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Form ADV Part 2A
Item 1 – Cover Page
Virtus Wealth Solutions
Cranford, New Jersey
517 Centennial Avenue, Suite 200
Cranford, NJ 07016
(908) 967-6360
www.virtuswealthsolutions.com
11/4/2025
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Virtus Wealth
Solutions. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at (908) 967-
6360 or info@virtuswealthsolutions.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.
Additional information about Virtus Wealth Solutions is also available on the SEC’s website at
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Virtus Wealth Solutions is a registered investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does
not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Item 2 – Material Changes
Since the firm’s last brochure update on March 24th, 2025, we have made the following changes:
Update to Item 4 and Item 5 to clarify services offered at American Funds.
Updates to Item 14 to include information on a new forgivable loan from LPL Financial and
promoter disclosures.
You may request a copy of our current Brochure at any time, without charge, by calling us at (908) 967-
6360 or e-mailing us at info@virtuswealthsolutions.com.
Additional information about Virtus Wealth Solutions is available via the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public
Disclosure website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. The SEC’s website also provides information about any
persons affiliated with Virtus Wealth Solutions who are registered, or are required to be registered, as
Investment Adviser Representatives of Virtus Wealth Solutions.
Item 3 – Table of Contents
Item 1 – Cover Page ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Item 2 – Material Changes ............................................................................................................................ 2
Item 3 – Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 3
Item 4 – Advisory Business .......................................................................................................................... 4
Item 5 – Fees and Compensation ................................................................................................................ 11
Item 6 – Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management ........................................................... 19
Item 7 – Types of Clients ............................................................................................................................ 19
Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss ..................................................... 20
Item 9 – Disciplinary Information .............................................................................................................. 27
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations .................................................................. 27
Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading .............. 27
Item 12 – Brokerage Practice ...................................................................................................................... 28
Item 13 – Review of Accounts .................................................................................................................... 32
Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation .................................................................................. 32
Item 15 – Custody ....................................................................................................................................... 34
Item 16 – Investment Discretion ................................................................................................................. 34
Item 17 – Voting Client Securities .............................................................................................................. 35
Item 18 – Financial Information ................................................................................................................. 35
Item 4 – Advisory Business
About Us
Virtus Wealth Solutions is a registered investment adviser offering financial planning and asset
management services to clients. Virtus Wealth Solutions has been in business since 2002, and is principally
owned by Innovative Financial Solutions, NJ LLC of which Devang Patel is the managing member.
Previously, the firm operated under Devang’s personal name which was then dba Patel Financial Group
and in 2012, merged into Virtus Wealth Solutions.
This Brochure is designed to provide detailed and clear information relating to each item noted in the
table of contents. Certain disclosures are repeated in one or more items, and/or other items are referred
to in an effort to be as comprehensive as possible on the broad subject matters discussed. Within this
Brochure, certain terms in either upper- or lowercase are used as follows:
“We,” “us,” and “our” refer to Virtus Wealth Solutions.
“Advisor” refers to persons who provide investment recommendations or advice on behalf of
Virtus Wealth Solutions.
“You,” “yours,” and “client” refer to clients of Virtus Solutions and its advisors.
Description of Services Available
Virtus Wealth Solutions offers a suite of investment advisory services and programs to its advisors for use
with their clients. Our investment advisory services and programs are designed to accommodate a wide
range of client investment philosophies, goals, needs, and investment objectives. Through these various
advisory programs and services, clients have access to a wide range of securities products, including, but
not limited to, common and preferred stocks; municipal, corporate, and government fixed income
securities; mutual funds; exchange-traded products (“ETPs”); options and derivatives; unit investment
trusts (“UITs”); and variable and fixed-indexed insurance products, as well as other products and services,
including a variety of asset allocation services, financial planning, and consulting services. Our advisors
may also offer advice related to direct participation programs, private placements, and other alternative
investments, such as alternative energy programs, research and development programs, leasing
programs, real estate programs, and pooled commodities futures programs.
Virtus Wealth Solutions offers the following programs:
Financial Planning Services
Virtus Wealth Solutions’ advisors provide advisory consulting services on a wide range of topics, including,
but not limited to, comprehensive financial planning, risk management and insurance planning, banking
and credit management, budgeting and cash flow analysis, major purchases, education planning,
retirement income/longevity planning, portfolio analysis, estate planning analysis, charitable giving
planning, executive compensation planning, debt extinguishment planning, investment analysis, and
business succession planning
Our financial planning process begins with a consultation to determine your assets, liabilities, investment
objectives, present and future foreseeable financial obligations, income, and risk tolerance. Using this
information, we will create a financial plan consistent with your needs. When the plan is completed, we
will meet with you to present the plan and answer any question you may have.
Commonwealth Programs
Commonwealth Financial Network (“Commonwealth”) makes available certain consulting services
programs to Virtus Wealth Solutions as part of its contract with Commonwealth for platform services.
These consulting services programs are described below. In such cases where we offer Commonwealth’s
consulting services programs to you, Virtus Wealth Solutions remains responsible for the suitability and
appropriateness of the investment advisory services provided. This arrangement does not create an
advisory relationship between Commonwealth and Virtus Wealth Solutions or Commonwealth and you.
It is our responsibility to comply with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the provision of investment
advice to you, including, but not limited to, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”), as
amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder, as well as all applicable state statutes, rules, and
regulations that apply to our business. Virtus Wealth Solutions is responsible for the accuracy of all records
that reflect your financial condition, risk tolerance, and investment objectives of your account(s); that the
orders that we place with or through Commonwealth on your behalf are suitable for you and consistent
with our fiduciary duty to you; and that the investment advice and advisory services provided to you in
general are and remain appropriate for you. Commonwealth will provide, or cause to be provided, to
client’s trade confirmations and custodial account statements. Commonwealth will provide or will
otherwise make available to the advisor duplicate trade confirmations and Client custodial account
statements.
Virtus Wealth Solutions has entered into an agreement with Commonwealth to offer Commonwealth’s
Wealth Management Consulting, Retirement Plan Consulting and Plan Participant Consulting programs.
Wealth Management Consulting: We provide advisory consulting services on a wide range of topics,
including, but not limited to, comprehensive financial planning, budgeting and cash flow analysis, major
purchases, education planning, retirement income/longevity planning, portfolio analysis, estate planning
analysis, investment analysis, business succession planning, and fringe benefit analysis. Clients may also
elect to enter into consulting or financial planning engagements with advisors separately from, in addition
to, or as part of their managed account program, as may be agreed between the client and advisor.
Retirement Plan Consulting: We provide a fee-for-service consulting program whereby our advisors offer
onetime or ongoing advisory services to qualified retirement plans. Through the Retirement Plan
Consulting Program, advisors assist plan sponsors with their fiduciary duties and provide individualized
advice based upon the needs of the plan and/or plan participants regarding investment management
matters, such as:
Investment policy statement support
Plan menu design and monitoring
Service provider support
Participant advice programs
Plan Participant Consulting: We provide a fee-for-service consulting program whereby advisors offer
ongoing advisory services to an individual retirement account (“IRA”) formed under a SIMPLE IRA Plan.
Through the Plan Participant Consulting Program, advisors are able to assist a client with a variety of
advisory services such as:
Financial planning and portfolio analysis
Education on the options available through the SIMPLE IRA Plan
Recommended asset allocation
Clients who participate in one or more of Commonwealth’s programs will receive Commonwealth’s Form
ADV Part 2 and/or Wrap Fee Brochure, in addition to Virtus Wealth Solutions Form ADV Part 2. Clients
should refer to Commonwealth’s Form ADV Part 2 and/or Wrap Fee Brochure for detailed information
about Commonwealth and Commonwealth’s programs.
Asset Management Services
Commonwealth makes available certain asset management programs to Virtus Wealth Solutions as part
of its contract with Commonwealth for platform services. These asset management programs are
described below. In such cases where we offer Commonwealth’s asset management programs to you,
Virtus Wealth Solutions remains responsible for the suitability and appropriateness of the investment
advisory services provided. This arrangement does not create an advisory relationship between
Commonwealth and Virtus Wealth Solutions or Commonwealth and you. It is our responsibility to comply
with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the provision of investment advice to you, including, but
not limited to, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”), as amended, and the rules
promulgated thereunder, as well as all applicable state statutes, rules, and regulations that apply to our
business. Virtus Wealth Solutions is responsible for the accuracy of all records that reflect your financial
condition, risk tolerance, and investment objectives of your account(s); that the orders that we place with
or through Commonwealth on your behalf are suitable for you and consistent with our fiduciary duty to
you; and that the investment advice and advisory services provided to you in general are and remain
appropriate for you. Commonwealth will provide, or cause to be provided, to client’s trade confirmations
and custodial account statements. Commonwealth will provide or will otherwise make available to the
advisor duplicate trade confirmations and Client custodial account statements.
Virtus Wealth Solutions has entered into an agreement to offer clients access to certain programs offered
by Commonwealth, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Specifically, Commonwealth’s PPS Custom
Account Program, PPS Select Account Program, and PPS Direct Account Program may be offered.
PPS Custom: The PPS Custom Program enables an advisor to assist the client in developing a personalized
investment portfolio using one or more investment types, including, but not limited to, stocks, bonds,
mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), UITs, variable and fixed-indexed annuities, and alternative
investments. The advisor typically acts as portfolio manager, with full investment discretion, although
clients may elect to have the advisor manage the account on a nondiscretionary basis.
PPS Select: The PPS Select Program offers a variety of model portfolios from which investors may choose.
The PPS Select model portfolios are created and managed on a discretionary basis by Commonwealth’s
Investment Management and Research team. The advisor will help the client determine which PPS Select
models are best suited for the client based on his or her risk profile, investment objectives, and
preferences, leaving the actual trading decisions to the Investment Management and Research team. PPS
Select offers a variety of model portfolios with varying investment product types, including mutual fund
and ETF portfolios, equity portfolios, fixed income portfolios, and variable annuity subaccount portfolios.
PPS Direct: The PPS Direct Program offers clients access to a variety of model portfolios involving a range
of risk levels from which they may choose. Generally, apart from the PPS Direct Third-Party Fund Strategist
Program and the PPS Direct Mutual Fund/ETF Program, the PPS Direct portfolios are not managed by
Commonwealth or the l advisor. Rather, PPS Direct model portfolios are managed by one or more third-
party portfolio managers on a discretionary basis. PPS Direct portfolios may consist of mutual funds or
ETFs, or they may be made up of individual equities, fixed income securities, or other types of investments.
There are four types of PPS Direct Program accounts, which are broadly described as follows:
PPS Direct Mutual Fund/ETF: As the name suggests, these accounts will be allocated among
mutual funds or ETFs.
