losses, limitations on rents, changes in neighborhood values, and the appeal of properties to
tenants and changes in interest rates.
Interest Rate Risks
Stash Accounts may be subject to interest rate risk in connection with the constituent debt securities of ETFs.
Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. As interest rates
rise, the market value of debt securities tends to decrease. Conversely, as interest rates fall, the market value
of debt securities tends to increase. This risk will be greater for long-term securities than for short-term
securities. Interest rate risks may include the directional movement in interest rates, correlation of rates, and
volatilities of interest rates.
Frequent Trading and Portfolio Turnover Risk
High turnover and frequent trading in a Stash Account could result in, among other things, higher transaction
costs (including implicit transaction costs such as the bid–ask spread, market impact, opportunity costs, and
trade delay costs) and, to the extent applicable, adverse tax consequences.
Limited Nature of the Recommendations
In addition to the risks described in “Cybersecurity Risk” and “Reliance on Data” above and “Limited Nature
and Scope of the Program” below, the use of algorithms such as the ones underlying the Recommendations
carries the risk that changes to the algorithm’s code, although subject to compliance controls and quality
assurance testing, may not have the desired effect with respect to Client accounts. While this risk increases if
changes to an algorithm are insufficiently tested prior to implementation, even extensively tested changes may
not produce the desired effect over time. The Platform relies on a limited universe of inputs to generate
Recommendations for each Client from a limited universe of possible outputs. In particular, the Platform
currently generates Recommendations based on a Client’s responses to the Suitability Questionnaire, in each
case as provided by the Client through the Platform and does not verify the completeness or accuracy of such
17
information or consider any information regarding outside assets, concentration, debt, or other accounts a
Client may have with Stash, any of its affiliates, or with any third party. The Platform relies on this information
regarding the Client’s risk tolerance and investment time horizon to generate Recommendations for the Client
from a limited number of Investments, Allocations, and or general recommendations. The Platform assumes
that each combination of relevant responses maps to a particular combination of Recommendations available
in the Program. And each Client may, subject to the procedures and limitations described above, select any
combination of Investments and/or Allocations made available to them through the Platform. The functionality
of the Platform is partly dependent upon information provided by the third-party Custodian, Apex, and other
external sources, meaning that performance of the Platform could be impacted by issues with the delivery or
the accuracy of the information provided.
Limited Nature and Scope of the Program
The Program does not provide comprehensive financial or tax planning or legal advice, and Clients are advised
and afforded the opportunity to seek the advice and counsel of the Client’s own tax, financial, and legal
advisers. Neither Stash nor any of its affiliates is responsible for establishing or maintaining any Stash
Account’s compliance with the requirements of the IRC for a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA, or any other type of
account that may be offered through the Program or determining any Client’s individual tax treatment regarding
such account. Furthermore, neither Stash nor any of its affiliates is responsible for withholding any tax
penalties that may apply to Clients’ Stash Accounts or for any state or federal income tax withholding, except
as may otherwise be required by applicable law. Stash’s Recommendations are limited based on the
information Clients provide through the Platform, the limitations of which are further discussed above. Clients
should take into consideration the limited nature of the Program in evaluating the Recommendations provided
through the Platform. Furthermore, the Program: (a) is not a complete investment program; (b) does not
account for multiple investment goals; (c) does not consider outside assets, concentration, debt, or other
accounts a Client may have with Stash, any of its affiliates, or with any third party; (d) offers a limited number of
Investments, Allocations, and general recommendations (e) may not be suitable for all investors; and (f) relies
on the information provided by Clients in providing personalized investment advice, and does not verify the
completeness or accuracy of such information. There could be one or more products available in the
investment community that are more appropriate than the investment products made available through the
Program. Given the inherent limitations of the Program, Clients should carefully consider whether the Program
is the right investment solution for their savings and investing needs.
Dependence on Key Individuals
Management of portfolios is dependent on the experience and expertise of the investment team. In the event
of death, disability, or departure of any such persons, Stash’s business could be adversely affected.
Low Trading Volume Risk
Low trading volume risk is the exposure to the chance that a Client may not be able to monetize the Client’s
investment or will have to do so at a loss as a result of generally lower trading volumes of the Investments
compared to other types of investments or financial instruments.
Market and Volatility Risk
The value of the Investments held in a Stash Account may decrease (potentially dramatically). Generally, the
market value of Investments may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies,
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particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly
interconnected global economies and financial markets. Price movements of Investments are also influenced
by, among other things, interest rates, changing supply and demand relationships, trade, fiscal, monetary and
exchange control programs and policies of governments, and national and international political and economic
events and policies. In addition, governments from time to time intervene, directly and by regulation, in certain
markets. Such intervention often is intended directly to influence prices and may, together with other factors,
cause all such markets to move rapidly in the same direction because of, among other things, interest rate
fluctuations. Investments are also subject to the risk of the failure of any of the exchanges on which they trade
or of their clearinghouses.
Operational Risk
Operational risk is the exposure to the chance of loss arising from shortcomings or failures in internal
processes or systems of Stash, its affiliates, or Apex, external events impacting those systems, and human
error. A Stash Account may suffer a loss arising from shortcomings or failures in internal processes, people
systems, or from external events. Operational risk can arise from many factors ranging from routine
processing errors to potentially costly incidents related to, for example, major systems failures.
Trade errors and other operational mistakes (“Operating Events”) occasionally may occur in connection with
Stash’s management of Stash Accounts. Stash has policies and procedures that address identification and
correction of Operating Events. An Operating Event generally is compensable by Stash to a Client when it is a
mistake (whether an action or inaction) in which Stash has, in Stash’s reasonable view, deviated from the
applicable investment guidelines or the applicable standard of care in managing a Stash Account, subject to
the considerations set forth below.
Operating Events may include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) the placement of orders (either
purchases or sales) in excess of the amount of Investments intended to trade for a Stash Account; (ii) the
purchase (or sale) of an Investment when it should have been sold (or purchased); (iii) the purchase or sale of
an Investment not intended for the Stash Account; and (iv) incorrect allocations of trades. Operating Events
can also occur in connection with other activities that are undertaken by Stash and its affiliates, such as fee
calculations, trade recording and settlement, and other matters that are non-advisory in nature.
Stash makes its determinations regarding Operating Events pursuant to its policies on a case-by-case basis, in
its discretion, based on factors it considers reasonable, including regulatory requirements, contractual
obligations, and business practices. Not all Operating Events will be considered compensable mistakes.
Relevant factors Stash considers when evaluating whether an Operating Event is compensable include,
among others, the nature of the service being provided at the time of the event, specific applicable contractual
and legal requirements and standards of care, whether an applicable investment guideline was contravened,
and the nature of the relevant circumstances.
Operating Events may result in gains or losses or could have no financial impact. Clients are entitled to retain
any gain resulting from an Operating Event. Operating Events involving erroneous transactions in Stash
Accounts generally are corrected in accordance with the procedures established by Stash, Stash Capital,
and/or Apex.
When Stash determines that reimbursement by Stash is appropriate, the Client will be compensated as
determined in good faith by Stash. Stash will determine the amount to be reimbursed, if any, based on what it
considers reasonable guidelines regarding these matters considering all of the facts and circumstances related
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to the Operating Event. In general, compensation is expected to be limited to direct and actual losses, which
may be calculated relative to comparable conforming investments, market factors and benchmarks and with
reference to related transactions, and/or other factors Stash considers relevant. Compensation generally will
not include any amounts or measures that Stash determines are speculative or uncertain.
Financial Difficulties of Institutions and Custodians
There is a possibility that institutions, including brokerage firms and banks with which we do business, or to
which securities have been entrusted for custodial purposes, will encounter financial difficulties that may impair
operational capabilities.
Order Execution Risk
Stash and its affiliated broker-dealer, Stash Capital, are authorized by each Client with a Stash Account to
place and execute, respectively, transactions on such Client’s behalf and at each Client’s direction.
Furthermore, Stash Capital is authorized by each Client with a Stash Account to introduce orders to Apex for
clearance and settlement. Stash Capital executes securities transactions as soon as reasonably practicable
after combining them into larger orders for aggregate transactions including transactions of other Stash
Accounts under the Program. However, for numerous reasons there could be material delays in the amount of
time it takes Stash, or Stash Capital, to execute each transaction. For example, Stash places orders to buy and
sell securities on the behalf of all Clients with individual accounts, and only at the direction of such Clients other
than Clients with Discretionary Managed Accounts, during distinct trading windows, during normal market
trading hours. Stash generally places orders during four distinct trading windows; however, the frequency of
these distinct trading windows may be limited during adverse market conditions or during shortened trading
sessions or otherwise changed in Stash’s sole discretion. There is no guarantee that any order a Client places
will be executed during any particular trading window. The Program and the Platform are not designed to
support real-time trading. Any delays in placing or executing transactions could reduce, perhaps materially, any
profit earned in each Stash Account or could cause a material loss.
Stash Capital generally executes transactions by placing “market orders.” A “market order” is an order to buy
or sell an Investment immediately at the best available current price. Because market orders are executed
immediately (as opposed to an order that specifies a target price at which the security should be bought or sold
and remains open for a longer period of time, during which the price of the security may or may not hit the
target price) market orders bear inherent risks, particularly in times of high volatility and for Investments that
are thinly traded. This could result in Clients paying a higher purchase price or receiving a lower sale price
when Stash places market orders on the Client’s behalf. Stash may, at its discretion, use other order types and
conditions (e.g., time-in-force), as appropriate, to achieve best execution.
