We  offer  a  variety  of  advisory  services,  including  investment 
management,  financial  planning,  and  consulting  services.  We  first 
registered  as  an  investment  adviser  in  May  2016  and  are  wholly 
owned  by  Nicolet  Bankshares,  Inc.  As  of  December  31,  2023,  we 
had $3,664,001,650 of assets under discretionary management and 
$1,410,099  under  non-discretionary  management.  Prior  to  us 
rendering any advisory services, clients are required to enter into one 
or more written agreements with us setting forth the relevant terms 
and conditions of the advisory relationship. 
This brochure generally discusses the services we offer, but certain 
sections also discuss the activities of our supervised persons (e.g., 
our officers, partners, directors, and employees). 
Financial Planning and Consulting Services  
We  offer  clients  a  broad  range  of  financial  planning  and  consulting 
services,  including  business  planning,  estate  planning,  investment 
consulting,  insurance  planning,  retirement  planning,  risk 
management, and corporate retirement planning. These services are 
generally  provided  in  connection  with  our  investment  portfolio 
management  services  as  part  of  a  comprehensive  wealth 
management engagement.  
We  often  recommend  that  clients  engage  us  or  our  supervised 
persons (in their individual capacities as insurance agents, registered 
representatives  of  a  broker-dealer,  or  other  professional  capacities) 
to  implement  recommendations  made  as  part  of  our  financial 
planning  and  consulting  services.  When  making  such 
recommendations,  a  conflict  of  interest  exists  when  our  employees 
offer  to  implement  financial  planning  and  consulting  services 
recommendations by executing transactions that pay commissions to 
or otherwise benefit us. 
This conflict is mitigated by each Client retaining absolute discretion 
over  all  decisions  regarding  the  implementation  of  any 
recommendations  made  by  us  or  our  employees  and  remaining 
under  no  obligation  or  expectation  to  implement  any 
recommendations through us or our employees—or to act upon any 
of recommendations made at all. 
In  performing  financial  planning  and  consulting  services,  clients 
expressly authorize us to rely on information received from their other 
professional  advisors  (e.g.,  attorneys,  accountants,  etc.)  without 
taking additional steps to verify  any such information. Clients retain 
the sole responsibility of promptly notifying us of any changes to their 
financial  situation  or  investment  objectives  for  the  purpose  of 
reviewing, evaluating, or revising our recommendations. 
Investment Management and Wealth Management 
Services  
We generally manage client investment portfolios on a discretionary 
basis.  In addition, we can be engaged to provide wealth management 
services  which  include  a  broad  range  of  comprehensive  financial 
planning and consulting services as well as discretionary and/or non-
discretionary  management  of  investment  portfolios.  We  primarily 
allocate client assets among various mutual funds, exchange-traded 
funds  (ETFs),  and  individual  debt  and  equity  securities.  Where 
appropriate, we also provide advice about legacy positions or other 
investments  held  in  client  portfolios,  but  clients  should  not  assume 
that  these  assets  are  being  continuously  monitored  or  otherwise 
advised on by us unless specifically agreed upon. 
In  order  to  receive  investment  management  services,  clients  must 
open  institutional  brokerage  accounts  at  a  third-party  custodian 
(unaffiliated  with  us)  by  completing  a  client  agreement  directly  with 
the custodian. We have existing relationships with certain custodians, 
such  as  Charles  Schwab  &  Co.,  Inc.  (“Schwab”)  and  Fidelity 
Brokerage Services LLC (“Fidelity”). 
Clients  can  engage  us  to  manage  and/or  advise  on  certain 
investment  products  that  are  not  maintained  at  their  primary 
custodian, such as variable life insurance and annuity contracts and 
assets  held  in  employer  sponsored  retirement  plans  and  qualified 
tuition  plans  (i.e.,  529  plans).  In  these  situations,  we  direct  or 
recommend  the  allocation  of  client  assets  among  the  various 
investment  options  available  with  the  product.  These  assets  are 
generally  maintained  at  the  underwriting  insurance  company  or  the 
custodian designated by the product’s provider. 