PPS Direct Separately Managed Account (“SMA”): This separately managed account strategy
invests in individual securities (e.g., stocks and bonds).
PPS Direct Third-Party Fund Strategist (“Strategist”): Third-party investment advisers provide
asset allocation model strategies comprising mutual funds and ETFs.
PPS Direct Unified Managed Account (“UMA”): This is best described as multiple SMAs in a single
account.
American Funds:
When appropriate, Virtus Wealth Solutions recommends or manages client assets in mutual funds
sponsored by American Funds Service Company (AFS”) using the F-2 share class, which is designed for fee-
based advisory programs. Clients who are invested in these Funds will pay an annual asset-based fee to
Virtus Wealth Solutions in addition to expenses associated with such funds. F-2 shares do not impose
front-end or deferred sales charges and do not pay 12b-1 distribution fees. However, certain operational
and shareholder-servicing expenses of the funds (including sub-transfer/recordkeeping fees) are paid
from fund assets, which reduce fund returns. More information regarding this fund share class may be
found in the Fund’s prospectus, which should be reviewed carefully before investing. Clients should
carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses associated with the Funds.
Additional information regarding fees is set forth at Item 5 below.
Investment recommendations and advice offered by Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors do not
constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Clients should coordinate and discuss the impact of the
financial advice they receive from their advisor with their attorney and accountant. Clients should also
inform their advisor promptly of any changes in their financial situation, investment goals, needs, or
objectives. Failure to notify the advisor of any material changes could result in investment advice not
meeting the changing needs of the client.
IRA Rollover Considerations
As part of our financial planning and advisory services, we may provide you with recommendations and
advice concerning your employer retirement plan or other qualified retirement account. When
appropriate, we may recommend that you withdraw the assets from your employer’s retirement plan or
other qualified retirement account and roll the assets over to an individual retirement account (“IRA”) to
be managed by our firm that we recommend. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA under our
management, we will charge you an asset-based fee as described in Item 5. This practice presents a
conflict of interest because our Advisory Representative has an incentive to recommend a rollover to you
for the purpose of generating fee-based compensation rather than solely based on your needs. You are
under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the rollover. Furthermore, if you do
complete the rollover, you are under no obligation to have your IRA assets managed under our program
or a Third-Party Managed Program. You have the right to decide whether to complete the rollover and
the right to consult with other financial professionals.
Some employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan. Also,
current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before they retire or change
jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options
are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of each.
An employee will typically have four options:
1. Leave the funds in your employer’s (former employer’s) plan.
2. Roll over the funds to a new employer’s retirement plan.
3. Cash out and take a taxable distribution from the plan.
4. Roll the funds into an IRA rollover account.
Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. Before making a change, we encourage you to
speak with your financial advisor, CPA and/or tax attorney.
Before rolling over your retirement funds to an IRA for us to manage or to a Third-Party Managed Program,
carefully consider the following. NOTE: This list is not exhaustive.
1. Determine whether the investment options in your employer’s retirement plan address your
needs or whether other types of investments are needed.
a. Employer retirement plans generally have a more limited investment menu than IRAs.
b. Employer retirement plans may have unique investment options not available to the
public, such as employer securities or previously closed funds.
2. Your current plan may have lower fees than our fee and/or the Third-Party Manager’s fee
combined.
a. If you are interested in investing only in mutual funds, you should understand the cost
structure of the share classes available in your employer’s retirement plan and how the costs
of those share classes compare with those available in an IRA.
3. You should understand the various products and services available through an IRA provider and
4.
their costs.
It is likely you will not be charged a management fee and will not receive ongoing asset
management services unless you elect to have such services. If your plan offers management
services, the fee associated with the service may be more or less than our fee and/or the Third-
Party Manager’s fee combined.
5. The Third-Party Manager’s or our management strategy may have higher risk than the options
provided to you in your plan.
6. Your current plan may offer financial advice, guidance, management and/or portfolio options at
7.
no additional cost.
If you keep your assets titled in a 401(k) or retirement account, you could potentially delay your
required minimum distribution beyond the required minimum distribution age.
8. Your 401(k) may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA; each state varies. Generally,
Federal law protects assets in qualified plans from creditors. Since 2005, IRA assets have been
generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies; however, there can be exceptions. Consult an
attorney if you are concerned about protecting your retirement plan assets from creditors.
9. You may be able to take out a loan on your 401(k), but not from an IRA.
10. IRA assets can be accessed any time; however, distributions are subject to ordinary income tax
and may also be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty unless they qualify for an exception
such as disability, higher education expenses or a home purchase.
11. If you own company stock in your plan, you may be able to liquidate those shares at a lower capital
gains tax rate.
12. Your plan may allow you to hire us or another firm as the manager and keep the assets titled in
the plan name.
It is important that you understand your options, their features, and their differences, and decide whether
a rollover is best for you. If you have questions, contact us at our main number listed on the cover page
of this brochure.
In addition to complying with applicable SEC rules, Virtus Wealth Solutions is subject to certain rules and
regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Labor when we provide nondiscretionary investment
advice to retirement plan participants and IRA owners. When these DOL rules apply, our advisors and
Virtus Wealth Solutions are “fiduciaries,” for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (“ERISA”), as amended, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (“the Code”), as amended.
Therefore, Virtus Wealth Solutions and our advisors may not receive payments that create conflicts of
interest when providing fiduciary investment advice to plan sponsors, plan participants, and IRA owners,
unless we comply with a prohibited transaction exemption (“PTE”). Beginning December 20, 2021, Virtus
Wealth Solutions and our advisors will comply with ERISA and the Code by using PTE 2020-02. As
fiduciaries under ERISA and the Code, we render advice that is in plan participants’ and IRA customers’
best interest. Virtus Wealth Solutions’ and our advisors’ status as an ERISA/Code fiduciary is limited to
ERISA/Code covered nondiscretionary advice and recommendations regarding rolling over a retirement
account and does not extend to all situations.
Individualized Services and Client-Imposed Restrictions
The investment advisory services provided by our advisors depend largely on the personal information
the client provides to the advisor. In order for our advisors to provide appropriate investment advice to,
or, in the case of discretionary accounts, make tailored investment decisions for, the client, it is very
important that clients provide accurate and complete responses to their advisor’s questions about their
financial condition, needs, goals, and objectives and notify the advisor of any reasonable restrictions they
wish to apply to the securities or types of securities to be bought, sold, or held in their managed account.
It is also important that clients promptly inform their advisor of any changes in their financial condition,
investment objectives, personal circumstances, or reasonable investment restrictions pertaining to the
management of their account, if any, that may affect their overall investment goals and strategies, or the
investment advice provided, or investment decisions made by their advisor.
In general, the advisor is responsible for delivering investment advisory services to clients, and clients
generally deal with matters relating to their accounts by contacting their advisor directly. Of course, clients
may contact Virtus Wealth Solutions directly with questions about the advisory services offered by our
firm.
Wrap Fee Programs
Certain programs offered by Virtus Wealth Solutions are considered “wrap fee” programs in which the
client pays a specified fee (known as a “wrap fee”) for portfolio management services and trade execution
that are in addition to the asset-based fees. Wrap fee programs differ from non-wrap fee programs in that
the asset management fee structure for wrap programs is intended to be largely all-inclusive, whereas
non-wrap fee programs assess trade execution costs that are typically in addition to the asset
management fee. Virtus Wealth Solutions covers the cost of the platform fee charged to PPS Custom
accounts.
Commonwealth’s PPS Custom, PPS Direct and PPS Select programs, are considered “wrap fee” programs
in which the client pays specified fees for portfolio management services and trade execution.
The PPS Direct model portfolio wrap fee programs or model strategies available through Commonwealth
are managed in accordance with the investment methodology and philosophy used by the respective
third-party portfolio manager, investment adviser, or strategist. The PPS Select Program is managed in
accordance with the investment methodology and philosophy of Commonwealth’s own Investment
Management and Research team.
For the
investment advisory services provided to you by Commonwealth and your advisor,
Commonwealth receives a the wrap fees you pay when you participate in any wrap fee program through
Commonwealth. Commonwealth receives the wrap fees you pay when you participate
in
Commonwealth’s PPS Select programs to compensate for the investment management and research
services provided by the Commonwealth Investment Management and Research team.
For more information relating to Commonwealth’s wrap fee programs, please refer to Appendix 1 of the
Commonwealth ADV Part 2A document, titled “The Wrap Fee Program Brochure.”
Assets Under Management
As of December 31st, 2024, Virtus Wealth Management manages $501,433,225 in assets. All assets are
managed on a discretionary basis.
Program Choice Conflicts of Interest
Clients should be aware that the compensation to Virtus Wealth Solutions and your advisor will differ
according to the specific advisory programs or services provided. This compensation to Virtus Wealth
Solutions and your advisor may be more than the amounts we would otherwise receive if you participated
in another program or paid for investment advice, brokerage, or other relevant services separately. Lower
fees for comparable services may be available through our firm or from other sources. Virtus Wealth
Solutions and your advisor have a financial incentive to recommend advisory programs or services that
provide us higher compensation over other comparable programs or services available from our firm or
elsewhere that may cost you less. For example, the costs you will incur to have your account managed by
our firm may be more than what other similar firms may charge. It’s important to understand all the
associated costs and benefits the program and services you select so you can decide which programs and
services are best suited for your unique financial goals, investment objective, and time horizon. We
encourage you to review our Form CRS and to discuss your options with your advisor.
In addition, Commonwealth offers our firm and our advisors one or more forms of financial benefits based
on our total assets under management held at Commonwealth or in Commonwealth’s PPS Program
accounts, as well as financial assistance for transitioning from another firm to Commonwealth. The types
of financial benefits that your advisor may receive from Commonwealth include, but are not limited to,
forgivable or unforgivable loans, enhanced payouts, and discounts or waivers on transaction, platform,
and account fees; technology fees; research package fees; financial planning software fees; administrative
fees; brokerage account fees; account transfer fees; licensing and insurance costs; and the cost of
attending conferences and events. The enhanced payouts, discounts, and other forms of financial benefits
that your advisor may have the opportunity to receive from Commonwealth provide a financial incentive
for our firm and your advisor to select Commonwealth as broker/dealer for your accounts over other
broker/dealers from which they may not receive similar financial benefits. Please see items 12 and 14 of
this Brochure for more detailed information about these types of conflicts and our relationship with
Commonwealth.
Commonwealth charges our advisors an administrative fee at the same time clients are charged asset-
based fees for their managed accounts. The administrative fee is charged to and paid by the advisor rather
than the advisor’s clients and is calculated as a percentage of the total managed account assets, including
cash and money market positions, held by the advisor’s clients. The administrative fee is used to offset
Commonwealth’s maintenance costs associated with account reporting and reconciliation.
