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Item 1 Cover
Equity Optimization
Fixed Income Strategies Team
Option Strategies Group
550 South Tryon, 40th floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
980-266-5763
June 20, 2025
This Brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Equity
Optimization (“EO”), Fixed Income Strategies Team (“FIST”), and Option Strategies Group
(“OSG”), each a unit within Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc. (“WFII”). If you have any
questions about the contents of this Brochure, please contact us at the number above.
The information in this Brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or by any state securities authority. WFII is registered with
the SEC as an investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain
level of skill or training. Additional information about WFII is also available on the SEC’s website
at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov and https://www.wellsfargo.com/investment- institute/.
The advisory services described in this brochure are not insured or otherwise protected by the U.S.
Government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other
government agency, and involve risk, including the possible loss of principal.
RSNIP-12102026-8060460.1.1
Investment and Insurance Products are:
• Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency
• Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate
• Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of the Principal Amount Invested
Item 2 Material Changes
The following updates have been made to this Form ADV Part 2A (the “Brochure”) since our annual
update on March 24, 2025.
• There are no material changes that require disclosure at this time.
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Item 3 Table of Contents
ITEM 1: COVER ......................................................................................................................................... 1
ITEM 2: MATERIAL CHANGES ............................................................................................................ 2
ITEM 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... 3
ITEM 4: ADVISORY BUSINESS ............................................................................................................ 4
ITEM 5: FEES AND COMPENSATION .............................................................................................. 6
ITEM 6: PERFORMANCE-BASED FEES AND SIDE-BY-SIDE MANAGEMENT ...............
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ITEM 7: TYPES OF CLIENTS ............................................................................................................... 12
ITEM 8: METHODS OF ANALYSIS, INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISK OF LOSS 13
ITEM 9: DISCIPLINARY INFORMATION ........................................................................................ 18
ITEM 10: OTHER FINANCIAL INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES AND AFFILIATIONS ..................... 18
ITEM 11: CODE OF ETHICS AND PARTICIPATION IN CLIENT TRANSACTIONS ........... 24
ITEM 12: BROKERAGE PRACTICES ................................................................................................29
ITEM 13: REVIEW OF ACCOUNTS .................................................................................................. 32
ITEM 14: CLIENT REFERRALS AND OTHER COMPENSATION ...........................................33
ITEM 15: CUSTODY ..............................................................................................................................35
ITEM 16: INVESTMENT DISCRETION ............................................................................................
35
ITEM 17: VOTING CLIENT SECURITIES ......................................................................................... 36
ITEM 18: FINANCIAL INFORMATION ............................................................................................ 36
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Item 4 Advisory Business
Firm Description
A.
WFII is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“WFB” or the “Bank”) that was
formed in 1995 and registered with the SEC as an investment adviser in 2005. WFII is a bank
affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company (“WFC”), a publicly held company (NYSE: WFC).
WFII is organized into separate operating divisions or units doing business under different names.
This brochure relates solely to the advisory services WFII provides through its:
• Equity Optimization (“EO”)
• Fixed Income Strategies Team (“FIST”)
• Option Strategies Group (“OSG”)
The EO, FIST, and OSG units are referred to, collectively, as “Managed Solutions.” Managed
Solutions is a division within WFII. The terms “Client,” “you,” and “your” are used throughout this
document to refer to the person(s) or organization(s) who utilize EO, FIST, or OSG for the services
described here (at your choice or at the choice of your investment professional). “WFII,” “Managed
Solutions,” “EO,” “FIST,” “OSG,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to WFII and, when required by the
context, its Affiliates. “Affiliate” means any entity that is controlled by, controls or is under
common control with WFII.
Description of Advisory Services
B.
Each Managed Solutions unit specializes in, and limits its investment advice to, particular types of
investments. Depending on a Client’s selections, the Client’s assets may be invested in all or a
combination of equity securities (including REITS), fixed income securities, listed equity options,
mutual funds, money market funds, exchange-traded funds (collectively, “Funds”) and other
securities and investment products.
EO specializes in managing portfolios of individual equity securities that follow the risk and
return characteristics of a target benchmark or strategy and in implementing multi-tax-
year transitions to a target portfolio to achieve tax management objectives.
FIST specializes in managing portfolios of fixed income securities that are customized
based on the income and liquidity needs, risk tolerance, tax status and time horizon of a
Client, managing to the appropriate duration. FIST also develops actionable guidance (e.g.,
ratings on municipal individual fixed income securities), which is used to construct its
portfolios.
OSG specializes in managing equity options portfolio overlay strategies, including hedging
strategies (protective puts, collars, portfolio hedging); premium generation strategies
(covered calls); and tactical market entry strategies (long calls, short puts).
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The Managed Solutions strategies are offered solely on a discretionary basis to Clients investing
through Wells Fargo Advisor’s Customized Portfolios program or a WFB Account. Certain of the
Managed Solutions strategies are provided to Wells Fargo Advisors (“WFA”) through the WFA
Personalized UMA program while certain other Managed Solutions strategies are managed on a
discretionary basis by WFII through the WFA Personalized UMA program.
When we offer advice on a discretionary basis, the Client relies on us to formulate and, in most
cases, to implement the investment decisions consistent with parameters and information that
the Client provides in advance (and subject to any agreed upon limitations on our ability to change
investment strategies or execute particular transactions without separate approval).
Other divisions within WFII offer non-discretionary investment management services that include
providing securities ranking information, capital market assumptions, strategic asset allocations,
and model portfolios. WFII refers to these divisions, which are covered in a separate brochure, as
the Global Manager Research (“GMR”) division, the Global Investment Strategy (“GIS”) division,
the Global Portfolio Management (“GPM”) division, and the Global Securities Research (“GSR”).
Their non-discretionary services are used by the Managed Solutions units and other investment
advisers, including Affiliates, in developing their own investment advice.
WFII may utilize the services of its other Affiliates, in its discretion and subject to legal
requirements, for investment, administrative and other support in providing its services to
Clients.
Availability of Customized Services to Individual Clients
C.
Managed Solutions will tailor its investment management services to the individual needs of its
Clients, including by incorporating Client-specific restrictions on investing in certain securities or
types of securities. However, Managed Solutions will not be able to accommodate investment
restrictions that WFII determines to be unreasonable or unduly burdensome, including any
requested restrictions on underlying securities held in a Fund or REIT in which the Client invests.
WFII reserves the right to decline to accept, or terminate its advisory services to, Accounts with
such restrictions.
Managed Solutions will implement any reasonable restrictions it accepts in a manner it
determines in its sole discretion from time to time. Generally, the units in Managed Solutions
allocate the assets that would have been invested in the restricted securities to cash, pro-rata
across the strategy, or in substitute securities which may include ETFs. WFII reserves the right to
modify its practices regarding Client-imposed restrictions at any time without notice. Client-
imposed reasonable investment restrictions may adversely affect the investment performance
and diversification of the securities in an Account.
Wrap Fee Programs
D.
EO, FIST, and OSG currently provide their investment advisory services to:
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• wrap accounts in the Customized Portfolios wrap fee program and/or the Personalized
UMA wrap program sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors (“WFA”), a dually registered
broker-dealer and investment adviser; and
•
fiduciary accounts of WFB in connection with investment management and trust services
offered by WFB to personal trusts, individuals and institutions.
The principal difference between how EO, FIST, and OSG manage wrap accounts and fiduciary
accounts (collectively, “Accounts”) pertains to how our recommendations are implemented.
Managed Solutions places all orders to purchase or sell an asset for an Account to WFA for wrap
accounts and to WFB for fiduciary accounts,
Another difference is that not all investment strategies, styles and objectives are available to all
Clients or in all Accounts. Information pertaining to WFA’s wrap fee programs can be found in a
separate brochure, which is available on the SEC’s website at adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD. The
applicable disclosure documents and client agreements governing your Account (collectively, the
“Client Agreement”) are also available from your investment professional at WFA (referred to by
WFA as a financial advisor) or at WFB (referred to by WFB as a portfolio manager). For additional
information on Client Agreements, refer to Item 16: Investment Discretion.
In both types of Accounts, we receive a portion of the fees you pay WFA or WFB in connection
with your Account. You do not pay us a separate fee.
Assets Under Management
E.
As of December 31, 2024, WFII managed $40,817,738,378.00 in regulatory assets under
management on a discretionary basis.
Item 5 Fees And Compensation
Advisory Fees and Compensation
A.
We are compensated for our advisory services by WFA or WFB, out of the fees and expenses you
pay WFA or WFB in connection with your Account. As noted above, you do not pay a separate fee
directly to WFII.
Throughout this brochure, the term compensation refers to not just payments, but also the ability
to avoid costs and to receive free (or discounted) services or goods. You should consider the
opportunity and other costs to you, as well as all the economic benefits to us and our Affiliates,
when evaluating whether to accept a recommendation and the reasonableness of our
compensation.
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Our Compensation:
Our compensation from WFB for services offered by EO, FIST and OSG is a monthly fee based
upon costs incurred by WFII to provide these services, plus an additional amount equal to 10% of
such costs (similar to a mark-up). Costs incurred by WFII to provide these services include
personnel expenses, corporate support services and market data expenses.
Our compensation from WFA for services offered by EO, FIST and OSG consists of a quarterly fee,
based on the value of the c ash and investments we manage f or e ach WFA Account in the
Customized Portfolios or Personalized UMA wrap programs. The fee paid by WFA to WFII ranges
from 10 bps (0.10%) to 28 bps (0.28%), depending on the Client’s choice of strategy offered by
EO, FIST or OSG.
When we are compensated with an asset-based fee, we have an incentive to increase the asset
value on which our fee is calculated. When we are compensated by a markup on certain costs we
incur in managing your Account, we have an incentive to increase those costs. Our incentive to
maximize compensation presents a conflict with your interests in receiving disinterested advice
and in minimizing any costs that would, directly or indirectly, reduce your investment returns.
The compensation paid to WFII is subject to negotiation and renegotiation between WFII and
WFA or WFB at any time, without prior notice to Clients. As a result, the formula for our
compensation (and, therefore, our incentives) may change, and the rate may increase beyond the
range provided, without your advance knowledge.
