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FINANCIAL ARCITECTS, INC. DBA
STRAIGHT PATH WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Form ADV Part 2
Brochure Cover Page
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of
Financial Arcitects, Inc. and its dba Straight Path Wealth Management (SPWM). If you
have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at:
matthew@straightpathwealth.com. The information in this brochure has not been
approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by
any state securities authority.
Straight Path Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Advisor. This does not
imply a certain level of skill or training, nor any verification by the SEC. Additional
information about Financial Arcitects, Inc. and Straight Path Wealth Management
(SPWM) is also available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
February 9, 2026
Matthew Boersen
(616) 288- 3670
matthew@straightpathwealth.com
www.straightpathwealth.com
7699 Georgetown Center Drive, Jenison, MI 49428
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Item 2: MATERIAL CHANGES
Material Changes since the Last Annual Update
Item 4 – The Firm has updated its AUM.
DATE OF LAST ANNUAL UPDATE
MARCH 06, 2025
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Item 3: Table of Contents
Item 1: Brochure Cover Page .……………………………………………………………. 1
Item 2: Material Changes for Part 2A ..…………………………………………..……….. 3
Item 3: Table of Contents ….…...…...……………………………………………………… 4
Item 4: Advisory Business ……………………………..………………………………..... 5
Item 5: Fees and Compensation ……………………...……..……………….….……..... 6
Item 6:Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management ………………...... 7
Item 7: Types of Clients .………………..…………………………………………………... 7
Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss ………...….. 8
• Methods of Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….……… 8
•
Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss……………………………………………….………. 8-9
• Portfolio Strategies ……………………………………………………………………….……………. 9
- Investment Vehicles………………………………………………………………….. 10-12
Item 9: Disciplinary Information ……………....….…………………………………....... 12
Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations ……………...……….. 12
Item 11: Code of Ethics, Participation, or interest in Client Transactions and
Personal Trading ……………….……………………………………………………….….. 13
Item 12: Brokerage Practices ………………...………………………………………….. 13
Item 13: Review of Accounts …………………………………………………………….. 14
Item 14: Client Referrals and Other Compensation …………………………………. 14
Item 15: Custody ………………………………………………………………………........ 15
Item 16: Investment Discretion ……………………...…………………………………... 15
Item 17: Voting Client Securities ………………………………………………………… 16
Item 18: Financial Information …………………………………………………………… 16
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Firm Description
Straight Path Wealth Management ("SPWM") provides comprehensive investment
advisory services and financial planning for our clients. Financial Arcitects Inc. and its
dba Straight Path Wealth Management is incorporated in the State of Michigan starting
in 2002 and is registered as an independent investment advisory firm starting in 2009.
Straight Path Wealth Management is majority owned by Matthew B. Boersen, CFA,
CFP® and Victoria Buffum, EA.
Our Services
Investment Advisory
We spend roughly 65% of our time providing investment advisory services to our clients.
Our client’s assets are diversified among various investments consisting primarily of:
Individual securities with exposure to U.S. and foreign markets
• Exchange Traded Funds
•
• Mutual funds
Certain of these investments, at times, engage in short selling and the use of security
backed option strategies. We actively manage these investments; certain securities may
be held for less than 30 days while others may be held for a year or longer. Purchases
and sales are executed based on our view of the markets, as developed from our review
of publicly available fundamental and technical data, while considering their individual
investment objectives. Our clients do not impose restrictions on certain securities or types
of securities which may be used for their portfolios.
As of December 2025, we manage $470,050,793.00 of client assets on a discretionary
basis and $2,401,247.00 of client assets on a non-discretionary basis.
Financial Planning
In some cases, an estimated 50% of the time, our services shall involve the preparation
of a financial plan, which, depending upon the client, can range from a targeted to a
comprehensive financial plan. As part of this investment advisory service, the advisor may
provide advice regarding specific investments, and / or may act in the capacity of a
financial manager to a client. The process will involve, in part, the following: a)
Understanding the client’s personal and financial circumstances, b) Identifying and setting
goals, c) Analyzing and evaluating the current status, d) Developing recommendations
and creating a plan, e) Presenting the plan, f) Implementing the recommendations, and
g) Monitoring and updating the plan.
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Estate Planning
We offer Estate Planning services to our ongoing financial planning clients to assist with
general information as it applies to reviews of existing plans, gathering information needed
to provide outside firms in the creation of documents, and updating existing plans for
clients. The fees associated with estate planning services are separate and in addition to
your ongoing financial planning or advisory fees and are disclosed in Item 5.