In the same manner as many advisors offer asset management fee discounts to their larger clients,
Commonwealth offers those advisors to whom it charges administrative fees discounts based on their
total assets under management. As these advisors grow their business, they are eligible for reduced
administrative fees. This potential reductions in administrative fees presents a conflict of interest because
it provides a financial incentive for advisors who receive the discounts to recommend Commonwealth’s
PPS programs over other available programs that do not offer such potential discounts to the advisors.
Item 5 – Fees and Compensation
Asset Management Programs
Clients who elect to receive asset management services through one or more of Virtus Wealth Solutions’
asset management programs will generally pay Virtus Wealth Solutions and their advisor for those
services with an annual asset management fee based on a percentage of assets under management,
including cash and money market positions. The maximum account management fee that can be charged
in any of our firm’s managed account program is listed in the fee schedule below. Certain managed
account programs have lower maximum annual fee amounts, and fee schedules will vary among
programs. Clients are urged to carefully review and discuss the contents of this Brochure with their
advisor, including descriptions of the various programs and services offered, the fees and charges clients
will pay, the means by which Virtus Wealth Solutions and your advisor are compensated, and the conflicts
of interest that exist between the client and Virtus Wealth Solutions and your advisor in respect to each
program or service offered, to determine the most appropriate programs or services for your specific
needs.
Commonwealth PPS Program Fee Schedules
Following are the maximum allowable fee schedules for Commonwealth’s various PPS programs.
PPS Custom Program
The maximum allowable annual management fee schedule for a new PPS Custom Program (Transactions)
account is:
In addition to the annual management fee, and unless otherwise agreed between the client and the
advisor, clients participating in the PPS Custom will pay
Other charges
In addition to the platform fee, transaction charges of $15 for buys and sells and a maximum of $3 for
periodic investment plans and systematic withdrawal plans will apply in the following mutual fund
families: Dodge & Cox, Vanguard, and Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), except that DFA sells are $0. For
trader-assisted transactions, an additional $5 fee is charged to Virtus Wealth Solutions. A transaction
charge of $1 per contract for purchases and sales of options will apply. A $5 quarterly paper document fee
will apply account by account to all accounts not enrolled in electronic delivery of statements and
confirmations.
PPS Select Program
Clients participating in the PPS Select Program will pay a total account fee that consists of a combination
of an advisor fee and a program fee.
The maximum allowable advisor fee in the PPS Select Program is as follows:
In addition to the annual advisor fee, all clients participating in PPS Select will pay an annual program fee.
There are several different PPS Select model portfolios with program fees that vary; however, the
PPS
maximum
fee
within
the
Select
program
is
as
follows:
1 The maximum annual advisor fee for certain account sizes and types may be negotiated.
2 Commonwealth will charge a minimum annual program fee of $600 ($150 quarterly) for certain accounts, which
may exceed the maximum annual program fee percentage based on account size.
PPS Direct Program
Clients participating in the PPS Direct Program will pay an annual fee that consists of a combination of an
advisor fee and a program fee not to exceed 3.00%. In the event the combination of the advisor fee and
the program fee for a particular money manager and investment strategy exceeds 3.00%, the advisor fee
will be reduced such that the annual fee will not exceed 3.00%.
The maximum allowable advisor fee in the PPS Direct Program is as follows:
The maximum program fee in the PPS Direct Program is as follows:
Commonwealth performs fee billing on our firm’s behalf. In most cases, the annual account management
fees are payable quarterly in advance and are computed as one-quarter of the annual fee based on the
account’s AUM on the last business day of the previous calendar quarter.
investment
To the extent that you hold positions in your account for which pricing data is not readily available,
Commonwealth receives quarter-end values from alternative investment issuers or other service
providers which are used when calculating billable AUM for our clients. Neither Virtus Wealth Solutions
nor Commonwealth engages in an independent valuation of your account assets and relies on valuations
provided by the
issuers or other service providers. Virtus Wealth Solutions (via
Commonwealth and further via the account custodian) will provide periodic account statements which
include the market value of the alternative investment based on information received from the
investment issuer or other service provider. In providing these account statements, or any other valuation
information to you, (i) Virtus Wealth Solutions relies on the valuation information provided by the
manager of the alternative investment or other service provider, (ii) the valuation information used to
determine the billing fee is based on estimates that may be outdated as of the dates of the account
statements, (iii) the products final valuations may be higher or lower than the values reflected in the
periodic account statements and (iv) while Commonwealth will adjust material estimated fee billings on
a best efforts basis on Virtus Wealth Solutions’ behalf, neither Virtus Wealth Solutions nor Commonwealth
is under no obligation to provide notice or compensation to you for differences in estimated alternative
investment valuations.
*Account values in the Commonwealth reporting system will be used for our firm’s quarterly fee
calculations for advisory accounts custodied at National Financial Services (NFS). Although account
holdings and asset valuations should generally match, month-end market values reflected
in
Commonwealth's Practice 360 reporting system sometimes differ from those provided by NFS on their
month-end statements. The three most common reasons why these values may differ are (i) differences
in the manner in which accrued interest is calculated, (ii) differences in the date upon which "as of"
dividends and capital gains are reported, and (iii) differences in whether settlement date valuations or
trade date valuations are used. If you have any questions or believe there are material discrepancies
between your NFS custodial statement and Commonwealth's reporting system, please contact us. The
Commonwealth report valuations are available online via your Investor360 account or you may request a
copy from your advisory representative.
Clients who elect to open a margin account acknowledge and agree that margin may be exercised against
their account for purposes including, but not limited to, covering debits, management fees, and/or other
billing and administrative costs. Management fees on margin accounts will be assessed on the equity (e.g.,
ownership) portion of the account and not on the account’s total market value.
For clients with accounts at American Funds Service Company (“AFS”) the annual fee charged is 0.25 based
on assets under management held at AFS.
All Virtus Wealth Solutions advisory program fees are negotiable. Clients may also be billed on a fixed fee
basis rather than using one of the firm’s standard fee schedules as may be agreed to by the firm and the
client. Platform fees (if applicable), transaction charges and other account-related fees assessed by the
account custodian or Commonwealth are not negotiable. Virtus Wealth Solutions may waive all or a
portion of the advisory program and/or program fee, whether on an ongoing or a one-time basis, in its
sole discretion. In the event a client terminates an advisory agreement with Virtus Wealth Solutions, any
unearned fees resulting from payments made by clients in advance will be refunded to the client. Likewise,
in the event Virtus Wealth Solutions bills clients in arrears for services that have already been rendered,
Virtus Wealth Solutions will prorate such fees up to the termination date of the advisory agreement.
Wealth Management Consulting: The Commonwealth Wealth Management Consulting Program provides
clients with the option of paying an annual fee for ongoing services, a flat or fixed fee, or an hourly rate
not to exceed $500. The fee amount a client will pay is negotiable between the client and his or her advisor
and may either be paid at the time of service, in advance of service, or after services have been rendered
(“in arrears”). Annual fees may be paid in monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual installments as
agreed between the client and the advisor.
Retirement Plan Consulting: The Commonwealth Retirement Plan Consulting Program provides clients
with the option of paying an annual fee for ongoing services based on a percentage of assets under
advisement, a flat fee, or an hourly rate not to exceed $500. The fee amount a client will pay is negotiable
between the client and the advisor and will be associated with all services provided by the advisor under
the Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement. It is the responsibility of the plan sponsor to ensure that these
fees are reasonable. Fees may be paid directly from qualified plan assets or may be direct billed, as agreed
between the client and the Advisor. Where discretionary investment management services are
selected to be provided by the Commonwealth home office, clients will pay an additional annual
flat percentage fee according to the following fee schedule:
Total Plan Assets
Less than $250,000
$250,000–$2,999,999
$3,000,000–$9,999,999
$10,000,000–$49,999,999
$50,000,000–$99,999,999
$100,000,000 or more
Fee
$300
0.12%
0.09%
0.05%
0.03%
0.02%
Plan Participant Consulting: The Commonwealth Plan Participant Consulting Program calls for
clients to pay an annual flat percentage fee according to the following fee schedule:
Managed Account Fee Collection Process
Managed account fees are typically automatically charged to the client’s account pursuant to instructions
provided to the account custodian by Virtus Wealth Solutions. Rather than automatic fee debiting from
an account, clients may also have the ability to be direct billed by writing a check to Virtus Wealth
Solutions for the fee amount or instructing us to charge the fee to one of the client’s other
Virtus Wealth Solutions accounts.
Managed account clients will generally pay fees quarterly, in advance, based on the specific program
selected. In some cases, the annual account management fee may be payable monthly in advance based
on the AUM on the last business day of the previous month-end. Consulting clients will pay fees at time
of service, in advance of service, or in arrears, as well as in monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual
installments, as agreed to between the client and the advisor.
The initial quarterly fee will be prorated based on the number of billing days in the initial quarter. Fees
are based on account value and account type and are negotiable. Other methods of fee calculation exist
or are possible, depending on the specific program, the services provided, client circumstances, and the
account size. These methods include, but are not limited to, hourly, flat, breakpoint, and blended fee
billing. Additional deposits of funds and/or securities during a particular calendar quarter are subject to
billing on a pro rata basis. Clients who withdraw funds from a managed account during a billing period are
not generally entitled to a pro rata refund unless they are terminating their managed account program
client agreement.
Clients participating in the firm’s wrap fee programs will pay Virtus Wealth Solutions an annual asset-
based platform or program fee that is in addition to the asset management fee. In most cases, the annual
platform or program fee is payable quarterly in advance and is computed as one-quarter of the annual
fee based on the total value of your account on the last business day of the previous quarter. Other
methods of fee calculation exist or are possible, depending on the specific program, services provided,
client circumstances, and the account size.
Other Fees and Costs
Apart from wrap fee programs, when Commonwealth effects securities transactions for a client’s account,
Commonwealth passes on to our clients the securities clearance and settlement fees charged by its
clearing broker/dealer with a substantial markup that is retained by Commonwealth. Commonwealth
adds a markup to the transaction fees assessed by its clearing firm and paid by clients or clients’ advisors
to compensate Commonwealth for the cost of its resources utilized in processing the transaction(s) and
to generate additional revenue for Commonwealth. Virtus Wealth Solutions typically covers the cost on
the securities clearance and settlement fees charged by Commonwealth and its clearing broker/dealer.
Commonwealth assesses confirmation fees to clients to offset the asset-based fees it pays to its clearing
broker/dealer and to generate additional revenue for Commonwealth.