Your Account Fees:
The compensation you pay to WFA or WFB for the services that WFII provides to your Account is
governed by your Client Agreement with WFA or WFB, including any provisions that require
advance notice to, or consent from, you prior to increasing fees and expenses associated with your
Account. Your Client Agreement specifies how WFA or WFB calculates the fees and expenses you
pay to WFA or WFB in connection with your Account (your “Account Fees”). Your Client Agreement
will also specify if, when and how WFA charges you different Account Fees depending on your
choice of strategy offered by EO, FIST or OSG.
Valuation: In most cases, your Account Fee is calculated on the net market value of the Client’s
Account including cash unless WFA or WFB and the Client agree to base the fee on the Account’s
gross value (e.g., the value of the Account including any assets purchased on margin and/or with
the proceeds of a short sale, as well as any unrealized gain (or loss) in the value of the short
position). For certain OSG strategies, your Account Fees may be calculated based on a target
notional value. The target notional value is the agreed upon value of broad-based equity market
index exposure that the underlying option contracts in the portfolio should represent. The target
notional value does not change over time unless a new value is agreed upon in writing. The actual
value of the index exposure in your Account can be significantly higher or lower than the target
notional value.
The value of your Account (be it net market value, gross value, target notional value, or some other
value) is determined by WFA or WFB in accordance with the terms of your Client Agreement. That
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value may differ from the value shown on your Account statement, your online access to your
Wells Fargo account or the value used to measure your Account’s performance or used to calculate
the compensation that WFA or WFB pays to WFII.
When your Account Fees are based on the value of your Account, WFA and WFB have an incentive
to increase the value and the valuation of those assets. Depending on the terms of your Client
Agreement and the services you select, WFA and/or WFB can do this:
• by valuing assets in the Managed Solutions strategies based on prices and/or estimates
obtained from sources (including Affiliates), or using methodologies, that can result in
higher valuations for some securities than the amount a client would receive if the
securities were sold from the Client’s Account;
• by encouraging a Client to increase the value of your Account (by investing more) or the
target notional value for certain OSG strategies; and
• by encouraging a Client to avoid withdrawing money from this account (by instead taking
a non-purpose loan or liquidating other accounts to meet your liquidity needs).
Negotiation: In general, fees are negotiable depending on a number of factors. Such factors
include, but are not limited to:
• market value of a Client’s assets;
• number and size of a Client’s related accounts maintained at WFA, WFB and/or Affiliates;
and
•
for WFA Clients, the range and extent of services provided or to be provided to a Client
and the investment professional at WFA assisting the Client.
Other pricing arrangements, typically involving multiple accounts, products or services, may also
be available to Clients. While Clients entering into such arrangements may pay higher fees for any
particular component being offered, the pricing arrangement as a whole will generally result either
in the same or lower fees in the aggregate for all the accounts, products or services provided or
for the inclusion of additional products and services. The fees for certain services described in this
brochure may be reduced for employees of Affiliates, or such employees and Affiliates (or any
Client) may be subject to prior fee schedules.
Comparisons: Your Account Fees may be more or less than the fees and charges you would pay if
you paid separately for investment advice, brokerage or other services, or if you participated in
comparable programs of other sponsors or other advisory programs that Affiliates offer. Your
Account Fees may be higher or lower than the Account Fees of Clients invested in the same
strategy, in an identical Account, under similar circumstances.
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Payment of Fees
B.
Because WFII is compensated by WFA or WFB and not the Client, WFII does not deduct its
compensation from your Account or invoice Clients directly. Instead, WFA or WFB remit to us a
portion of the Account Fees they charge to you. Account Fees are deducted from an Account, or
billed to a Client, on the terms and at a frequency agreed between WFA or WFB and the Client.
You should review your Client Agreement, or contact your investment professional at WFA or
WFB, to determine if you have the option to have Account Fees billed to you separately, rather
than deducted from your Account.
Other Fees and Expenses
C.
The types of fees and expenses you pay, directly or indirectly, in connection with our advisory
services are governed by the terms of your Client Agreement. The fees and expenses vary
depending on a number of factors, including without limitation whether you invest through WFA
or WFB and the investments and strategy selected for your Account.
For WFB’s fiduciary accounts, the most common types of fees and expenses are: bank trustee and
investment management fees (which may be asset-based); brokerage commissions and
transaction charges associated with buying and selling investments; fees you pay to WFB to hold
your assets; and other additional fees on ancillary goods and services (e.g., managed or non-
managed specialty assets, tax services and/or any extraordinary services).
For WFA’s wrap accounts, the most common types of fees and expenses are: the asset-based wrap
fee which covers the cost of custody and advisory services and execution of transactions through
WFA; other brokerage commissions and costs of executing transactions through broker-dealers
other than WFA; any applicable platform fees; and other transactional fees on ancillary goods and
services (e.g., interest on margin balances or securities-based loans, and wire fees).
Investment Costs: Different investments have different direct and indirect costs to buy, sell, and
hold. These costs are explained in your Client Agreement or product-specific materials that you
should review before investing.
• Brokerage Costs: Brokerage commissions and transaction charges associated with buying
and selling investments vary among the strategies offered by EO, FIST, or OSG and by
Account type. For additional information, refer to Item 12: Brokerage Practices.
• For WFB fiduciary accounts, you pay brokerage commissions on trades placed
through WFB that average 2.5 cents per share ($0.025) for equities; and $0.50 per
options contract.
•
For WFA wrap accounts, you do not pay brokerage commissions to WFA on equities
and options transactions executed through WFA. However, if your trades are
executed through broker-dealers other than WFA, you pay any brokerage
commissions and other charges associated with the transaction.
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• For Fixed Income Trades in WFB fiduciary accounts and WFA wrap accounts, these
trades are placed with unaffiliated dealers. Although neither WFA nor WFB charges
a commission for the trade, the net price that the client either pays when buying
the security or receives when selling the security, generally includes a mark-up (an
increase in quoted price increase applied by the dealer) and/or dealer spread (the
difference between the price that the dealer acquired the security versus which it
sells the security to the buyer) The client bears the price impact related to a mark-
up or dealer spread that the dealer includes in its quoted price of the fixed income
security.
• For both WFA and WFB Accounts, you also pay certain dealer markups or
markdowns, odd lot differentials, transfer taxes, exchange fees, execution fees
(foreign and/or domestic) when applicable, ADR custodial pass through fees,
foreign financial transaction taxes when applicable, and any other fees required by
law. These differ for listed equity options, fixed income securities, publicly traded
REITs, U.S. and foreign listed equities, ETFs, etc. In general, fixed income
transactions incur additional costs such as a markup/markdown or spread that are
included in the net price and are not reflected as a separate charge on trade
confirmations or Account statements.
•
In certain
REITS and Funds: Any portion of your Account that invests in REITS or Funds will also bear
a proportionate share of fees paid at the REIT or Fund level for managing, advising,
administering, accounting or sub-accounting, distributing, sponsoring, promoting,
licensing indices to, or otherwise servicing shareholders of the REIT or Fund. Depending
on the Fund and share class, you also could be charged fees on a share purchase (a
commission or load) or redemption (a contingent deferred sales charges or short-term
instances, certain Affiliates will receive fees or other
trading fees).
compensation for these services, directly from the Fund or indirectly from companies that
share their Fund-related revenue with an Affiliate. Unless otherwise provided in your
Client Agreement or required by law, your Account Fees will not be reduced by the second
level of fees that our Affiliates might otherwise accept. This creates an incentive for
Managed Solutions to favor Funds that generate this additional compensation over other
Funds when selecting, retaining and allocating assets to Funds in strategies offered by EO
and FIST.
• Cash-Sweep Options: Cash balances held in an Account, including any strategic balances
allocated to cash, are invested in a money market mutual fund or bank deposit sweep
accounts offered by WFA or WFB, as applicable. Our Affiliates have an incentive to make
available cash sweep options that generate additional revenue or benefits for them or
other Affiliates, rather than other cash sweep options that might pay higher returns to
clients. For example, assets invested in bank deposit accounts at Affiliates generate
compensation (“float”) from the use of uninvested funds, which accrues on payments
made from an account (e.g., distributions and expense payments) and other funds received
too late to be invested on that day. In their capacity as sponsoring broker-dealer or bank
to your Account, WFA can influence or determine how much revenue they accept and WFB
determines the interest they pay on cash balances, which directly reduces the rate of
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return you receive on your cash sweep option. In some cases, our Affiliates earn more
revenue on your Account’s allocation to cash than to other investments. When our
Affiliates earn more revenue on cash balances than other investments, this creates an
incentive for Managed Solutions to allocate a larger percentage of your Account to cash
than to other assets that have ha d historically higher returns and/or higher expenses to
Clients. The rate of return you earn on cash sweep balances in an Account is generally lower
than yields on cash alternatives, such as money market funds that are available to you for
investment outside of your selected sweep option. Your net-of-fee returns on cash
balances are likely to be negative during low interest rate environments, assuming your
Client Agreement provides that you pay Account Fees on cash balances.
Higher expenses, lower returns or an overly conservative allocation all have the effect of reducing
your investment performance.
D. Prepayment of Fees
For WFA: In general, Account Fees are payable in advance. You should review your Client
Agreement or contact your investment professional at WFA for more information.
For WFB: In general, unless otherwise specified in your Client Agreement, Account Fees are
payable in arrears.
E. Compensation for Sale of Securities, Conflicts of Interest
WFII does not accept compensation for the sale of securities or other investment products it
recommends to Clients, including asset-based sales charges or service fees from the sale of
mutual funds. WFII also does not allow its officers, directors, employees, or other persons
providing investment advice on its behalf to accept such compensation.
Certain Affiliates, however, do accept such compensation for the sale of securities or other
investment products in connection with our recommendations for your Account in the
circumstances set forth in your Client Agreement. This presents a conflict of interest by giving
our Affiliates (and, indirectly, your investment professional) an incentive to favor certain
investments over other investment products, Funds, Fund families, and share classes that
generate less or no additional compensation to our Affiliates.
Account Fees will not be reduced by the compensation to Affiliates for the sale of securities or
other investment products in connection with our recommendations for your Account, unless
otherwise provided in your Client Agreement or required by applicable law. When evaluating the
reasonableness of your Account Fees and whether to accept our investment recommendations,
you should take into consideration such additional revenue to Affiliates as part of our collective
compensation.