Fees
Most clients pay an annual percentage fee for Investment Management and Supervisory
Services charged in arrears based upon the average daily account balance of the account
at the end of the previous billing period. Payment of Investment Management and
Supervisory fees are generally made through a debit directly to the client's account by the
qualified custodian holding the client's funds and securities. In some cases, the client may
pay these fees directly to SPWM. All fees will be clearly disclosed on custodial
statements. The client must consent in advance to direct debiting of their investment
account(s) for the payment of fees. The maximum fee schedule for our Investment
Advisory Services is:
Average Daily Value of Client Account
$0-250,000
$250,001-$1,000,000
for assets over $1,000,000
Annual Fee (%)
1.50%
1.35%
1.35%
The client’s specific billing terms and fees will be stipulated in the Client’s Investment
Management Agreement and may differ from the above schedule. Depending on
circumstances, such as a pending transfer of additional funds into the clients account,
a client’s fees may differ from the schedule above.
Financial Planning Fees
The Financial Planning Services provided to the client will be charged on an hourly,
retainer or project basis, negotiated between the client and the advisor. The fee is invoiced
to the client or can be deducted from the client’s account with written authorization from
the client. The client may elect to terminate the arrangement by giving notice in writing
and will be billed for services rendered up to that point. The advisor may charge up to the
specified amount: $500 per hour. Fees for Financial Planning Services are typically due
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after the plan and specified services. Most financial plans are completed within 1 month
of the start of the agreement.
Estate Planning Fees
The fees for estate planning will be determined based on the complexity of the planning
services needed. These fees will generally range from $750-$1,000 per estate plan. The
fees may be negotiable in certain cases, will be agreed to at the start of the engagement,
and are due at the end of the engagement. Clients are not required to utilize any third-
party products or services that we may recommend, and they can receive similar services
from other professionals at a similar or lower cost. These costs are primarily intended to
cover the costs of the estate drafting by the outside, third-party that is contracted to work
with Straight Path Wealth clients. As of January 2025, that is Encore Estate Plans.
Termination
We may terminate the agreement with you at any time by providing you with written notice.
Likewise, you may terminate the agreement at any time by providing us with written notice.
If you are billed in arrears for our services, any outstanding amounts owed to us shall
become immediately due and payable upon termination. If you rescind your agreement
with us within 5 business days of its execution, no fees will be charged. Upon termination,
we will have no obligation or take any action about the previously managed account and
normal trading fees will apply.
Other Investment Expenses
We do not receive compensation from mutual fund companies for client funds invested in
their mutual funds; however, clients may pay mutual fund expenses associated with these
investments. These expenses are deducted directly by the mutual fund companies.
Additionally, transaction costs associated with the purchase and sales of securities will
be debited from client accounts as they occur (further details regarding brokerage
activities can be found in the section titled "Brokerage Practices").
We do not charge performance-based fees or provide side-by-side management of
assets.
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We generally provide investment management and supervisory services to individuals,
including high-net-worth individuals. In addition, we also advise on corporate retirement
plans, corporate investment accounts and for non-profits.
METHODS OF ANALYSIS
We use a combination of academic, fundamental, economic, and technical analysis as a
basis for our investment decisions.
Academic analysis looks at the strategies and investment philosophies that have
exceled consistently over long historical periods. Through research reports, academic
journals, industry publications, and in-house research we work to invest in a way that
lines up with academic findings and standards.
Fundamental analysis looks at the overall stock market, asset classes, and at times
individual securities to determine both absolute and relative variations. This information
helps develop our portfolios and the allocations to each area of the market.
Economic analysis is the evaluation of data on a worldwide, country, or sector level to
determine overall growth projections and identify broad investment opportunities.
Technical analysis uses time and price and information to identify trends and possible
behavioral moves in the market.
Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
We tailor our investment strategies to meet your investment objectives and risk profile;
however, it is important for you to understand that losses may occur in individual
securities, and substantial loss is possible, but that risk and losses will be considered at
the aggregate portfolio level. We will adhere to the investment management style for
which we are hired and will make reasonable efforts to control risks, recognizing that
assuming risk is necessary to produce long-term results that are sufficient to meet the
investment objectives.
We may periodically engage in market timing of equities during periods of increased
economic uncertainty or when the market outlook shows a shift among asset classes.