Securities Lending Risk
Stash offers the ability for Clients with taxable brokerage accounts to participate in the Securities Lending
Program. The Securities Lending Program is not currently offered for Discretionary Managed Accounts. Under
this arrangement, Client’s loan securities held in the Client’s taxable brokerage accounts to counterparties in
exchange for collateral. Clients may earn income from these arrangements by collecting finance charges on
the loans. These returns are shared between Clients, Stash Capital and Apex. There exists counterparty risk
that the borrower of the securities or Apex could default which would necessitate the liquidation and
distribution of the collateral. Additional information about Stash’s conflicts of interest, as well as the benefits
Stash receives is noted in greater detail in Item 9 of this Brochure.
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Regulatory Changes
It is possible that changes in applicable laws and regulations may affect Stash’s operations. In addition,
several substantial regulatory changes are pending or in the process of changing. However, the
consequences of additional regulation on the liquidity of markets and the functioning of the Program (and,
possibly, on Stash itself) cannot be predicted and may materially affect the investment advisory services
offered by Stash.
Taxes
The Client is responsible for all tax liabilities and tax-return filing obligations arising from the transactions
in the Client’s Stash Account or any other investment advice offered by Stash. We do not, and will not,
offer tax advice to the Client and we strongly encourage the Client to seek the advice of a qualified tax
professional. The Client should also understand that we are not responsible for attempting to obtain any
tax credit or similar item or preparing and filing any legal document (including, but not limited to, proofs of
claim) on the Client’s behalf. Rebalancing, liquidations, redemptions, and other changes to Investments
available under the Program may cause the Client to recognize taxable gains or losses (and the Client
may be obligated to pay other charges), and any other resulting tax liabilities and tax-return filing
obligation will be solely the Client’s responsibility.
Epidemics, Pandemics, Outbreaks of Disease and Public Health Issues
Outbreaks of disease, epidemics, and public health issues, such as COVID-19 (and other novel
coronaviruses), are likely to affect the operations of Stash and could affect the performance of clients’
investments. In particular, COVID-19 has negatively affected (and may continue to negatively affect or
materially impact) the global economy, global equity and fixed income markets and supply chains (including as
a result of quarantines and other government-directed or mandated measures or actions to stop the spread of
outbreaks). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may last for an extended period of time. Although the
long-term effects of COVID-19 (and the actions and measures taken by governments around the world to halt
its spread), cannot currently be predicted, previous occurrences of other epidemics, pandemics, and outbreaks
of disease had material adverse effects on the economies, fixed income and equity markets and operations of
those countries and jurisdictions in which they were most prevalent. The U.S. government and the Federal
Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have taken extraordinary actions to
support local and global economies and the financial markets. These government actions have resulted in a
large expansion of government deficits and debt, the long-term consequences of which are not known. A
recurrence of an outbreak of any kind of epidemic, communicable disease, virus or major public health issue
could cause a slowdown in the levels of economic activity generally (or push the U.S. or local economies into
recession), which would be reasonably likely to adversely affect the performance of Client investments and the
operations of Stash.
Other Catastrophic Risks
In addition to the potential risks associated with COVID-19 as outlined above, Clients, Stash, and its respective
affiliates, may be subject to the risk of loss arising from direct or indirect exposure to a number of types of other
catastrophic events, including without limitation (i) other public health crises, including any outbreak of SARS,
H1N1/09 influenza, avian influenza, other coronavirus, Ebola or other existing or new epidemic diseases, or the
threat thereof; or (ii) other major events or disruptions, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires,
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flooding and other natural disasters; acts of war or terrorism, including cyberterrorism; or major or prolonged
power outages or network interruptions. The extent of the impact of any such catastrophe or other emergency
on Stash’s and/or a Client’s operational and financial performance and each Client’s investments will depend
on many factors, including the duration and scope of such emergency, the extent of any related travel
advisories and restrictions, the impact on overall supply and demand, goods and services, investor liquidity,
consumer confidence and levels of economic activity, and the extent of its disruption to important global,
regional and local supply chains and economic markets, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be
predicted. In particular, to the extent that any such event occurs and has a material effect on global financial
markets or specific markets in which a Client participates (or has a material effect on any locations in which
Stash operates or on any of its personnel) the risks of loss could be substantial and could have a material
adverse effect on Clients or the ability of Stash to fulfill its investment objectives on behalf of its Clients.
Fees
As stated under Investment Recommendations, for the services provided by Stash under the Advisory
Agreement, and the custodial and brokerage services provided by the Custodian and the Broker under the
Customer Agreement (if any), the Client agrees to pay a “per-tier” fee to establish and maintain one or more
individual accounts. For the avoidance of doubt, the Financial Counseling Service is a service provided by
Stash under the Advisory Agreement and under the Program for all account types, and, accordingly, the
Stash Fee as described herein is due upon receiving such services, whether or not the Client elects to open
any individual account(s).
Tier Fees
Stash currently offers services provided by Stash under the Advisory Agreement, and the custodial and
brokerage services provided by the Custodian and the Broker under the Customer Agreement (if any), on a
“tiered” basis (a “Platform Tier Service”). If the Client has elected to receive services through a Platform Tier
Service, the Stash Fee is a “per-tier” fee, which may include one or more individual accounts. The amount of
the Stash Fee applicable to a Platform Tier Service varies per type, as described below. There are currently
two types of Platform Tier Services in this Program, referred to herein as Tier 1 and Tier 2, but which may vary
by name; provided, however, that Stash may, in its sole discretion, selectively restrict the availability of one or
more Platform Tier Services to new Clients to assess the impact on subscription rates for other Platform Tier
Services. Your elected Platform Tier Service will impact the number of Securities, and the specific Securities,
available to you on the Platform, and you will have fewer Securities available on the Tier 1 Platform Tier
Service than the Tier 2 Platform Tier Service and/or available to other Clients.
Any non-advisory services provided in connection with any of the Platform Tier Services are provided by one
or more affiliates of Stash. Unless otherwise agreed by Stash in writing or through separate notice from a
Stash affiliate, in cases where such non-advisory services are made available, such engagement does not
result in an investment advisory relationship with Stash, and Stash has no corresponding fiduciary duty with
respect to such services.
In the case you elect to purchase the Tier 1 Platform Tier Service, you will receive the Program as it relates to
one Personal Portfolio, regardless of whether or not you elect to open or use such Individual Account. If you do
not open the Individual Account or should such Individual Account be closed, the advisory services you will
receive from Stash will only be the impersonal investment advice. The amount of the Stash Fee charged for the
Tier 1 Platform Tier Service is $0 per month for any Personal Portfolio with a value of less than $1,000 and
0.05% (or 5 basis points) per month for any Personal Portfolio with a value of $1,000 or more, as calculated
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based on the average daily value of the assets in your Stash Account in the relevant Monthly Billing Period (as
defined below) (using the daily value of the assets as of a certain time of day for each business day for these
purposes). Such asset-based Stash Fee applicable to the Tier 1 Platform Tier Service is referred to herein as
the “Tier 1 Asset Fee”. Any discount in the Stash Fee applicable to the Tier 1 Platform Tier Service shall be
calculated by Stash in its sole discretion.
In the case you elect to purchase the Tier 2 Platform Tier Service , you will receive the Program as it relates to
one Personal Portfolio, one IRA, one Managed Portfolio and up to ten (10) UGMA/UTMA accounts. If you do
not open any of these Individual Accounts or should any and all such Individual Accounts be closed, the
advisory services you will receive from Stash will only be the Financial Counseling Service . In addition, when
you meet the eligibility requirements, you will receive one or more promotional rewards into the cash balance of
your individual retirement account subject to additional Terms and Conditions presented to you by Stash. Stash
reserves the right to terminate the offer of these additional rewards in its sole discretion The amount of the
Stash Fee charged for the Tier 2 Platform Tier Service is $12 per month. Any discount in the Stash Fee
applicable to the Tier 2 Platform Tier Service shall be calculated by Stash in its sole discretion.
Stash reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to negotiate, reduce or waive the advisory fees for certain
Clients for any period of time determined solely by Stash. Additionally, Stash may reduce or waive its fees for
some Clients without notice to, or adjustments to fees, for other Clients.
Ancillary Fees
The Stash Fee includes most of the investment expenses that are typically paid by investors, such as: account
establishment/maintenance expenses, investment advisory fees, and brokerage fees. The Stash Fee does not
include fees charged by each ETF’s managers or other fees and expenses that are reflected in the price of
ETF shares. In addition, Stash, Stash Capital and/or the Custodian may charge fees in addition to the Stash
Fee for ancillary services as disclosed in Attachment F to the Advisory Agreement. In particular, and
notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Advisory Agreement, the Client agrees that, pursuant to the
Customer Agreement, if the Client either requests the preparation and delivery of paper documents that Stash,
the Broker, and/or the Custodian normally provides in electronic form or that Stash, the Broker, and/or the
Custodian is not required to provide in paper form, or if the Client receives such paper documents as a result of
the email address associated with their Stash Account being deemed invalid, Stash, the Broker, and/or the
Custodian charge additional fees for the preparation and delivery of such paper documents.
From time to time, in their sole discretion, Stash, the Broker, and/or the Custodian may waive or adjust the
amounts or types of fees they charge for ancillary services. Fees for ancillary services will be deducted from
the Client’s Stash Account, the Client’s Funding Account, or the Client’s debit or credit card, in the same
manner as the Client is charged for the Stash Fee. The Client may obtain the current schedule of such fees
and services by contacting Stash at (800) 205-5164 or by sending an e-mail to support@stash.com.