Item 6 Performance-Based Fees And Side-By-Side Management
WFII manages multiple accounts with different investment objectives, guidelines and policies, and
with different fee structures. Currently, neither WFII nor its employees receive compensation
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based on a share of capital gains on, or capital appreciation of, the assets of a client (referred to as
“performance-based fees”). However, WFII may enter into performance-based fee arrangements
in the future. Such performance-based fee arrangements would be subject to individualized
negotiation with each such client and structured so as to comply with Rule 205-3 under the
Advisers Act.
A performance-based fee incentivizes WFII to favor accounts that pay an advisory fee based on
performance, over Clients that do not, when disseminating our recommendations (e.g., ideas that
are time sensitive or limited opportunities). Similarly, portfolio managers could have an incentive
to favor accounts that charge performance-based fees, over other accounts (including Clients)
that do not, if a portfolio manager can increase his or her compensation by making
recommendations or decisions that generate more advisory fee revenue for WFII (or bonuses for
the employee).
We address this conflict by disclosing to you that Clients can experience material differences in
performance as a result of differences in the content and timing with which our investment
recommendations are delivered to Clients and other accounts. In addition, the compensation of
our portfolio managers and team members is designed to avoid creating an incentive to favor
certain account over others. Investment personnel in Managed Solutions cannot increase their
compensation by making investment recommendations or decisions that generate more revenue
for us or our affiliates.
Item 7 Types Of Clients
Client Types:
EO, FIST and OSG generally provide their discretionary investment advisory services to Clients
who are individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pensions and profit sharing plans,
and corporations. WFII provides these strategies pursuant to a separate agreement with WFB for
fiduciary accounts and pursuant to its advisory agreement with WFA for wrap accounts. Not all
strategies offered by EO, FIST, and OSG are available to all types of Clients or in all Accounts.
Fiduciary accounts of Wells Fargo Delaware Trust Company, N.A.—a wholly owned subsidiary of
WFB—also have access to the services described in this brochure in a manner similar to WFB
Clients.
Other divisions of WFII provide their advisory services solely to institutional clients, such as
affiliated and unaffiliated investment advisers, affiliated banking or thrift institutions and
affiliated broker-dealers. These advisory services are not intended for personal, family or
household use and not made available to individuals.
Eligibility for Accounts:
You should review your Client Agreement, or contact your investment professional at WFA or
WFB, to determine the requirements for opening, maintaining and terminating an Account.
To invest in a strategy offered by EO, FIST, and OSG, you must maintain a wrap account in the
Customized Portfolios or Personalized UMA wrap programs sponsored by WFA, or you must
maintain a fiduciary account in an investment management, trust or similar relationship with WFB.
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The minimum initial investment for an Account can vary among the strategies offered by EO, FIST
and, OSG and is subject to any higher minimums imposed by WFA or WFB from time to time, so
please refer to your Client Agreement or consult your investment professional for current
information. Depending on your Client Agreement, you may incur additional fees, pay a higher fee
rate or become ineligible for certain services if your Account or allocation to a particular Managed
Solutions strategy falls below certain thresholds.
Clients are able to terminate an Account, or their allocation to a strategy offered by EO, FIST and
OSG in their Account, on the terms established in the Client Agreement or other relevant
documentation. Upon termination of the Managed Solutions strategy for your Account, WFII will
have no responsibility for the investment of assets in that Account.
Item 8 Methods Of Analysis, Investment Strategies And Risk Of Loss
Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies
A.
The strategies offered by EO, FIST and OSG draw upon a number of investment techniques and
methods of analysis, including fundamental analysis.
EO - Equity Optimization
(1)
EO uses fundamental, quantitative to provide tax-sensitive management of portfolios of
individual equity securities. EO strategies generally seek to track, as a primary objective, the risk
and return characteristics of an index or other baseline active strategy while employing, as a
secondary consideration, tax sensitive management techniques including tax-loss harvesting.
One popular EO strategy seeks to achieve a multi-tax-year transition to the approved target while
simultaneously providing tax management features.
Depending on the circumstances, your investment professional at WFA or WFB recommends,
selects, or gives you the option to select the appropriate EO strategy for your individual equity
portfolio. When managing strategies in WFB Client Accounts, EO generally starts with the
existing equity portfolio in the Client’s Account and then tailors its portfolio management to
implement the selected EO strategy to the Client’s needs such as tax sensitivity, client-driven
customization, transition management, and risk management. Please refer to the applicable WFA
ADV Part 2A disclosure document for more information about how EO strategies are
implemented in WFA Client Accounts. EO portfolio managers use sophisticated optimization
tools to formulate their portfolio characteristics to purchase and sell U.S. listed equity securities.
ETFs may be used as appropriate on an as needed basis. They seek to effectively balance
competing demands—the quality of the current holdings, gaps and opportunities in economic risk
factors, any client individual investment constraints, and the tax consequences of making trades
—while seeking to track, as a primary objective, the risk and return characteristics of the selected
index or other baseline active strategy.
Portfolio risk is managed through regular review of quantitative metrics such as portfolio tracking
error relative to benchmarks, and through the EO team’s overall assessment of the risk/reward
profile of each security.
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If EO provides multi-tax-year transition and/or tax loss harvesting services, EO may work with the
Client and/or the Client’s investment professional at WFA or WFB to develop a tax “budget” for
the Account(s) managed by EO. EO then periodically reviews those Account(s) to determine if
there are unrealized losses and/or opportunities to improve tracking error.
Clients who invest in EO strategies through a WFA wrap program should review the applicable
WFA ADV Part 2A disclosure document for more information about how the strategies will be
implemented in their account.
FIST - The Fixed Income Strategy Team
(2)
In managing the FIST strategies, the unit focuses on active total return bond management
utilizing principal protection, income generation, and above-market performance. FIST uses a
top-down and bottom-up approach to selecting fixed income securities. We evaluate the
macroeconomic, interest rate and yield curve environment in conjunction with internal sector,
credit and security analysis.
FIST leverages both proprietary and third-party research to determine the credit worthiness of
fixed income securities. Additionally, FIST partners with GSR to consistently monitor credit
quality to ensure they maintain minimum credit standards.
FIST offers customization to tailor portfolios to meet client’s unique needs.
Non-customized FIST strategies are aligned with WFII’s overall investment strategy guidance by
measuring certain portfolio risk factors. FIST team members are involved in the creation of the
overall tactical strategy guidance developed by WFII’s GIS division. FIST has a stringent risk
management process delivered through a transparent portfolio. Policies and procedures align
with our technology to ensure strict adherence within our portfolio management practices. Credit
risk is accounted for and consistently monitored in the investment management process.
OSG - Option Strategies Group
(3)
OSG formulates its recommendations to purchase and sell (“write”) options by using proprietary
quantitative analytics and continuous risk monitoring. Recommendations are bespoke to the
needs of each Client seeking risk reduction, income enhancement, or hedging and are intended as
an “overlay” responsive to the portfolio holdings of an Account. Pre-trade portfolio analysis sets
the framework for implementation through an in-depth portfolio review. OSG also monitors
macroeconomic conditions and security-specific trends that may have an impact on Client
portfolios to anticipate these impacts on the chosen strategy.
OSG uses a variety of tools to monitor aggregated views of equity and option exposures across all
OSG strategies. Data is analyzed across risk return characteristics including current option
positioning, option characteristics (delta, volatility and time to expiration), profit/loss on existing
positions, liquidity, and available risk budgeting or collateral. OSG also uses underlying equity
characteristics (such as earnings releases and technical analysis indicators) to monitor positions.
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Clients who invest in OSG strategies through a WFA wrap program should review the applicable
WFA ADV Part 2A disclosure document for more information about how the strategies will be
implemented in their account.
General Information
(4)
A variety of sources of information are used to facilitate such analysis. For strategies that invest
in individual equity securities and fixed income securities, the Managed Solutions units utilize
research reports and guidance developed by GSR and/or third parties. For strategies that invest
in mutual funds and/or ETFs, the Managed Solutions units utilize the ratings of such Funds
developed by the GMR division within WFII. GMR uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis
to provide its investment ratings regarding third-party and affiliated investment managers and
certain of their investment products. GMR analysts interact with investment managers on a
frequent basis. These interactions generally include receiving portfolio updates on existing
products through direct calls with investment personnel, general updates as firm representatives
and/or team members pass through the local office locations of GMR team members, or general
update calls sponsored by the firm and/or investment team. This is in addition to the data
collected on each firm or investment product, both from the investment manager directly and
from external sources.
EO utilizes replication, where your Account is periodically rebalanced to replicate the strategy
selected by Client (subject to the Client’s reasonable restrictions), and/or optimization, where the
recommendations are designed to overlay the existing portfolio holdings or strategy of an
Account and implement Client-imposed investment guidelines (and any restrictions).
All investing in securities involves risk of loss that Clients should be prepared to bear. The
strategies offered by EO, FIST and OSG are not insured or otherwise protected by the U.S.
Government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other
government agency, and involve risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Risks of Particular Strategies, Methods of Analysis and Securities
B.
The advisory services described in this brochure utilize a wide range of securities and investments
and draw upon multiple methods of analysis and investment techniques. General investment risks
include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Management Risk − Investment decisions might produce losses or cause your Account to
underperform relative to a relevant benchmark or peer group. Our decisions or
recommendations with respect to a strategy also may cause underperformance of your
Account(s) relative to either the client’s expectations or similar Accounts, and there is no
guarantee that the selected strategy or our recommendations will produce the desired
results.
• Market Risk – Security prices in a market, sector or industry may fall, reducing the value of
your Account(s).
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• Equity Risk – Stock prices, including publicly traded REITs, may fall over short or extended
periods of time.
•
Interest Rate Risk – The value of fixed-income securities may be affected by any increase
or decrease in prevailing interest rates. In general, if interest rates rise, bond prices fall,
and if interest rates fall, bond prices rise.