In addition to the charges noted above, clients incur certain charges in connection with certain
investments, transactions, and services in your account. In many cases, Commonwealth will receive a
portion of these fees and charges or add a markup to the charges clients would otherwise pay to generate
additional revenue for Commonwealth. The actual fees and charges that clients will incur are dependent
upon the type of account and the nature and quantity of the transactions that occur, the services that are
provided, or the positions that are held in the account. Additional fees and charges that clients will
typically pay include, but are not limited to:
• Mutual fund or money market 12b-1 fees, subtransfer agent fees, and distributor fees
• Mutual fund and ETF money market management fees and administrative expenses
• Mutual fund transaction and redemption fees
• Certain deferred sales charges on mutual funds purchased or transferred into the account
• Other transaction charges and service fees
•
IRA and qualified retirement plan fees
• Other charges that may be required by law
• Brokerage account fees and charges
and
Service
Fees, which
is
available
on
Commonwealth’s website
Information describing the brokerage fees and charges that are applicable to a Commonwealth brokerage
or Virtus Wealth Solutions managed account is provided on Commonwealth’s Schedule of Miscellaneous
Account
at
www.commonwealth.com/for-clients in the For Clients section on the right side of the page
Virtus Wealth Solutions advisors may select share classes of mutual funds that pay advisors 12b-1 fees
when lower-cost institutional or advisory share classes of the same mutual fund exist that do not pay
Virtus Wealth Solutions or your advisor additional fees. As a matter of policy, Commonwealth (on our
behalf) credits the mutual fund 12b-1 fees it receives from mutual funds purchased or held in Virtus
Wealth Solutions managed accounts back to the client accounts paying such 12b-1 fees.
In most cases, mutual fund companies offer multiple share classes of the same mutual fund. Some share
classes of a fund charge higher internal expenses, whereas other share classes of a fund charge lower
internal expenses. Institutional and advisory share classes typically have lower expense ratios and are less
costly for a client to hold than Class A shares or other share classes that are eligible for purchase in an
advisory account. Mutual funds that offer institutional share classes, advisory share classes, and other
share classes with lower expense ratios are available to investors who meet specific eligibility
requirements that are described in the mutual fund’s prospectus or its statement of additional
information. These eligibility requirements include, but may not be limited to, investments meeting
certain minimum dollar amounts and accounts that the fund considers qualified fee-based programs. The
lowest-cost mutual fund share class for a fund may not be offered through our clearing firm or made
available by Virtus Wealth Solutions for purchase within our managed accounts. Clients should never
assume that they will be invested in the share class with the lowest possible expense ratio or cost.
We urge clients to discuss with their advisor whether lower-cost share classes are available in their
program account. Clients should also ask their advisor why the funds or other investments that will be
purchased or held in their managed account are appropriate for them in consideration of their expected
holding period, investment objective, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial condition, amount invested,
trading frequency, the amount of the advisory fee charged, whether the client will pay transaction charges
for fund purchases and sales, whether clients will pay higher internal fund expenses in lieu of transaction
charges that could adversely affect long-term performance, and relevant tax considerations. Your advisor
may recommend, select, or continue to hold a fund share class that charges you higher internal expenses
than other available share classes for the same fund.
The purchase or sale of transaction-fee (“TF”) funds available for investment through Virtus Wealth
Solutions will result in the assessment of transaction charges to you, your advisor, Virtus Wealth Solutions
or Commonwealth. Although no-transaction-fee (“NTF”) funds do not assess transaction charges, most
NTF funds have higher internal expenses than funds that do not participate in an NTF program. These
higher internal fund expenses are assessed to investors who purchase or hold NTF funds. Depending upon
the frequency of trading and hold periods, NTF funds may cost you more, or may cost Virtus Wealth
Solutions, Commonwealth or your advisor less, than mutual funds that assess transaction charges but
have lower internal expenses. In addition, the higher internal expenses charged to clients who hold NTF
funds will adversely affect the long-term performance of their accounts when compared to share classes
of the same fund that assess lower internal expenses.
The existence of various fund share classes with lower internal expenses that Virtus Wealth Solutions may
not make available for purchase in its managed account programs present a conflict of interest between
clients and Virtus Wealth Solutions or its advisors. A conflict of interest exists because Virtus Wealth
Solutions and your advisor have a greater incentive to make available, recommend, or make investment
decisions regarding investments that provide additional compensation to Virtus Wealth Solutions that
cost clients more than other available share classes in the same fund that cost you less. For those advisory
programs that assess transaction charges to clients or to Virtus Wealth Solutions or the advisor, a conflict
of interest exists because Virtus Wealth Solutions and your advisor have a financial incentive to
recommend or select NTF funds that do not assess transaction charges but cost you more in internal
expenses than funds that do assess transaction charges but cost you less in internal expenses.
Prorated Rebate of Fees Paid in Advance
In the event a client terminates an advisory agreement with us and his or her advisor, any unearned fees
resulting from advanced payments will be refunded to the client. Likewise, in the event we bill clients in
arrears for services that have already been rendered, we will prorate such fees up to the termination date
of the advisory agreement.
Other Forms of Compensation
As mentioned above, an ongoing asset management fee, billed quarterly in advance, is the most common
method of payment for the client and compensation to Virtus Wealth Solutions and the advisor. In some
cases, the annual account fee may be payable monthly in advance, and certain managed account
programs charge fees in arrears or will have differing methods of fee calculation. Please refer to the
respective program description in this Brochure, to the respective client agreement, and to the respective
TPAM Program Brochure (if applicable) for specific information about the maximum fee allowed, the
varying fee schedules of each program, and the methods of fee billing for the program(s) you select.
In addition to the annual asset management fee, clients participating in wrap fee programs will pay an
annual platform or program fee. In most cases, the annual platform or program fee is payable quarterly
in advance and is computed as one-quarter of the annual fee based on the total value of your account on
the last business day of the previous quarter.
Clients should be aware that, when assets are invested in shares of mutual funds, variable insurance
products, and certain alternative investments within a managed account program, clients will pay
investment advisory fees to Virtus Wealth Solutions and to the advisor for their advisory services in
connection with the investments. In addition to the payments received by Virtus Wealth Solutions and
the advisor, clients will also pay management fees, mutual fund and money market 12b-1 fees,
subtransfer agent fees, mutual fund and money market administrative expenses, mutual fund transaction
fees, certain deferred sales charges and redemption fees on previously purchased mutual funds, annuity
internal expenses and fees, and other fees charged by the investment company, insurance product, or
alternative investment sponsor, which are typically charged to clients as an internal expense of the
product. These internal expenses are described in the prospectus or offering document for the specific
product. Clients may be able to invest directly in the investment company, insurance product, or
alternative investment without incurring the investment advisory fees, platform fees, or transaction
charges assessed by Virtus Wealth Solutions or their advisor. If a client’s assets are invested in a fee-based
annuity, the client will pay both the direct management fee to Virtus Wealth Solutions and their advisor
for the advisory services provided by Virtus Wealth Solutions and the advisor in connection with that
investment and, indirectly, the management and other fees charged by the underlying annuity investment
options, as well as the charges assessed by the insurance company for the product. Of course, clients
should also be aware of the tax implications of investing, as well as of the existence of deferred sales
charges or redemption fees charged by some product sponsors for positions the client subsequently sells
in Virtus Wealth Solutions managed accounts.
For California Residents: Subsection (j) of Rule 260.238 of the California Code of Regulations requires that
all investment advisers disclose to their advisory clients that lower fees for comparable services may be
available from other sources.
For District of Columbia Residents: Section 1811.1 Subsection (j) of the DC Rules requires Virtus Wealth
Solutions to disclose that lower fees for comparable services may be available from other sources.
Subsection (k) requires Virtus Wealth Solutions to indicate that all material conflicts of interest that relate
to the advisor or to any of its employees, and that would cause Virtus Wealth Solutions not to render
unbiased and objective advice, have been disclosed to the client in writing via the disclosure provided in
this Form ADV Part 2.
For Massachusetts Residents: Massachusetts General Law Section 203A requires disclosure that
information about the disciplinary history and the registration of Virtus Wealth Solutions and its
associated persons may be obtained by contacting the Public Reference Branch of the SEC at
202.942.8090, or by contacting the Massachusetts Securities Division at One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor,
Boston, MA 02108 or at 617.727.3548.
Special Disclosures for ERISA Plans:
In this Brochure, Virtus Wealth Solutions has disclosed conflicts of interest, such as receiving additional
compensation from third parties (e.g., 12b-1 fees, subtransfer agent fees, and revenue sharing) for
providing marketing, recordkeeping, or other services in connection with certain investments. Virtus
Wealth Solutions, however, has adopted policies and procedures that are designed to ensure compliance
with the prohibited transaction rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(“ERISA”), as amended. For example, we have taken several steps to address the conflict of interest
associated with us or our advisors’ receipt of compensation for services provided to ERISA plans.
First, an advisor negotiates the compensation with ERISA plan sponsors or participants (“ERISA clients”)
and the compensation is either an annual fee for ongoing services based on a percentage of assets under
advisement, a flat fee, or an hourly rate. Second, to the extent that an advisor receives additional
compensation from a third party, the advisor must report it to Virtus Wealth Solutions to enable the
additional compensation to be offset against the fees that the ERISA clients would otherwise pay for the
advisor’s services. Third, Virtus Wealth Solutions has established a policy not to influence any advisor’s
advice or management of assets at any time or for any reason based on any compensation that Virtus
Wealth Solutions or the advisor might receive from third parties. In no event will Virtus Wealth
Solutions allow advisors to provide advice or manage assets for ERISA clients if they have conflicts of
interest that Virtus Wealth Solutions believes are prohibited by ERISA.
As a covered service provider to ERISA plans, Virtus Wealth Solutions will comply with the U.S.
Department of Labor regulations on fee disclosures, effective July 16, 2011 (or such other date as provided
by the Department). Thus, Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors will disclose (i) direct compensation
received from ERISA clients; (ii) indirect compensation (e.g., 12b-1 fees) received from third parties; and
(iii) transaction-based compensation (e.g., commissions) or other similar compensation shared with
related parties servicing the ERISA plan. These fee disclosures will be made reasonably in advance of
entering into, renewing, or extending the advisory service agreement with the ERISA client.
Item 6 – Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management
Virtus Wealth Solutions does not charge any performance-based fees (fees based on a share of capital
gains on or capital appreciation of the assets of a client).
Item 7 – Types of Clients
Virtus Wealth Solutions generally provides advisory services to the following types of clients
Individuals (other than high net worth individuals)
High net worth individuals
Pension and profit-sharing plans
Charitable organizations
Corporations or other businesses not listed above
Virtus Wealth Solutions managed account programs generally have a $1,000,000 minimum investment
requirement. We reserve the right to waive the minimum investment requirement for any reason in our
sole discretion.
Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Investing in securities involves risk of loss that investors should be sure they understand and should be
prepared to bear.
Virtus Wealth Solutions primarily serves retail investors Our advisors have the independence to take the
approach he or she believes is most appropriate when analyzing investment products and strategies for
clients. There are several sources of information that we and our advisors may use as part of the
investment analysis process. These sources include, but are not limited to:
Prospectuses and offering materials
Product and sponsor sales materials
Sponsor due diligence meetings and product presentations
Financial publications
Research, software, and materials prepared by third parties
Corporate rating services
SEC filings (annual reports, prospectus, 10-K, etc.)
Company press releases
As a firm, we do not favor any specific method of analysis over another and, therefore, would not be
considered to have one approach deemed to be a “significant strategy.” There are, however, a few
common approaches that may be used by Virtus Wealth Solutions or your advisor, individually or
collectively, in the course of providing advice to clients. It is important to note that there is no investment
strategy that will guarantee a profit or prevent loss. Following are some common strategies employed
by advisors in the management of client accounts:
Dollar Cost Averaging (“DCA”): The technique of buying a fixed dollar amount of a particular
investment on a regular schedule, regardless of the share price. More shares are purchased when
prices are low, and fewer shares are bought when prices are high. DCA is believed to lessen the
risk of investing a large amount in a single investment at higher price. DCA strategies are not
effective and do not prevent loss in declining markets.
Asset Allocation: An investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by allocating assets
among a variety of asset classes. At a high level, there are three main asset classes—equities
(stocks), fixed income (bonds), and cash/cash equivalents—each of which has different risk and
reward profiles/behaviors. Asset classes are often further divided into domestic and foreign
investments, and equities are often divided into small, intermediate, and large capitalization. The
general theory behind asset allocation is that each asset class will perform differently from the
others in different market conditions. By diversifying a portfolio of investments among a wide
range of asset classes, advisors seek to reduce the overall volatility and risk of a portfolio through
avoiding overexposure to any one asset class during various market cycles. Asset allocation does
not guarantee a profit or protect against loss.
Technical Analysis (aka “Charting”): A method of evaluating securities by analyzing statistics
generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume. Technical analysts do not attempt
to measure a security’s intrinsic value. Instead, they use charts and other tools to identify patterns
that can suggest future activity. When looking at individual equities, a person using technical
analysis generally believes that performance of the stock, rather than performance of the
company itself, has more to do with the company’s future stock price. It is important to
understand that past performance does not guarantee future results.
Fundamental Analysis: A method of evaluating a security that entails attempting to measure its
intrinsic value by examining related economic, financial, and other qualitative and quantitative
factors. Fundamental analysts attempt to study everything that can affect the security’s value,
including macroeconomic factors (e.g., the overall economy and industry conditions) and
company-specific factors (e.g., financial condition and management). The end goal of performing
fundamental analysis is to produce a value that an investor can compare with the security’s
current price, with the aim of figuring out what sort of position to take with that security
(underpriced = buy, overpriced = sell or short). This method of security analysis is considered to
be the opposite of technical analysis.
Quantitative Analysis: An analysis technique that seeks to understand behavior by using complex
mathematical and statistical modeling, measurement, and research. By assigning a numerical
value to variables, quantitative analysts try to replicate reality mathematically. Some believe that
it can also be used to predict real-world events, such as changes in a share price.
Qualitative Analysis: Securities analysis that uses subjective judgment based on non-quantifiable
information, such as management expertise, industry cycles, strength of research and
development, and labor relations. This type of analysis technique is different from quantitative
analysis, which focuses on numbers. The two techniques, however, are often used together.
PPS Select Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies
Commonwealth’s PPS Select Program is based on asset allocation concepts and modern portfolio theory.
The PPS Select portfolios are designed to provide long-term, risk-adjusted returns for investors across the
risk/return spectrum. Depending on the program and model selected by a client, the program may invest
in open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, ETFs, individual municipal fixed income securities, and
individual equity securities managed by Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team.
When selecting investments for inclusion or removal from the PPS Select portfolios, the Investment
Management and Research team conducts extensive due diligence.
Commonwealth’s investment philosophy process has five steps: (1) screening, (2) evaluation, (3) analysis,
(4) portfolio construction, and (5) ongoing monitoring:
Step 1—Screening: An initial screening process based on quantitative criteria is used as a starting
point for further research. Its purpose is to narrow down the universe of investments that meet
Commonwealth’s objective criteria.
Step 2—Evaluation: After screening, the
investment (or group of
investments) under
consideration is evaluated by applying a scoring system based on returns that are adjusted to take
into account quantifiable risk. The investment is also evaluated based on its peer group ranking,
benchmark relative performance, and consistency of investment management style.
Step 3—Analysis: The objective of this step is to build a solid understanding of how the
investment operates. During this stage, the Investment Management team spends a great deal of
time evaluating the investment’s philosophy and process to ensure that they are consistent. After
the in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis is complete, the team meets with the potential
investment’s key decision makers—either on-site or over the phone—to gain a greater
understanding of their process for managing the portfolio.
Step 4—Portfolio Construction: After Commonwealth’s portfolio managers have determined that
the investment is attractive on a stand-alone basis, they assess how well the investment
complements and fits with other PPS Select portfolio holdings. A review of certain metrics, such
as excess-return correlation, is performed to reasonably ensure that holdings will perform as
expected in different market environments.
Step 5—Ongoing Monitoring: The PPS Select portfolios are monitored on an ongoing basis. The
Investment Management and Research team continually conducts performance reviews,
holdings-based attribution analysis, firm commentary reviews, and conference calls and meetings
to determine whether a portfolio is meeting the team’s risk-adjusted return expectations and an
investment’s stated objective.
Risks of Loss
Regardless of what investment strategy or analysis is undertaken, investing in securities involves risk of
loss that clients must be prepared to bear; in fact, some investment strategies could result in total loss of
your investment. Some risks may be avoided or mitigated, while others are completely unavoidable. Some
of the common risks you should consider prior to investing include, but are not limited to:
Market risks: The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds, and other securities
you own may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly
involving the issuers; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional,
or global political, social, or economic instability; governmental or governmental agency responses to
economic conditions; and currency, interest rate, and commodity price fluctuations.
Interest rate risks: The prices of, and the income generated by, most debt and equity securities will most
likely be affected by changing interest rates and by changes in the effective maturities and credit ratings
of these securities. For example, the prices of debt securities generally decline when interest rates rise
and increase when interest rates fall. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem,
“call,” or refinance a security before its stated maturity date, which would typically result in having to
reinvest the proceeds in lower-yielding securities.
Credit risks: Debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength
of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal
or interest and the security will go into default.
Risks of investing outside the U.S.: Investments in securities issued by entities based outside the United
States are often subject to the risks described above to a greater extent.
Margin transactions: Securities transactions in which an investor borrows money to purchase a security,
in which case the security serves as collateral on the loan, inherently have more risk than cash purchases.
If the value of the shares drops sufficiently, the investor will be required to either deposit more cash into
the account or sell a portion of the stock in order to maintain the margin requirements of the account.
This is known as a “margin call.” An investor’s overall risk in accounts utilizing margin includes the amount
of money invested plus the amount that was loaned to them.
Pledging Assets: Pledging assets in an account to secure a loan involves additional risks. The bank
holding the loan has the authority to liquidate all or part of the securities at any time without prior notice
in order to maintain required maintenance levels, or to call the loan at any time, and this may cause you
to sell assets and realize losses in a declining market. In addition, because of collateral requirements
imposed by the bank, investment decisions for the account may be restricted. These restrictions, or a
forced liquidation, may interfere with your long-term investment goals and/or result in adverse tax
consequences.
Tax considerations: Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications.
Unless specifically agreed otherwise, and in writing, however, tax efficiency is not our primary
consideration in the management of your assets. Regardless of your account size or any other factors, it
is strongly recommended that you consult with a tax professional regarding the investing of your assets.
Custodians and broker/dealers must report the cost basis of equities acquired in client accounts. Your
custodian will default to the first in, first out (“FIFO”) accounting method for calculating the cost basis of
your equity investments and average-cost for mutual fund positions. You are responsible for contacting
your tax advisor to determine if this accounting method is the right choice for you. If your tax advisor
believes another accounting method is more advantageous, provide written notice to our firm
immediately, and Commonwealth will alert your account custodian of your individually selected
accounting method. Decisions about cost basis accounting methods will need to be made before trades
settle, as the cost basis method cannot be changed after settlement.
Liquidity risk: The risk of being unable to sell your investment at a fair price at a given time due to high
volatility or lack of active liquid markets. You may receive a lower price, or it may not be possible to sell
the investment at all. Certain structured products, interval funds, and alternative investments are less
liquid than securities traded on an exchange, and you should be aware of the fact that you may not be
able sell these products outside of prescribed time periods. You should consult your advisor prior to
purchasing products considered illiquid and in instances where changes in your financial situation and
objectives may increase your need for liquidity.
Inflation risk: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to changes in inflation and
interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and may reduce the purchasing
power of a client’s future interest payments and principal. Inflation also generally leads to higher interest
rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income investments to decline.
Time horizon and longevity risk: Time horizon risk is the risk that your investment horizon is shortened
because of an unforeseen event (e.g., the loss of your job). This may force you to sell investments that
you were expecting to hold for the long term. If you must sell at a time that the markets are down, you
may lose money. Longevity risk is the risk of outliving your savings. This risk is particularly relevant for
people who are retired or nearing retirement.
Recommendation of particular types of securities: We will recommend various types of securities and do
not primarily recommend one particular type of security over another since each client has different needs
and different tolerance for risk. Each type of security has its own unique set of risks associated with it, and
it would not be possible to list here all of the specific risks of every type of investment. Even within the
same type of investment, risks can vary widely. In very general terms, however, the higher the anticipated
return of an investment, the higher the risk of loss associated with the investment. Descriptions of the
types of securities we may recommend to you and some of their inherent risks are provided below:
Money market funds: A money market fund is technically a security, and, as such, there is a risk
of loss of principal, although it is generally rare. In return for this risk, you should earn a greater
return on your cash than you would expect from a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(“FDIC”) insured savings account (money market funds are not FDIC insured). Next, money
market fund rates are variable. In other words, you do not know how much you will earn on your
investment next month. The rate could go up or down. If it goes up, that may result in a positive
outcome. If it goes down, however, and you earn less than you expected to, you may end up
needing more cash. A final risk you are taking with money market funds has to do with inflation.
Because money market funds are considered to be safer than other investments like stocks, long-
term average returns on money market funds tend to be less than long-term average returns on
riskier investments. Over long periods of time, inflation can eat away at your returns.
