A. Bogart Wealth is a limited liability company organized under the laws of the state of
Delaware. The Firm became registered with the SEC as an investment adviser in June 2016.
The Firm is owned by James Bogart.
B. Bogart Wealth offers a variety of advisory services, which include financial planning,
consulting, and wealth management services. Before Bogart Wealth renders any of the
foregoing advisory services, clients are required to enter into a written agreement with
Bogart Wealth setting forth the relevant terms and conditions of the relationship.
While this Brochure generally describes the business of Bogart Wealth, certain sections
also discuss the activities of its “Supervised Persons,” which refer to the Firm’s officers,
partners, directors (or other persons occupying a similar status or performing similar
functions), employees or any other person who provides investment advice on Bogart
Wealth’s behalf and is subject to the Firm’s supervision or control.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONSULTING SERVICES
Bogart Wealth offers clients a range of financial planning and consulting services, which
include any or all the following functions, depending on the client engagement:
Business Planning
Tax and Cash Flow Planning
Trust and Estate Planning
Retirement Planning
Education Planning
Bogart Wealth provides these services in conjunction with investment portfolio
management as part of a comprehensive “wealth management” engagement, which is
described in more detail below. In performing these services, Bogart Wealth is not required
to verify any information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals
(e.g., attorneys, accountants, etc.,) and is expressly authorized to rely on such information.
Clients retain absolute discretion over all decisions regarding implementation and are under
no obligation to act upon any of the recommendations made by Bogart Wealth under a
financial planning or consulting engagement. Clients are advised that it remains their
responsibility to promptly notify the Firm of any change in their financial situation or
investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or revising Bogart Wealth’s
recommendations and/or services.
Bogart Wealth, LLC provides tax preparation and return services for clients of Bogart
Wealth through a relationship with an unaffiliated accounting firm. These services are
available to all clients, but Bogart Wealth will pay the expenses associated with these
services for clients who maintain $2 million in managed assets with it. Bogart Wealth
reserves the right to pay the expenses associated with this service for clients who maintain
less than $2 million in managed assets. These services are generally only available for
personal tax returns for clients. Bogart Wealth may agree to share the expenses or assume
the expenses associated with tax returns for spouses filing separately, children of clients, or
businesses in certain instances, but is not obligated to do so. Clients with less than $2
million in managed assets with Bogart Wealth will be provided information about the rates
for tax return and preparation services from our preferred accountants. Clients are under no
obligation to accept our available accounting services, but Bogart Wealth will not provide
clients with a credit or any sort of assistance to obtain tax preparation or return services
through other providers.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Bogart Wealth provides clients with wealth management services, which include a broad
range of comprehensive financial planning and consulting services as well as discretionary
and non-discretionary management of investment portfolios. The Firm specializes in
advising clients on the rolling over of retirement account assets and then managing those
assets. Bogart Wealth provides these services in conjunction with investment portfolio
management as part of a comprehensive wealth management engagement.
Bogart Wealth generally manages fully discretionary client accounts invested in a Bogart
Wealth model strategy. Where appropriate, the Firm also provides its managed account
clients with advice about legacy positions or other investments held in client portfolios,
generally on a non-discretionary basis. Clients also, from time to time, engage Bogart
Wealth to manage and/or advise on certain investment products that are not maintained at
their primary custodian, assets held in employer sponsored retirement plans and qualified
tuition plans (i.e., 529 plans). In these situations, Bogart Wealth directs or recommends the
allocation of client assets among the various investment options available with the product.
Before Bogart Wealth can provide wealth management services, clients must open a
securities brokerage account and complete a new account agreement with Charles Schwab
and Co., Inc. and/or its affiliates (“Schwab”) or another broker-dealer that Bogart Wealth
approves.
Next, clients complete an investor profile describing their individual investment objectives,
liquidity and cash flow needs, time horizon and risk tolerance, as well as any other factors
pertinent to their specific financial situations. After an analysis of the relevant information,
Bogart Wealth assists its clients in selecting an appropriate strategy for managing their
assets. Please refer to Item 8 below for descriptions of the specific model portfolios Bogart
Wealth manages in this respect. Bogart Wealth assumes that there are no restrictions on its
services, other than to manage the account in accordance with the client’s designated
investment objective, unless the client indicates to the contrary in its investor profile.