Stash Capital shares in certain fees paid by the Client to the Custodian or otherwise (including, without
limitation, additional fees for the preparation and delivery of paper documents, account transfers and other
services) and shares in certain revenue paid to Apex through money market or bank sweep programs and/or
fully paid for securities lending programs, which create a conflict of interest for Stash in performing its services
pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Furthermore, certain of Stash’s affiliates earn revenue from third parties in
connection with and resulting from non-advisory services provided to the Client through such affiliates, which
creates a conflict of interest for Stash in performing its services pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. In
particular, a Stash affiliate shares in certain fees paid or generated by a Client in connection with the provision
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of the Stash Debit Card to such Client. Stash will not be precluded by any such conflict from exercising its
judgment in the Client’s best interest.
Monthly and Annual Billing Periods
Except for the Tier 1 Asset Fee (which is payable in arrears), the Stash Fee is payable either (in Stash’s sole
discretion) (i) monthly in advance, which will be billed during the monthly period for which the services are
performed, or (ii) annually in advance, which will be billed during the annual period for which the services are
performed. The monthly billing period is each monthly period, with your initial monthly billing period starting on
your initial billing date and continuing until the last day preceding the monthly anniversary of your billing date
(your “Billing Anniversary Date”), and each subsequent monthly billing period beginning on your monthly
Billing Anniversary Date and continuing until the last day preceding the next monthly Billing Anniversary Date
(any such period, a “Monthly Billing Period”), such date and periods determined in Stash’s discretion The
annual billing period starts on your initial annual billing date and lasts until the last day immediately preceding
the annual anniversary of such billing date (such date, also a “Billing Anniversary Date”, and such period, an
“Annual Billing Period”), such date and periods determine in Stash’s discretion Stash reserves the right to limit
your ability to prepay your Stash Fee on an annual basis, thus only allowing you to prepay on a monthly basis.
In the event you contact Stash and directly authorize Stash customer service to purchase a Platform Tier
Service on your behalf, you will have automatically agreed to pay your respective Stash Fee monthly in
advance (and you may subsequently elect to pay your respective Stash Fee annually in advance instead, as
permitted by Stash).
Clients prepay the Stash Fee for a bundle of advisory services, which are provided by Stash upfront. Clients
may continue to receive access to the Platform and certain advisory services under the Program even without
opening a Stash Account or after a Stash Account has been closed. For example, Stash and/or the Custodian
may elect to close unfunded or underfunded Stash Accounts, but Stash may continue to permit those Clients
to access the Platform and certain advisory services under the Program. In the event of the closure of your
Stash Account and/or cancellation of your Platform Tier Service (as applicable), Stash will not refund any
prepaid portion of the Stash Fee for the Monthly Billing Period in which your Stash Account is closed and/or
Platform Tier Service is canceled. In such case, Stash will continue to provide you with the Financial
Counseling Service and you will retain access to the Platform and/or Program (without the power to open an
Individual Account or otherwise effect brokerage transactions, as applicable) through the end of the Monthly
Billing Period in which your Stash Account is closed and/or Platform Tier Service is canceled.
If you are permitted by Stash and elect to prepay your Stash Fee in advance annually, and if your Stash
Account is closed and your Platform Tier Service is canceled, then Stash shall refund the prepaid portions of
the Stash Fee for the remaining Monthly Billing Periods in your Annual Billing Period including any remaining
fee credits (referenced below), with the exception of the Monthly Billing Period in which your Stash Account is
closed and your Platform Tier Service is canceled.
Changes to Platform Tier Service During Billing Period
In the event you purchased the Tier 1 Platform Tier Service and later wish to upgrade to the Tier 2 Platform
Service, your Billing Anniversary Date will be updated promptly for the billing periods that follow. You will
remain responsible for any Stash Fee due with respect to billing periods prior to your upgrade.
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In the event you purchased the Tier 2 Platform Tier Service and later wish to downgrade to the Tier 1 Platform
Tier Service, unless otherwise permitted by Stash in its sole discretion, you must cancel your Platform Tier
Service and close all of your Individual Accounts. If you were being billed on an annual basis, Stash will
refund an amount that reflects the remaining prepaid portions of your Stash Fee for the remainder of your
Annual Billing Period other than the Monthly Billing Period in which your Platform Tier Service is cancelled.
Changes to Billing Frequency During Billing Period
In the event you purchased the Tier 2 Platform service and elect to change your billing frequency from an
Annual Billing Period to a Monthly Billing Period, then your Billing Anniversary Date will be updated promptly
for the billing periods that follow and Stash will either refund or provide fee credits to your Stash Account in an
amount that reflects the remaining prepaid portions of your Stash Fee for the Annual Billing Period as of the
date your billing frequency is changed. Such pre-paid fees will be calculated and refunded based upon the
number of days remaining in the Annual Billing Period.
In the event you purchased the Tier 2 Platform Service and elect to change your billing frequency from a
Monthly Billing Period to an Annual Billing Period, then your billing frequency will change on the next Billing
Anniversary Date following your election.
If you have a Stash Account, have elected to pay your Stash Fee by debit and/or credit card, and you have not
successfully connected a Funding Account to your Stash Account, any refunds you are owed in accordance
with this Advisory Agreement will be credited to the available cash balance in your Stash Account.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph, if you are not approved to open a Stash Account or
your Stash Account is closed for any reason related to anti-money laundering, fraud or violation of any
applicable laws or regulations, then we will immediately terminate your relationship with Stash.
Clients may change their Platform Tier Service and corresponding Stash Fee via the methods permitted by
Stash through the Platform or by contacting Stash at (800) 205-5164 or by sending an email to
support@stash.com .
Other Terms and Conditions of Stash Fees
Stash reserves the right to discount, rebate, or waive the Stash Fee, any portions of the Stash Fee, or any
other fees or portions thereof (including the ancillary services disclosed in Attachment F of the Stash Advisory
Agreement associated with the Program) in its sole discretion. Any such discount or rebate are subject to the
terms and conditions of the respective discount or rebate, and Stash may offer a discount or rebate to some
clients or potential clients but not other clients or potential clients in its sole discretion. Stash may also in its
sole discretion permit you to freeze or pause the use of your Stash Account for a predetermined period of
time. The Stash Fees vary as Stash’s services themselves vary. This will result in one Client paying different
fees (as applicable) than another Client for similar services. In addition, lower fees for comparable services
described may be available from other sources.
The Stash Fees vary as Stash’s services themselves vary. This will result in one Client paying different fees
(as applicable) than another Client for similar services. In addition, lower fees for comparable services
described may be available from other sources. Further, Stash may, in its sole discretion, selectively restrict
the availability of one or more Platform Tier Services to new Clients to assess the impact on subscription rates
for the remaining Platform Tier Services. This will result in certain new Clients having fewer Platform Tier
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Services available to them compared to other Clients.
In the event a Stash Account balance falls below the Minimum Balance (as defined in Item 5 below), Stash
may in its sole discretion deduct the entirety of the balance of the Stash Account (whether such balance is in
cash or securities) when such balance is less than the Stash Fee in lieu of collecting the Stash Fee otherwise
due.
The Client authorizes and directs Stash and Stash Capital to charge the Stash Fee to the Client’s debit card,
credit card, deduct the Stash Fee directly from the Client’s Funding Account and/or to instruct the Custodian to
sell, as necessary, securities in the Client’s Stash Account and to transfer money out of the Client’s Stash
Account to pay Stash the Stash Fee and, if any, other fees due under or as described in the Advisory
Agreement. The Client agrees and acknowledges that such fee deduction may trigger rebalancing of the
Client’s Stash Account, in accordance with Stash’s rebalancing procedures and portfolio management system,
including as described in the Advisory Agreement. Fees deducted from the Client’s Stash Account will be
reflected in the account statements provided to the Client by the Custodian.
The Client agrees and acknowledges that the Client is responsible for paying any and all fees, including,
without limitation, the Stash Fee, that the Client owes pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. The Client is
responsible for maintaining complete and accurate billing and contact information with Stash. The Client
acknowledges that such fees may change from time to time and will be available on the Website and in the
Brochure and Relationship Summary. In the event of a change in fees, Stash will provide the Client notice
electronically via the Platform. The Client agrees to check the Platform from time to time for updates to the
Stash Fees applicable to the Client.
The Client acknowledges that Stash designed the Program with frequent investing in mind and that the fee
structure might not be economical or appropriate for individuals not looking to invest with Stash or looking to
make few or infrequent small-dollar investments. The Client acknowledges that the Stash Fee may exceed the
aggregate costs of purchasing separately the products and individual services that comprise the advisory
services and the brokerage services offered through the Program. With respect to the Tier 2 Platform Service,
the Stash Fee is charged as a fixed fee that does not vary based on the value of the Client’s Stash Account
and accordingly, the overall Stash Fee paid may be disproportionately high relative to the value of the Client’s
Stash Account, as applicable. The Client further represents and warrants, and has determined, that the Stash
Fee is reasonable.
