FourStar offers a variety of advisory services, which include financial planning and investment management
services. Prior to FourStar rendering any of the foregoing advisory services, clients are required to enter into
one or more written agreements with FourStar setting forth the relevant terms and conditions of the advisory
relationship (the “Advisory Agreement”).
FourStar started conducting business in June 2014 and is principally owned by Brian Kasal through the
Brian L. Kasal Living Trust DTD March 20, 1998, and Kasal Family 2014 Investment Trust, which, in turn,
own FourStar Holdings, LLC, a direct owner of FourStar. As of December 31, 2023, FourStar has
$1,018,874,410 in assets under management, all of which are managed on a discretionary basis.
While this brochure generally describes the business of FourStar, 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 FourStar’s behalf and is subject to the Firm’s supervision or control.
Financial Planning Services
FourStar offers clients a broad range of financial planning services, which include the following functions:
•
Business Planning
• Cash Flow Forecasting
•
Trust and Estate Planning
• Financial Reporting
• Investment Consulting
• Retirement Planning
• Charitable Giving
•
Distribution Planning
•
Tax Planning
• Insurance Planning
While each of these services is available on a stand-alone basis, certain of them may also be rendered in
conjunction with investment portfolio management as part of a comprehensive wealth management
engagement (described in more detail below).
With regard to Charitable Giving, certain Supervised Persons of the Firm have specific knowledge of
structures and procedures regarding tax efficient transfer of assets to heirs and to non-profits and other
charities. Mr. Kasal holds the designation Chartered Advisor of Philanthropy, specific coursework sponsored
by the American College. Firm may engage clients who are donors to assist in the process as part of an
overall financial planning process or a specific donor process.
In performing these services, FourStar 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. FourStar may recommend clients engage the Firm for additional related services, its
Supervised Persons in their individual capacities as insurance agents or registered representatives of a broker-
dealer and/or other professionals to implement its recommendations. Clients are advised that a conflict of
interest exists if clients engage FourStar or its affiliates to provide additional services for compensation.
Clients retain absolute discretion over all decisions regarding implementation and are under no obligation to
act upon any of the recommendations made by FourStar under a financial planning 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 FourStar’s
recommendations and/or services.
Investment and Wealth Management Services
FourStar manages client investment portfolios on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis. In addition,
FourStar may provide clients with wealth management services which generally include a broad range of
comprehensive financial planning services as well as management of investment portfolios.
FourStar primarily allocates client assets among various mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”),
individual debt and equity securities, options, and independent investment managers (“Independent
Managers”) in accordance with their stated investment objectives. In addition, FourStar may also recommend
that certain eligible clients invest in privately placed securities, which may include debt, equity and/or
interests in pooled investment vehicles (e.g., hedge funds).
Where appropriate, the Firm may also provide advice about any type of legacy position or other investments
held in client portfolios. Clients may engage FourStar 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, FourStar directs or recommends 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.
FourStar tailors its advisory services to meet the needs of its individual clients and seeks to ensure, on a
continuous basis, that client portfolios are managed in a manner consistent with those needs and objectives.
FourStar consults with clients on an initial and ongoing basis to assess their specific risk tolerance, time
horizon, liquidity constraints and other related factors relevant to the management of their portfolios. Clients
are advised to promptly notify FourStar 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 FourStar 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.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services
FourStar provides various consulting services to qualified employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries. This
suite of institutional services is designed to assist plan sponsors in structuring, managing and optimizing their
corporate retirement plans. Each engagement is individually negotiated and customized, and may include any
or a ll of the following services:
• Plan Design and Strategy
• Plan Review and Evaluation
•
Executive Planning & Benefits
• Investment Selection
• Plan Fee and Cost Analysis
• Plan Committee Consultation
•
Fiduciary and Compliance
•
Participant Education
As disclosed in the Advisory Agreement, certain of the foregoing services are provided by FourStar as a
fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). In
accordance with ERISA Section 408(b)(2), each plan sponsor is provided with a written description of
FourStar’s fiduciary status, the specific services to be rendered and all direct and indirect compensation the
Firm reasonably expects under the engagement.
Retirement Plan Rollover Recommendations
When we provide investment advice about your retirement plan account or individual retirement account
(“IRA”) including whether to maintain investments and/or proceeds in the retirement plan account roll
over such investments from the retirement plan account to an IRA or make a distribution from the
retirement plan account, we acknowledge
that the firm is a “fiduciary” within the meaning of Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code as applicable.
The way that the firm makes money creates conflicts with your interests so the firm operates under a
special rule that requires that firm to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours.