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This can include day trading of individual stocks or ETF’s during periods of volatility or
sideways markets. In general, fixed-income/bond positions will be held to maturity,
although, in certain circumstances, bonds may be sold prior to maturity for various
reasons (e.g. tender offers, tax-loss selling, before or after downgrade). For stocks or
real estate investment trusts, we may exit positions at any given time and reduce
exposure below the initial target allocation as determined by your risk assessment and
investment objectives, or to zero exposure if deemed appropriate. You need to
understand that this may mean loss of opportunity in stocks and may result in under-
performance of benchmarks with the stock portion of the portfolio. In addition, increased
trading activity often results in additional transactions costs which will reduce the overall
return in your portfolio.
Portfolio Strategies
Portfolio strategies are selected based on your risk assessment and investment
objectives. The following are common portfolio types:
CONSERVATIVE -
For clients with a short investment time horizon or very low risk tolerance. This portfolio
with seek to have minimal volatility and likely concentrate on income creation through
bonds and conservative equity holdings. As a tradeoff for the lower volatility, the
potential growth in the portfolio may be limited relative to the Moderate and Aggressive
portfolio.
MODERATE -
For clients with a medium investment time horizon or a balanced risk tolerance. By
combining income producing investments like bonds with equity holdings for growth, the
moderate portfolio seeks to provide a sustainable return that while still varying from year
to year, will have less fluctuation than an aggressive portfolio and more growth than the
conservative portfolio.
AGGRESSIVE –
For clients with a long investment time horizon, generally exceeding 8 years, and for
those with a high-risk tolerance. This strategy will use primarily equity-based
investments to achieve long-term returns and growth. An emphasis will be placed on
long-term growth, which will likely result in increased volatility in line with the general
markets.
Investment Vehicles
Investment of assets will generally be limited to investments in:
STOCKS/ EQUITIES (COMMON AND PREFERRED):
Stocks/equities represent a share of ownership in a corporation. Stock returns are
based on company’s dividends and profits and how investors assess its potential for
future profits. Historically, stocks have provided the highest returns over time, but stock
prices fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, and investors can sustain substantial losses.
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There is no protection of principal and dividends can be reduced or eliminated also.
Investors typically choose stocks for growth of capital, which can hopefully keep them
ahead of inflation over the long term. There is risk of substantial loss of principal in
stocks.
EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS (ETFs):
An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds and trades at
approximately the same price as the net asset value of its underlying assets over the
course of the trading day. The main advantage of an ETF over individual stocks is that
they provide diversification to a portfolio as we seek returns from a specific industry
sector, asset class, or market index. Diversification helps limit the concentrated risks
associated with individual securities.
The expense ratios of ETFs are generally lower versus active mutual funds and in some
cases, even lower than index mutual funds. Also, ETFs often have lower trading costs
versus actively managed funds, due to their low portfolio turnover. The ETF cost
savings can be significant, especially for long-term investors. Investing in ETFs will
usually result in a brokerage commission, but the savings from lower expense ratios can
help to offset these transaction costs.
Like a stock, ETFs can be bought and sold during the trading day; thus, the price will
fluctuate and may result in a price which exceeds the actual value of the underlying
assets. Like a stock, prices fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, and investors can sustain
substantial losses. There is no protection of principal.
MUTUAL FUNDS:
A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from
many investors for investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market
instruments and similar assets. Mutual funds are operated by money managers, who
invest the fund's capital and attempt to produce capital gains and income for the fund's
investors. A mutual fund's portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment
objectives stated in its prospectus.
One of the main advantages of mutual funds is that they give small investors access to
professionally managed, diversified portfolios of equities, bonds, and other securities,
which would be quite difficult (if not impossible) to create with a small amount of capital.
Each shareholder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. Mutual fund
units, or shares, are issued and can typically be purchased or redeemed as needed at
the fund's current net asset value (NAV) per share.
The transaction costs to buy and sell mutual funds are often greater than the costs for
individual stocks or ETFs. Most mutual funds are actively managed and usually carry
higher expense ratios than an ETF which reduces the overall gain for the fund. Often
mutual funds experience capital gains and dividends from the underlying securities
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which may trigger taxable events for investors. There is no protection of principal and
based on the underlying securities in the fund. There may be risk of substantial loss of
principal.
INDIVIDUAL BONDS:
Bonds are IOUs issued by governments, agencies and corporations. Interest-rate
changes directly affect prices and returns of bonds, but in general, bond prices
fluctuate less than stocks. Investors typically choose bonds to receive income and to
also diversify stock portfolios. There is risk of substantial loss of principal in bonds.
Credit Quality of Bonds:
• HIGH QUALITY:
Bonds that have a credit rating of AAA and AA are categorized as high quality.
• MEDIUM QUALITY:
Bonds that have a credit rating of less than AA but greater than or equal to BBB-
are considered medium quality.
