Cordatus Wealth Management LLC (“Cordatus”) has been in business since May 2016. Together, its
principal owners and executive officers Kenneth B. Dysart, Jay Bass and Sean Gogola have been in
the securities industry for over 65 years, working together for 20 years.
Cordatus provides wealth planning and management services as well as corporate services. Cordatus
does not limit the types of clients with whom it works, but most clients are individuals, their affiliated
trusts, charitable organizations and businesses.
Wealth Planning and Accumulation
Financial Planning
Cordatus’ goal is to act as a client’s guide to meeting their financial and, ultimately, life goals. To
accomplish this, Cordatus draws upon experience with a variety of planning issues and investments,
as well as a sense of each client’s own thoughts and perspectives toward their financial goals. These
perspectives can only be determined through regular communication with each client.
For planning, that communication begins with a series of meetings, which are conducted in person
when possible. The initial meeting serves as a due diligence meeting to determine the current facts
and circumstances in which the client finds themselves. Cordatus will then evaluate the client’s needs
and goals, and determine a plan of action to set the client on a path to achieve those goals.
Asset Management
Each client who engages Cordatus for asset management services are strongly encouraged to complete
a financial plan. Clients without financial plans may still work with Cordatus, but the asset
management evaluation process may not be as efficient as it would have been with a financial plan in
place. In the absence of a financial plan, client’s investment objectives are determined a number of
factors, including risk tolerance, liquidity needs, current investments, time horizon, income needs, tax
consideration and purpose of the funds.
When we perform asset management services, we prefer to do so on a discretionary basis. This means
that while we will continue an ongoing relationship with each client, being involved in various stages
of their lives and decisions to be made, we will not seek specific approval of changes to client accounts.
Clients may at any time place restrictions on the types of investments we may use on your behalf, or
on the allocations to each security type. Clients can also always make deposits or withdrawals in their
accounts at any time. Because we take discretion when managing accounts, clients engaging us will
be asked to execute a Limited Power of Attorney (granting us the discretionary authority over the client
accounts) as well as an Investment Management Agreement that outlines the responsibilities of both
the client and Cordatus.
In some instances, Cordatus provides investment management services on a non-discretionary basis,
which means we will manage the clients’ accounts as we do for our discretionary clients, except we
will consult with the client prior to implementing any investment recommendation. Clients should be
aware that some recommendations may be time-sensitive, and, as such, their performance may or may
not be affected if Cordatus is unable to reach them on a timely basis.
Wrap Fee Programs
Cordatus provides asset management services through both wrap-fee programs and traditional asset
management programs. Under wrap-fee programs, management fees and transaction fees are provided
for one fee. Therefore, Cordatus will receive a portion of the wrap fee for our services. Cordatus
manages the assets of wrap fee program clients the same way as other non-wrap fee program clients,
and may use external portfolio managers within the wrap program or for non-wrap program clients.
Therefore, there is no difference between how Cordatus manages wrap fee accounts and how Cordatus
manages other accounts.
Cordatus provides clients asset management services in connection with programs sponsored by Wells
Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (Wells Fargo) and Prospera Financial Services, Inc. (Prospera). In such
instances, clients assets will be referred to one of Wells Fargo or Prospera’s wrap-fee programs, and
Cordatus will act as the portfolio manager and will be responsible for making all investment decisions
with regards to a client’s account.
The Wells Fargo sponsored wrap fee programs available to Cordatus’ clients include Asset Advisor,
Diversified Managed Allocations (DMA), Fundsource, Masters, Private Investment Management
(PIM), Private Advisor, and Compass. The Prospera sponsored program, Summit Advisory Program,
is generally offered to clients with smaller account balances who do not meet the account minimums
of Wells Fargo’s wrap programs. Accounts established under Wells Fargo or Prospera wrap programs
are generally required to use First Clearing as the qualified custodian and clearing broker dealer.
Client that have their accounts managed through any of the preceding
programs sponsored by Wells
Fargo or Prospera will receive the applicable program disclosure brochure prepared and distributed by
the program sponsor. The disclosure brochure will provide clients with a complete description of the
applicable program, including services and fees covered under the program, account minimums, and
whether independent managers may be engaged under the program. Clients should carefully read the
wrap fee program disclosure brochures for any programs they participate in.
Use of Independent Managers
Cordatus may recommend certain Independent Managers to actively manage a portion of its clients’
assets. The specific terms and conditions under which a client engages an Independent Manager may
be set forth in a separate written agreement with the designated Independent Manager. In addition to
this brochure, clients may also receive the written disclosure documents of the respective Independent
Managers engaged to manage their assets. Cordatus evaluates a variety of information about
Independent Managers, which may include the Independent Managers’ public disclosure documents,
materials supplied by the Independent Managers themselves and other third-party analyses it believes
are reputable. To the extent possible, the Firm seeks to assess the Independent Managers’ investment
strategies, past performance and risk results in relation to its clients’ individual portfolio allocations
and risk exposure. Cordatus also takes into consideration each Independent Manager’s management
style, returns, reputation, financial strength, reporting, pricing and research capabilities, among other
factors. Cordatus continues to provide services relative to the discretionary selection of the
Independent Managers. On an ongoing basis, the Firm monitors the performance of those accounts
being managed by Independent Managers. Cordatus seeks to ensure the Independent Managers’
strategies and target allocations remain aligned with its clients’ investment objectives and overall best
interests. Clients are under no obligation to engage the services of any such recommended
professional. You retain absolute discretion over all such implementation decisions and are free to
accept or reject any recommendation from Cordatus. If you engage any professional recommended
by Cordatus, and a dispute arises thereafter relative to such engagement, you agree to seek recourse
exclusively from and against the engaged professional.
Services for Executives
Executives can have financial issues beyond personal planning and asset management. For corporate
executives Cordatus can provide assistance with the monitoring and management of stock options and
restricted stock sales. The goal in managing these opportunities is to maximize the executive client’s
compensation while minimizing the tax implications. Because different types of stock option have
different tax rules, monitoring these options in conjunction with a qualified accountant can have
significant effects on the executive client’s overall financial position. Similarly, the rules surrounding
the sale of restricted stock can appear complicated, and the paperwork to complete the sales arduous.
Cordatus helps our executive clients evaluate their restricted holdings, monitor for lockup expiration
and applicable limitations on sales, complete the required paperwork, and otherwise ensure that the
executive does not lose out on the opportunity.
Retirement Plan Consulting
For a business owner or charitable organization director, navigating the landscape of pension issues
can be overwhelming. Multiple services providers and varied requirements combined with a desire to
meet employee needs can create a complicated matrix of data sources and conflicting information.
Cordatus provides these leaders with a single point of contact, thus relieving the business owner or
organization director of this burden. Rather than call many providers, Cordatus acts as an organizing
intermediary, where interested parties can speak to a Cordatus representative, and not a series of
automatic voice responses. By acting as this single point of contact, Cordatus can be in a position to
provide added value in the form of providing educated advice on the selection and monitoring of
investments in a self-directed plan, assisting trustees in understanding and managing their fiduciary
responsibilities, assisting in compliance reporting and other documentation, and assisting or in some
cases leading the search for other providers, such as administrators. Our retirement sponsor clients
can have Cordatus provide as much or as little guidance as they desire, which will be defined in a
separate agreement between the plan sponsor and Cordatus.
Assets Under Management
As of February 23, 2024, Cordatus has approximately $457,769,515 in assets under management, in
866 accounts. Of that total, approximately $415,345,702 in 835 accounts are managed on a
discretionary basis.