Unless otherwise stated, the Stash Fee does not include any direct or indirect local, state, federal, or foreign
taxes, levies, duties or similar government assessments of any nature, including value-added, use, or
withholding taxes (collectively, “Taxes”). Clients are responsible for paying all Taxes associated with the Client’s
participation in the Program, excluding taxes based on Stash’s net income or property. If Stash and/or the
Custodian has the legal obligation to pay or collect Taxes for which the Client is responsible under this section,
the appropriate amount shall be invoiced to and paid by the Client, unless the Client provides Stash and/or the
Custodian with a valid tax exemption certificate authorized by the appropriate taxing authority. When the Client
withdraws money from the Client’s Stash Account, as applicable, the Custodian may reduce the amount of the
distribution by the amount of any tax mandatory withholding as required by applicable law. In addition, the
Client has the ability to request that Stash withhold state and/or federal taxes from any withdrawal the Client
makes from the Client’s Stash Account by sending an e-mail to support@stash.com . Stash will communicate
such requests to the Custodian. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stash will not be responsible for the accuracy
or timeliness of any such withholding effected or remitted by the Custodian, and will not be liable to withhold
any penalties incurred by the Client in connection with the Client’s obligation to pay Taxes associated with the
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Client’s participation in the Program. As more fully described above, the Client acknowledges and agrees that
Stash does not provide tax advice.
Brokerage and Custody Services
With regard to the Program, Stash has an arrangement with Apex, a third-party qualified custodian, through
which clearing and custody services are provided to Clients. Brokerage services are provided through Stash’s
affiliated broker-dealer, Stash Capital. Apex and Stash Capital are FINRA and SIPC members 1 , and SEC
registered broker-dealers. Additional information about these entities and their services, as well as the benefits
Stash receives from them is noted in greater detail in Item 9 of this Brochure.
Stash has established policies and procedures for the timely return of any securities, funds, or other assets
that are inadvertently received by Stash from a Client or third party.
1 Stash is not, nor required to be, a FINRA or SIPC member. Information about the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority (FINRA) may be found on its website, www.finra.org . The Client may learn more about the Securities
Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and how it serves member firms and the investing public by visiting it website
at www.sipc.org .
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Item 5 - Account Requirements and Types of Clients
The Program is available for, and provided to, individuals who are U.S. citizens, or lawful residents of the U.S.
for tax purposes who have a social security number or ITIN, are located in the United States, and maintain a
checking account with a U.S. bank. Participation in the Program requires that the Client successfully complete
a new account application, which for certain accounts includes submitting various personally identifiable
information required by U.S. federal law.
Stash does not require any minimum deposit to open a taxable brokerage account, Custodial (UTMA/UGMA),
Roth & Traditional IRA accounts or Discretionary Managed Account(s). Clients may elect through the
Platform to make one-time or recurring deposits on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. Stash may not
provide withdrawal functionality through the Platform for all products, especially products such as
tax-advantaged accounts that may incur tax penalties in certain withdrawal situations. Where withdrawal
functionality is not provided through the Platform, Stash may require Clients to initiate or confirm withdrawals
by contacting its customer support team via email at support@stash.com or via telephone at (800) 205-5164.
Stash may, in its sole discretion, not honor a withdrawal request of funds to an external bank account that
Stash is not able to fully verify as belonging to a Client. Under such circumstances, Stash reserves the right to
send such requested funds to the depository account at the originating bank of such funds.
The minimum balance for maintaining a taxable brokerage account, Custodial (UTMA/UGMA), Roth IRA,
and Traditional IRA is $.01 and the minimum balance for maintaining a Discretionary Managed Account is
$5.00. (the “Minimum Balance”). You may fund your Stash Account by initiating or directing a deposit of a
minimum of $0.01 or more through the Platform at any time. With respect to your existing Discretionary
Managed Account, once the additional cash balance in your Discretionary Managed Account meets a
threshold of $1.00, Stash will automatically invest the total cash amount in your Discretionary Managed
Account into the Automated Selected Investments. However, Stash will not invest any additional cash in your
Discretionary Managed Account into the Automated Selected Investments unless and until your total cash
balance reaches a minimum threshold of $1.00. In addition, Stash may in its sole discretion set different
minimum deposit amounts for the purchase of each Investment.
Stash Accounts will not be closed due to market volatility. If you request a withdrawal or sale of Automated
Selected Investments in your Discretionary Managed Account in an amount equal to 90% or more of the total
balance in your Discretionary Managed Account immediately prior to the execution of your withdrawal or sale
request, then Stash reserves the right to terminate your Discretionary Managed Account. Stash also reserves
the right to terminate any Client’s Stash Account if it does not maintain the Minimum Balance. In the event a
Stash Account balance falls below the Minimum Balance, Stash may in its sole discretion deduct the entirety of
the account balance and close the account in lieu of collecting the Stash Fee.
For the avoidance of doubt, the minimum opening balance and Minimum Balance requirements do not apply to
Clients who do not open a Stash Account and only receive the Financial Counseling Service. Nevertheless,
Stash reserves the right to terminate the Advisory Agreement, the Client account, and access to the Platform in
the event that Stash is unable to charge the Stash Fee.
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Item 6 - Portfolio Manager Selection Evaluation
As also discussed above, Stash provides non-discretionary and discretionary investment advisory services.
For Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts, Stash does not exercise discretion over Client assets. Clients
construct the Client’s own portfolios utilizing the Recommendations presented through the Platform. While
Clients are ultimately responsible for implementing the Recommendations generated by the Platform, they are
under no obligation to do so. Neither Stash nor any of its supervised persons or related persons act as a
portfolio manager for any of the ETFs available through the Program. The ETFs available under the Program
are managed by the relevant fund manager. Stash does not otherwise control or receive compensation from
ETF managers.
For Discretionary Managed Accounts, Stash offers managed portfolios comprised of various publicly traded
securities, including unaffiliated ETFs and/or other similarly traded Instruments selected by Stash. The
Automated Selected Investments are selected to allocate assets among a diversified collection of Instruments
across different asset classes, industries, economic sectors, geographic regions, and/or investment strategies.
Stash reserves the right to change, in its sole discretion from time to time and without prior notice to Clients: (i)
the Instruments available through the Program that it deems appropriate to address the investment objectives,
investment time horizons, and risk tolerances of its Clients; (ii) the Discretionary Managed Accounts available
through the Program that it deems appropriate to address the investment objectives, investment time horizons,
and risk tolerance of its Clients; (iii) the Automated Selected Investments that comprise each of the
Discretionary Managed Accounts; and (iv) the relative weightings of the Automated Selected Investments in
the Discretionary Managed Accounts. You should understand that the Platform currently relies solely on the
questions relating to investment time horizon and risk tolerance in selecting Automated Selected Investments,
and that these factors are not weighted equally.
Stash places orders to buy and sell securities for your Discretionary Managed Account during distinct trading
windows, during normal market trading hours. There is no guarantee that any order you place will be executed
during any particular trading window. The Program and the Platform are not designed to support real-time
trading.
Although Stash reviews the performance history of ETFs available under the Program, Stash does not
calculate or audit the information for accuracy, verify the appropriateness of the methodology on which the
performance is calculated or verify whether the performance complies with Global Investment Performance
Standards or any other standard for performance calculation. Furthermore, past performance may not be
indicative of future results and, as such, Clients and prospective clients should not place too much emphasis
on ETF performance information.
As also discussed above, Stash has developed a process focused on identifying and evaluating the investment
criteria for Investments available under the Program. An investment committee has oversight of such criteria.
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Item 7 - Client Information Provided to Portfolio Managers
Stash, through the Platform, generates Recommendations based on the information about a Client’s risk
tolerance and investment time horizon, in each case as provided by each Client as part of the Suitability
Questionnaire. Other information collected by Stash through the Platform may include, among other things,
information about a Client’s identity, liquidity, age, e-mail address, physical address, location, nationality,
citizenship, tax residency, or other information that is supplied to Stash through the Platform. Clients agree to
promptly update any Client Information provided to Stash that is no longer accurate using the Platform.
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Item 8 - Client Contact with Portfolio Managers
Clients may contact Stash’s customer support team via email at support@stash.com or via telephone at (800)
205-5164 with respect to technical questions and service issues regarding the Platform. However, Stash does
not generally provide investment advice in person, over the phone, live chat, or in any other manner other than
through the advisory services available on the Platform and via automated electronic messages.
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Item 9 - Additional Information
Disciplinary Information
Registered investment advisers are required to disclose all material facts regarding any legal or disciplinary
events that would be material to a Client’s evaluation of Stash’s advisory business or the integrity of Stash’s
management. Stash has no reportable material legal or disciplinary events to disclose related to Stash or any
of its management persons.
In the ordinary course of its business, Stash and its employees have in the past been, and may in the
future be, subject to periodic audits, examinations, claims, formal and informal regulatory inquiries,
requests for information, subpoenas, investigations, and legal or regulatory proceedings, involving the SEC,
other regulatory authorities, or private parties.
Additional information about Stash’s advisory affiliates is contained in Part 1 of Stash’s Form ADV.
Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Stash is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stash Financial, which is also the parent company of Stash Capital.
Other subsidiaries of Stash Financial include Stash Insurance Services LLC and Stash Cash Management LLC
(“ Stash Cash Management ”). Stash does not have an application pending to register as a Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm.
Stash uses, suggests, and/or recommends its own services or the services of affiliated entities in connection
with Stash’s advisory business. Stash shares resources with and/or delegates certain of its trading, advisory
and other activities for Clients to affiliated entities. The services involved will depend on the types of services
offered by the affiliate. The arrangements may involve sharing or joint compensation, or separate
compensation, subject to the requirements of applicable law. For instance, Stash Capital and Stash Financial
provide services to support Stash per an intercompany agreement. These services may include brokerage
services, customer technical support, marketing functions, operational support, and other types of services.