• Credit Risk – Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income
security or a counterparty to a contractual obligation and changes in general economic
conditions may impact the actual or perceived willingness or ability of an issuer, guarantor
or counterparty to make timely payments of interest or principal or to otherwise honor its
obligations. This risk is greater for lower-rated fixed income securities (e.g., below
investment grade bonds).
• Options Risk –Options are a form of derivative security, the value of which can fluctuate at
a greater magnitude relative to the cost of the security due to embedded leverage.
Because buying an option on a security might cost less than buying the security itself, the
fluctuation in value could be much more significant relative to the cost of the investment.
Depending on the strategy implemented, covered calls can limit the upside potential of
the securities held in your Account. In certain instances, an option will be assigned and you
will be required to sell securities, thus creating realized gains/losses. The purchaser of an
option runs the risk of losing the entire value of the purchased option as options become
valueless upon expiration if they are not exercised or sold prior to expiration. The writer of
an option can limit, but not eliminate, the risk of loss in an Account by purchasing options
(a spread trade) to buy the same underlying index or equity.
• Style Risk – A strategy may follow a particular investment style that may fall out of favor
in the market. The predictive powers of different methods of analysis also vary greatly.
Models and rules are often modified and updated as new patterns and behaviors develop.
Technical analysis (relative to fundamental analysis) and qualitative analysis (relative to
quantitative analysis) may be more dependent on subjective judgment.
Inflation Risk – Returns on fixed-income securities may not keep pace with inflation.
•
•
Foreign Securities Risk – Foreign securities are subject to special risks, including without
limitation limited liquidity, delays in settlement, less publicly available information about
companies, the
impact of political, social or diplomatic events, possible seizure,
expropriation or nationalization of a company or its assets, and possible imposition of
currency exchange controls. Foreign markets may be extremely volatile.
• Transaction Cost Risks – Strategies that seek to generate returns from the trading of
financial instruments, rather than from buying and holding investments, tend to have
higher brokerage and other transaction costs and taxes which can reduce investment
performance.
• Tax Risk – The effectiveness of EO’s multi-tax-year transition service, or tax loss
harvesting service, at reducing your overall tax liability will depend on your entire tax and
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investment profile. Purchases and dispositions of assets (by the Client or the Client’s
spouse) outside of the Accounts managed by EO can affect whether a loss is successfully
harvested, or tracking error improved, by EO’s sale of a security in an Account. EO will
monitor only the Client’s Account(s) managed by EO (not by other Managed Solutions
units or Affiliates). EO is not responsible for monitoring or preventing transactions by the
Client or the Client’s spouse in other taxable or non-taxable accounts that can result in a
“wash sale” under IRS rules if those accounts buy any security sold at a loss for a period of
at least 30 days before or after EO sells those same securities for your Account. When EO
reinvests the proceeds of a sale in a substantially similar (but not identical) security, the
substantially similar security may fail to perform like the replaced security and/or the sale
may be ineffective in reducing the Client’s tax liability or tracking error.
• Regulatory Risk – The overall investment activities of the WFII and our Affiliates may limit
the investment opportunities for a Client’s Account(s) in certain markets in which
limitations are imposed by regulators upon the amount of investment by affiliated
investors, in the aggregate or in individual issuers. From time-to-time, an Account’s
activities also may be restricted because of regulatory restrictions applicable to the WFII,
WFA, WFB or their Affiliates, and/or their internal policies. For example, we may be
restricted from trading in an issuer’s securities if an Affiliate has material, non-public
information about the issuer.
•
Information Risks – In providing its advisory services, WFII relies on affiliated and third-
party sources for information that it believes to be reliable, but WFII cannot guarantee the
quality, accuracy and/or completeness of such information.
• Business Continuity Risks – Although WFII implements business continuity planning, there
is no guarantee that WFII or its service providers will be able to maintain normal operations
and/or will not lose key personnel on a temporary or long-term basis as a result of natural
or man-made disasters, pandemics like COVID-19 or other unexpected disruptive events.
• Cybersecurity Risks – With the increased use of technologies to conduct business, WFII and
its Affiliates (including WFA, WFB and WFC which maintains WFII’s technology
infrastructure) are susceptible to operational, information security, and related risks. In
general, cyber-incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events and
may arise from external or internal sources. Cyber-attacks include unauthorized access to
digital systems (such as through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of
misappropriating assets or sensitive information; corrupting data, equipment, or systems;
or causing operational disruption. Cyber-attacks may also be carried out in a manner that
does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on
websites (making network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber-incidents may
cause disruptions and affect business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses,
impediments to trading, the inability to transact business, destruction to equipment and
systems, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties,
reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional
compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cyber-incidents
affecting a Fund in which your Account invests, issuers of securities and other interests in
which such a Fund may invest, counterparties with which a Fund engages in transactions,
17
governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market
operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions
(including financial intermediaries and service providers), and other parties.
• Privacy Risks – To extent consistent with applicable law and your Client Agreement, WFII
and its affiliates may provide access to Client information to affiliated and third-party
service providers throughout the world. Although we maintain protective measures as
described in our privacy policies and notices, Client information can be put at risk when
accessed by others who use the information for unintended purposes.
Item 9 Disciplinary Information
There are no legal or disciplinary events that are material to a Client’s or prospective Client’s
evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our firm’s management. Descriptions of
other disciplinary actions involving WFII and its management affiliates are reflected in WFII’s Form
ADV, Part 1A, which is available at http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov on the Investment Adviser
Public Disclosure website.
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of WFB, a bank affiliate of WFC, WFII operates in a legal and
regulatory environment that exposes it to risks due to WFC’s involvement in various legal and
regulatory matters, including litigation, arbitrations and investigations. Such cases are subject to
many uncertainties, and their outcome is often difficult to predict, including the impact on WFC’s
operations or financial results, particularly in the early stages of a case. Many, but not necessarily
all, of such matters are disclosed in WFC’s securities and regulatory filings made under the
Securities Act of 1933
among other laws and
and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
regulations, or otherwise may be reported on in the media from time to time. WFC’s regulatory
filings generally are available from WFC, the SEC or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(“FINRA”).
Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities And Affiliations
This section describes relationships or arrangements material to WFII’s advisory business that
certain of its management persons have with other Affiliates. WFII’s management persons are
WFB, WFC and other entities and individuals who exercise a controlling influence over WFII’s
management or policies, or who determine the general investment advice given to Clients and
other clients of WFII.
Additional information concerning these direct and indirect affiliates and related persons of WFII,
which include various other broker-dealers, investment companies, investment advisers, and
banking organizations, is provided in WFII’s Form ADV, Part 1A, which is available at
http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Broker-Dealer Registration Status
A.
WFII is not registered as a broker-dealer. Certain of WFII’s management persons are registered
as registered representatives of a broker-dealer.
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Material Relationships or Arrangements With Affiliates
B.
WFII and its management persons have relationships or arrangements with several Affiliates that
are, or could be perceived as, material to WFII’s advisory business or its Clients. As noted above,
WFII is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of WFB and a bank affiliate of WFC. WFC is a large
financial services organization that, directly and through its Affiliates, operates commercial and
investment banking, brokerage, securities dealing, financing, wealth management, advisory, asset
management, insurance, lending and related products and services on a global basis. These
products and services include: (1) securities brokerage, trading and underwriting; (2) investment
banking, strategic advisory services (including mergers and acquisitions) and other corporate
finance activities; (3) wealth management products and services including financial, retirement
and generational planning; asset management and investment advisory and related record-
keeping services; (4) origination, brokerage, dealer and related activities in swaps, options,
forwards, exchange-traded futures, other derivatives, commodities, and foreign exchange
products; (5) securities clearance, settlement financing services and prime brokerage; (6) private
equity and other principal investing activities; (7) proprietary trading of securities, derivatives and
loans; (8) banking, trust and lending services, including deposit-taking, consumer and commercial
lending, including mortgage loans, and related services; (9) insurance and annuities sales; and (10)
providing research including global equity strategy and economics, global fixed-income and
equity-linked research, global fundamental equity research, and global wealth management
strategy.
Conflicts of Interest
The activities and dealings of WFII and its Affiliates with other clients and third parties affect our
Clients in ways that will, from time to time, disadvantage you, while benefitting the Wells Fargo
enterprise and/or clients or customers of other Affiliates. The following discussion briefly
summarizes some of these conflicts. It should be read together with Item 11’s discussion of
conflicts associated with an economic interest in client transactions and Item 14’s discussion of
other economic benefits we receive in connection with our advisory services. These Items are not
intended to include an exhaustive list of all such conflicts. You should carefully review your Client
Agreement, which may contain further information on conflicts of interest and how WFA or WFB,
as applicable, seeks to mitigate them.
•
Competing Loyalties: Affiliates and individuals at WFII that control its management or
policies, or determine the general investment advice given by Managed Solutions, can and
do perform other duties for WFII and for Affiliates. Conflicts of interest arise from time to
time in connection with these duties with respect to allocating management time, services
or functions among us and other Affiliates. In their non-WFII roles, such persons may give
investment advice and/or take actions that differs from, or are inconsistent with, the
performance of their WFII-related duties. The compensation of these management
II’s or an
persons may be based, in part, upon the profitability of other parts of WF
Affiliate’s business or the business of an Affiliate. Consequently, in carrying out their roles
at WFII and these other entities, the management persons of WFII are subject to the same
or similar potential conflicts with the interests of Clients that WFII and these Affiliates
experience.
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• Preference for Affiliated Strategies: WFC receives a reputational benefit from having assets
managed according to the WFII strategies, and in WFA, will receive additional revenue as a
result of your investment in a Managed Solutions strategy rather than a strategy offered
by an unaffiliated adviser. As a result, WFA has an incentive to include, and your
investment professional (as an employee of WFA) has an incentive to select or
recommend, the strategies offered by Managed Solutions on the menu of options
available to Accounts. You should consider that WFA may give preference, in their
selection and retention of investment advisers and strategies, to WFII and its Managed
Solutions strategies over other investment advisers and investment options, which may
have similar investment objectives but superior performance and/or other investment
metrics.
in
• Competing Investments: Affiliates engage
investment operations that may be
substantially similar to and/or competitive with opportunities in which Clients have
invested or which are appropriate for Clients. Unless otherwise provided in your Client
Agreement or required by law, Affiliates are under no obligation to share any such research
or opportunities with Managed Solutions or Clients. Moreover, Affiliates may invest on
behalf of themselves in such opportunities. This may result in financial benefits to
Affiliates that are not experienced by Clients. To the extent Managed Solutions and
Affiliates have overlapping investments or similar investment strategies, Affiliates may
give advice or take action for their own accounts (which may be advised by WFII) that differ
from, potentially conflict with or be adverse to advice given or action taken by WFII for any
other Clients. Our Affiliates’ activities have the ability to affect market prices in a manner
that could have an adverse effect on Client holdings, particularly when such Affiliates
manage substantial amounts of assets, creating the potential for large trades.