Once Bogart Wealth allocates the client’s assets to one or more model portfolios described
in Item 8 below, the investment portfolios are managed primarily on a discretionary basis.
However, as described above, Bogart Wealth also accepts non-discretionary engagements
for which client provides approval for all Bogart Wealth recommendations.
A portfolio manager reviews each of the models on a periodic basis and may also make
changes periodically (as often as daily) based on real-time market developments. The
model portfolios are subject to ongoing supervision by the Firm’s Investment Portfolio
Committee, which may change a model portfolio’s asset allocation or securities within a
model portfolio, which will then generally be implemented in client’s portfolios. Because
Bogart Wealth manages client accounts according to its models, account rebalancing and
transactions usually transpire without regard to a client’s individual tax ramifications. In
addition to a review of the models themselves, Bogart Wealth also reviews individual
accounts for account drift, withdrawals and deposits, and upon client request. Bogart
Wealth may rebalance the accounts based on those reviews. However, based upon these
and other factors, there may be extended periods of time when Bogart Wealth determines
not to execute trades in a client’s account. Clients nonetheless remain subject to the fees
described in Item 5 below during periods of account inactivity. Clients should contact the
Firm if they experience a change in their financial situation or if they want to impose
reasonable restrictions on the management of their accounts.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation
Services. To the extent requested by a client, Bogart Wealth will generally provide
financial planning and related consulting services regarding non-investment related
matters, such as estate planning, tax planning, etc. Bogart Wealth will generally provide
such consulting services inclusive of its advisory fee set forth at Item 5 below. Bogart
Wealth does not serve as an attorney or accountant, and no portion of our services should
be construed as legal or accounting services. Accordingly, Bogart Wealth does not prepare
estate planning documents or tax returns. To the extent requested by a client, we may
recommend or directly engage the services of other professionals for certain non-
investment implementation purposes (i.e., attorneys, accountants, etc.). The client is under
no obligation to engage the services of any recommended professional. The client retains
absolute discretion over all such implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject
any recommendation from Bogart Wealth and/or its representatives. If the client engages
any recommended unaffiliated professional, and a dispute arises thereafter relative to such
engagement, the client agrees to seek recourse exclusively from and against the engaged
professional.
Retirement Rollovers-Potential for Conflict of Interest: A client or prospective client
leaving an employer typically has four options regarding an existing retirement plan (and
may engage in a combination of these options): (i) leave the money in the former
employer’s plan, if permitted, (ii) roll over the assets to the new employer’s plan, if one is
available and rollovers are permitted, (iii) roll over to an Individual Retirement Account
(“IRA”), or (iv) cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the client’s age,
result in adverse tax consequences). If Bogart Wealth recommends that a client roll over
their retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by Bogart Wealth, such a
recommendation creates a conflict of interest if Bogart Wealth will earn new (or increase
its current) compensation as a result of the rollover. If Bogart Wealth provides a
recommendation as to whether a client should engage in a rollover or not (whether it is
from an employer’s plan or an existing IRA), Bogart Wealth is acting as a fiduciary within
the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal
Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. No client is
under any obligation to roll over retirement plan assets to an account managed by Bogart
Wealth, whether it is from an employer’s plan or an existing IRA.
Socially Responsible (ESG) Investing Limitations. Socially Responsible Investing
involves the incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)
considerations into the investment due diligence process. ESG investing incorporates a set
of criteria/factors used in evaluating potential investments: Environmental (i.e., considers
how a company safeguards the environment); Social (i.e., the manner in which a company
manages relationships with its employees, customers, and the communities in which it
operates); and Governance (i.e., company management considerations). The number of
companies that meet an acceptable ESG mandate can be limited when compared to those
that do not and could underperform broad market indices. Investors must accept these
limitations, including potential for underperformance. Correspondingly, the number of
ESG mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are limited when compared to those that do
not maintain such a mandate. As with any type of investment (including any investment
and/or investment strategies recommended and/or undertaken by Bogart Wealth), there can
be no assurance that investment in ESG securities or funds will be profitable or prove
successful. Bogart Wealth does not maintain or advocate an ESG investment strategy but
will seek to employ ESG if directed by a client to do so. If implemented, Bogart Wealth
shall rely upon the assessments undertaken by the unaffiliated mutual fund, exchange
traded fund or separate account portfolio manager to determine that the fund’s or
portfolio’s underlying company securities meet a socially responsible mandate.