Municipal securities: Municipal securities, while generally thought of as safe, can have significant
risks associated with them, including, but not limited to, the creditworthiness of the
governmental entity that issues the bond, the stability of the revenue stream that is used to pay
the interest to the bondholders, when the bond is due to mature, and whether the bond can be
“called” prior to maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond
of equal character paying the same amount of interest or yield to maturity.
Bonds: Also known as corporate debt securities, bonds are typically safer investments than
equity securities, but their risk can also vary widely based on the financial health of the issuer,
the risk that the issuer might default, when the bond is set to mature, and whether the bond can
be “called” prior to maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a
bond of equal character paying the same rate of return.
Stocks: There are numerous ways of measuring the risk of equity securities (also known simply
as “equities” or “stocks”). In very broad terms, the value of a stock depends on the financial
health of the company issuing it. Stock prices, however, can be affected by many other factors,
including, but not limited to, the class of stock (e.g., preferred or common), the health of the
market sector of the issuing company, and the overall health of the economy. In general, larger,
more well-established companies (i.e., large-caps) tend to be safer than smaller start-up
companies (i.e., small-caps), but the mere size of an issuer is not, by itself, an indicator of the
safety of the investment.
Mutual funds and ETFs: Mutual funds and ETFs are professionally managed collective investment
systems that pool money from many investors and invest in stocks, bonds, short term money
market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, or any combination thereof. The fund
will have a manager that trades the fund’s investments in accordance with the fund’s investment
objective. While mutual funds and ETFs generally provide diversification, risks can be significantly
increased if the fund is concentrated in a particular sector of the market, primarily invests in
small-cap or speculative companies, uses leverage (i.e., borrows money) to a significant degree,
or concentrates in a particular type of security (i.e., equities) 29 rather than balancing the fund
with different types of securities. ETFs differ from mutual funds in that they can be bought and
sold throughout the day like stock and their price can fluctuate throughout the day. The returns
on mutual funds and ETFs can be reduced by the costs to manage the funds. Also, while some
mutual funds are “no load,” meaning there’s no fee to buy into or sell out of the fund, other
types of mutual funds do charge such fees, which can also reduce returns. Mutual funds can also
be “closed-end” or “open-end.” Open-end mutual funds continue to allow new investors
indefinitely, whereas closed-end funds have a fixed number of shares to sell, which can limit their
availability to new investors.
Variable annuities: A variable annuity is a form of insurance where the seller or issuer (typically
an insurance company) makes a series of future payments to a buyer (annuitant) in exchange for
the immediate payment of a lump sum (single-payment annuity) or a series of regular payments
(regular-payment annuity). The payment stream from the issuer to the annuitant has an
unknown duration based principally upon the date of death of the annuitant. At this point, the
contract will terminate, and the remainder of the funds accumulated will be forfeited unless
there are other annuitants or beneficiaries in the contract. Annuities can be purchased to provide
an income during retirement. Unlike fixed annuities that make payments in fixed amounts or in
amounts that increase by a fixed percentage, variable annuities pay amounts that vary according
to the performance of a specified set of investments, typically bond and equity mutual funds.
Many variable annuities typically impose asset-based sales charges or surrender charges for
withdrawals within a specified period. Variable annuities may impose a variety of fees and
expenses, in addition to sales and surrender charges, such as mortality and expense risk charges,
administrative fees, underlying fund expenses, and charges for special features, all of which can
reduce the return.
Real estate: Real estate is increasingly being used as part of a long-term core strategy due to
increased market efficiency and increasing concerns about the future long-term variability of
stock and bond returns. In fact, real estate is known for its ability to serve as a portfolio diversifier
and inflation hedge. The asset class still bears a considerable amount of market risk, however.
Real estate has shown itself to be very cyclical, somewhat mirroring the ups and downs of the
overall economy. In addition to employment and demographic changes, real estate is also
influenced by changes in interest rates and the credit markets, which affect the demand and
supply of capital and, thus, real estate values. Along with changes in market fundamentals,
investors wishing to add real estate as part of their core investment portfolios need to look for
property concentrations by area or by property type. Because property returns are directly
affected by local market basics, real estate portfolios that are too heavily concentrated in one
area or property type can lose their risk mitigation attributes and bear additional risk by being
too influenced by local or sector market changes.
Limited partnerships: A limited partnership is a financial affiliation that includes at least one
general partner and a number of limited partners. The partnership invests in a venture, such as
real estate development or oil exploration, for financial gain. The general partner has
management authority and unlimited liability. The general partner runs the business and, in the
event of bankruptcy, is responsible for all debts not paid or discharged. The limited partners have
no management authority, and their liability is limited to the amount of their capital
commitment. Profits are divided between general and limited partners according to an
arrangement formed at the creation of the partnership. The range of risks is dependent on the
nature of the partnership and disclosed in the offering documents if privately placed. Publicly
traded limited partnerships have similar risk attributes to equities; however, like privately placed
limited partnerships, their tax treatment is under a different tax regime from equities. You should
speak to your tax adviser in regard to their tax treatment.
Options contracts: Options are complex securities that involve risks and are not suitable for
everyone. Option trading can be speculative in nature and carry substantial risk of loss. It is
generally recommended that you only invest in options with risk capital. An option is a contract
that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a
specific price on or before a certain date (i.e., the expiration date). The two types of options are
calls and puts. A call gives the holder the right to buy an asset at a certain price within a specific
period of time. Calls are similar to having a long position on a stock. Buyers of calls hope that the
stock will increase substantially before the option expires. A put gives the holder 30 the right to
sell an asset at a certain price within a specific period of time. Puts are very similar to having a
short position on a stock. Buyers of puts hope that the price of the stock will fall before the option
expires. Selling options is more complicated and can be even riskier. Option trading risks are
closely related to stock risks, as stock options are a derivative of stocks.
Structured products: A structured product is generally a prepackaged investment strategy based
on derivatives, such as a single security, a basket of securities, options, indices, commodities,
debt issuances, and/or foreign currencies, and, to a lesser extent, swaps. Structured products
are usually issued by investment banks or affiliates thereof. In addition to a fixed maturity, they
have two components: a note and a derivative. The derivative component is often an option. The
note provides for periodic interest payments to the investor at a predetermined rate, and the
derivative component provides for the payment at maturity. Some products use the derivative
component as a put option written by the investor that gives the buyer of the put option the
right to sell to the investor the security or securities at a predetermined price. Other products
use the derivative component to provide for a call option written by the investor that gives the
buyer of the call option the right to buy the security or securities from the investor at a
predetermined price. A feature of some structured products is a “principal guarantee” function,
which offers protection of principal if held to maturity. These products are not always FDIC
insured, however; they may only be insured by the issuer and, thus, have the potential for loss
of principal in the case of a liquidity crisis or other solvency problems with the issuing company.
Investing in structured products involves a number of risks, including, but not limited to,
fluctuations in the price, level, or yield of underlying instruments; interest rates; currency values;
and credit quality. They also involve the risk of substantial loss of principal, limits on participation
in any appreciation of the underlying instrument, limited liquidity, credit risk of the issuer,
conflicts of interest, and other events that are difficult to predict
Investments may also be affected by currency controls; different accounting, auditing, financial reporting,
disclosure, and regulatory and legal standards and practices; expropriation (occurs when governments
take away a private business from its owners); changes in tax policy; greater market volatility; different
securities market structures; higher transaction costs; and various administrative difficulties, such as
delays in clearing and settling portfolio transactions or in receiving payment of dividends. These risks may
be heightened in connection with investments in developing countries. Investments in securities issued
by entities domiciled in the United States may also be subject to many of these risks.
Any of the common risks described above could adversely affect the value of your portfolio and account
performance, and you can lose money. Even though these risks exist, Virtus Wealth Solutions and your
advisor will still earn the fees and other compensation described in this Brochure. Clients should carefully
consider the risks of investing and the potential that they may lose principal while Virtus Wealth Solutions
and your advisor continue to earn fees and other forms of compensation.
Your investments are not bank deposits and are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other
governmental agency, entity, or person, unless otherwise noted and explicitly disclosed as such, and as
such may lose value.
Item 9 – Disciplinary Information
Neither the Firm nor its management personnel have any disciplinary information to report in this
section.
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Virtus Wealth Solutions does not have a related person, nor does the firm or its management personnel
have a relationship with any individual or entity who is a broker dealer, investment company or pooled
investment vehicle, other investment adviser or financial planner, futures commission merchant or
commodity pool operator, banking or thrift institution, accountant or accounting firm, lawyer or law firm,
insurance company or agency, pension consultant, real estate broker, or sponsor or syndicator of a limited
partnership.
We have chosen to partner with Commonwealth to provide certain services, including but not limited to
fee billing and account performance reporting, to our firm and our clients. For the services it provides,
Commonwealth charges our advisors an administrative fee at the same time clients are charged asset-
based management fees. The administrative fee is charged to and paid by the advisor rather than the
advisor’s clients. and is calculated as a percentage of the total account assets, including cash and money
market positions, held by the advisor’s clients.
Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client
Transactions and Personal Trading
Pursuant to Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, Virtus Wealth Solutions
has adopted a Code of Ethics that governs a number of conflicts of interest we have when providing our
advisory services to you. Our Code of Ethics is designed to ensure that we meet our fiduciary obligations
to you and to foster a culture of compliance throughout our firm.
Our Code of Ethics is comprehensive and is designed to help us detect and prevent violations of securities
laws and to help ensure that we keep your interests first at all times. We distribute our Code of Ethics to
each supervised person at the time of his or her initial affiliation with our firm; we make sure it remains
available to each supervised person for as long as he or she remains associated with our firm; and we
ensure that updates to our Code of Ethics are communicated to each supervised person as changes are
made.
Our Code of Ethics sets forth certain standards of conduct and addresses conflicts of interest between our
firm, our employees, our agents, our advisors, and our advisory clients. Clients and prospective clients of
Virtus Wealth Solutions may request a copy of our Code of Ethics at any time.
Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors often invest in the same securities that we recommend to clients.
Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors also recommend securities to, and buy and sell securities for,
client accounts at or about the same time that we buy or sell the same securities for our own accounts.
These activities create a conflict of interest between us and our clients. Our firm policy prohibits “trading
ahead” of clients’ transactions to the detriment of clients. When Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors
are purchasing or selling securities for their own accounts, priority will be given to client transactions, or
trades will be aggregated together to obtain an average execution price for the benefit of all parties.