Furthermore, certain management and operational functions with respect to the Program are performed by
employees of Stash Financial who are subject to the control and supervision of Stash, pursuant to an
employee sharing arrangement between Stash and Stash Financial. Other relationships may include, but are
not limited to, those discussed below.
Stash’s affiliates will retain any compensation when providing investment services to, or in connection with
investment activities of, Stash Accounts or Clients, subject to applicable law. Compensation may take the form
of commissions, markups, markdowns, service fees or other commission equivalents. Stash Accounts or
Clients will not be entitled to any such compensation retained by Stash’s affiliates.
Broker-Dealer
Stash’s affiliate Stash Capital is a member of FINRA and registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer. Certain
of Stash’s personnel are registered representatives of Stash Capital to the extent necessary or appropriate to
perform their responsibilities. Stash Capital primarily introduces Clients to full-service carrying brokers,
currently Apex exclusively. Stash and Stash Capital have overlapping officers, personnel and share office
space and certain expenses. Certain Stash management persons are also registered representatives of
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Stash Capital as necessary or appropriate to perform their responsibilities.
Stash requires that Clients use the execution services offered by Stash Capital. For the avoidance of doubt,
Stash places Client trades with Stash Capital, which acts as an introducing broker-dealer for such trades on
behalf of Clients. Trades are cleared and settled by Apex, an unaffiliated clearing broker and qualified
custodian for Stash Accounts. Stash Capital may also engage in principal transactions. In each such instance,
Stash expects to seek to effect any such transaction in accordance with the requirements of Section 206(3) of
the Advisers Act. Stash Capital will receive compensation when acting as a broker-dealer for Stash Accounts.
In addition, Stash may receive fees, cash credits or other benefits from exchanges and other market centers
to which it, as broker, routes order flow based on the volume and type of order flow routed and whether the
order contributes or extracts liquidity from the given market.
Compensation Associated with Non-Investment Affiliated Entities
Other wholly-owned subsidiaries of Stash Financial include Stash Insurance Services LLC and Stash Cash
Management. Stash Insurance Services LLC provides Stash Clients with access to life insurance and
property & casualty insurance offered by and through third parties. Stash Insurance Services does not, and is
not required to, obtain or maintain any federal or state registrations or licenses in order to engage in its
activities. Stash Cash Management does not, and is not required to, obtain or maintain any federal or state
registrations or licenses in order to engage in its activities. See “Participation or Interest in Client Accounts”
below for a discussion of certain conflicts that may arise as a result of activities conducted by these
subsidiaries.
Furthermore, from time to time, third-party vendors and/or business partners may provide Stash, its affiliates,
and/or its employees with non-monetary gifts and gratuities, such as promotional items (e.g., coffee mugs, golf
balls, or gift baskets), meals and access to certain industry-related conferences (collectively, “ gifts ”). Stash has
implemented policies and procedures intended to identify, quantify and track certain gifts received by the firm
and/or its employees.
Stash from time to time enters into partnerships with third parties to offer promotions, benefits, and other
rewards programs to its Clients. In connection with such programs, Stash may receive a benefit in the form of
compensation or other consideration from certain of its third-party partners, at no cost to its Clients. Further,
Stash may recommend certain of these third-party partner’s securities as an investment option to its Clients,
which may result in a conflict between Stash and its Clients.
Payment For Order Flow
Broadly speaking, the concept of payment for order flow encompasses a wide variety of cash or in-kind
compensation structures that a broker may receive for directing its customers’ orders to a particular broker
dealer or trading venue. Apex receives remuneration for directing orders to broker-dealers or market centers
for execution. A portion of such remuneration is considered compensation to Stash. The source and nature of
remuneration in connection with your transaction may be disclosed upon written request. Stash Capital LLC,
which clears trades through Apex, may share in such payments or may directly receive payment for order flow
for certain transactions. Stash Capital generally receives payment for order flow from Apex for all customer
accounts other than Retirement Accounts (i.e., Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts, Discretionary Managed
Accounts, and UGMA/UTMA accounts). However, Stash Capital does not receive payment for order flow for
any Over-The-Counter international trades (i.e., American Depository Receipt (ADR) transactions).
Furthermore, Stash Capital may not receive payment for order flow on any individual trade for which Apex
does not have a contract in place with a payment for order flow provider (e.g., orders in low share amounts or
low dollar amount securities). On a monthly basis, Stash receives a reconciliation with the maximum payment
33
for order flow rate that Apex may receive for different types of trades based on the type of security, the price of
the security, and the market center. Stash does not otherwise have insight into the payment for order flow
generated for any individual trade. Payment for order flow raises the potential for conflicts of interest for
broker-dealers handling customer orders. Stash Capital conducts regular and rigorous reviews of orders and
execution quality and considers payment for order flow arrangements with Apex when conducting these
reviews.
Management Persons; Policies and Procedures
As discussed above, certain of Stash’s management persons also hold positions with one or more of Stash’s
affiliated entities. In any such positions, they may have some responsibility with respect to the business of
these affiliated entities. Consequently, in carrying out their roles at Stash and these other entities, the
management persons of Stash will be subject to potential conflicts of interest that exist between Stash and
these affiliates.
Stash has established a variety of restrictions, policies, procedures, and disclosures designed to address
potential and actual conflicts that arise between affiliates. The policies and procedures designed to address
these potential conflicts are described in Item 9, Code of Ethics and Personal Trading and Participation or
Interest in Client Transactions. No assurance can be made that any of Stash’s current policies and procedures,
or any policies and procedures that are established by Stash in the future will have their desired effect.
Code of Ethics and Personal Trading
Stash has adopted a Code of Ethics (the “ Code ”) and certain other policies and procedures that obligate Stash
and its “access persons” (e.g., any partner, officer, director, member, or employee of Stash) to put the interests
of the Clients before their own interests and to act honestly and fairly in all respects in their dealings with
Clients. All of Stash’s personnel are also required to comply with applicable federal securities laws. Stash will
supply a complete copy of its Code to any Client or prospective Client who requests a copy of the Code by
contacting customer support by email at support@stash.com or by telephone at (800) 205-5164.
Stash and its related persons effect transactions for their own accounts in the same securities or other
Instruments purchased and sold for Clients.
To ensure trading by Stash’s access persons is conducted (i) in a manner that does not adversely affect
Stash’s trading on behalf of Clients and (ii) in a manner that is consistent with the fiduciary duties owed by
Stash to the Clients, Stash has adopted the Code and attendant policies and procedures governing, among
other things, transactions by Stash’s access persons and other “covered persons” (e.g., any such access
person’s spouse, immediate family members). The Code and attendant policies and procedures contain
provisions designed to, among other things, (i) prevent improper personal trading by Stash’s access persons
and other covered persons; (ii) identify actual or potential conflicts of interest; and (iii) provide guidance in
resolving certain actual or potential conflicts of which Stash is aware of in favor of Clients. To accomplish
these objectives, Stash is required under the Code and attendant policies and procedures to, among other
things, (i) require reporting of personal trades in “reportable securities” (as defined in the Code) by Stash’s
access persons and other covered persons and (ii) prohibit certain trading by Stash’s access persons and
other covered persons in securities of issuers listed on Stash’s “Restricted List” (as defined in the Code).
While not anticipated in the ordinary course of business operations, Stash and/or its affiliates may engage in
principal transactions. In each such instance, Stash expects to seek to effect any such transaction in
34
accordance with the requirements of Section 206(3) of the Advisers Act.
Stash has also adopted policies and procedures regarding the receipt of gifts and entertainment by Stash’s
employees from certain third parties (e.g., vendors, broker-dealers, consultants, etc.). Specifically, these
policies and procedures require employees to report the receipt of gifts and entertainment in excess of pre
established de minimis thresholds. Stash reviews these reports for any potential conflicts of interest with
respect to individual instances of gifts or entertainment, as well as patterns of the same over time, to seek to
prevent employees from placing their own interests ahead of the interest of Clients.
The Code and Stash’s other policies and procedures also address the following key areas: (i) recordkeeping;
(ii) oversight of the Code; (iii) conflicts of interest; (iv) the treatment of confidential information; (v) compliance
with SEC rules and regulations; and (vi) reporting misconduct. Periodic training regarding the Code and
Stash’s other policies and procedures is provided to Stash’s access persons. Separately, the attendant
policies and procedures related to, among other things, Pay-to-Play rules, gifts and entertainment and outside
business activities are located in the Stash’s compliance manual.
Stash Capital, Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, is permitted to trade in Investments for its own accounts and
engage in personal securities transactions in securities and other Investments in which Clients may invest, in
accordance with the Code. These activities create conflicts of interest between Stash Capital and Stash’s
Clients with regard to such matters as allocation of opportunities to participate in, or refrain from participation
in, particular Investments or to dispose of certain Investments.
The Code contains provisions designed to prevent improper personal trading by Stash’s access persons.
Pursuant to the Code, all of Stash’s access persons and covered persons attest to Stash’s Code and submit to
Stash their personal trading activity, which is periodically reviewed except in cases where such person has a
managed account with an independent adviser who has discretionary investment authority. Stash’s access
persons and covered persons are prohibited from trading securities on Stash’s Restricted List and generally
are prohibited from participating in “new issues.” All reportable accounts and all holdings in reportable
securities need to be disclosed upon joining Stash and confirmed and/or updated periodically.
Trade Handling
Employee Accounts
Employees or related persons of Stash may open Stash Accounts in the Program, and as a result trade in the
same securities with unaffiliated Clients. Stash’s procedure is to treat any employee’s Stash Account or
related person’s Stash Account in the same fashion as unaffiliated Clients’ Stash Accounts.
