Description of the Firm
Stewardship Advisors, LLC is a Pennsylvania domiciled limited liability company formed in November of 2011.
In October 2015, Stewardship registered as a Pennsylvania investment adviser, followed by our SEC
registration in July of 2016. Stewardship Advisors, LLC and our associates may notice- file (register) and/or
become licensed or meet certain exemptions to registration and/or licensing within other jurisdictions where
investment advisory business is conducted.
The firm’s principal owner is W. Lee Shertzer.
As of December 31, 2023, our firm managed approximately $319,800,000 in assets under management on a
discretionary basis and $1,300,000 on a non-discretionary basis for total assets managed of approximately
$321,100,000.
We also provide financial planning and portfolio management services which do not involve wrapped
(unbundled) fees, as well as services for retirement plans. Additional information about these other services
are described in greater detail in our separate Form ADV Part 2A firm brochures and interested parties should
contact our firm for further information.
Description of Services Offered
Our wrap fee program incorporates financial planning, portfolio management and brokerage transactional
services for a single asset-based fee. Advisory fees for participating in alternative investments, such as limited
offerings, are in addition to our wrap fee program fee. Our firm serves as program sponsor and provides
financial planning and portfolio management for participants. Charles Schwab, a division of Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. (“Schwab”); Member FINRA/SIPC. Schwab offers independent investment advisors various services
which may include custody of securities, trade execution, clearance and settlement of transactions, and in
which our firm receives benefits from a custodian through our participation in their program offerings which
will be described in further detail in later sections of this brochure.
During or prior to this meeting you will be provided with our Form ADV Part 2 firm brochure, our privacy policy,
and brochure supplements for the representatives who will be assisting you. We will also ensure that any
material conflicts of interest have been disclosed to you that could be reasonably expected to impair the
rendering of unbiased and objective advice.
If you wish to engage Stewardship Advisors, LLC for our services, you must first execute a written engagement
agreement with our firm. Thereafter discussion and analysis will be conducted to determine your financial
needs, goals, holdings, etc.
It is important that you provide us with an adequate level of information and supporting documentation
throughout the term of the engagement, including but not limited to: source of funds, income levels, and an
account holder or their legal agent’s authority to act on behalf of the account, among other information that
may be necessary. This helps us determine the appropriateness of our planning strategies and/or investment
recommendations. The information and/or financial statements you provide needs to be accurate. Our Firm
is not obligated to verify the information you provide. It is also essential to keep us informed of significant
issues that may call for an update to your plan. Events such as changes in employment or marital status, an
unplanned windfall, etc., can have an impact on your circumstances and needs. We need to be aware of such
events, so that we may make adjustments as necessary in order to keep you on track toward your goals.
Financial Planning Component
The incorporation of most or all of the following planning components allows for not only a thorough analysis
but also a refined focus of your goals and objectives. Your plan may be as broad-based or narrowly focused
as you desire. Note that when our planning focuses only on certain areas of your interest or need, your
overall situation or needs may not be fully addressed due to limitations you may have established. We will
present you with a summary of our recommendations, guide you in the implementation of some or all of
them per your decisions, as well as encourage ongoing reviews thereafter. You retain full discretion over all
implementation decisions and are free to accept or reject any recommendation we make.
Cash Flow Analysis and Debt Management
A review of your income and expenses may be conducted to determine your current surplus or deficit. Based
upon the results, we might recommend prioritizing how any surplus should be used, or how to reduce
expenses if they exceed your income. In addition, advice on the prioritization of which debts to repay may be
provided, based upon such factors as the debt’s interest rate and any income tax ramifications.
Recommendations may also be made regarding the appropriate level of cash reserves for emergencies and
other financial goals. These recommendations are based upon a review of cash accounts (such as money
market funds) for such reserves and may include strategies to save desired reserve amounts.