• Differentiated Product Offerings: Your investment professional at WFA or WFB may
suggest or recommend that you use an Affiliate’s services. These services can include
lending, execution, custody, trustee, fiduciary, or other services for your investment
activity (e.g., taking a margin or a non-purpose loan secured by your Account) or for other
purposes (e.g., a home mortgage). As described in Item 5: Fees and Compensation, the
balances in your Account will be invested in a cash sweep option that may be serviced or
sponsored by our Affiliates. Where a Client uses or purchases our Affiliates’ services or
products, our Affiliates will receive and retain fees and compensation which are in addition
to your Account Fees, unless otherwise provided in your Client Agreement or required by
law.
• Restrictions from Other Activities: Owing to the investment banking or other business
activities of its Affiliates, WFII’s ability to transact in securities issued by companies
involved in certain corporate restructuring transactions (e.g., mergers and acquisitions)
may be limited by law or regulation (domestic and/or foreign). For example, our Affiliates
can acquire confidential or material non-public information that prevents us or our
Affiliates, for a period of time, from purchasing, selling or recommending particular
securities for y our Account. Similarly, the purchase and/or management of some
investments involve credit analysis, based in whole or in part on information that may not
be readily available to the public (e.g., material, non-public information), and that can cause
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the client to become restricted in trading public securities of that issuer so long as such
information remains material and non-public. We and our Affiliates are not permitted to
divulge or to act upon this information with respect to our advisory or brokerage activities.
As a result, WFII may limit or exclude Clients’ investments in a particular issuer, future,
derivative, and/or other instrument (or limit the exercise of voting or other rights
associated with such investments).
• Restrictions attributable to Ownership of WFC Securities: From time to time, a shareholder
of WFC may acquire a sufficiently large interest in WFC that the holding triggers statutory
or regulatory obligations or restrictions. In such event, WFII’s ability to take certain actions
or make recommendations within your Account, such as buying or selling securities issued
by the shareholder or its affiliates, may be limited. To mitigate the conflicts associated
with an adviser recommending clients purchase its shares, WFA and WFB generally seek
to prohibit purchases into Accounts of securities issued by WFC. Clients should be aware
that, in some cases, these limitations on transacting in WFC Securities and WFC-related
Securities could adversely impact the performance of their Accounts.
• Restrictions attributable to Ownership by WFC and its Affiliates: Due to regulatory and
issuer-specific limits that apply to the ownership of securities of certain issuers, WFII may
limit investments in the securities of such issuers. In addition, we may from time-to-time
determine that, because of regulatory requirements that may apply to WFII and/or its
Affiliates in relation to investments in a particular country or in an issuer operating in a
particular regulated industry, it is impractical or undesirable to make investments in the
securities of issuers domiciled or listed on trading markets in that country or operating in
that regulated industry above certain thresholds. (For example, a position or transaction
could require a filing or other regulatory consent, which could, among other things, result
in additional costs and/or disclosure obligations for, or impose regulatory restrictions on,
WFII or its Affiliates.)
• Application of Restrictions: Limits and thresholds may apply at the Account level or in the
aggregate across all accounts (or certain subsets of accounts) managed, sponsored, or
owned by or otherwise attributable to, WFII and its Affiliates. For investment risk
management and other purposes, we may also generally apply internal aggregate limits on
the amount of a particular issuer’s securities or other investments that may be owned by
all such accounts. In addition, to the extent that Accounts already own securities that
directly or indirectly contribute to an ownership threshold being exceeded, WFII may sell
securities held in such accounts in order to bring account-level and/or aggregate
ownership below the relevant threshold. Sales of securities or other instruments resulting
from such limitations and/or restrictions may result in realized losses for Accounts in the
Managed Solutions strategies, and restrictions on purchases may result in foregone
investment opportunities.
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Mitigants
WFII seeks to mitigate the risk from these conflicts through WFC’s and WFII’s policies, procedures,
disclosure, communication protocols, and periodic conflicts training of applicable personnel.
These include, among others described in this brochure, the following:
•
Information walls are in place which are designed to allow multiple businesses to engage
with the same or related clients at the same time, while mitigating any conflicts arising
from such a situation. For example, information walls are designed to prevent the
unauthorized disclosure of material nonpublic information and allow public side sales,
trading and research activities to continue, while other businesses within WFC possess
material nonpublic information.
• When necessary to impose limitations on purchases, or require sales, of an investment,
WFII will endeavor to treat all clients fairly. WFII, WFA and WFB seek to apply the
restriction on a pro-rata basis across all impacted accounts, or in another equitable
manner, consistent with fiduciary obligations and subject to regulatory requirements and
Client Agreements.
• Your investment professional at WFA or WFB is required to recommend investment
advisory programs, investment products and securities and banking services that are
appropriate for, and in the best interest of, each client based upon the client’s investment
objectives, risk tolerance and financial situation and needs and considering cost.
Investment professionals at WFB do not receive compensation (the amount of which
varies) based on your choice of a Managed Solutions strategy or Account over other
options.
• WFA and WFB regularly review the quality of WFII’s advisory services to Accounts, and
would replace the Managed Solutions strategies should WFA or WFB determine they are
no longer performing satisfactorily. However, WFA and WFB evaluate affiliated and
unaffiliated sub-advisers differently for a number of reasons because WFA and WFB have
more, and continuous, information regarding WFII’s personnel and risk and compliance
procedures, as well as investment processes.
• Disclosure that the advice we give may be different from the advice our Affiliates give or
the timing or nature of action we or they take for your Account. We and our Affiliates act
in a variety of capacities to a wide range of clients. We may give advice or take action with
regard to certain clients, including Clients, which differs from that given or taken with
regard to other clients. This is due to, among other things, the differing nature of the
Affiliate’s investment service and differing processes and criteria upon which actions are
taken.
Material Conflicts of Interest Relating to Other Investment Advisers
C.
We are deemed to recommend third-party investment advisers (or their investment products or
portfolios) that we use in strategies offered by EO, FIST or OSG. We and our Affiliates have
22
business relationships with, and receive compensation (directly or indirectly) from, certain of
these third-party investment advisers, as described throughout this brochure.
Conflicts of Interest
When compensation to our Affiliates varies based on our recommendations of an investment
adviser (or their investment products or portfolios), this presents a conflict. WFII has a financial
incentive to make the investment recommendation that maximizes profits, rather than give you
disinterested advice.
GMR provides their advisory services to the Managed Solutions units on the basis of their
affiliation with WFII. Similarly, in constructing the Managed Solutions strategies, the Managed
Solutions units limit their consideration to the universe of ETFs and mutual funds that are made
available to Accounts (by WFA or WFB, as applicable) and recommended by GMR.
• GMR does not screen and conduct due diligence on all mutual funds and ETFs. GMR may,
consciously or unconsciously, give preference, or more opportunities for consideration, to
investment managers (or their investment products or portfolios) that offer additional
compensation to Affiliates.
• WFA and WFB do not make available all mutual funds and ETFs to EO, FIST and OSG for
use in your Account. WFA may exclude investment options that cost them more (and,
therefore, reduce the Account Fees they retain) or give preference to options that
generate additional revenue for Affiliates. For example, WFA considers, when selecting a
Fund, Fund family or share class to make available in its wrap programs, the payments and
compensation that WFA and Affiliates receive from firms associated with an investment
manager or Fund, including where WFA effects transactions for, or provides service to, the
Fund or its adviser.
EO, FIST and OSG do not independently investigate other mutual funds and ETFs, which may have
similar investment objectives but lower fees and expenses. WFII has a conflict of interest in giving
preference to the advisory services of Affiliates and in limiting its consideration to investment
options that impose less additional costs on Affiliates or that generate more revenue to Affiliates.
Mitigants
In addition to the mitigants described in Item 10.C above and throughout this brochure, WFII
mitigates its conflict through reviews of the quality and continued value of the advisory services
provided by GMR to Managed Solutions.
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Item 11 Code Of Ethics And Participation In Client Transactions
Code of Ethics
A.
WFII has adopted a code of ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) and various other policies and procedures
designed to govern the professional activities of its personnel and various aspects of their private
conduct, particularly that which could present conflicts of interest between the individuals and
WFII and its clients. All WFII personnel must comply with the Code of Ethics, which is designed to
detect and prevent violations of securities laws while putting the interests of WFII’s clients before
those of WFII personnel. Additionally, WFC maintains a company-wide Code of Ethics and
Business Conduct which provides guidelines for the business practices and personal conduct that
all associates and board members are expected to adopt and uphold.
WFII’s Code of Ethics imposes personal trading restrictions on all employees, including EO, FIST,
and OSG personnel. The restrictions govern their own accounts and trading activity, as well as
accounts over which they have control or a beneficial interest. The restrictions, which apply to the
purchase and sale of certain securities and options, are designed to prevent situations where a
personal transaction by a person related to WFII would be adverse or detrimental to a client of
WFII, including Clients. For example, designated WFII personnel must pre-clear certain securities
transactions, disclose their investment accounts, and provide or cause WFII to receive annual
holdings reports and quarterly transaction reports.
WFII’s Code of Ethics is available upon written request to: Wells Fargo Investment Institute
Compliance, 550 South Tryon Street, 40th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28202, or by contacting WFII’s
Chief Compliance Officer, Daniel J. Mavico, via email at Daniel.Mavico@wellsfargo.com.
Recommendations of Securities in which WFC has a Material Financial
B.
