Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC is owned by Michael John Evans with Kelly Stanley holding a minority
ownership interest. Cogent Strategic Wealth has been providing advisory services since February of
2010. As of December 31, 2023, Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC managed $ 250,140,536 on a discretionary
basis. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC’s investment advisory services are offered through the concept of a
Personal Chief Financial Officer combining essential components from the right team members for
comprehensive wealth management. The process involves the following steps:
Discovery: Exploration and identification of values and goals.
Investment Planning: Preparation of Investment Policy Statement outlining a client’s current financial
situation.
Development of Investment Plan: Selecting a portfolio that will correspond with a client’s specific
situation.
Implementation: Providing on-going services for the management of client accounts in accordance with
investment and wealth objectives.
Regular Progress Meetings: Contact with clients to determine if financial circumstances or investment
and wealth objectives have changed requiring alternative strategy.
WealthManagementServices
Our wealth management process is comprised of investment management, advanced planning and
relationship management. Investment management is described below. Advanced planning entails
coordinating a team of outside professionals who address our client’s four areas of concerns: wealth
enhancement, wealth transfer, wealth protection and charitable giving. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC acts
as the relationship manager between the client and the specific subject matter professionals in order to
facilitate a comprehensive wealth management experience for our clients.
InvestmentManagementServices
Investment management and consulting is the astute management of investments over time to assist our
clients in achieving their financial goals. It requires advisors to deeply understand their clients’ most
important challenges and then to design an investment plan that takes their clients’ time arises and
tolerance for risk into account and that describes an approach that will maximize clients probability of
achieving their goals. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC offers ongoing investment consulting based on the
individual goals, objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance of each client.
Investment management and consulting Services include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Investment strategy • Personal investment policy
• Asset allocation • Asset selection
• Risk Tolerance • Regular portfolio monitoring
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will work with a client to determine the client's investment objectives and
investor risk profile and will design a written Investment Policy Statement for each client, which outlines
the client’s current situation (income, tax levels, and risk tolerance levels) and then constructs a general
plan (the Investment Plan) to aid in the selection of a portfolio that matches each client’s specific
situation.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC uses investment and portfolio allocation software to evaluate alternative
portfolio designs. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC evaluates the client's existing investments with respect to
the client's investment policy statement. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC works with new clients to develop
a plan to transition from the client's existing portfolio to the portfolio recommended by Cogent Strategic
Wealth LLC. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will then continuously monitor the client's portfolio holdings
and the overall asset allocation strategy and hold review meetings with the client regarding the account
as necessary.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will typically create a portfolio of no-load mutual funds and exchange traded
funds (ETFs), and may use model portfolios if the models match the client's investment policy. Cogent
Strategic Wealth LLC will allocate the client's assets among various investments taking into consideration
the overall management style selected by the client. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC primarily recommends
portfolios consisting of passively managed asset class and index no-load mutual funds ETFs. Cogent
Strategic Wealth LLC primarily recommends securities offered by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA),
Bridgeway Capital Management, AQR and Vanguard. DFA and Vanguard sponsored securities follow a
passive asset class investment philosophy with low holdings turnover. Client portfolios may also include
some individual equity securities in situations where disposition of these securities would present an
overriding tax implication or the client specifically requests they be retained for a personal reason.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC manages mutual fund and equity portfolios on a discretionary basis.
Portfolios can also be constructed, per client request, with a socially responsible or Environmental, Social
and Governance (‘ESG’) approach. Clients may impose any reasonable restrictions on Cogent Strategic
Wealth LLC’s discretionary authority, including restrictions on the types of securities in which Cogent
Strategic Wealth LLC may invest client’s assets and on specific securities, which the client may believe to
be appropriate. These situations may be specifically identified in the client’s Investment Policy Statement
(IPS).
Use of Third-Party Sub-Advisers
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC has retained Buckingham Strategic Partners to act as a sub-advisor for
certain client accounts. Buckingham Strategic Partners shall provide various model asset allocation
portfolios (each a “Portfolio”, collectively “Portfolios”) for selection by Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC. Each
Portfolio strives to achieve long-term risk and return objectives through diversification among multiple
asset classes using investment options available to Buckingham Strategic Partners, which may include,
but are not limited to, no-load mutual funds and/or ETFs from Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Bridgeway
Capital Management, Inc., AQR Capital Management, LLC, The Vanguard Group, Inc., Stoneridge Asset
Management, LLC or other providers selected by Buckingham Strategic Partners. Each Portfolio is
designed to meet a particular investment goal which Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC has determined is
suitable based on the client's circumstances. Once the appropriate Portfolio(s) has been determined, the
Portfolio will continuously be managed based on the portfolio’s goal and Buckingham Strategic Partners
will have the discretionary authority to manage the Portfolio(s), including rebalancing. However, Advisor,
on behalf of its client, will have the opportunity to place reasonable restrictions on the types of
investments to be held in the portfolio. Should material life events occur, clients should immediately
contact Advisor to determine if changes to an account and the allocation of the assets held in the account
are necessary.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC may also recommend fixed income portfolios to investment management
clients, which consist of managed accounts of individual bonds. Cogent Strategic Wealth
LLC will request
discretionary authority within the Investment Advisory Agreement from investment management clients
to manage fixed income portfolios, including the discretion to retain a third-party fixed income manager.