Cryptocurrency: Should an opportunity arise, Bogart might decide to utilize a
Cryptocurrency related ETF as an investment in certain Bogart Wealth portfolio strategies,
as deemed suitable to the client’s risk tolerance and strategy. Crypto is a digital currency
that can be used to buy goods and services but uses an online ledger with strong
cryptography (i.e., a method of protecting information and communications through the
use of codes) to secure online transactions. Unlike conventional currencies issued by a
monetary authority, cryptocurrencies are generally not controlled or regulated and their
price is determined by the supply and demand of their market. Cryptocurrency, including
any Cryptocurrency related ETF, is currently considered to be a speculative investment. At
any time, a client can request a restriction on the use of Cryptocurrency ETFs, or any
specific security or asset class, in their Bogart Wealth managed account.
Structured Notes. Bogart Wealth may purchase structured notes for client accounts. A
structured note is a financial instrument that combines two elements, a debt security and
exposure to an underlying asset or assets. It is essentially a note, carrying counterparty risk
of the issuer. However, the return on the note is linked to the return of an underlying asset
or assets (such as the S&P 500 Index or commodities). It is this latter feature that makes
structured products unique, as the payout can be used to provide some degree of principal
protection, leveraged returns (but usually with some cap on the maximum return), and be
tailored to a specific market or economic view. In addition, investors may receive long-
term capital gains tax treatment if certain underlying conditions are met, and the note is
held for more than one year. Finally, structured notes may also have liquidity constraints,
such that the sale thereof before maturity may be limited.
Account Aggregation Tools. In conjunction with the services provided by third party
service providers, Bogart Wealth may also provide periodic comprehensive reporting
services, which can incorporate all the client’s investment assets including those
investment assets that are not part of the assets managed by Bogart Wealth (the “Excluded
Assets”). Bogart Wealth’s service relative to the Excluded Assets is limited to reporting
services only, which does not include investment implementation.
Because Bogart Wealth does not have trading authority for the Excluded Assets, to the
extent applicable to the nature of the Excluded Assets (assets over which the client
maintains trading authority vs. trading authority designated to another investment
professional), the client (and/or the other investment professional), and not Bogart Wealth,
shall be exclusively responsible for directly implementing any recommendations relative
to the Excluded Assets.
Without limiting the above, Bogart Wealth shall not be responsible for any implementation
error (timing, trading, etc.) relative to the Excluded Assets. In the event the client desires
that Bogart Wealth provide investment management services (whereby Bogart Wealth
would have trading authority) with respect to the Excluded Assets, the client may engage
Bogart Wealth to do so pursuant to the terms and conditions of the advisory agreement
between Bogart Wealth and the client.
Availability of Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds. While Bogart Wealth may
allocate investment assets to mutual funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) that are not
available directly to the public, it may also allocate investment assets to publicly available
mutual funds and ETFs that the client could purchase without engaging Bogart Wealth as
an investment adviser. However, if a client or prospective client determines to purchase
publicly available mutual funds or ETFs without engaging Bogart Wealth as an investment
adviser, the client or prospective client would not receive the benefit of Bogart Wealth’s
initial and ongoing investment advisory services with respect to management of the asset.
Cash Positions. Bogart Wealth treats cash as an asset class. As such, all cash positions
(money markets, etc.) shall be included as part of assets under management for purposes
of calculating the Bogart Wealth’s advisory fee. At any specific point in time, depending
upon perceived or anticipated market conditions/events (there being no guarantee that such
anticipated market conditions/events will occur), Bogart Wealth may maintain cash
positions for defensive purposes. In addition, while assets are maintained in cash, such
amounts could miss market advances. Depending upon current yields, at any point in time,
Bogart Wealth’s advisory fee could exceed the interest paid by the client’s money market
fund.