WFII, its Affiliates and their respective employees, including team members and portfolio
managers in EO, FIST and OSG may recommend to Clients, or buy and sell for Clients, investments
in which we or they have a material financial interest. A material financial interest would include
an opportunity for our Affiliates to benefit financially from the purchase or sale of an investment,
from providing services in connection with an investment, or from increasing the value of an
investment to an Affiliate.
Conflicts of Interest
The existence of a material financial interest in the investments that we or an Affiliate recommend
to you presents a conflict of interest. WFC has an incentive for Managed Solutions to favor
investment products, and make investment decisions, that generate the greatest financial benefit
or compensation to Affiliates when selecting, retaining and allocating assets to investments in the
strategies offered by EO, FIST and OSG. Our Affiliates have similar incentives when providing you
recommendations or acting on your behalf. Unless otherwise provided in your Client Agreement
or required by law, your Account Fees will not be reduced by the financial benefit, including any
additional compensation, that we or our Affiliates might otherwise receive.
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• Agency-Cross Trades: There may be instances in which WFA or an affiliated broker-dealer
has the opportunity to act as agent for both buyer and seller in a transaction for a WFA
Account, in accordance with applicable law and your Client Agreement. This is called an
“agency-cross” transaction. WFA or the Affiliate generally will receive compensation from
the other party in an agency-cross transaction. This compensation received by WFA or its
Affiliate would be in addition to the Account Fees you incur in connection with your
Account. The additional compensation presents a conflict between the responsibilities
and loyalties to you and to the other party to the transaction that are owed by WFII and its
Affiliates, as applicable.
• Cross Trades: WFA and WFB have the ability to effect (or, in WFB’s case, permit) cross
transactions between Accounts. A cross transaction is where one Client purchases a
security held by another advisory client of WFII or WFA or a fiduciary client of WFB.
Although cross trades will not result in any additional compensation to a Wells Fargo
company, our Affiliates can benefit by effecting the transaction at a price, or on terms, that
favors one client over another client, or that favors the client that generates the greatest
compensation to Affiliates over other clients, which may include Clients. To mitigate this
conflict, any cross transactions in your Account must be effected in accordance with
applicable law and your Client Agreement, and only when the transaction is in the best
interest of each party. Generally, this means that cross transactions be effected at
independently determined market prices.
• Principal Trading and Market Making: WFA has the ability to effect principal transactions
in your Account, subject to the terms of your Client Agreement and applicable law. In a
principal trade, an adviser, acting as principal for its own account or the account of an
affiliated broker-dealer, buys a security from or sells a security to an advisory client. When
acting as principal to effect transactions or facilitate non-standard settlement requests,
an affiliated broker-dealer has an incentive to effect the transaction at a price that is most
favorable to the affiliate rather than you or other clients. You should refer to your Client
Agreement to determine the circumstances in which your Account is permitted to engage
in principal transactions.
• Advising or Servicing Investments: Strategies offered by EO, FIST and OSG may recommend
products that directly or indirectly generate additional compensation to Affiliates for
managing, advising, administering, accounting or sub-accounting, distributing,
sponsoring, promoting, licensing indices to, or otherwise servicing shareholders or
investors in the product. Such products include registered investment companies or other
collective Funds, bank deposit products, equity derivatives, REITS and other equity
securities, or other investment vehicles to which one or more Affiliates may be an adviser,
manager, sponsor, shareholder servicer, promoter or placement agent or may have issued,
structured, licensed indices to, or underwritten such vehicle. As noted in Item 5: Fees and
Compensation, Affiliates will receive fees or other compensation for these services, directly
from the assets of the investment or indirectly from companies that share their revenue
from the investment with an Affiliate.
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• Other Business Interests: Certain of the strategies offered by EO, FIST and OSG may
recommend securities of an issuer in a position to give business to WFII or its Affiliates.
WFII has an incentive to favor these investments, which may include:
• companies that are, in turn, invested in our ultimate parent company, WFC, or that
own a significant stake in an Affiliate or a joint venture with an Affiliate;
• companies that have provided, or could provide, loans or financing to Affiliates;
• companies who are also advisory clients of WFII or an Affiliate; and
• companies that engage, for their own account or on behalf of their clients, our
Affiliates’ banking and lending services, sponsorship of deferred compensation and
retirement plans, recordkeeping services, investment banking, securities research,
institutional trading and prime brokerage services, custody services, and licensing
arrangements involving indices.
Mitigants
In addition to the mitigants described in Item 10 and throughout this brochure, there are controls
focused on addressing the conflicts presented by the material financial interests that we and
Affiliates have in the investments we recommend to you.
• We disclose the nature these financial interests in general terms and urge you to refer to
your Client Agreement, or consult your investment professional at WFA or WFB, for more
information about these and other conflicts of interest.
• We determine the compensation paid to WFII’s investment personnel on the same basis
for all assets without regard to the amount of compensation we or our Affiliates receive
on different investments in your Account. As a result, W FII’s investment personnel do not
have a direct financial incentive to favor certain investments over others for a Managed
Solutions strategy or to favor certain investment managers (or their investment products)
over others.
• Portfolio managers and group members in EO, FIST and OSG have a fiduciary obligation to
select and retain investments in the best interest of each Client, based upon the Client’s
investment objectives, risk tolerance and financial situation, and needs communicated to
WFII by WFA or WFB.
• WFII monitors investment purchases and sales for compliance with investment guidelines,
policy statements and other agreed upon restrictions and disclosures, as described in Item
13: Review of Accounts. WFII also monitors the quality of execution achieved for Clients on
transactions placed through WFA or WFB, as described in Item 12: Brokerage Practices.
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Conflicts of Investing in the Same Securities, or at the Same Time, as Clients
C.
From time to time, WFII recommends or causes a Client to invest in a security (or related
securities, e.g., warrants, options or future) in which WFII, its Affiliates or its personnel also invest,
for their own account or on behalf of their clients. For example, Affiliates of WFII are permitted
to trade for their own account, or the accounts of their clients, on the same non-discretionary
advice that WFA, GMR and GIS provide to EO, FIST and OSG to utilize in their strategies. Similarly,
WFA is permitted to trade for the Personalized UMA program (i.e., its clients) utilizing the same
(or similar) advice that Managed Solutions provides for a given strategy to its Clients in WFA’s
Customized Portfolios program and WFB’s Accounts. In addition, WFB and its investment
personnel are permitted to trade on the same actionable guidance (e.g., ratings on individual fixed
income securities) that FIST uses to construct portfolios for Clients investing in FIST strategies.
Directors, officers and employees of WFII are permitted to buy, sell or own securities and/or
options that are bought, sold or owned by WFII’s Clients, subject to the Code of Ethics.
Scarce Opportunities and Market Impact: In some cases, the ability to implement and trade on
advice first gives an advantage to one account over others. Some investments (either directly, or
due to the nature of underlying component assets or derivative structures) involve actual or
perceived liquidity constraints that could adversely impact pricing determinations, valuation
methodologies, transparency and review of asset composition, and/or the actual marketability
and sale of the investment. Other investment opportunities are scarce or only actionable for a
limited time before the value of the recommendation diminishes. Price movements, particularly
in volatile markets or in trades involving less liquid securities, can result in later trades receiving a
price that is less favorable than the price received by earlier orders for the same investment.
Timing: Differences in the timing with which advisory services are delivered can result in material
differences in the performance achieved for Clients. For example, differences in the timing with
which EO, FIST and OSG strategies are delivered to WFA (for the Personalized UMA program) and
implemented for WFA’s Customized Portfolio program and WFB’s fiduciary accounts could result
in material differences for WFII’s Managed Solutions Clients. Even if W FA and WFB receive the
trading instructions or recommendations at the same time, due to the operational differences,
manner and size of the advisory programs, one Affiliate could have the ability to implement and
trade on these recommendations prior to another Affiliate.
WFII seeks to mitigate the risks that timing of delivery of advisory services could disadvantage
certain clients, relative to other clients, by requiring its divisions to disseminate identical content
to all clients entitled to receive the content in a manner such that, over time, Clients do not
experience material differences in performance without adequate disclosure. Subject to the
following exception(s), each Managed Solutions unit:
• Either rotates the order in which it sends its trade instructions to WFA and WFB, or sends
the trade instructions (and model updates) to WFA and WFB at the same time (e.g., in a
single order or contemporaneous transmission), and
• Sends trading instructions for Accounts that have Client-imposed restrictions at the same
time as it sends trading instructions for Accounts (and model updates) that do NOT have
Client-imposed restrictions.
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Currently, OSG is an exception in that trading instructions for OSG strategies generally are sent
to WFA and WFB first for Clients that have selected basic options strategies (such as c all writing)
and second for Accounts that have selected more customized or complex options strategies (such
as hedging or tactical strategies) or have Client-imposed restrictions, as described in Item 4.C.
In addition, WFII uses electronic permissions and other virtual information barriers to limit the
sharing of information between GMR, GIS and GPM on the one hand and its clients, including
Managed Solutions personnel, on the other. WFC has similar systems access controls to prevent
the premature dissemination of actionable information from Managed Solutions advisory or non-
advisory personnel to certain Clients before others. Nonetheless, performance may differ
materially for Accounts investing in Managed Solutions strategies depending on whether
investing through WFA’s Customized Portfolios program, WFB’s fiduciary accounts and/or WFA’s
Personalized UMAs.
WFII has adopted certain procedures intended to prevent investment professionals and their
immediate family from benefiting from any price movements that may be caused by Client
transactions or Managed Solutions’ recommendations regarding such securities. WFII reviews
trading activity in the Managed Solutions’ strategies against trade confirmations and brokerage
statements from investment personnel to help deter and detect activities such as "front-
running," "scalping" and insider trading. In addition, without specific approval, investment
professionals are not allowed to purchase securities for their own account or an account in which
they have a beneficial interest for a period of time before and after his or her Managed Solutions
unit recommends that security or a related security for purchase in an Account.
Conflicting Rights and Interests: There will be situations in which EO, FIST and OSG strategies cause
Clients to invest in certain parts or particular issuances or financing of an entity’s capital structure
at the same time that other clients, or Affiliates and their clients, are investing in or holding
positions in different parts of that same entity’s (or a related entity’s) capital structure. These
situations include, for example, investments in instruments that have differing priorities (senior
or subordinated loans), have differing levels of risk and yield or return, and/or have differing levels
or types of rights and benefits. In such situations, the interests of one group of clients conflicts
with those of other clients and/or of Affiliates investing in the same entity. Affiliates, on behalf of
themselves or their clients, and WFII on behalf of its Clients, may have tax, economic or business
interests or goals that are inconsistent.