Risk Management
A risk management review includes an analysis of your exposure to major risks that could have a significant
adverse impact on your financial picture, such as premature death, disability, property and casualty losses, or
the need for long-term care planning. Advice may be provided on ways to minimize such risks and about
weighing the costs of purchasing insurance versus the benefits of doing so and, likewise, the potential cost of
not purchasing insurance (“self-insuring”).
Employee Benefits
A review is conducted, and analysis is made as to whether you, as an employee, are taking maximum
advantage of your employee benefits. We will also offer guidance on your employer-sponsored retirement
plan and/or stock options, along with other benefits that may be available to you.
Personal Retirement Planning
Retirement planning strategies typically include projections of your likelihood of achieving your financial goals,
with financial independence usually the primary objective. For situations where projections show less than the
desired results, a recommendation may include showing you the impact on those projections by making
changes in certain variables (i.e., working longer, saving more, spending less, taking more risk with
investments). If you are near retirement or already retired, advice may be given on appropriate distribution
strategies to minimize the likelihood of running out of money or having to adversely alter spending during your
retirement years.
College Funding
Advice involving college funding may include projecting the amount that will be needed to achieve post-
secondary education funding goals, along with savings strategies and the “pros-and-cons” of various college
savings vehicles that are available. We are also available to review your financial picture as it relates to
eligibility for financial aid or the best way to contribute to family members, such as grandchildren, if
appropriate.
Tax Strategies
Advice may include ways to minimize current and future income taxes as a part of your overall financial
planning picture. For example, recommendations may be offered as to which type of account(s) or specific
investments should be owned based in part on their “tax efficiency,” with consideration that there is always a
possibility of future changes to federal, state or local tax laws and rates that may impact your situation.
Upon your request, we will assist you in preparing tax forms or data collection for your accountant’s review.
Estate Planning
Our review typically includes an analysis of your exposure to estate taxes and your current estate plan,
which may include whether you have a will, powers of attorney, trusts and other related documents. We
may assess ways to minimize or avoid future estate taxes by implementing appropriate estate planning
strategies such as the use of applicable trusts. We generally recommend that you consult with a qualified
attorney when you initiate, update, or complete estate planning activities. From time-to-time, we will
participate in meetings or phone calls between you and your attorney with your prior approval.
Divorce Planning
Separation or divorce can have a major impact on your goals and plans. We will work with you to help you
gain an understanding of your unique situation and provide you with a realistic financial picture so that you
are in a better situation to communicate with your legal counsel, mediator or soon to be ex-spouse. We can
assist in the completion of cash flow and net worth projections, budget analysis, as well as help you to
understand what the consequences and/or benefits are involving a settlement.
Investment Consultation
Our investment consultation component often involves providing information on the types of investment
vehicles available, employee retirement plans and/or stock options, investment analysis and strategies, asset
selection and portfolio design. The strategies and types of investments that may be recommended are further
discussed in Item 8 of this brochure.
Business Consultation
We are available to assist small businesses in a variety of ways to include business strategy, debt
management, general financial advice, risk management, as well as assisting you with matters involving
coordination with your financial institution, retirement plan advisor, and attorney or accounting firm.
Broad-Based v. Modular Planning
A broad-based plan is an endeavor that requires detail. Certain variables can affect the development of the
plan, such as the quality of your own records, complexity and number of current investments, diversity of
insurance products and employee benefits you currently hold, size of the potential estate, and special needs
of the client or their dependents, among others. At your request, we may concentrate on reviewing only a
specific area (modular or component planning), such as investment allocation at your employer’s retirement
plan, funding an education, an estate planning issue, or simply evaluating the sufficiency of your current
retirement plan. Note that when these services focus only on certain areas that of your interest or need, your
overall situation or needs may not be fully addressed due to limitations you may have established. Whether
we have created a broad-based or modular plan, we will present you with a summary of our recommendations,
guide you in the implementation of some or all of them per your decision, as well as offer you periodic reviews
thereafter. In all
instances involving our financial planning engagements, our clients retain full discretion over
all implementation decisions and are free to accept or reject any recommendation that we make.