Cash Sweep Accounts. Certain account custodians can require that cash proceeds from
account transactions or new deposits, be swept to and/or initially maintained in a
specific custodian designated sweep account. The yield on the sweep account will
generally be lower than those available for other money market accounts. When this
occurs, to help mitigate the corresponding yield dispersion Bogart Wealth shall (usually
within 30 days thereafter) generally (with exceptions) purchase a higher yielding money
market fund (or other type security) available on the custodian’s platform, unless Bogart
Wealth reasonably anticipates that it will utilize the cash proceeds during the subsequent
30-day period to purchase additional investments for the client’s account. Exceptions
and/or modifications can and will occur with respect to all or a portion of the cash balances
for various reasons, including, but not limited to the amount of dispersion between the
sweep account and a money market fund, the size of the cash balance, an indication from
the client of an imminent need for such cash, or the client has a demonstrated history of
writing checks from the account.
The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within a Bogart Wealth
actively managed investment strategy (the cash balances for which shall generally remain
in the custodian designated cash sweep account), an indication from the client of a need for
access to such cash, assets allocated to an unaffiliated investment manager and cash
balances maintained for fee billing purposes.
The client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield dispersion/cash balance decisions
and corresponding transactions for cash balances maintained in any Bogart Wealth
unmanaged accounts.
Investment Risk. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it
should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment
strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or
undertaken by Bogart Wealth) will be profitable or equal any specific performance level(s).
Client Obligations. In performing our services, Bogart Wealth shall not be required to
verify any information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals and
is expressly authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, it remains each client’s responsibility to
promptly notify Bogart Wealth if there is ever any change in their financial situation or
investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or revising our previous
recommendations and/or services.
Cybersecurity Risk. The information technology systems and networks that Bogart
Wealth and its third-party service providers use to provide services to Bogart Wealth’s
clients employ various controls, which are designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents
stemming from intentional or unintentional actions that could cause significant
interruptions in Bogart Wealth’s operations and result in the unauthorized acquisition or
use of clients’ confidential or non-public personal information. Clients and Bogart Wealth
are nonetheless subject to the risk of cybersecurity incidents that could ultimately cause
them to incur losses, including for example: financial losses, cost and reputational damage
to respond to regulatory obligations, other costs associated with corrective measures, and
loss from damage or interruption to systems. Although Bogart Wealth has established
procedures to reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents, there is no guarantee that these
efforts will always be successful, especially considering that Bogart Wealth does not
directly control the cybersecurity measures and policies employed by third-party service
providers. Clients could incur similar adverse consequences resulting from cybersecurity
incidents that more directly affect issuers of securities in which those clients invest, broker-
dealers, qualified custodians, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and
other financial market operators, or other financial institutions.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of Bogart Wealth’s written Brochure and Client
Relationship Summary, as set forth on Part 2A of Form ADV and Form CRS respectively,
shall be provided to each client prior to, or contemporaneously with, the execution of the
advisory agreement.
C. Bogart Wealth renders its investment advice primarily through the management of its
model portfolios. As described above, clients complete an investor profile describing their
individual investment objectives, liquidity and cash flow needs, time horizon and risk
tolerance, as well as any other factors pertinent to their specific financial situations. After
an analysis of the relevant information, Bogart Wealth assists its clients in selecting an
appropriate strategy for managing their assets. Bogart Wealth then manages the client’s
account according to the selected strategy. Clients are advised to promptly notify Bogart
Wealth if there are changes in their financial situation or if they wish to place any
limitations on the management of their portfolios.
Clients may impose reasonable restrictions or mandates on the management of their
accounts if Bogart Wealth determines, in its sole discretion, the conditions would not
materially impact the performance of a management strategy or prove overly burdensome
to the Firm’s management efforts.
D. Bogart Wealth does not offer investment advisory services on a wrap fee basis.
E. As of December 31, 2023, Bogart Wealth had $2,619,324,099 in assets under management,
$1,824,109,864 of which was managed on a discretionary basis and $795,214,235 of which
was managed on a non-discretionary basis.