When conflicts arise, an Affiliate or WFII at times could pursue or enforce rights on behalf of the
Affiliate or its clients in a manner that results in an adverse effect on other clients, including
Clients, with a different type of investment in the same or a related entity or transaction.
Trading Practices: WFII or i ts Affiliates may e xecute t ransactions for ot
her accounts that may
adversely impact the value of securities held by Clients investing in a Managed Solutions strategy.
Our Affiliates’ activities have the ability to affect market prices, particularly when such Affiliates
manage substantial amounts of assets, creating the potential for large trades. For example, an
Affiliate c ould sell short a security f or i ts own account, or t he a ccount of its clients, resulting in
downward pressure on the price of the security held “long” in a Managed Solutions strategy. We
address the potential for such conflicts through disclosure and, in some cases, through
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information barriers. Refer to Item 12: Brokerage Practices for additional information on how WFII
seeks to mitigate these conflicts.
Item 12 Brokerage Practices
Factors in Recommending Broker-Dealers
A.
WFII has a duty to seek best execution when the Managed Solutions strategies recommend
transactions in Accounts for which WFII has discretion to direct trades.
Subject to the terms of your Client Agreement, all transactions in Accounts will be effected:
through WFB for fiduciary accounts;
•
•
through WFA for wrap accounts investing in EO and OSG strategies provided on a
discretionary basis; and
•
through WFB for wrap accounts investing in FIST strategies provided on a discretionary
basis.
WFII’s obligation to seek best execution means that WFII must place transactions in such a
manner that each Client’s total cost or proceeds in each transaction is the most favorable under
the circumstances. However, the determinative factor is not the lowest possible commission
cost, but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution to the Client.
Factors Evaluated:
In assessing best execution for its Clients, WFII considers the full range and quality of an executing
broker’s services, including, among other things: execution capability; commission rates; financial
responsibility; responsiveness to the adviser; size and type of transaction; the nature and
character of relevant markets; and the cost of the trade. To evaluate broker-dealers, WFII draws
upon the analysis and monitoring of WFA’s Best Execution Committee and WFB’s Broker
Oversight Committee, which covers best execution of transactions for WFB Accounts.
Reasonableness of Compensation:
In evaluating the reasonableness of compensation to broker-dealers, WFII anticipates that the
cost to Clients often will be most favorable when placing trades through WFA or WFB. If a wrap
account were to execute trades through a broker-dealer other than WFA (a practice known as
“trading away”), the Client typically will pay additional fees to compensate that broker-dealer for
its services (in addition to the Account Fees). If a fiduciary account were to execute trades away
from the broker-dealers selected by WFB, the Client would not receive the benefit of WFB’s
negotiation of volume discounts on batched orders and execution oversight (e.g., monitoring of
counterparty credit exposure) that WFB provides for trades through its selected broker-dealer.
WFII recognizes that the brokerage commissions that fiduciary accounts currently pay on each
transaction go to compensate the broker-dealers selected by WFB, with no compensation
retained by WFB for its services negotiating and monitoring execution through the selected
broker-dealers.
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In evaluating the reasonableness of the compensation, WFII also considers the direct and indirect
compensation that WFA, WFB and other Affiliates receive from transactions in EO, FIST and OSG
strategies. Placing trades through WFA or WFB presents a conflict of interest, as our Affiliate
could use its discretion to maximize profits to Wells Fargo companies rather than negotiate more
favorable terms. For fixed income orders that the FIST Team places for Client Accounts through
WFA, WFA trades fixed income securities in one or more marketplaces, including alternative
trading systems ("ATS" or “ATSs”), subject to our obligations for best execution. With respect to
trades on ATSs, WFA’s terms of usage for a certain ATS—on which WFA generally conducts the
vast majority of its ATS trading—provide for trade-related credits paid in cash to WFA. Credits
begin after executing a certain aggregate volume of trades on the ATS during the year and are
paid to WFA quarterly thereafter. These credits can range from 6% to 19.75% of the aggregate
revenue received by the ATS. As a result, the potential to earn credits can be an additional factor
in determining where WFA execute fixed income orders.
Trade Errors:
WFII seeks to effect transactions correctly, promptly and in the best interests of Clients. In
the event an error occurs originating from WFII’s handling of Client transactions, WFII seeks
to identify and correct any errors as promptly as possible without disadvantaging the
Client. Depending on the circumstances, corrective actions may include canceling the trade,
adjusting an allocation, and/or reimbursing the Client. In the event the error is determined
not to have occurred due to WFII’s handling of Client transactions and is determined to have
been caused by WFA’s or WFB’s handling of Client transactions (e.g. WFII correctly
communicates a trade order to the WFA trading desk; however, an error occurs when the
WFA trading desk places the order for execution, which results in an impact to the Client),
the trade error policy of WFA or WFB will apply, as applicable. Where such an error occurs,
WFII will cooperate in providing information and/or other support to facilitate the
implementation of the applicable trade error policy.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
(1)
WFII does not receive research or other products or services purchased with commission dollars
from a broker-dealer or a third party in connection with the execution of Clients’ securities
transactions (“soft dollar benefits”). Similarly, WFA, WFB and other Affiliates do not receive soft
dollar benefits purchased with commission dollars generated by Clients’ securities transactions.
Affiliates, however, receive broker research provided customarily in the course of transactions
conducted with broker-dealers.
Brokerage for Client Referrals and Other Benefits
(2)
WFII does not consider when selecting or recommending broker-dealers, or evaluating their
execution quality, whether WFII or Affiliates receive referrals of Clients from the broker-dealer.
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Directed Brokerage
(3)
Not all investment advisers require their clients to direct their brokerage to a particular broker-
dealer. Requiring Clients to place transactions through WFA or WFB allows our Affiliates to
receive considerable benefits and avoid significant costs. This creates an incentive for WFII to
evaluate execution quality more favorably for trades placed through WFA or WFB than for trades
placed through other firms that do not or would not provide our Affiliates with as much
compensation.
When you direct WFII to execute trades through WFA for wrap accounts, or to place trades
through WFB for fiduciary accounts, your Account may not receive the most favorable execution,
resulting in higher costs and/or lower returns for you. Nonetheless, WFII seeks to effect
transactions through WFA and WFB only when consistent with WFII’s obligations to seek best
execution.
Trade Aggregation
(4)
WFII will aggregate, when feasible, orders for the purchase or sale of a particular security on behalf
of its clients, including Clients, for execution as a single transaction. WFA or WFB, in turn, will
aggregate orders for their clients, including Clients, in accordance with their respective
aggregation policies and procedures and the terms of your Client Agreement with WFA or WFB.
Please refer to your Client Agreement, or consult your investment professional, to determine the
conditions under which WFA or WFB will aggregate orders.
Typically, it is feasible for WFII to aggregate (or block) trades when a Managed Solutions team or
group initiates an “across-the-board” trade decision for a given investment strategy. For trade
decisions that are not across-the-board recommendations (e.g., individual account inception,
contribution, liquidation, or tax-loss harvesting), WFII does not generally aggregate orders, and
instead places each trade order with WFA or WFB, as applicable, when the trade is ready for
execution.
WFII will aggregate transactions only if it believes that aggregation is in the best interests of the
affected clients, including Clients. Any benefit of such aggregation generally is allocated pro-rata
among the accounts of clients that participated in the aggregated transaction. Nevertheless,
there is no assurance that aggregation of transactions will benefit all clients, including Clients
equally, and in some instances combined orders could adversely affect the price or volume of a
security. Also, it is possible that WFII will not aggregate trades in circumstances where it would
have been beneficial to do so.
WFII has an established process for creating a trade rotation among Clients, which determines the
order in which trade instructions are transmitted to WFA or WFB. The trade rotation seeks to
allocate trading opportunities such that, over time, no Clients receive preferential treatment as a
result of the timing of the receipt of its trade execution instructions. As described in Item II: Code
of Ethics, differences in the timing with which EO, FIST and OSG strategies are delivered to WFA
(for the Personalized UMA program) and implemented for WFA’s Customized Portfolio program
and WFB’s fiduciary accounts could result in material differences for WFII’s Managed Solutions
Clients.
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Item 13 Review Of Accounts
Periodic Account Reviews
A.
Discretionary Accounts:
As an investment adviser, we have a duty to monitor and refresh the advice we provide to Clients
at a frequency we believe to be in the Client’s best interest, taking into account the scope of our
agreed relationship and disclosed limits on how we monitor different Accounts. As a result, the
frequency of monitoring varies among the Accounts and strategies offered by Managed
Solutions.
Accounts investing in strategies offered by EO, FIST and OSG are reviewed at least annually by a
portfolio manager or other member of the applicable portfolio management team. In addition,
these Accounts are subject to an exceptions-based review process that tests for compliance with
IST strategies, for adherence to marketed credit
Client-specific restrictions and, in the case of F
quality and portfolio duration guidelines.
In connection with Account reviews, Clients generally do not speak directly with members of the
Managed Solutions investment team responsible for formulating advice. However, these
Managed Solutions personnel may be made available upon specific request. Additional WFA and
WFB policies and procedures are in place to review portfolio and Account activity for conformity
with Client investment guidelines, best execution and other considerations. A risk management
team within WFB helps the portfolio management teams manage Accounts by generating and
monitoring risk reports for parameters determined by applicable law and parameters set by senior
leadership within WFC.
Other Monitoring
B.
Managed Solutions units also will review an Account upon notice from the Client’s investment
professional (or WFA or WFB) of a material change in the Client’s investment objectives or other
information upon which the Managed Solutions unit based their advice to the Account.
Depending on the terms of your Client Agreement, WFA or WFB generally will contact you
annually to request updated information and determine whether there have been any changes in
your financial situation, and whether you wish to impose any reasonable restrictions, or reasonably
modify existing restrictions, on the management of your Account. WFII and its Managed
Solutions units rely solely upon WFA, WFB and their investment professionals to provide timely
information to Managed Solutions. We will not review and update our advice to reflect changes
in the information upon which we based our advice unless you inform them, and they inform us,
of such changes.