Under this special rule’s provisions, the firm must act as a fiduciary to a retirement plan account or IRA
under ERISA/the Internal Revenue Code by:
• Meeting a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (i.e.,
give prudent advice);
• Never putting the interests of the firm ahead of you when making recommendations (i.e.,
give loyal advice);
•
Avoiding misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
•
Following policies and procedures designed to ensure that the firm gives advice that is in
your best interest;
•
Charging no more than is reasonable for the services of the firm; and
• Giving you basic information about any conflicts of interest.
To the extent that we recommend that you roll over your account to an account managed by the firm,
please know that the firm and its investment advisor representatives have an inherent conflict of interest.
Increased investment advisory fees may be earned by recommending that you roll over your account to an
account managed by the firm. We will earn fewer investment advisory fees if you do not roll over the
funds to an account managed by the firm. Thus, our investment advisor representatives have an economic
incentive to recommend a rollover of funds to an account managed by the firm which is a conflict of
interest because our recommendation that you open the account to be managed by the firm can be based on
our economic incentive and not based exclusively on whether or not moving the funds is in your overall
best interest.
We have taken steps to manage this conflict of interest. We have adopted an impartial conduct standard
whereby our investment adviser representatives will (i) provide investment advice to a retirement plan
participant regarding a rollover of funds from the retirement plan in accordance with the fiduciary status
described below, (ii) not recommend investments which result in the firm receiving unreasonable
compensation related to the rollover of funds, and (iii) fully disclose compensation received by the firm
and our supervised persons and any material conflicts of interest related to recommending the rollover of
funds and refrain from making any materially misleading statements regarding such rollover.
When providing advice to your regarding a rollover, our investment adviser representatives will act with
the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting
in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like
character and with like aims, based on the investment objectives, risk, tolerance, financial circumstances,
and a client’s needs, without regard to the financial or other interests of the firm or our affiliated personnel.
Some of our investment adviser representatives are also registered representatives with a broker-dealer. In
their capacity as registered representatives, these persons will receive commission-based compensation in
connection with the purchase and sale of securities, including 12b-1 fees for the sale of investment
company products. Compensation earned by these persons in their capacities as registered representatives
is separate from our advisory fees. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing
investment advice on behalf of our firm who are registered representatives have an incentive to effect
securities transactions for the purpose of generating commissions rather than solely based on your needs.
In addition, some of our investment adviser representatives are also licensed as insurance agents. These
persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products, including insurance
products they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are separate from our advisory
fees. See the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure for more information on the compensation
received by insurance agents who are affiliated with our firm.
In addition to these commissions/fees, opening an investment account carries with it costs beyond the
advisory fee(s) the firm charges. When placing a transaction order to buy or sell securities, advisory clients
may have to pay any or all of the following charges in addition to the advisory fees charged by this firm:
• Brokerage commissions
• Custodian fees
• Postage charges
• Processing charges
• Ticket charges
• Early surrender fees
• Transfer fees
• Administrative fees for
investments in mutual funds;
• Account maintenance fees charged
by a broker dealer for an account,
especially if inactive;
• Third party administrator (“TPA”)
and record keeping fees
Use of Independent Managers
As mentioned above, FourStar may select certain Independent Managers to actively manage a portion of its
clients’ assets. The specific terms and conditions under which a client engages an Independent Manager may
be set forth in a separate written agreement with the designated Independent Manager. In addition to this
brochure, clients may also receive the written disclosure documents of the respective Independent Managers
engaged to manage their assets.
FourStar evaluates a variety of information about Independent Managers, which may include the
Independent Managers’ public disclosure documents, materials supplied by the Independent Managers
themselves and other third-party analyses it believes are reputable. To the extent possible, the Firm seeks
to assess the Independent Managers’ investment strategies, past performance, and risk results in relation
to its clients’ individual portfolio allocations and risk exposure. FourStar also takes into consideration
each Independent Manager’s management style, returns, reputation, financial strength, reporting, pricing
and research capabilities, among other factors.
FourStar continues to provide services relative to the discretionary selection of the Independent Managers.
On an ongoing basis, the Firm monitors the performance of those accounts being managed by Independent
Managers. FourStar seeks to ensure the Independent Managers’ strategies and target allocations remain
aligned with its clients’ investment objectives and overall best interests.
Firm Assets as of 12/31/2023 U.S. Dollar Amount Total Number of Accounts
Discretionary: (a) $1,018,874,410 (d) 2940
Non-Discretionary: (c) $0.00 (e) 0
Total: (f) $1,018,874,410 (g) 2940
Private Fund Management
FourStar provides management services for private funds. In doing so, we exercise discretion over assets
placed in the fund(s). In exercising this discretion, we are obligated to adhere to the stated investment
objectives including any restrictions on investments as outlined in the fund documents. From time to time,
our advisors may recommend the purchase of interests in a fund managed by our firm. In such instances,
any assets placed in the fund will be charged a management fee through the fund, and you will not be
charged a separate advisory fee. Any recommendation to purchase interests in a fund managed by the firm
must be in the client’s best interest.