Client Accounts
As discussed above, Stash Capital, Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, introduces all Client trades from Stash to
Apex, an unaffiliated qualified custodian, and Apex establishes and carries Stash Accounts that hold Client
securities and cash and records Client trades. In each case, Client orders are placed with Stash Capital and
orders are executed manually and/or through electronic trading systems maintained by Stash Capital. Such
trades may be done on an aggregated basis when consistent with Stash and Stash Capital’s obligation to seek
best execution. In such circumstances, Stash Accounts receive securities at a total average price. Stash
retains records of each trade order (specifying each participating account) and its allocation, which is
completed prior to the entry of the aggregated order. Completed orders are allocated by Stash as specified in
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the initial trade order. Partially filled orders are allocated on a pro rata basis. Any exceptions will be explained
on the order.
Generally, Clients with Non-Discretionary Managed Accounts direct and are responsible for the direction of
Investments through the Platform by: (i) carefully reviewing the information about investing and the
Investments available under the Program; (ii) carefully considering the Recommendations generated by the
Platform; (iii) selecting Investments; and (iv) deciding whether to exclude an Investment from their selections.
However, Stash shall have for all Stash Accounts the authority:
● To determine and modify which Investments are available under the Program;
● To determine when, how often, and in what amounts to invest or reinvest dividends in Stash Accounts;
● To determine when, how often, and in what amounts to have uninvested cash in any Stash Account held
through the Sweep Program;
● To determine and modify procedures used in trading and allocating fractional shares under the Program;
● To determine the timing of purchases of securities in relation to deposits;
● To determine the timing of sales and withdrawals in relation to requests for withdrawals or transfers;
● To determine the action taken in response to a corporate action related to Instruments held in your
Stash Account provided that no proxy is required to do so and the action taken by Stash is deemed to
be in your best interest; and
● To place an order to buy a security necessary to process any reward granted to you pursuant to and in
accordance with the then-effective terms and conditions of the Stock-Back ® Rewards program or any
other similar rewards or promotional program(s) offered by Stash and/or its affiliates.
Stash places orders to buy and sell securities on the behalf of Clients with Non-Discretionary Managed
Accounts, only at the direction of such Clients, during distinct trading windows, during normal market trading
hours. Stash generally places orders during four distinct trading windows; however, the frequency of these
distinct trading windows may be limited during adverse market conditions or during shortened trading sessions
or otherwise changed in Stash’s sole discretion. There is no guarantee that any order a Client places will be
executed during any particular trading window. The Program and the Platform are not designed to support real
time trading.
As part of its best execution responsibilities, Stash reviews and monitors, among other things, (a) data and/or
reports regarding execution costs of transactions executed through Stash Capital. Stash seeks to ensure that
Clients' transactions are conducted in the best interest of Clients, including by continuing to seek to obtain best
execution for Clients through Stash’s review and adoption of Stash Capital’s best execution policies and
procedures, and any material updates thereto with regard to trades placed by or through Stash Capital.
Stash’s trade allocation policy applicable to the Stash Capital execution desk is designed to seek to: (i) provide
a fair allocation of purchases and sales of Investments among Clients, (ii) not systematically advantage one
Client over another, and (iii) ensure compliance with appropriate regulatory requirements. Traders on the
Stash Capital execution desk are employees supervised by both Stash and Stash Capital.
As discussed further above, from time to time, Apex receives compensation in the form of rebates, monetary
compensation, or inter-company transfer of funds for routing customer orders, including orders for Clients, to a
designated exchange, market maker, dealer, or market center for execution. Stash Capital receives payments
from Apex in connection with such order flow, and, in all cases, Stash and Stash Capital seek the best
execution possible for Clients’ orders.
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Relationship and Fee Arrangements with Apex
As previously disclosed, Stash Capital has engaged Apex Clearing as the qualified custodian and clearing firm
for the Program. Peak6, the owner of Apex, is also an investor in and/or lender to Stash Financial which
creates a conflict of interest for Stash that is mitigated as described below. Additionally, under Stash Capital’s
fully disclosed clearing agreement with Apex, Apex charges Stash monthly account fees based on account
type (i.e., Non-Discretionary and Discretionary Managed Accounts and Retirement Accounts). Stash is also
charged a monthly fee which is the greater of a percentage of Stash client assets held at Apex or a fee
contingent on the amount of Client allocations per month. As a result of this fee arrangement, Stash may be
incentivized to (i) maintain Stash Accounts with Apex and (ii) limit the number of advisory allocations
conducted in Stash Accounts in order to minimize the per-trade cost, which increases as Stash Capital
allocates more trades. The Platform’s automated nature and functionality and the type of accounts offered by
Stash under the Program mitigate these potential conflicts of interest. The Platform is not coded or otherwise
designed to limit customer activity. Moreover, Clients are responsible for directly controlling the activity in all
Stash Accounts except Discretionary Managed Accounts. Consequently, Stash has no control over whether the
volume of allocations will be limited for such Stash Accounts.
Stash Capital is also subject to a termination penalty if it elects to remove a majority of Stash Accounts from
Apex (a “termination event”). The potential termination payment amount varies based on the date of the
termination event. For each subsequent year through September 2028, the termination event payment
decreases. There is no termination payment should a termination event occur on or after September 20, 2028.
This potential termination penalty creates a potential conflict of interest in incentivizing Stash to continue to
clear the majority of its trades through Apex, even in the event that Stash determines that Apex’s services are
no longer in its Clients’ best interests (e.g., if Apex fails to provide best execution for Client transactions). In
addition to the conflict created by the termination penalty, Stash’s ability to exercise the termination provision of
the agreement with Apex is limited for so long as any amounts remain outstanding under debt agreements with
Peak6 which creates a further conflict to maintain its business at Apex. As explained above, this potential
conflict of interest is mitigated by Stash’s periodic review of Apex’s services to ensure that transactions are
conducted in the best interests of its Clients, including by continuing to seek to obtain best execution. This
potential conflict of interest is further mitigated by Stash’s ability to continue to seek best execution for its
Clients without triggering the termination penalty with Apex, if Stash becomes dissatisfied with the services
provided by Apex.
In order to permit sufficient time to ensure that the transfer of assets into a Stash Account has been
successfully completed by the financial institution that maintains such Client’s bank account, Stash may, in
limited cases, wait up to five Business Days after the day Apex credits the applicable deposit to such
Client’s Stash Account to generate and place trade orders for such purchases. “Business Day” means a
day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading and banking institutions located in the State
of New York are open for business during all or part of the day. As a result, each deposit or transfer a
Client makes may not be invested in such Client’s selected Investment(s) for up to five Business Days,
and such uninvested cash would not be subject to financial gains or losses resulting from movement in
market prices during any such uninvested time period.
Stash reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to delay or manage the trading of Client orders if it
determines such delay is appropriate and consistent with Stash’s obligations under the terms of the Advisory
Agreement.
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Participation or Interest in Client Accounts
Managing conflicts of interest is an integral part of Stash’s compliance program. We believe that no
organization can completely eliminate conflicts that exist explicitly or implicitly. Stash evaluates its business
activities and the actual and possible conflicts that may emerge from its activities on an ongoing basis. To the
extent that existing or new business activities raise an actual conflict of interest, or even the appearance of a
conflict, we endeavor to provide the Client with full and clear disclosure or to take action to avoid them.
Stash acts as investment adviser under the Advisers Act in accordance with fiduciary standards. Stash
Financial, its affiliates, and/or its business partners conduct business as broker-dealer, asset manager,
banking services provider, insurance distributor, marketing affiliate, and financial services organization.
Stash’s advisory affiliates provide a wide range of financial services to individuals. Stash and/or its affiliates
may receive compensation in addition to the Stash Fee in connection with transactions and other services
provided as part of the Program. The following are descriptions of certain conflicts of interest and potential
conflicts of interest that may be associated with the financial or other interests Stash may have in transactions
effected by, with, and on behalf of, Stash Accounts or investment advice otherwise offered to Clients.
Certain Effects of Stash’s Activities on Advisory Accounts
Stash may cause Stash Accounts to invest in fractional shares of certain publicly-traded equity securities
and/or exchange-traded funds in connection with rewards earned through the Stock-Back TM Rewards program,
a rewards program that may be offered to Clients by Stash and/or its affiliates, as a result of qualifying
purchases made with a debit card issued in connection with a demand deposit account provided by an
unaffiliated FDIC member partner bank, and, which may be made available to Clients pursuant to the terms
and conditions of the Deposit Account Agreement available on the Stash Disclosure Library website (“Stash
Debit Card”). Stash’s affiliates will share in revenue earned on such qualifying purchases made with respect to
the Stash Debit Card. This revenue sharing arrangement creates a conflict of interest for Stash in performing
its services pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Neither Stash Accounts nor Clients are entitled to
compensation as a result of this revenue sharing arrangement, and Stash will not be precluded by such conflict
from exercising its judgment in the Client’s best interest.
Conflicts of Interest Associated with Market Insights Reports
The Market Insights Reports may supplement other investment advisory services made available to Clients.
Stash also has and maintains, other than as part of Market Insights Reports, Investment recommendations that
are available both to subscribers of Market Insights Reports and to non-subscribers. Any decision as to the
Investment recommendations made available are solely those of Stash. We may issue Market Insights Reports
on Investments or investment strategies that are also described in one or more of the Investment
recommendations made available to non-subscriber Clients.