Item 12 – Brokerage Practice
The Custodians and Brokers We Use
Virtus Wealth Solutions does not maintain physical custody of your assets; although we will be deemed
to have custody of your assets under SEC rules if you give us authority to withdraw advisory fees from
your account or if you provide us with authorization for money movement to third parties (see Item 15 -
Custody below). Your assets must be maintained in an account at a “qualified custodian”, generally a
broker dealer or other financial institution. We primarily recommend that our clients use National
Financial Services, a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, as a qualified custodian. At times, we may
utilize other qualified custodians to hold your assets. We are independently owned and operated and are
not affiliated with National Financial Services or any other qualified custodian. The qualified custodian will
hold your assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell securities with our instruction. While we will
recommend a qualified custodian to hold your assets, you will decide whether to do so and will open the
account directly at the qualified custodian with our assistance. Not all advisers require their Client to use
a particular broker-dealer or other custodian selected by the Advisor. However, if you choose not to open
an account with one of the qualified custodians we recommend, we will not be able to provide asset
management services to you. Consulting services not including asset management will be available in such
cases if you desire.
How We Select Brokers/Custodians
We seek to use a custodian/broker who will hold your assets and execute transactions on terms that are,
overall, most advantageous when compared to other available providers and their services. We consider
a wide range of factors, including, among others:
Combination of transaction execution services and asset custody services
Capability to execute, clear and settle trades (buy and sell securities for your account)
Capability to facilitate transfers and payments to and from accounts (wire transfers, check
requests, etc.)
Breadth of available investment products (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds
[ETFs], limited partnerships)
Availability of investment research and tools that assist us in making investment decisions.
Quality of services
Competitiveness of the price of those services and willingness to negotiate the prices
Reputation, financial strength, and stability
Prior service to us and our other clients
Availability of other products and services that benefit us
Your Brokerage and Custody Costs
For our clients’ accounts that Virtus Wealth Solutions maintains via National Financial Services, Virtus
Wealth Solutions and National Financial Services generally do not charge you separately for custody
services but are compensated by charging you commissions or other fees on trades that are executed or
settled into your account. Commonwealth’s commission rates applicable to our client accounts were
negotiated based on the condition that our clients collectively maintain a total of at least $50,000,000 of
their assets in accounts at National Financial Services. For client accounts at Commonwealth, this
commitment benefits you because the overall commission rates you pay are lower than they would be
otherwise. Because of these factors, in order to minimize your trading costs, we have Commonwealth
(via NFS) execute most trades for your account(s). We have determined that having Commonwealth/NFS
execute most trades is consistent with our duty to seek “best execution” of your trades. Best execution
means the most favorable terms for a transaction based on all relevant factors, including those listed
above (see “How We Select Brokers/Custodians”).
Periodically, we will review alternative broker-dealers and custodians in the marketplace to ensure that
the custodians we use are meeting our duty to provide best execution for our clients. Best execution does
not simply mean the lowest transaction cost. When examining firms, we will compare overall expertise,
cost competitiveness and financial condition. The quality of execution by the custodians we use will be
reviewed using publicly available trade execution data and other sources as needed. No single criteria will
validate nor invalidate a custodian, but rather, all criteria taken together will be used in evaluating the
currently utilized custodian.
Products and Services Available to Us from Commonwealth and Our Custodians
Commonwealth Financial Network provides Virtus Wealth Solutions with various products and services
that enable us to both serve our clients and grow our business. Commonwealth (through their disclosed
clearing relationships with National Financial Services and Pershing) provide us and our clients with access
to its brokerage services— trading, custody, reporting, and related services. Commonwealth also makes
available various support services. Some of those services help us manage or administer our client
accounts, while others help us manage and grow our business. Following is a more detailed description of
Commonwealth’s support services:
Services That Benefit You
Commonwealth’s brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products, execution
of securities transactions by Commonwealth’s clearing firms, and custody of client assets via their clearing
firms. The investment products available through Commonwealth include some to which we might not
otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our
clients.
Services That Do Not Directly Benefit You
Commonwealth also makes available to us other products and services that benefit our firm and our
advisors but do not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services assist us in managing
and administering our clients’ accounts. They include investment research, both Commonwealth’s and
that of third parties. We use this research to service substantially all our client accounts, including
accounts not maintained at Commonwealth. In addition to investment research, Commonwealth also
makes available software and other technology that:
Provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account
statements)
Facilitate trade execution
Provide pricing and other market data
Facilitate payment of our fees from our client accounts
Assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping and client reporting
Services That Generally Benefit Only Us
Commonwealth also offers other services intended to help us manage and further develop our business
enterprise. These services include:
Complementary or discounted attendance at conferences and events
Consulting on technology, compliance, legal and business needs
Publications and conferences on practice management and business succession
Our Interest in Commonwealth’s Services
Our relationship with Commonwealth requires that we maintain a certain level of assets within
Commonwealth’s PPS program and/or our own asset management program. This creates an incentive to
recommend that you establish and maintain your account with Commonwealth, based on our interest in
receiving Commonwealth’s services that benefit our business rather than based on your interest in
receiving the best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of your transactions. This is
a conflict of interest. To mitigate the conflict, this disclosure is provided to you. As a fiduciary, we must
act in your best interests. We believe that our selection of National Financial Services or Pershing (via
Commonwealth) as custodian and broker is in the best interests of our clients and conduct regular reviews
of our relationship with Commonwealth to ensure this remains the case. Our choice to maintain a
relationship with Commonwealth
is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of
Commonwealth’s services (see “How We Select Brokers/Custodians”) and not Commonwealth’s services
that benefit only us.
Block Trading Policy
Virtus Wealth Solutions may aggregate (“bunch”) transactions in the same security on behalf of more than
one client in an effort to strive for best execution and to possibly reduce the price per share. However,
aggregated or bunched orders will not reduce the transaction costs to participating clients. Typically, the
process of aggregating client orders is done in order to achieve better execution, to negotiate more
favorable commission rates or to allocate orders among clients on a more equitable basis in order to avoid
differences in prices and transaction fees or other transaction costs that might be obtained when orders
are placed independently. Virtus Wealth Solutions conducts aggregated transactions in a manner
designed to ensure that no participating client is favored over another client.
Participating clients will obtain the average share price per share for the security executed that day. To
the extent the aggregated order is not filled in its entirety and when possible, securities purchased or sold
in an aggregated transaction will be allocated pro-rata to the participating client accounts in proportion
to the size of the orders placed for each account. The amount of securities maybe increased or decreased
to avoid holding odd-lot or a small number of shares for particular clients. It should be noted, Virtus
Wealth Solutions does not receive any additional compensation or remuneration as a result of
aggregation. Advisory clients purchase funds at net asset value.
Soft Dollars
Virtus Wealth Solutions does not use commissions to pay for research and brokerage services (i.e., soft
dollar transactions). Research, along with other products and services other than trade execution, are
available to Virtus Wealth Solutions on a cash basis from various vendors.
Core Account Sweep Programs (“CASPs”)
Through our relationship with Commonwealth, our firm has access to a core account sweep program
(“CASP”). CASP is the core account investment vehicle for eligible accounts used to hold cash balances
while awaiting reinvestment. The cash balance in your eligible accounts will be deposited automatically
or “swept” into interest-bearing FDIC-insurance eligible deposit accounts at one or more FDIC-insured
interest rates for your eligible accounts may be obtained from at
financial
institutions The
current
version
of
the
CASP
Disclosure
Document
is
available
www.commonwealth.com/clients/deposit-sweep-program.aspx. Specific features and account eligibility
of CASP are further explained in the Disclosure Document provided to clients that participate in CASP.
A
at
www.commonwealth.com/clients/media/BankSweepDisclosureDocument.pdf. Clients should note that,
though the default options for cash held in accounts are the core account investment vehicles, clients may
at any time seek higher yields in other available investment options. Commonwealth keeps a portion of
the interest paid by the bank(s) participating in CASP as a fee for providing bank sweep services. This fee
reduces the rate of interest you receive on your cash in the bank sweep program. Crux Wealth Advisors
receives no financial benefits from the CASP program. We encourage our clients to review CASP program
details to understand how Commonwealth and the program banks get paid for the sweep program and
to discuss other available investment options should you wish to do so.
Ineligible Accounts. Certain Fidelity money market funds and, in limited instances interest bearing cash
sweeps, serve as the core account investment vehicle for ineligible accounts. New accounts opened at
Commonwealth will be invested in the Fidelity Government Money Market Fund (SPAXX). Accounts that
were opened before SPAXX was the core investment vehicle are invested in other Fidelity money market
funds, additional compensation from Fidelity based on the average fund balances held in these money
market funds. For information about a money market mutual fund, including interest rates and yield, all
charges and expenses, investment objectives, and risks, refer to the fund’s prospectus. Read the
prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.
Alternatives to Core Account Investment Vehicles. Commonwealth is not obligated to offer you any core
account investment options or to make available to you CASP investments that offer a rate of return that
is equal to or greater than other comparable investments. If you do not want to participate in a Program,
or for ineligible accounts the designated core investment vehicle, you may give your advisor direction to
invest your funds in other investments available through Virtus Wealth Solutions. Unlike using a core
investment option, cash balances in your advisory accounts will not automatically sweep into these other
investments. Therefore, any cash in an account will be held in a core investment option until instructions
have been given to your advisor to invest your funds in other investments available through us.
NTF Program
Additionally, NFS offers an NTF program composed of no-load mutual funds. Participating mutual fund
sponsors pay a fee to NFS to participate in this program, and a portion of this fee is shared with
Commonwealth. None of these additional payments is paid to Virtus Wealth Solutions or any advisors
who sell these funds. NTF mutual funds may be purchased within an investment advisory account at no
charge to the client. Clients, however, should be aware that funds available through the NTF program
often contain higher internal expenses than mutual funds that do not participate in the NTF program.
Commonwealth’s receipt of a portion of the fees associated with the NTF program creates a conflict of
interest because Commonwealth has an incentive to make available those products that provide such
compensation to NFS and Commonwealth over those mutual fund sponsors that do not make such
payments to NFS and Commonwealth. While Virtus Wealth Solutions does not receive additional
compensation from NFS or Commonwealth based on the particular investment (potentially including one
or more NTF funds), Virtus Wealth Solutions menu of investment options is limited to investments made
available by Commonwealth. Thus, clients may be impacted by the conflict of interest previously described
in this paragraph. As stated previously, Virtus Wealth Solutions regularly evaluates our relationship with
Commonwealth to ensure it remains appropriate for the firm and our clients.
The investment advisory services provided by Virtus Wealth Solutions may cost the client more or less
than purchasing similar services separately. Clients should consider whether the appointment of
Commonwealth as the sole broker/dealer may result in certain costs or disadvantages to the client as a
result of possibly less favorable executions. Factors to consider include the type and size of the account
and the client’s historical and expected account size or number of trades.
