A. Firm Information
LifeGuide Financial Advisors, LLC (“LifeGuide Financial” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Advisor is organized as a Limited Liability Company
(“LLC”) under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. LifeGuide Financial was founded in November
2013 and is owned and operated by Douglas K. Denlinger (Managing Principal) and David (“Zak”) I. Lutz
(Principal and Chief Compliance Officer). Derek Mosley, Matthew Hess and Brien Lasse also have ownership of
the firm. This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices, and the
advisory services provided by LifeGuide Financial.
B. Advisory Services Offered
LifeGuide Financial offers investment advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates,
businesses, charitable organizations, and retirement plans (each referred to as a “Client”).
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and regulations. As a fiduciary,
the Advisor upholds a duty of loyalty, fairness and good faith towards each Client and seeks to mitigate potential
conflicts of interest. LifeGuide Financials’ fiduciary commitment is further described in the Advisor’s Code of
Ethics. For more information regarding the Code of Ethics, please see Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or
Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading.
Wealth Management Services
LifeGuide Financial provides Clients with wealth managmenet services through the combination of financial
advice taking the form of financial coaching and or financial planning and investment management. The Advisor
offers several programs to meet the needs of a range of Clients. The Advisor offers an “Essentials” and
“Essentials+” program, as well as an “Investment+” program, for Clients that generally have less then $450k, and
a “Signature” program for Clients that generally have more then $450k in investable assets. The Advisor offers
a “Premier” program for Clients that generally have more then $1.5mm in investable assets.
Financial planning and coaching recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the
interests of the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor
for investment management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any
recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects
to act on any of the recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to execute the
transaction through the Advisor.
Investment+ Program
The Investment+ program provides the Client with an annual review in which the Advisor will give financial
advice. The Advisor will discuss and give their recommendations on areas of concern expressed by the client
contained to the analysis that can be done in the annual review meeting. The Advisor is giving financial advice
not holistic financial planning. The Investment+ program does not include a fiancial plan as part of the asset
based wealth management fee. Clients can request additional a la carte planning on either an hourly or project
basis.
Essentials and Essentials+
The Essentials and Essentials+ program provides the Client with financial planning advice, often taking the form
of an initial financial plan. A financial plan developed for, or financial consultation rendered to, the Client will
usually include general recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For
example, recommendations may be made that the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or
alter retirement savings, establish education savings, and/or charitable giving programs.
The programs follow the below steps:
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Step 1: First the Advisor will understand the Client’s situation, objectives, and goals.
Step 2: For the Essentials program the Advisor will perform an overall assessment of the Client’s
financial situation by comparing the Client’s financial statistics to general financial metrics. For the
Essentials+ program the Advisor will construct a detailed cash flow based financial plan. Areas that may
be included are cash flow, savings rates, debt level, disability insurance coverage, life insurance
coverage, retirement savings, education savings, investment risk level, etc.
Step 3: The Advisor will then present recommendations to meet the Client’s goals.
The Essentials and Essentials+ programs provide the Client with an initial plan per the steps above. After the
initial plan is completed the engagement is over unless the Client puts investments under management with the
Advisor. If the Client does put investments under management the financial planning advice will continue during
the Clients annual review meetings.The Advisor will discuss and give their recommendations on areas of concern
expressed by the client contained to the analysis that can be done in the annual review meeting. The Client can
elect to have the Advisor complete a new financial plan at any point in time for an additional charge.
Signature Program
The Signature program provides the Client with financial planning advice, often taking the form of a
comprehensive financial plan. Financial planning services are intended to be holistic and address areas of
concern expressed by the Client or the Advisor. Generally, the process is comprised of three (3) steps.
Step 1: Exploration Meeting - The goal of the initial meeting is for LifeGuide Financial to get to know
the Client and what they are looking for, as well as an opportunity for LifeGuide Financial to explain the
wealth management process and the costs involved.
Step 2: Financial LifePlan Development - The Financial LifePlanning process is provided as a
component of wealth management services or pursuant to a stand-alone financial planning agreement.
The Financial LifePlanning process usually involves 2-4 meetings and takes about two months to
complete. Generally, the Financial LifePlanning process involves preparing a formal financial plan and
includes the following steps: understanding the Client’s personal and financial circumstances, identifying
and selecting goals, analyzing the client’s current and potential alternative course(s) of action,
developing the recommendation(s), and presenting the recommendation(s). This planning may
encompass one or more areas of need, including but not limited to, investment planning, retirement
planning, personal savings, education savings, tax planning, insurance needs, asset and income
protection and other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
A financial plan developed for the Client will usually include general recommendations for a course of
activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For example, recommendations may be made that
the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or alter retirement savings, establish
education savings, and/or charitable giving programs. LifeGuide Financial may also refer Clients to an
accountant, attorney, or another specialist, as appropriate for their unique situation.