Certain Effects of the Activities of Entities Invested in Stash Financial’s Capital Structure
Entities invested in Stash Financial’s capital structure such as private funds as well as public companies,
including their related persons and affiliates (such entities, “Shareholders”), engage in a variety of activities in
38
the global financial markets. The extent of Shareholders’ activities in the global financial markets may have
potential adverse effects on Stash Accounts. Shareholders, the clients they advise, and their personnel may
have interests in and advise accounts that have investment objectives or portfolios similar to, related to or
opposed to those of Stash Accounts. In addition, Shareholders, the clients they advise, and their personnel
may compete for commercial arrangements or transactions in the same types of securities and other
instruments as Stash Accounts. Transactions by, advice to and activities of Shareholders and/or their clients
(including with respect to investment decisions, voting and the enforcement of rights) may involve the same or
related securities or other instruments as those in which Stash Accounts invest, and Shareholders and/or their
clients may engage in a strategy while a Stash Account is undertaking the same or a differing strategy, any of
which could directly or indirectly disadvantage Clients (including their ability to engage in a transaction or other
activities) or the prices or terms at which the Client’s transactions or other activities may be effected. For
example, a Stash Account may hold a security and a Shareholder and/or its client may establish a short
position in that same security or in similar securities. Any such short position will result in the impairment of the
price of the security that the Stash Account holds or could be designed to profit from a decline in the price of
the security. To the extent a Client engages in transactions in the same or similar types of securities as
Shareholders and/or their clients, such Clients may compete for such transactions, and transactions by such
Shareholders and/or their clients may negatively affect the investments held in a Stash Account (including the
ability of the Client to engage in such a transaction or other activities), or the price or terms at which the
Client’s transactions or other activities may be effected. Moreover, a particular Client on the one hand, and a
Shareholder and/or a Shareholder client on the other hand, may take or refrain from taking different actions
with respect to the same security, which can be disadvantageous to the Client. Furthermore, certain
Shareholders have issued, and may in the future issue, securities recommended by Stash. Shareholders do
not and will not have any input into Stash’s investment decisions, including what Investments are or will be
recommended by the firm. Stash may recommend certain of these third-party partner’s securities as an
Investment option to its Clients, which may result in a conflict between Stash and its Clients. Stash mitigates
any actual or potential conflicts of interest by maintaining separate organizational reporting lines and
personnel. These conflicts of interest are further mitigated by the fact that Stash receives no additional
compensation for the recommendation of these third-party securities and, where appropriate, the Board of
Directors of Stash Financial has approved the addition of these third-party securities to the Stash platform.
Receipt of Compensation from Apex
Stash Capital, Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, shares in certain fees paid by the Client to Apex or otherwise
(including, without limitation, additional fees for the preparation and delivery of paper documents, account
transfers and other services) and shares in certain revenue paid to Apex through money market or bank sweep
programs and/or fully paid for securities lending programs, which create a conflict of interest for Stash in
performing its services pursuant to the Advisory Agreement.
Sweep Program
As described above and in the Advisory Agreement, Clients are automatically enrolled in the Sweep Program,
which is managed by Apex. Stash Capital, Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, will receive additional economic
benefits from cash investments held in the Client’s Stash Account Stash Capital may provide various
administrative services with respect to the assets participating in the Sweep Program and is compensated for
these services. The compensation Stash Capital receives for these services is paid based on Client assets
invested in the Sweep Program. Information related to the sweep arrangement can be requested by calling
Stash at (800) 205-5164. This conflict may be greater when higher cash balances are maintained in the
Client’s Stash Account. We will not be precluded by any of these conflicts from exercising our judgment in the
39
Client’s best interest.
The Stash Fee will be applied to cash and cash alternatives held within the Client’s Stash Account, including
any assets in the Sweep Program. The Stash Fee is in addition to other compensation that Stash and its
affiliates will earn in connection with these assets. Although the Client’s cash will be swept in accordance with
the Sweep Program described in the Sweep Program Terms and Conditions , the Client may experience
negative performance on the cash portion of the Client’s Stash Account if the Stash Fee charged on the
Client’s cash is higher than the return the Client receives from the Sweep Program.
When cash balances are deposited into a bank deposit account of one or more banks participating in the
Sweep Program:
●
●
●
●
Cash will be placed in an account bearing a reasonable rate of interest equal to the Effective Federal
Funds Rate and the participating depository institution will benefit from its use of the deposits.
Clients will be compensated monthly at an interest rate of up to 0.10% on their cash balance.
Stash Capital and Apex Clearing will receive compensation from the participating depository institution
in an amount equal to the difference between the interest income generated and the amount paid to
Clients. This compensation will be in addition to, and will not reduce, the Client’s Stash Fee, except as
required by law.
The applicable Sweep Program Terms and Conditions are described in the disclosures that the Client
receives in connection with the underlying Advisory Agreement, and are also available on the Stash
website at https://www.stash.com/disclosurelibrary .
Optional Securities Lending Program
Stash Capital, Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, will share in revenue earned on premiums paid on borrowed
Investments for taxable brokerage accounts in connection with the optional Securities Lending Program.
Discretionary Managed Accounts do not participate in the Securities Lending Program. The compensation paid
to Clients is calculated as 15% of the net proceeds earned and received by Apex for relending each Client’s
securities. Stash Capital may provide various administrative services with respect to the Securities Lending
Program and is compensated for these services. The compensation Stash Capital receives for these services
is calculated as 55% of the net proceeds earned and received by Apex for relending each Client’s securities.
The remaining 30% of the net proceeds earned and received by Apex for relending Investments will be kept by
Apex as its compensation. Clients agree to participate in the Securities Lending Program as part of Stash’s
onboarding process; Clients may choose to opt-out of the Securities Lending Program by sending an email to
support@stash.com .
Potential Ancillary Fees and Expenses Not Covered By the Stash Fee
Below is a list of ancillary fees Clients may incur that are not included in the Stash Fee. These fees would be
incurred based on a Client’s request and/or inactivity, and in some cases may be beyond our control, and are
accordingly excluded from the fees and services covered by the Stash Fee. Should a Client incur any of these
fees, such Client will be responsible for their payment in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Advisory Agreement and such Client’s other account opening agreements. This list of fees is the current list of
ancillary fees, but we reserve the right to change these fees in the future. Stash Capital, an affiliate of Stash,
shares (with the Custodian) a portion of certain of the fees listed below that are paid by the Client.
Bank Transfers :
●
Bank Transfer (ACH) Incoming – $0
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●
Bank Transfer (ACH) Outgoing- $0
●
Returned ACH (insufficient funds) – $0.50 each
●
ACH Notice of Correction (NOC) Fee – $5 per notice
●
Paper Checks - $2 per check
●
Returned Checks - $30 per check
●
Overnight Check - $50 per check
Account-Based :
●
Account Inactivity Fee Tier 1 Platform Service - $3 per Monthly Billing Period upon each occurrence of
three consecutive Monthly Billing Periods of (1) an Individual Account not being opened or the Individual
Account having a value of less than $50.00, as calculated based on the average daily value of the
assets in your Individual Account for each of the three immediately preceding Monthly Billing Periods
(using the daily value of the assets as of a certain time of day for each business day for these purposes)
and (2) no “Deposit Activity” (as defined below) during the entirety of such three consecutive Monthly
Billing Periods. “Deposit Activity” is defined as a successfully completed and settled deposit that is not
subsequently returned or reversed into any one of your Individual Accounts or Stash Banking Account
provided that any rewards issued pursuant to rewards or promotional program(s) offered by Stash
and/or its affiliates, including rewards issued by Stash’s affiliate’s Stock-Back ® Rewards program, are
not Deposit Activity
●
Account Maintenance Fee - $1 per calendar month beginning on the 6 th month anniversary of an
Individual Account placement into the closure process if and so long as such Individual Account has a
positive balance following such anniversary
●
Electronic Statement & Electronic Trade Confirms – $0
●
Paper Confirms – $2.50 per confirm
●
Paper Account and Tax Statements – $5 per statement
●
Paper Prospectuses - $1.50 per prospectus
●
Escheatment Processing & Notice - $7 per account
●
Returned Physical Mail - $2.00 per item
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ACAT (Automated Customer Account Transfer) :
●
ACAT Outgoing – $100 per account
●
ACAT Incoming – $0
Other
●
ADR fees - $0.01 to $0.03 per share (depending on the specific security)
●
Voluntary Reorganization (Domestic issuer) - $50
●
Voluntary Reorganization (International issuer) - $100
●
Stop Check Payments - $30
●
Margin sell out - $25 per ticket
●
Non-transferrable Stocks - $10 per calendar month per stock
●
Check Copies - $15
●
Swift Wire Fee - $25
Negative account balance interest will be accrued daily at the effective federal funds interest rate plus up to 300
basis points, and will be charged on a monthly basis
In addition, the Custodian may pass through to you additional fees or costs that it is invoiced for or incurs
from third-parties as a result of a Client’s action (e.g., resulting from certain ACH return codes, fees
associated with ADRs, etc.) regardless of whether such fees or costs are specifically denoted herein.
Conflicts of Interest Associated with Unaffiliated Advisers
Investment advisers unaffiliated with Stash, including investment managers of ETFs available in the Program,
(“Unaffiliated Advisers”) have interests and relationships that may create conflicts of interest related to their
management of the ETFs to which Stash Account assets are allocated. For information about conflicts of
interest that may arise in connection with the activities of Unaffiliated Advisers of the ETFs available in the
Program, please refer to the prospectuses, offering memoranda and constituent documents of such ETFs and
to the Forms ADV of such Unaffiliated Advisers.