Portfolio Management Component
The investment strategies and types of investments that may be recommended for your account are found
in Item 6 of this brochure. Our wrap fee program services are typically provided on a discretionary basis
(defined in Item 7), and the process normally includes:
• Determination of risk tolerance
• Investment strategy
• Investment guideline development
• Asset allocation
• Asset selection
• Regular monitoring
• Periodic rebalancing
We will prepare written guidelines that reflect your investment objectives, time horizon, tolerance for risk,
as well as any reasonable constraints you may have for your account. Please note that any restriction you
may place on the management of your account may have an effect on the strategy, investment vehicle
selection and, potentially, investment results within your portfolio.
These guidelines will be designed to be specific enough to provide future guidance while concurrently
allowing flexibility to respond to changing market conditions. You will be responsible for reviewing and
providing final approval of the plan. Further, it remains your responsibility to promptly notify us if there is
any change in your financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of our reviewing, evaluating
or revising previous recommendations.
Wrap Fees Assessed
Your account will be assessed an annualized asset-based fee that will be determine by the reporting period
ending value of your account (e.g., the last market day of the quarter). Our fee is based on a straight tier; all
accounts are charged a single percentage rate that declines as asset levels increase. For the benefit of
discounting your asset-based fee, we will attempt to aggregate accounts for the same individual or two or
more accounts within the same family, or accounts where a family member has power of attorney over
another family member’s account. We require a minimum account size of $250,000 for our wrap fee
investment program. These fees will be billed quarterly, in advance, per the following table. Our fees are
negotiable, with the final determination to be made by the firm.
Assets Under Management Annualized Asset-Based
Fee
$250,000-$499,999 1.25% (125 basis points)
$500,000-$999,999 1.00% (100 basis points)
$1,000,000-1,499,999 0.90% (90 basis points)
$1,500,000-1,999,999 0.80% (80 basis points)
$2,000,000-$2,999,999 0.70% (70 basis points)
$3,000,000-4,999,999 0.60% (60 basis points)
$5,000,000-$7,499,999 0.50% (50 basis points)
$7,500,000-$9,999,999 0.45% (45 basis points)
$10,000,000-Above Negotiable
Accounts will be assessed in accordance with asset values disclosed on the statement the client will receive
from the custodian of record for the purpose of verifying the computation of the advisory fee. In the rare
absence of a reportable market value, our firm may seek a third-party opinion from a recognized industry source
(e.g., unaffiliated public accounting firm), and the client may choose to separately seek such an opinion at their
own expense as to the valuation of “hard-to-price” securities if necessary.
Advisory fees for partial quarters as well as mid-cycle additions or withdrawals of $50,000 or more will be
prorated based on the remaining days in the reporting period in which our firm services the account. Fee
payments will generally be assessed within the first 10 calendar days of each billing cycle.
By signing our firm’s engagement agreement, as well as the selected custodian account opening documents,
you will be authorizing the withdrawal of our advisory fees from your account. The withdrawal will be
accomplished by the custodian of record at the request of our firm, and the custodian will remit our fee directly
to our firm. All fees deducted will be noted on account statements that you will receive directly from the
custodian of record on at least a quarterly basis. Alternatively, you may request to directly pay our advisory
firm its portfolio management fee in lieu of having the advisory fee withdrawn from your investment account.
Our valuation assessment will remain the same as described above, and the client’s direct payment must be
received by our firm within 10 calendar days of our invoice.
Fees may be paid by check or draft from US-based financial institutions. With your prior authorization payment
may also be made through a qualified, unaffiliated PCI compliant third-party processor or via the investment
account. Our firm does not accept cash, money orders or similar forms of payment for its engagements.
Please refer to Items 5, 6 and 9 of this brochure for additional information about our fees in relationship to
our brokerage and operational practices, and their inherent conflicts of interest.