We  tailor  our  advisory  services  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  individual 
clients  and  seek  to  ensure  that  client  portfolios  are  managed  in  a 
manner consistent with those needs and objectives. We consult with 
clients on an initial and ongoing basis to assess their individual risk 
tolerance, time horizon, liquidity constraints, and other related factors 
relevant to the management of their portfolios. Clients are advised to 
promptly notify us if there are changes in their financial situations 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  we  determine, in our  sole 
discretion, the conditions would not materially impact the performance 
of  a  management  strategy  or  prove  overly  burdensome  to  our 
management efforts. 
Alternative Solutions  
We  also  offer  alternative  investment  options  such  as  access  to 
limited public and private offerings as well as a separately managed 
account solution for high-net-worth individuals. 
Limited Offerings 
We work with service providers who act as a marketers or placement 
agents for a selection of investment offerings in securities products 
(particularly, private and registered investment funds, such as hedge 
funds).  Product  offerings  available  through  these  providers  are 
limited  to  the  menu  of  products  of  which  they  have  completed 
operational  due  diligence  and  opted  to  make  available  on  their 
platforms.  Most  of  the  products  that  are  available  through  these 
platforms have minimum investment requirements, some of $100,000 
or  more.  These  platforms  do  not  open  or  hold  accounts  for  our 
clients, rather, products are purchased through them and are held by 
FORM ADV PART 2 | N i c o l e t   A d v i s o r y   S e r v i c e s ,   L L C   5 | P a g e 
the  custodian  (or
                                        
                                        
                                              other  financial  intermediary)  holding  our  clients’ 
assets.  These  service  providers  do  not  separately  monitor  any 
client’s specific investments in an ongoing manner. 
In  addition  to  product  offerings  through  third-party  marketers  and 
placement  agents,  we  also  consider  direct  investments  with  private 
hedge funds, private equity, and debt funds. Such direct investments 
are discussed individually with qualified clients who meet applicable 
minimum  investment  criteria  and  for  whom  such  investments  can 
provide a suitable option as part of a broader investment strategy. 
Unified Managed Accounts 
We also offer access to a unified managed account (“UMA Platform”) 
that provides our clients an opportunity to invest in some or all of the 
following  products  within  a  single  unified  account:  mutual  funds 
(including open-end and closed-end funds), exchange-traded funds, 
and separately managed accounts (“SMAs”). An SMA is a portfolio of 
individually owned  securities that can be tailored to fit each client’s 
investing preferences. 
For  clients  participating  in  the  SMA  program,  we  recommend  an 
actively  managed  or  indexed  investment  portfolio  managed  by  a 
roster of independent asset managers (each, a “Sub-Manager”) with 
a  variety  of  disciplines.  In  your  agreement  with  us,  you  authorize 
designated Sub-Managers to exercise discretion to select securities 
for your account. The UMA Platform helps us identify individual asset 
managers  and  investment  vehicles  that  correspond  to  the  asset 
classes  and  styles  we  propose.  We  also  have  the  option  to 
independently  identify  and  utilize  the  services  of  specific  Sub-
Managers.  The  UMA  Platform  retains  Sub-Managers  who  provide 
portfolio  management  services  under  the  SMA  program  through 
separate agreements entered into directly between the UMA Platform 
and the Sub-Manager. For many Sub-Managers, the UMA Platform 
has entered into a licensing agreement with the Sub-Manager, under 
which  the  UMA  Platform  performs  overlay  management, 
administrative  and/or  trade  order  placement  duties  pursuant  to  the 
investment directions of the Sub-Manager. 