Securities Trading by Stash and its Affiliates
Stash and/or its affiliates, including Stash Capital, Stash’s affiliated broker-dealer, may have a position in or
enter into “proprietary” transactions in securities purchased or sold for Stash Accounts. Stash and/or its
affiliates may benefit from such securities positions or transactions.
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We address these conflicts in a variety of ways, including (i) through disclosure in this Brochure and in the
Advisory Agreement; (ii) we are required to recommend investment products and securities that are suitable for
each Client with a Stash Account based upon Client Information; and (iii) we have established a variety of
restrictions, procedures and disclosures designed to address potential conflicts of interest—both those arising
between and among a Stash Account as well as between Stash Accounts and our business. For example, our
personnel also are subject to personal trading restrictions as detailed in our policies and procedures and Code.
In addition, Stash uses a technology platform that has a direct link to employees’ personal trading accounts,
where compliance is able to review account trades and holdings. Further, employees are required to attest
quarterly to their accounts being up-to-date in our system.
We may suggest or recommend that Clients use the execution or other services of our affiliated broker-dealer,
Stash Capital. Where we service the Client’s Stash Account utilizing our affiliate’s services, Stash and its
affiliates will receive compensation.
Review of Accounts
Account Reviews
An important part of the Program relationship involves providing the Client with the opportunity to engage in
periodic online reviews. These reviews provide updates on the progress of the Client’s Stash Account,
performance of the Client’s Stash Account’s portfolio and other important information about the Client’s
Investments. This review is also an opportunity to ensure that the information the Client provides is complete,
accurate and reflects the Client’s financial situation and objectives for the Stash Accounts enrolled in the
Program. If the Client is the custodian of this account for the benefit of another person, please keep in mind
that these assets will be invested for the benefit of the other person. The information the Client provides
should reflect the views and circumstances of the beneficiary of the Stash Account.
Stash provides all Clients with continuous access via the Platform to real time reporting information about their
account status, securities positions, and balances. Limited reviews of Stash Accounts are conducted through
the Platform on a periodic basis, including providing automated alerts. Clients are encouraged to update the
Client Information should there be a change in their circumstances.
Stash will review the assets in your Discretionary Managed Account no less frequently than quarterly to ensure
that the account asset allocation has not drifted by 5% or more from the set asset allocation associated with
your Discretionary Managed Account. If at quarter end the allocation in your Discretionary Managed Account is
5% or lesser or greater from the set asset allocation, the account will be rebalanced to the set asset allocation.
Additionally, your Discretionary Managed Account will be rebalanced annually to the set asset allocation at the
end of each calendar year, regardless of drift percentage relative to the set asset allocation, unless Stash
reasonably determines in good faith that such annual rebalancing would not be in your best interest, at which
point Stash will notify you via the Platform or via email that such annual rebalancing will not be performed in
your Discretionary Managed Account. Stash may, in its sole discretion, change the set asset allocation for your
Discretionary Managed Account pursuant to market movement or conditions. Stash may, in its sole discretion,
not rebalance your Discretionary Managed Portfolio if its balance is below the Minimum Balance and Stash
has determined to waive the Minimum Balance Requirement.
Calendar rebalancing is automatic and does not require ongoing, active monitoring of ETF thresholds in Client
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accounts. Range-based rebalancing, which is not offered by Stash, requires account monitoring around target
allocations and when target weights differ by set thresholds for the account, a transaction is effected for the
account to mirror target allocations, which may result in greater transaction fees. As part of the rebalancing to
bring portfolios in line with target allocations, the performance of purchased ETFs may lag the performance of
those sold to fund the purchases. Stash rebalances portfolios on a best efforts basis and in doing so does not
take into account individual tax, market, or legal circumstances. In some market conditions, this may create
capital gains tax liabilities. Clients must consult with a tax or legal professional for such information.
We will also contact the Client periodically primarily through electronic means to request that the Client reviews
the Client’s information for each of the Stash Accounts in the Program and ensure that it is up to date. The
Client will be required to perform the Client’s review through the Platform. Because these reviews provide the
Client with important and necessary information relating to the Client’s Stash Account, the Client is required to
take advantage of these opportunities to participate in Stash Account reviews. If the Client does not participate
in the Client’s Stash Account review, we may, in our discretion, terminate the Client’s Stash Account.
Stash’s supervision and monitoring do not substitute for each Client’s own continued review of the Investments
held in and the performance of each such Client’s Stash Account. Each Client is responsible for logging in to
the Client’s Stash Account regularly to review performance and access trade confirmations, periodic account
statements, and other information Stash makes available to Clients. If the Client identifies any discrepancies,
the Client should promptly report them to Stash by calling (800) 205-5164.
Client Reports
Clients can access their quarterly and, if applicable, monthly brokerage account statements provided by Apex
detailing their account information via the Platform.
Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Stash enters into marketing arrangements with third parties or Shareholders who, for compensation, will
provide consulting or other services to us in connection with marketing our various advisory programs, or
otherwise refer prospective Clients to us. Each such marketing arrangement is or will be governed by a written
agreement between us and the third party or Shareholder, and will be disclosed to the Client, as required by
law. Stash, however, does not receive any compensation for referring Clients to another advisor nor does
Stash pay any compensation to another advisor if another advisor refers Clients to Stash.
Stash or one or more of its related persons may also receive compensation from retailers in connection with
certain promotions, in which Stash or one or more of its related persons refers Clients to the retailers for the
purchase of non-investment consumer products or services. Stash or one or more of its related persons may,
in their sole discretion, also transfer a portion of the compensation received in connection with such promotions
into the applicable Client’s Stash Account, at no cost to the Client, to fund the purchase of additional
Investments.
Client Referrals
Stash offers Clients and/or prospective Clients certain promotions or rewards in connection with opening
and/or maintaining products and/or services offered by or through affiliated and unaffiliated entities. Such
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promotions or rewards may include, by way of example, the payment of a cash reward. The promotions may
require a Client to request to receive or participate in the promotion or reward, and/or require a Client to meet
various eligibility criteria. These promotions or rewards may extend to a Client’s Stash Account that holds
assets in the Program, and, in certain instances, participation in the Program may be a condition for these
promotions or rewards.
Stash also expects from time to time to run various promotional campaigns to attract Clients to open accounts
on the Platform. These promotions may include additional account services or products offered on a limited
basis to select Clients, more favorable fee arrangements, and/or reduced or waived advisory fees for Clients.
In addition, Stash makes cash payments to Clients for referring prospective Clients to Stash, consistent with
applicable laws, including Rule 206(4)-1 under the Advisers Act. The compensation arrangements generally
are based on a fixed payment paid to the referring Client by Stash and are disclosed to prospective Clients.
Stash, however, does not compensate employees of Stash or its affiliates for Client referrals.
Stash operates the “Stash It Forward” program. Under Stash It Forward, current Clients may share a link with
one or more friends. This link will allow the receiver to claim a fixed dollar amount for opening a Stash Account.
New Clients must meet certain eligibility criteria and adhere to the terms and conditions of Stash’s Advisory
Agreement. The monetary gift for opening an account must remain in the account for 90 days beginning from
the date the Client funds the Client’s Stash Account before the Client can transfer the funds out of the Stash
Account. Participation in Stash It Forward is not available to non-U.S. residents or individuals who regularly
provide investment advisory services to Clients in any U.S. state. Stash reserves the right to modify, extend or
cancel Stash It Forward at any time without notice, in Stash’s sole discretion.
Stash also pays pre-determined fees to third-parties for driving new users to Stash, which may be in the form
of so-called CPM, CPC, or CPA arrangements (respectively, impressions, clicks or actions through other
websites).
Financial Information
Stash does not solicit fees of more than $1,200.00, per Client, six months or more in advance and therefore
does not need to include a balance sheet with this Brochure. Stash has no financial commitment that would
impair its ability to meet any contractual and fiduciary commitments to the Client. Stash has not been the
subject of any bankruptcy proceedings.
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Form ADV Part 2B
115 East 34 th St.
P.O. Box 1922
New York, NY 10016
800-205-5164
w ww.stash.com
Form ADV Part 2B
Client Brochure Supplement
March 31, 2025
This Brochure Supplement provides information about Stash Investments LLC's employees that supplements
the Stash Investments Brochure. You should have received a copy of that Brochure. Please contact Stash at
800-205-5164 or support@stash.com if you did not receive the Brochure or if you have any questions about
the contents of this Brochure Supplement. Additional information about supervised persons below is available
on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Stash Investments LLC's discretionary investment advice is
formulated by a team of two supervised persons, and Stash has provided group supplementary information
below for the two supervised persons with the most significant responsibility for discretionary investment
advice provided to Clients.
Douglas Feldman
Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Strategy and Advice
Born
1973
Education
Harvard Business School, M.B.A
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School), B.S. - Accounting
and Finance
Business Background
ZAF Capital LLC - Managing Partner
Samuel Feldman Lumber Co. - Vice President
Clovis Capital Management LP - Senior Analyst
SC Fundamental LLC - Senior Analyst
Saw Mill Capital LLC - Vice President
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First Atlantic Capital Ltd. - Senior Associate
Wasserstein Perella & Co. Inc. - Associate and Financial Analyst
Disciplinary Information
None
Other Business Activity
None
Additional Compensation
None
Supervision
Mr. Feldman is supervised by Brandon Krieg
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