• LOW QUALITY:
Bonds that have a credit rating of less than BBB- are considered low quality.
• BOND DURATION:
Short-term: 5 years or less
•
IMMEDIATE-TERM:
5 to 10 years
• LONG-TERM:
10 years or longer
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS:
A real estate investment trust is a tax designation for a corporation investing in real
estate that reduces or eliminates corporate income taxes. In return, REITs are required
to distribute 90% of their income, which may be taxable, into the hands of the investors.
There is risk of substantial loss of principal in real estate investment trusts.
ASSET-BACKED OPTIONS STRATEGIES:
Options strategies may be utilized in certain accounts primarily to increase income and
yield along with reduction of portfolio delta. All of the strategies will be asset-backed
strategies and have defined risk parameters. Historically options have been employed in
a variety of ways. Options can dramatically increase risk and leverage or greatly
decrease risk and volatility along with creating income.
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CASH-EQUIVALENT INVESTMENTS:
A cash investment is a very short-term IOU issued by a government, corporation, bank,
or other financial institution. Using the interest payments from such IOUs, money market
mutual funds provide income---most often, less than provided by bonds, while
maintaining a stable price of $1 a share. Investors typically rely on these types of
investments to meet liquidity needs (withdrawal needs) and short-term goals. There is
risk of loss due to inflation when investing in low- yielding cash-equivalent investments.
None of the advisors at Straight Path Wealth Management have had any criminal or civil
actions relating to investment advice, or any SEC, regulatory, or self-regulatory
proceedings against them.
Steffen and Associates Inc.
Steffen and Associates Inc. is a separate insurance agency that was part of a business
purchase and is affiliated due to similar ownership. Steffen and Associates Inc. no longer
places any insurance policies. It is owned by Matthew Boersen and Victoria Buffum.
Straight Path Tax and Accounting Solutions Inc
Straight Path Tax and Accounting Solutions is an accounting firm of which Matthew
Boersen and Victoria Buffum are employed and own. This firm is a separate legal entity
and operates separately from Straight Path Wealth Management. It provides tax
preparation to individual and small businesses as well as general accounting functions.
While clients of both firms are free to use the other firm’s service, there is no obligation or
expectation to do so. Matthew Boersen and Victoria Buffum jointly own Straight Path Tax
and Accounting Solutions Inc.
Other Affiliations
Matthew B. Boersen is a board director at CMA (Christian Mission Aid)
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Other advisors may also be licensed as insurance agents independently of Straight Path
Wealth Management. Their licenses are disclosed on their ADV Part 2B.
A potential conflict of interest could arise upon the completion of a financial plan which
uncovers the need for an insurance product. Should this need be fulfilled by an advisor
acting in the capacity of an insurance agent, a commission would be paid directly to the
agent. When an advisor receives commission on a sale outside of Straight Path Wealth,
that advisor must disclose the potential conflict to clients. The client is free to implement
insurance-related needs with another agent.
Matthew Boersen serves as an Owner at Consensus Settlement Partners, LLC, which
operates as a consulting firm facilitating referrals to Straight Path Wealth. He oversees
operations with the start date of May 8, 2024, dedicates 2 hours monthly during and
outside trading hours, with no compensation from the business.
INTEREST IN CLIENT TRANSACTIONS AND
We will provide a copy of our Code of Ethics to you upon request. The Code of Ethics
sets forth standards of conduct expected of advisory personnel and addresses conflicts
of interest in the trading by advisory personnel of their personal accounts.
The Code of Ethics prohibits us and our employees from placing our interests ahead
of your interests or in any way taking advantage or our position to the detriment of our
clients. Employees' trading is subject to pre-clearance by Financial Arcitects Inc. and
SPWM to avoid any conflicts. A violation of the Code of Ethics by an employee can
result in a warning and eventually termination. We often invest our assets in the
investments that we recommend to clients; however, we are prohibited from executing
such trades in a manner that would conflict with or reduce the value of client trades.
We use Charles Schwab, Altruist, and Betterment Securities as the primary custodians
for our client’s assets. The majority of our client's securities transactions are brokered
through Charles Schwab. Many of the exchange traded funds and mutual funds we use
can be bought and sold with no fees or commissions. We feel the current fees are
reasonable in relationship to the value of the brokerage, execution and other services
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provided by Charles Schwab and it is our duty to seek the best execution for client
trades. We do not receive compensation for any trades, commissions, or transaction
fees charged by Charles Schwab.
When we make broad purchases or sales of securities across our client’s portfolios we
will aggregate the trades as a single block trade. This enables us to avoid conflicts of
interest or showing favoritism among client accounts.