For  clients  participating  in  the  UMA  Platform,  we  generally 
recommend a single customized portfolio consisting of one or more 
asset  managers  (including  Sub-Managers)  or  funds  representing 
various asset classes. We utilize the tools available through the UMA 
Platform  to  customize  asset  allocation  models  or  select  from 
proposed  asset  allocations  for  types  of  investors  fitting  the  client’s 
profile and investment goals. We can further customize portfolios by 
selecting specific underlying investment strategies or funds to meet 
each  client’s  specific  needs.  Once  we  establish  the  content  of  the 
portfolio,  the  UMA  Platform  provides  overlay  management  services 
for UMA accounts and directly places trade orders with the custodian 
based on the investment strategies contained in the UMA portfolio. 
Envestnet  charges  an  annualized  fee  to  access  its  platform  in 
addition to the fees charged by the individual sub-managers selected 
to manage client assets. Additional services, such as tax overlay and 
impact  overlay  services,  are  also  available  at  an  additional  cost.  In 
negotiating the platform fee with Envestnet to minimize the additional 
costs to our clients, we committed to placing enough assets on the 
Envestnet  platform  to  reach  a  certain  minimum  aggregate  platform 
fee.  If  we  do  not  reach  that  minimum,  we  agreed  to  directly 
compensate  Envestnet  on  a  quarterly  basis  the  difference  between 
the  committed  amount  and  the  actual  aggregate  platform  fees 
received by Envestnet from the clients on the platform. Accordingly, 
we have an incentive to recommend the Envestnet platform to clients 
to reduce any out-of-pocket expense we would have to cover if we do 
not reach the minimum commitment. 
Sponsor and Manager of Wrap Program  
We  also  provide  investment  management  services  as  the  sponsor 
and  manager  of  the  Nicolet  Advisory  Services  Wrap  Fee  Program 
(the  “Wrap  Program”).  A  wrap  program  is  an  arrangement  under 
which fees for advisory services and certain brokerage commissions 
and transaction costs are combined (or, wrapped) as one fee paid by 
the client. We pay a portion of the fee we receive for sponsoring and 
managing  the  Wrap  Program  to  the  broker-dealer  executing 
transactions in client accounts to cover transaction costs. 
We  manage  assets  in  the  Wrap  Program  in  substantially  the  same 
manner  as  those  we  manage  under  a  non-wrap  arrangement. 
Participants  in  the  Wrap  Program  may  pay  a  higher  or  lower 
aggregate  fee  than  if  each  service  was  purchased  separately. 
Additional  information  about  the  Wrap  Program  is  available  in  our 
Wrap Brochure. 
Many  custodians,  including  Schwab,  have  eliminated  many 
transaction fees for online trades of U.S. equities, ETFs, options, and 
certain classes of Mutual Fund shares. This means that transactions 
in these types of securities are excluded from the asset-based fee we 
pay to cover transaction fees in client accounts. 
This  presents  a  conflict  of  interest  because  we  have  a  financial 
incentive  to  maximize  our  compensation  by  seeking  to  invest  in 
securities  for  which  transaction  fees  have  been  eliminated  (i.e., 
securities  exempted  from  the  ongoing  asset-based  fee  to  cover 
transaction  costs).  This  conflict  arises  in  situations,  among  others, 
where  a  certain  mutual  fund  offers  both  a  no-transaction  fee  share 
class and an institutional class that is subject to transaction fees. No-
transaction  fee  share  classes  are  often  subject  to  higher  ongoing 
costs  that  are  priced  into  the  ongoing  internal  costs  of  these 
securities  (lowering  overall  returns)  but  would  be  exempt  from  the 
asset-based  fee  covering  transaction  costs  that  we  pay  as  part  of 
your  agreement  with  us.  We  seek  to  minimize  or  eliminate  this 
potential conflict by first selecting appropriate securities through our 
internal  due  diligence  process  and  then  investing  in  share  classes 
with  the  lowest  ongoing  internal  expenses,  irrespective  of  whether 
they are no-transaction fee funds or subject to the asset-based fee 
we pay to cover transaction costs.