Reports to Clients
C.
The content and frequency of the written reports you receive is governed by your agreement with
WFA or WFB, which typically generates those reports. On an ad hoc basis, Managed Solutions will
prepare supplemental reports that are shared with applicable investment professionals at WFB
and WFA, and also may be shared with the applicable Client. The content of these supplemental
32
reports can include, without limitation, a portfolio overview showing notable holdings and
allocations and positioning of the portfolio relative to a benchmark.
Item 14 Client Referrals And Other Compensation
A.
Economic Benefits for Providing Services to Clients
We and our Affiliates have arrangements pursuant to which someone, who is not a Client, provides
an economic benefit to us for providing our advice or other advisory services to you and other WFII
clients. In addition to the arrangements described throughout the brochure, we and our Affiliates
have business relationships with many investment managers, distributors and sponsors, and
insurance companies and other product providers (“Third Party Firms”) available to our Clients that
are separate and apart from the advisory services covered in this brochure. For example, we or
our Affiliates may effect transactions in the ordinary course of business for a mutual fund (and, if
applicable, a portfolio company in which a Fund may hold an interest). Any compensation paid to
us or our Affiliates by the Fund manager or sponsor (or any of their affiliates) is additional
compensation to us for services we and our Affiliates provide to them. These Third Party Firms
may direct their clients’ transactions to us. We may also make available to them research,
execution, custodial, pricing, and other services offered by us in the normal course of business. We
may receive compensation in connection with such transactions and other services.
From time to time, Affiliates enter into distribution agreements with asset managers, fund
managers, or Third Party Firms pursuant to which WFA, WFB and other Affiliates distribute certain
products and services of the Third Party Firms to our clients, including Clients. Due to these
relationships, the management and employees of these Third Party Firms have a broader level of
access and exposure to WFA, WFB, WFII, their management, your investment professional at WFA
or WFB, and/or EO, FIST and OSG portfolio managers and team members. In addition, the Third
Party Firms have the opportunity for increased exposure at marketing events or in client or other
materials, some of which may be provided to you by your investment professional.
It is possible that the presence of these distribution arrangements and relationships will cause us
and our Affiliates to forego opportunities to negotiate more favorable financial terms for client
investments in these investment products in your Account. It is also possible that WFII’s
investment personnel will, consciously or unconsciously, favor these investments over others (to
which they have less exposure or familiarity). We address the conflicts of interest in the following
ways. We disclose the nature of our relationship in general with Third Party Firms. We determine
the compensation paid to WFII’s investment personnel on the same basis for all Client assets
without regard to the amount of compensation we or our Affiliates receive on certain investments
over others. As a result, WFII’s investment personnel do not have an incentive to recommend
certain investments over others because they do not receive additional compensation as a result
of arrangements or compensation from Third Party Firms.
Direct or Indirect Compensation for Client Referrals
B.
WFII does not directly compensate any person for Client referrals, and neither do its officers,
directors or employees. However, certain of our Affiliates, directly and indirectly, provide
33
compensation for Client referrals to some third parties as well as some personnel who are not
subject to WFII’s supervision. Referral arrangements give rise to conflicts of interest because the
referring party has an incentive to make the referral based on his or her interest in receiving
compensation rather than to give you disinterested advice. In addition, when the compensation
is based on maintaining or exceeding certain production levels (e.g., asset under management,
number of new clients or product sales), the recipient has an incentive to meet those thresholds
and production levels. When required by law, each referral arrangement is or will be governed by
a written agreement and will be disclosed to Clients.
Referrals from Third-Party Solicitors: Affiliates enter into solicitation arrangements with certain
third parties (“Solicitors”) to refer prospective clients to Affiliates (including WFII, directly or
through WFA or WFB). Generally, the fees paid to Solicitors are paid from investment advisory
fees received and retained by Affiliates in connection with a client’s account (including an
Account). The fees may be structured as a flat fee or as a percentage of the client’s advisory fee
and often continues for the duration of the client relationship. The fees are not charged to the
client. However, if your advisory fee is negotiable with the Affiliate or your investment
professional, the existence of a referral fee can result in advisory fees that may be higher than they
would have been in the absence of the referral arrangement. For example, the Affiliate paying the
referral fee has an incentive, consciously or unconsciously, to take the referral fee into
consideration in negotiating any discount in the advisory fees. Similarly, if the fee is a percentage
of the investment advisory fee ordinarily credited to a client’s investment professional, the
investment professional may take that into consideration in negotiating any discount in his or her
fees.
Referrals from Marketing and Consulting Firms: Affiliates enter into marketing arrangements with
third parties who, for compensation, will provide consulting or other services to Affiliates in
connection with the marketing of Affiliate’s various advisory programs or services (including the
Accounts), or otherwise refer prospective clients to Affiliates (including WFII, directly or through
WFA or WFB).
Referrals from Affiliates: Affiliates refer clients and prospective clients to one another, and these
referrals may involve the payment of referral fees between Affiliates. In addition, WFC
encourages its subsidiaries to use the products and services offered by Affiliates, when
appropriate. During the course of annual business planning, business with our Affiliates is included
in establishing sales goals. Business planning and intra-company payments give Affiliates an
incentive to refer advisory business and advisory clients to WFII (directly or through WFB or WFA).
Referrals from your Investment Professional: Your investment professional at WFA or WFB can
participate in incentive programs from time to time, pursuant to which they are compensated for
attracting new assets and clients, referring business to Affiliates (such as referrals for trusts) or
other investment professionals, and/or promoting investment advisory services. In some cases,
the compensation of WFA investment professional is linked to or contingent upon, meeting total
production criteria. If credit is given for recommending Accounts, your investment professional
at WFA or WFB has a financial incentive to recommend an Account over other investment
products and services. Investment professionals who participate in these incentive programs may
be rewarded with cash and/or non-cash compensation, such as deferred compensation, bonuses,
34
training symposiums and recognition trips. Portions of these programs may be subsidized by
external vendors and/or our Affiliates, such as investment advisers, mutual fund companies or
insurance carriers.
Referrals from other Employees: Non-investment professionals may also be compensated for
referrals by
Affiliates. For example, WFA from time to time compensates employees who are not
investment professionals for referrals of possible clients to its wrap programs, including the
Accounts. The referral compensation takes the form of a payment of a percentage of the fees
described in your Client Agreement but results in no additional fees to you or other Clients.
Item 15 Custody
WFII does not maintain physical custody of Client assets. Nonetheless, WFII is deemed to have
custody of your Account because its Affiliates have the ability to access the cash and securities in
your Account. Clients give this authority to WFA as the sponsor to their wrap account or to WFB
as the trustee, custodian or investment manager to their fiduciary account.
Clients should receive quarterly or monthly account statements from WFA or WFB (and/or, to the
extent Client assets are not custodied with WFA or WFB, from another broker-dealer, bank or
financial services firm that serves as qualified custodian or sub-custodian to your Account). Clients
should carefully review these statements. Clients who do not receive such account statements
are encouraged to follow-up directly with their WFA, WFB or the custodian and request such
statements.
Item 16 Investment Discretion
Managed Solutions strategies are offered solely on a discretionary basis to Clients investing
through WFA’s Customized Portfolios or a WFB Account, and to Accounts investing through
WFA’s Personalized UMA program.
Clients give WFII discretionary authority by executing a written agreement between the Client
and WFB or WFA. As of a recent date, the relevant agreements (which, together with applicable
disclosures, constitute your Client Agreement with WFA or WFB) are referred to as:
•
for WFB Accounts, the Asset Management Agreement (or other governing document)
and Fee Schedule; and
•
for WFA Accounts, the WFA Client Agreement and the Program Features and Fee
Schedule for the wrap program selected by the WFA Client.
WFII’s discretionary authority is limited to the portion of your Account that is designated by WFA
or WFB to WFII for management according to a particular Managed Solutions strategy. WFII’s
discretionary authority can be limited by the terms of the Client Agreement, any reasonable
Client-imposed restrictions that are accepted by WFII, investment guidelines or instructions from
WFA or WFB, and/or WFII’s obligation to comply with regulatory requirements.
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Item 17 Voting Client Securities
A.
Authority to Vote
WFII will not accept any proxy voting authority, or authority to exercise discretion on class actions,
on behalf of your Account. If you seek to appoint WFII, we will abstain entirely from voting such
proxies and handling any class actions for assets in your Account. WFII will not be obligated to
render any advice or take any action with respect to information related to securities, or the issuer
of such securities, held in your Account. WFII will, upon request, advise WFA and WFB on
corporate actions and/or proposals that do not require a proxy (e.g., tender offers, repurchase
offers, or corporate reorganizations).
Not exercising the rights and privileges associated with assets in your Account can negatively
impact your returns. It can also reduce WFII’s effectiveness at achieving the investment objectives
of certain strategies. Inaction can reduce the effectiveness of investment strategies that take
into consideration the strength and values of an issuer’s management when selecting and
retaining securities in your Account.
B.
No Authority to Vote
Although WFII will abstain from acting in all instances, you can ensure that proxies and corporate
and class actions are considered and, if appropriate, exercised for your Account by appointing
yourself, or someone to act on your behalf other than WFII. Your Client Agreement or investment
professional at WFA or WFB can advise you on whether (and, if so, how) you can: (1) receive proxies
and other solicitations from WFA, WFB or a custodian directly, and/or (2) contact someone with
questions about a particular solicitation.
Depending on your Client Agreement, you may have already appointed WFA, WFB or a third-party
agent (“Proxy Vendor”) to consider on your behalf and, if appropriate, exercise (1) proxies, (2)
corporate actions that do not require a proxy vote, and/or (3) class actions. To determine the
circumstances in which WFA, WFB or a Proxy Vendor will, and will not, act on your behalf, refer to
your Client Agreement with WFA or WFB, or contact your investment professional at WFA or
WFB.
Item 18 Financial Information
WFII does not require or solicit prepayment of fees in advance, has no financial condition that
impairs its ability to meet contractual and fiduciary commitments to clients, and has not been
the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding.
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