Charles Schwab gives us access to professional grade research tools such as
investment analyst reports, economic and market forecast commentary, portfolio
analysis software and investment screeners. These services may be considered “Soft
Dollar Benefits” because we do not pay a fee for the use of these services and products;
however, these products and services are made available to us because we use Charles
Schwab as a custodian and not because of achieving certain trading activities or costs
in client accounts.
The benefits we receive from these products and services are used to service all our
client’s accounts. This may provide us with incentive to recommend Charles Schwab
whose trading fees may be higher than those of another discount brokerage firm which
does not provide these services or products.
In certain circumstances, we may also use another third-party custodian. Specifically,
Nationwide Advisory, Lincoln Financial and Millennium Trust Company will custody
certain assets for clients depending on the asset class of the investments.
Matthew Boersen or another advisor with Straight Path collectively review all accounts.
Daily we monitor the securities in your account considering changing conditions. Annually
we conduct an in-depth review of your account and we meet with you, if possible, to
discuss the direction of your investments in meeting your current and future financial
goals. At your request, we are happy to perform semiannual reviews which would follow
the same format as our annual review.
Our custodian, Charles Schwab, will provide you with a monthly statement for your
account; additionally, we send you a quarterly report which will detail the performance of
your account.
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We engage independent solicitors to provide client referrals. If a client is referred to us by
a solicitor, this practice is disclosed to the client in writing by the solicitor and we pay the
solicitor out of our own funds— specifically, we generally pay the solicitor a portion of the
advisory fees earned for managing the capital of the client or investor that was referred.
The use of solicitors is strictly regulated under applicable federal and state law. Our policy
is to fully comply with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-3, under the Investment Advisers
Act of 1940, as amended, and similar state rules, as applicable.
We may receive client referrals from Zoe Financial, Inc through its participation in Zoe
Advisor Network (ZAN). Zoe Financial, Inc is independent of and unaffiliated SPWM and
there is no employee relationship between them. Zoe Financial established the Zoe
Advisor Network as a means of referring individuals and other investors seeking fiduciary
personal investment management services or financial planning services to independent
investment advisors. Zoe Financial does not supervise SPWM and has no responsibility
for SPWM’s management of client portfolios or SPWM’s other advice or services.
SPWM pays Zoe Financial an on-going fee for each successful client referral. This fee is
usually a percentage of the advisory fee that the client pays SPWM (“Solicitation Fee”).
We will not charge clients referred through Zoe Advisor Network any fees or costs higher
than its standard fee schedule offered to its clients. For information regarding additional
or other fees paid directly or indirectly to Zoe Financial Inc, please refer to the Zoe
Financial Disclosure and Acknowledgement Form.
Our policy requires that we do not accept custody of client funds. All checks are to be
made out to our custodian, Charles Schwab or the respective custodian, and all funds are
to be mailed directly to them.
If checks are mailed to us inadvertently checks will be forwarded to Charles Schwab within
one business day.
As mentioned in the section "Review of Accounts" you will receive an account statement
monthly from Charles Schwab and a quarterly account statement from us. We urge you
to compare both statements for accuracy and report to us any discrepancies.
SPWM has discretionary authority to make all trades for its clients, and at its discretion
selects the investments and the amounts to be invested considering client objectives. We
do not intend to use leverage in accounts, unless specifically instructed to do so by the
client. However, sometimes the mutual funds or ETF’s which are held in your account
may use leverage as described in their individual prospectus.
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Once your investment factors are established, you will open a discretionary asset
management account with Charles Schwab or another custodian, through which we will
monitor and purchase and/or sell securities on a discretionary basis. The application for
this account will execute a limited power of attorney which will grant us limited authority
over your account. We will be limited to making purchases and sales within the account.
In some limited cases, such as with 401(k) plans for which we serve as a 3(21) fiduciary,
SPWM does not hold discretionary control.
We do not have authority to vote client securities. You will receive voting proxies or other
solicitations directly from Charles Schwab or the respective custodian. Should you have
questions about a solicitation you may contact us directly through the contact information
contained on the front of this brochure.
Our financial condition does not impair our ability to meet contractual commitments to
clients.
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STRAIGHT PATH WEALTH MANAGEMENT
__________________________________________
7699 Georgetown Center Drive Jenison, MI, 49428
(616) 288-3670
Matthew@straightpathwealth.com
www.StraightPathWealth.com
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STRAIGHT PATH WEALTH MANAGEMENT
__________________________________________
7699 Georgetown Center Drive Jenison, MI, 49428