Private Investment Fees
For clients Stewardship places in private investments, the client will be billed at the fee schedule agreed to in
their portfolio management or wrap fee addendum while giving them the benefit of any fee reductions thresholds
crossed by aggregating all investment accounts including any alternative investments. We reserve the right to bill
at a lower fee schedule for certain alternative investments. Advisory fees and reported values will be determined
by the reporting account value as of the last market day of each quarter. In the absence of a reportable market
value (which is frequently the case with alternative or private investments) at our discretion, our firm may rely
on the reported value of the underlying portfolio company or private fund, seek a third-party opinion from a
recognized source (unaffiliated accounting firm), or utilize the original deposit amount provided by the
investment continues to be an ongoing concern.
Termination of Services
Either party may terminate the agreement at any time, in writing. Our firm will not be responsible for
investment allocation, advice or transactional services (except for limited closing transactions) upon receipt of
a termination notice. It will also be necessary that we inform the custodian of record that the relationship
between our firm and the client has been terminated.
Our firm will return any prepaid, unearned fees within 30 days of the Firm’s receipt of termination notice.
We will coordinate remuneration of prepaid fees to an investment account via the custodian of record.
Services Purchased Separately
The total costs associated with the wrap fee investment program account may be more or less than
purchasing brokerage and advisory services separately. The factors that bear upon the relative costs include
the number of and timing of transactions, portfolio management, custody fees, regulatory compliance and
administrative charges, research costs, and promotional materials. These and other factors may affect the
cost of obtaining these services separately.
Additional Client Fees
There are no sales loads, brokerage fees, mark-ups, mark-downs, spreads paid to market makers, or brokerage
termination fees associated with our wrap fee program. Accounts may be subject to individual retirement
account or qualified retirement plan fees and their respective account termination fees, as well as wire transfer
fees, and those will be borne by the account holder per the custodian of record’s separate fee schedule. We
will ensure you receive a copy of our recommended custodian’s fee schedule at the beginning of the
engagement, and you will be notified of any future changes to these fees by the custodian of record and/or
third-party administrator for certain tax-qualified plans. Fees paid to our firm by our clients for our advisory
services are separate from any internal fees involving mutual funds as outlined in their prospectus, including,
but not limited to expense ratios, etc., exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded notes (ETNs), or other
similar investments.
Portfolio Management Services Fees - Third-Party Investment Managers
Each third-party investment manager program has a stated fee range that will be described to you through the
use of that investment manager’s disclosure documents and prior to your selection of the manager. We will
inform you in advance as to whether the selected third-party investment manager(s) will allow for account
aggregation for the purpose of fee discounts.
The annualized asset-based fee ranges from 0.50% to 2.00% (50 to 200 basis points) and our firm will receive
a portion ranging from 0.25% to 1.50% (25 to 150 basis points) for our consultation service, which we will
describe to you in your engagement agreement with our firm. Payment may be made on a monthly or quarterly
basis, either in advance or arrears, depending on the selected investment manager.
General Information
Account Custody
Your assets will be maintained by an unaffiliated, qualified custodian. They are not held by our firm or any
associate or our firm. In keeping with this policy involving our client funds or securities, Stewardship
Advisors, LLC:
• Restricts the firm or an associate from serving as trustee or having general power of attorney over a
client account;
• Prohibits any associate from having authority to directly withdraw securities or cash assets from a client
account;
• Does not accept or forward client securities (i.e., stock certificates) erroneously delivered to our firm;
• Will not collect advance fees of $1,200 or more for services that are to be performed six months or
more into the future; and
• Will not authorize an associate to have knowledge of a client’s account access information (i.e.,
online 401(k), brokerage or bank accounts) if such access would allow physical control over account
assets.
Your account custodian will provide you with your investment account transaction confirmations and account
statements, which will include all debits and credits for that period. Statements are provided on at least a
quarterly basis, and confirmations are provided as transactions occur within your account, unless otherwise
agree upon. Our advisory firm will not create an account statement for a client nor serve as the sole recipient of
a client account statement. Clients are urged to carefully review and compare their account statements that
they have received directly from their custodian of record with any performance report they may receive from
any source.