Step 3: Financial LifePlan Implimentation - After the initial construction of the Client’s Financial
LifePlan, the plan is then implimented over time. LifeGuide Financial then meets (virtually or in person)
as needed (typically 1-3 times per year) to review action items, answer questions, and monitor progress.
To help keep Clients on track, Clients have unlimited phone and email access to the LifeGuide Financial
team.
The Financial LifePlan process will be repeated from time to time as determined necessary at no additional cost.
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Premier Program
The Premier program provides the Client with the same planning process as the Signature program but with a
higher level of detail and service.
LifeGuide Financial provides investment management for its Investment+, Essentials, Essentials+, Signature,
and Premier clients. This is achieved through continuous personal Client contact and interaction, financial
coaching, financial planning and discretionary investment management and related advisory services. LifeGuide
Financial works closely with each Client to identify their investment goals and objectives as well as risk tolerance
and financial situation to develop an investment strategy for the Client. LifeGuide Financial will then construct the
Client’s portfolio utilizing the Advisor’s internal investment strategies. It is possible that aggressive strategies
may achieve higher rates of return thus increasing a Client’s assets under management resulting in higher
compensation for LifeGuide. This creates a conflict of interest since LifeGuide Financial is therefore incentivized
to place Client assets into a more aggressive strategy then they would otherwise be in. LifeGuide Financial is
committed to determining appropriate investment allocations to balance a Client’s goals with risk to management
Client accounts in the Client’s best interest.
LifeGuide will construct an investment portfolio based upon one of LifeGuide Financials’ model portfolios or
variation of a model portfolio to meet the Client’s objectives. LifeGuide Financial’s strategies employ a strategic
asset allocation approach in constructing a portfolio with a diverse set of assets, consisting primarily of low-cost,
diversified mutual funds and/or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). A suite of variations on model portfolios have
also been developed to address different time horizons, growth objectives and risk profiles.
The Advisor may also utilize individual stocks, certificates of deposit,
fee-based annuities and bonds to meet the
needs of its Clients. The Advisor may also utilize certain types of alternative investments, such as limited
partnerships, structured notes, real estate interest trusts, private placements, and business development
companies.
LifeGuide Financial’s investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell, or re-
allocate positions that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market
conditions. LifeGuide Financial utilizes an account bucket strategy to minimize the negative effects of volatility on
withdrawals and assist Clients in managing behavior. LifeGuide Financial may select actively managed mutual
funds based off of manager experience, process, structure, and alignment with Client interests. Periods of
underperformance are to be expected with actively managed mutual funds and managers are not evaluated on
short term past performance.
LifeGuide Financial evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in model portfolios only after applying its
internal due diligence process. LifeGuide Financial utilizes dynamic rebalancing through the use of drift collars to
ensure consistent diversification of assets. LifeGuide Financial may recommend specific positions to increase
sector or asset class weightings. The Advisor may recommend employing cash positions as a possible hedge
against market movement. LifeGuide Financial may recommend selling positions for reasons that include, but are
not limited to, harvesting capital gains or losses, business or sector risk exposure to a specific security or class of
securities, overvaluation or overweighting of the position[s] in the portfolio, change in risk tolerance of Client,
generating cash to meet Client needs, or any risk deemed unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
LifeGuide Financial may increase or decrease allocations to various asset classes such as stocks, bonds, and
real estate if a particular asset class has declined substantially and is, therefore, determined to have a better
risk/return outlook or has increased substantially and has a less attractive risk/return outlook.
At no time will LifeGuide Financial accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the
limited authority as outlined in Item 15 – Custody. All Client assets will be managed within their designated
account[s] at the Custodian, pursuant to the advisory agreement. Please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
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Financial Planning Services
LifeGuide Financial also offers the Essentials and Essentials+ programs as one-time project based programs
without investment management for Clients that generally have less then $450k in investable assets. A financial
plan developed for, or financial consultation rendered to the Client will usually include general recommendations
for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For example, recommendations may be made
that the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or alter retirement savings, establish
education savings, and/or charitable giving programs.
The programs follow the below steps:
Step 1: First the Advisor will understand the Client’s situation, objectives, and goals.