Pursuant to its discretionary authority granted by the Client in the Investment Advisory Agreement,
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC may retain a fixed income securities manager. The fixed income securities
manager will be provided with the discretionary authority to invest client assets in fixed income
securities consistent with the client’s Investment Policy Statement. The manager will also monitor the
account for changes in credit ratings, security call provisions, and tax loss harvesting opportunities (to
the extent that the manager is provided with cost basis information). The manager will obtain Cogent
Strategic Wealth LLC’s consent prior to the sale of any client securities.
On an ongoing basis, Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will answer clients’ inquiries regarding their accounts
and review periodically with clients the performance of their accounts. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will
periodically, and at least annually, review clients’ investment policy, risk profile and discuss the re-
balancing of each client's accounts to the extent appropriate. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will provide to
investment manager any updated client financial information or account restrictions necessary for
investment manager to provide sub-advisory services.
As further described below, in addition to managing the client’s investment portfolio, Cogent Strategic
Wealth LLC may consult with clients on various financial areas including income and estate tax planning,
business sale structures, college financial planning, retirement planning, insurance analysis, personal
cash flow analysis, establishment and design of retirement plans and trust designs, among other things.
EmployeeBenefitRetirementPlanServices
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC also provides advisory services to participant-directed retirement plans
through third party administration services, which are online bundled service providers offering an
opportunity for plan sponsors to provide their participants with daily account access, valuation, and
investment education.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will analyze the plan's current investment platform and assist the plan in
creating an investment policy statement defining the types of investments to be offered and the
restrictions that may be imposed. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will recommend investment options to
achieve the plan's objectives, provide participant education meetings, and monitor the performance of
the plan's investment vehicles.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will recommend changes in the plan's investment vehicles as may be
appropriate from time to time. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC generally will review the plan's investment
vehicles and investment policy as necessary.
For certain retirement plans, Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC also works in coordination and support with
Buckingham Strategic Partners. Retirement plan clients will engage both Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC
and Buckingham Strategic Partners. Buckingham Strategic Partners will provide to the client additional
discretionary investment management services and will exercise discretionary authority to select the
plan investments made available to the plans’ participants by selecting and maintaining the plans’
investments according to the goals and investment objectives of the plan.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will continue to work with plans to monitor plan investments, provide
fiduciary plan advice including regular considerations of the goals and objectives of the plan, and provide
participant education services to the plan.
AdvancedPlanning
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC offers Advanced Planning behind its investment management and consulting
services to look at all other aspects are important to our clients financial life. We break it down into four
parts: wealth enhancement, wealth transfer, wealth protection and charitable giving.
Wealth enhancement = minimizing taxes and addressing cash flow issues
Wealth transfer = solutions to ensure an enduring legacy
Wealth protection = strategies to minimize life’s potential risks
Charitable giving = elevating your life through meaningful and impactful philanthropy
Through our wealth management process, we are able to identify and address the financial challenges of
our clients beyond investment management and consulting. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC will assist
clients in determining the strategies for addressing those challenges. Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC has
built a network of specific subject matter professionals who have deep knowledge of cross a range of
various specialties. Our professional network of specialist will work alongside and in tandem with our
wealth management process.
RelationshipManagement
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC is focused on building relationships within three groups. The first and most
obvious group is our clients. To address their needs effectively, we must foster solid, trusted
relationships with them. Second, the Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC must manage a network of financial
professionals- experts we can call in to address specific client needs. Finally, the Cogent Strategic Wealth
LLC must be able to work effectively with our client’s other professional advisors, such as their attorneys
and accountants.
SecondOpinionServices
To help those investors questioning the quality of advice they had received from other financial advisors,
insurance agents or stockbrokers, Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC offers an independent professional
assessment in the form of a second opinion service. These services, as opposed to the comprehensive
wealth management offering, will be limited in scope. Second opinion services may include any one of the
following: investment policy development, asset allocation analysis, portfolio diversification and
construction, fee and cost review, manager selection, performance measurement and evaluation. The
second opinion service is offered on a complimentary basis to professionals and business owners who
have either been referred to our firm or who would otherwise match up with our firm’s ideal client
profile.
Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC offers the same suite of services to all of its wealth management clients.
However, specific client Investment Plans and their implementation are dependent upon the client
Investment Policy Statement which is used to construct a client specific plan to aid in the selection of a
portfolio that matches restrictions, needs, and targets.
Clients may impose restrictions in investing in certain securities or types of securities in accordance with
their values or beliefs. However, if the restrictions prevent Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC from properly
servicing the client account, or if the restrictions would require Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC to deviate
from its standard suite of services, Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC reserves the right to end the relationship.