Item 13 – Review of Accounts
All asset management client accounts are reviewed by an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) of the
firm no less than annually, or when changes in client circumstances or market conditions warrant.
Securities held in managed accounts are regularly reviewed by the firm’s Chief investment officer and
Director of Research and Trading.
Clients will be provided statements at least quarterly directly from account custodian where your assets
are maintained. Additionally, you will receive confirmations of all transactions directly from account
custodian. All non-retirement accounts and retirement accounts for those clients taking distributions will
receive an annual tax reporting statement
Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Virtus Wealth Solutions receives an economic benefit from Commonwealth in the form of the support,
products and services Commonwealth makes available to Virtus Wealth Solutions and other investment
advisors whose clients maintain their accounts on Commonwealth’s platform. These products and
services, how they benefit us, and the related conflicts of interest are described in Item 12 of this
brochure.
Our access to Commonwealth’s products and services is not conditioned on our firm or our advisors giving
particular investment advice, such as buying particular securities for our clients. Product vendors
recommended by Virtus Wealth Solutions may provide monetary and non-monetary assistance for the
purposes of funding marketing, distribution, business and client development, educational enhancement
and/or due diligence reviews incurred by Virtus Wealth Solutions or our advisors relating to the promotion
or sale of the product vendor’s products or services. We do not select products as a result of the receipt
or potential receipt of any monetary or non-monetary assistance. Virtus Wealth Solutions’ due diligence
of a product does not take into consideration any assistance it may receive. While the receipt of products
or services is a benefit for you and us, it also presents a conflict of interest. We attempt to mitigate this
conflict of interest by:
•
•
•
Informing you of conflicts of interest in our disclosure document and agreement;
Maintaining and abiding by our Code of Ethics which requires us to place your interests first
and foremost;
Advising you of the right to decline to implement our recommendations and the right to
choose other financial professionals for implementation.
Commonwealth offers our firm and our firm’s advisory representatives one or more forms of financial
benefits based on our advisory representatives’ total AUM held at Commonwealth or financial assistance
for advisory representatives transitioning from another firm to Commonwealth. The types of financial
benefits that our advisory representatives may receive from Commonwealth include, but are not limited
to, forgivable or unforgivable loans, enhanced payouts, and discounts or waivers on transaction, platform,
and account fees; technology fees; research package fees; financial planning software fees; administrative
fees; brokerage account fees; account transfer fees; licensing and insurance costs; and the cost of
attending conferences and events. The enhanced payouts, discounts, and other forms of financial benefits
that advisory representatives may receive from Commonwealth are a conflict of interest and provide a
financial incentive for advisory representatives to select Commonwealth as broker/dealer for your
accounts over other broker/dealers from which they may not receive similar financial benefits. We
attempt to mitigate this conflict of interest by disclosing the conflict in this brochure and engaging in a
regular review of our relationship with Commonwealth to ensure the relationship continues to be
appropriate in all respects for our firm’s clients.
In connection with the acquisition of Commonwealth by LPL Financial Holdings, Inc. (“LPLH”), on August
1, 2025, Virtus Wealth Solutions advisors received loans that are forgiven over a multi-year term subject
to continued affiliation with Commonwealth, LPL Financial, LLC (“LPL”), a subsidiary of LPLH, or LPLH’s
affiliates after the acquisition. The existence of the loans presents a conflict of interest in that our firm
and/or our advisors have a financial incentive to maintain our relationship with LPL and/or
Commonwealth. However, to the extent we direct clients to LPL and/or Commonwealth for services, it is
because the firm believes that it is in that client’s best interest to do so given our regular review of the
firm’s relationship with Commonwealth and/or LPL.
Our Use of Promoters
Our firm compensates outside professionals or firms, such as attorneys, accountants, broker-dealers,
other investment advisers, and lead-generation programs for referring your advisory business to us. These
professionals or firms are known as “promoters.” If your advisory account is referred to us by a promoter
to us, we will pay a portion of the advisory fee you pay us to the promoter, typically for as long as you
maintain an advisory relationship with us, to compensate the promoter. We do not charge you any
amounts over the standard investment advisory fee you pay us if you are referred to us for investment
advisory services by a promoter.
Promotional arrangements are disclosed to clients at the time of the promotion via execution of a
disclosure statement or similar document that outlines the nature and amount of the compensation we
pay to the promoter and whether or not the promoter is affiliated with or related to the firm.
Virtus Wealth Solutions as Promoter
The firm and your advisor may serve as promoters for a variety of third-party investment advisers with
respect to some or all of your assets. In such cases, our firm and your advisor are compensated by these
third-party investment advisers for referring your advisory business to them. This compensation generally
takes the form of the third-party investment adviser sharing with the firm and the advisor a percentage
of the advisory fee the third-party investment adviser charges you. In some cases, these investment
advisers will increase the advisory fee you would otherwise pay to the investment adviser if you engaged
them directly.
You will receive a written disclosure document that includes, among other things, a description of the
compensation paid or to be paid to the firm and your advisor as a promoter and the amount, if any, that
you will be charged in addition to the advisory fee you would have otherwise paid to the investment
adviser. The firm and your advisor have a conflict of interest to refer your advisory business to those third-
party investment advisers that pay referral fees to the firm and your advisor rather than to those
investment advisers that do not make such payments or to those investment advisers that pay higher
referral fees to the firm and your advisor rather than to those who compensate the firm and your advisor
lesser referral fees.
Item 15 – Custody
Virtus Wealth Solutions does not maintain physical custody of your assets. Under SEC rules, we are
deemed to have custody of your assets if you authorize us to instruct your account custodian to deduct
our advisory fees directly from your account, or if you provide us with authorization to transfer funds from
your account to a third party. Virtus Wealth Solutions maintains a relationship with Commonwealth who,
as described previously in this brochure, maintains a primary clearing relationship for the execution of
client transactions with NFS as the account custodian, and a secondary clearing relationship for the
execution of client transactions with Pershing as the account custodian. Substantially all of our advisory
clients must select Commonwealth as the broker/dealer of record and NFS as the clearing firm for their
managed accounts. In all cases, the name and address of the account custodian will be identified in the
respective managed account client agreement.
Clients who establish a managed account with Virtus Wealth Solutions utilizing Commonwealth as the
broker/dealer of record will receive custodial account statements directly from the respective custodian
that holds those assets, such as NFS, Pershing, or a direct product sponsor. Clients should carefully review
the statements they receive from their account custodians and should promptly report material
discrepancies to us.
Virtus Wealth Solutions clients may also receive portfolio summary or performance reporting for their
managed accounts from Virtus Wealth Solutions or their advisor that are in addition to the account
statements clients receive directly from the respective account custodian. Virtus Wealth Solutions urges
you to compare the account statements you receive from your account custodian with any account
summary statements or reports you receive from us or your advisor. Although account holdings and asset
valuations should generally match, for purposes of calculating performance and account valuations on
your account, our summary or performance reporting month-end market values sometimes differ from
custodial account statement month-end market values. The three most common reasons why these
values may differ are differences in the manner in which accrued interest is calculated, the date upon
which “as of” dividends and capital gains are reported, and settlement date versus trade date valuations.
If you believe there are material discrepancies between your custodial statement and the summary
statements or reports you receive from Virtus Wealth Solutions or your advisor, please contact us directly.
Item 16 – Investment Discretion
Virtus Wealth Solutions renders investment advice to the vast majority of its managed account clients on
a discretionary basis, pursuant to written authorization granted by the client to the firm. This
authorization grants to Virtus Wealth Solutions and your advisor the discretion to buy, sell, exchange,
convert, or otherwise trade in securities and/or insurance products, and to execute orders for such
securities and/or insurance products with or through any distributor, issuer, or broker/dealer as Virtus
Wealth Solutions or your advisor may select. Your advisor may, without obtaining your consent,
determine which products to purchase or sell for your managed account, as well as when to purchase or
sell such products, and the prices to be paid. Neither us nor your advisor, however, is granted authority
to take possession of your assets. You may terminate this discretionary authorization at any time by
providing written notice to us.
Clients may impose reasonable restrictions on their managed account, including, but not limited to, the
type, nature, or specific names of securities to be bought, sold, or held in their managed account, as well
as the type, nature, or specific names of securities that may not be bought, sold, or held in their managed
account. Clients generally grant Virtus Wealth Solutions and their advisor discretionary trading authority
over their managed accounts. If not specifically requested otherwise by the client, discretionary authority
will be established at the time the account is first opened.
As a matter of firm policy, neither Virtus Wealth Solutions nor its advisors have or will accept the authority
to file class action claims on behalf of clients. This policy reflects Virtus Wealth Solutions recognition that
it does not have the requisite expertise to advise clients with regard to participating in class actions. Virtus
Wealth Solutions and its advisors have no obligation to determine if securities held by the client are
subject to a pending or resolved class action settlement or verdict. Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors
also have no duty to evaluate a client’s eligibility or to submit a claim to participate in the proceeds of a
securities class action settlement or verdict. Furthermore, Virtus Wealth Solutions and its advisors have
no obligation or responsibility to initiate litigation to recover damages on behalf of clients who may have
been injured because of actions, misconduct, or negligence by corporate management of issuers whose
securities are held by clients. The decision to participate in a class action or to sign a release of claims
when submitting a proof of claim may involve the exercise of legal judgment, which is beyond the scope
of services provided to clients by Virtus Wealth Solutions or your advisor. In all cases, clients retain the
responsibility for evaluating whether it is prudent to join a class action or to opt out.
Item 17 – Voting Client Securities
As a matter of firm policy, and in accordance with this Brochure and our advisory client agreements,
neither Virtus Wealth Solutions nor our advisors have or will accept the authority to vote proxies on behalf
of advisory clients in any situation where Virtus Wealth Solutions or the adviser acts as investment adviser
to the client. Virtus Wealth Solutions or our advisors may, but are not obligated to, provide advice to
clients regarding the clients’ voting of proxies. In all cases, clients must either retain the responsibility for
receiving and voting proxies for any and all securities maintained in their managed accounts, or they must
appoint a third-party investment adviser or other person who is not associated with us to vote proxies for
their managed accounts.
In the event the advisor chooses to provide advice to clients designed to assist the client in making a
decision as to how to vote their proxies, the advisor has a fiduciary duty to disclose to the client any
material conflicts of interest the advisor may have with respect to such advice. In all cases, Virtus Wealth
Solutions or the advisor will send, or will cause to be sent, all such proxy and legal proceedings information
and documents it receives to the client, so that the client may take whatever action the client deems
advisable under the circumstances.
Item 18 – Financial Information
Virtus Wealth Solutions neither has a financial commitment that would impair its ability to meet its
contractual and fiduciary commitments to clients, nor have we been the subject of a bankruptcy
proceeding.