Step 2: The Advisor will perform an overall assessment of the Client’s financial situation by comparing
the Client’s financial statistics to general financial metrics or the Advisor will construct a detailed cash
flow based financial plan. Areas that may be included are cash flow, savings rates, debt level, disability
insurance coverage, life insurance coverage, retirement savings, education savings, investment risk
level, etc.
Step 3: The Advisor will then present recommendations to meet the Client’s goals.
Financial planning and consulting recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the
interests of the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor
for investment management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any
recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects
to act on any of the recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the
transaction through the Advisor.
Retirement Accounts – When the Advisor provides investment advice to Clients regarding ERISA retirement
accounts or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), the Advisor is a fiduciary within the meaning of Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable,
which are laws governing retirement accounts. A distribution from an ERISA retirement account or to roll over the
assets to an IRA, or recommend a similar transaction including rollovers from one ERISA sponsored Plan to
another, one IRA to another IRA, or from one type of account to another account (e.g. commission-based
account to fee-based account) creates a conflict of interest if the Advisor will earn a new (or increase its current)
advisory fee as a result of the transaction. In an effort to mitigate this conflict of interest, the Advisor’s general
practice is to not provide advice or make recommendations related to rollovers or distributions from a Client’s
retirement account(s) that are not actively managed by the Advisor. The Advisor will provide Client’s with
information that is educational in nature regarding the pros and cons of effectuating a rollover or distribution from
a retirement account and how services provided by the Advisor may be impacted by a rollover or distribution. No
client is under any obligation to roll over a retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor.
Non-Purpose Loans – When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will refer certain Clients to a
bank[s] for loan options, including non-purpose. If a Client decides to utilize a non-purpose loan they may use the
assets in their account[s] as collateral for the non-purpose loan. The recommendation of such a loan presents a
conflict of interest as the Advisor will continue to receive investment advisory fees for managing the collateralized
assets in the Client’s account[s]. Clients are not obligated to engage the Advisor for such offerings. For Additional
information related to the risks involved with non-purpose loans and lines of credit, please see Item 8 - Methods
of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss. The Advisor does not receive any compensation for such
referrals.
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Retirement Plan Advisory Services
LifeGuide Financial provides advisory services to retirement plans (each a “Plan”) and the company (the “Plan
Sponsor”). The Advisor’s retirement plan advisory services are designed to assist the Plan Sponsor in meeting its
fiduciary obligations to the Plan and its Plan Participants. Each engagement is customized to the needs of the
Plan and Plan Sponsor. Services generally include:
• Vendor Analysis
• Plan Participant Enrollment and Education Tracking
• Investment Oversight Services (ERISA 3(21))
• Performance Reporting
• Ongoing Investment Recommendation and Assistance
These services are provided by LifeGuide Financial serving in the capacity as a fiduciary under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). In accordance with ERISA Section 408(b)(2),
the Plan Sponsor is provided with a written description of LifeGuide Financial’s fiduciary status, the specific
services to be rendered and all direct and indirect compensation the Advisor reasonably expects under the
engagement.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging LifeGuide Financial to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter
into one or more agreements with the Advisor that define the terms, conditions, authority and responsibilities of
the Advisor and the Client. These services may include:
• Establishing an Investment Strategy – LifeGuide Financial, in connection with the Client, will develop a
strategy designed to meet the Client’s investment goals along with the model or variation on a model
developed to meet the objectives.
• Model Portfolio – LifeGuide Financial will place Client assets in a model portfolio or a variation of model
portfolio that is targeted to meet the investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation, values profile
and tolerance for risk for each Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – LifeGuide Financial will provide investment management and
ongoing oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
LifeGuide Financial typically includes securities transaction fees (“Covered Costs”) together with its investment
advisory fees for clients that have over $450k invested with the Advisor. Including these fees into a single asset-
based fee is considered a “Wrap Fee Program”. The disclosure of the Advisor’s sponsorship of the LifeGuide
Financial Wrap Fee Program is meant solely as a supplemental disclosure regarding the combination of fees
within the Wrap Fee Program.
LifeGuide Financial does not charge Clients a higher fee to be in LifeGuide Financial’s Wrap Program.
Please see Appendix 1 – Wrap Fee Program Brochure, which is included as a supplement to this Disclosure
Brochure.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, LifeGuide Financial manages $372,527,977 in Client assets, $369,558,341 of which is
managed on a discretionary basis and $2,969,636 on a non-discretionary basis. Clients may request more
current information at any time by contacting the Advisor.
Phone: (717) 218-5268 Fax: (717) 243-7872
www.LifeGuidefa.com
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