A. Global Financial Private Client, LLC (the “Registrant”) is a limited liability company
formed in September 2017 in the state of Florida. The Registrant became registered as an
Investment Adviser Firm in December 2017. The Registrant is principally owned by the
Geoffrey A. Frazier Trust, with Geoffrey Frazier as Trustee.
B.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
The Registrant provides discretionary and/or non-discretionary investment advisory
services on a fee basis. The Registrant’s annual investment advisory fee is based upon a
percentage (%) of the market value of the assets placed under the Registrant’s
management, generally between negotiable and 1.50%.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONSULTING SERVICES (STAND-ALONE)
The Registrant may provide financial planning and/or consulting services (including
investment and non-investment related matters, including estate planning, insurance
planning, etc.) on a stand-alone separate fee basis.
Prior to engaging the Registrant to provide planning or consulting services, clients are
generally required to enter into a Financial Planning and Consulting Agreement with
Registrant setting forth the terms and conditions of the engagement (including
termination), describing the scope of the services to be provided, and the portion of the
fee that is due from the client prior to Registrant commencing services.
If requested by the client, Registrant may recommend the services of other professionals
for implementation purposes. The client is under no obligation to engage the services of
any such recommended professionals. The client retains absolute discretion over all such
implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject any recommendation from the
Registrant.
If the client engages any recommended unaffiliated professional, and a dispute arises
thereafter relative to such engagement, the client agrees to seek recourse exclusively from
and against the engaged professional. At all times, the engaged licensed professional[s]
(i.e., attorney, accountant, insurance agent, etc.), and not the Registrant, shall be
responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
It remains the client’s responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any
change in their financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing,
evaluating or revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
RETIREMENT PLAN CONSULTING SERVICES
The Registrant also provides retirement plan consulting/management services, pursuant
to which it assists sponsors of self-directed retirement plans organized under the
Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The terms and conditions of the
engagement shall be set forth in a Retirement Plan Services Agreement between the
Registrant and the plan sponsor.
To the extent that the plan sponsor engages the Registrant in an ERISA Section 3(21)
capacity, the Registrant will assist with the selection and/or monitoring of investment
options (generally open-end mutual funds and exchange traded funds) from which plan
participants shall choose in self-directing the investments for their individual plan
retirement accounts.
If the plan sponsor chooses to engage the Registrant in an ERISA Section 3(38) capacity,
Registrant may provide the same services as described above, but may also: create
specific asset allocation models that Registrant manages on a discretionary basis, which
plan participants may choose in managing their individual retirement account; and/or
modify the investment options made available to plan participants on a discretionary
basis. The terms and conditions of the engagement shall generally be set forth in a
Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement between the Registrant and the plan sponsor.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation.
As indicated above, to the extent requested by a client, Registrant may provide financial
planning and related consulting services. Neither the Registrant nor its investment adviser
representatives assist clients with the implementation of any financial plan, unless they
have agreed to do so in writing. The Registrant does not monitor a client’s financial plan,
and it is the client’s responsibility to revisit the financial plan with the Registrant, if
desired.
Although the Registrant may provide recommendations regarding non-investment related
matters, such as estate planning and tax planning, the Registrant does not serve as a law
firm and no portion of Registrant’s services should be construed as legal services.
Accordingly, the Registrant does not prepare estate planning documents or tax returns.
To the extent requested by a client, we may recommend the services of other
professionals for certain non-investment implementation purpose (i.e., attorneys,
accountants, insurance, etc). The client is under no obligation to engage the services of
any such recommended professional. The client retains absolute discretion over all such
implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject any recommendation from
Registrant and/or its representatives.
If the client engages any recommended unaffiliated professional, and a dispute arises
thereafter relative to such engagement, the client agrees to seek recourse exclusively from
and against the engaged professional. At all times, the engaged licensed professional[s]
(i.e., attorney, accountant, insurance agent, etc.), and not the Registrant, shall be
responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
Non-Discretionary Service Limitations. Clients that determine to engage the
Registrant on a non-discretionary investment advisory basis must be willing to accept that
the Registrant cannot effect any account transactions without obtaining prior consent to
any such transaction(s) from the client. Therefore, in the event that Registrant would like
to make a transaction for a client’s account, (including in the event of an individual
holding or general market correction) and client is unavailable, the Registrant will be
unable to effect the account transaction (as it would for its discretionary clients) without
first obtaining the client’s consent.
Retirement Rollovers-Potential for Conflict of Interest. A client or prospective client
leaving an employer typically has four options regarding an existing retirement plan (and
may engage in a combination of these options): (i) leave the money in the former
employer’s plan, if permitted, (ii) roll over the assets to the new employer’s plan, if one is
available and rollovers are permitted, (iii) roll over to an Individual Retirement Account
(“IRA”), or (iv) cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the client’s
age, result in adverse tax consequences). If Registrant recommends that a client roll over
their retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by Registrant, such a
recommendation creates a conflict of interest if Registrant will earn new (or increase its
current) compensation as a result of the rollover. If Registrant provides a
recommendation as to whether a client should engage in a rollover or not (whether it is
from an employer’s plan or an existing IRA), Registrant is acting as a fiduciary within the
meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal
Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. No client is
under any obligation to roll over retirement plan assets to an account managed by
Registrant, whether it is from an employer’s plan or an existing IRA.
Private Investment Funds. Registrant also provides investment advice regarding private
investment funds. Registrant, on a non-discretionary basis, may recommend that certain
qualified clients consider an investment in private investment funds, the description of
which (the terms, conditions, risks, conflicts and fees, including incentive compensation)
is set forth in the fund’s offering documents. Registrant’s role relative to private
investment funds shall be limited to its initial and ongoing due diligence and investment
monitoring services. If a client determines to become a private fund investor, the amount
of assets invested in the fund(s) shall be excluded as part of “assets under management”
for purposes of Registrant calculating its investment advisory fee. Registrant’s fee shall
be in addition to the fund’s fees. Registrant’s clients are under absolutely no obligation to
consider or make an investment in any private investment fund(s).
Private investment funds generally involve various risk factors, including, but not limited
to, potential for complete loss of principal, liquidity constraints and lack of transparency,
a complete discussion of which is set forth in each fund’s offering documents, which will
be provided to each client for review and consideration. Unlike liquid investments that a
client may own, private investment funds do not provide daily liquidity or pricing. Each
prospective client investor will generally be required to complete a Subscription
Agreement, pursuant to which the client shall establish that he/she is qualified for
investment in the fund, and acknowledges and accepts
the various risk factors that are
associated with such an investment.
In the event that Registrant references private investment funds owned by the client on
any supplemental account reports prepared by Registrant, the value(s) for all private
investment funds owned by the client shall reflect the most recent valuation provided by
the fund sponsor. However, if subsequent to purchase, the fund has not provided an
updated valuation, the valuation shall reflect the initial purchase price. If subsequent to
purchase, the fund provides an updated valuation, then the statement will reflect that
updated value. The updated value will continue to be reflected on the report until the fund
provides a further updated value.
As result of the valuation process, if the valuation reflects initial purchase price or an
updated value subsequent to purchase price, the current value(s) of an investor’s fund
holding(s) could be significantly more or less than the value reflected on the report.
Unless otherwise indicated, Registrant shall calculate its fee based upon the latest value
provided by the fund sponsor.
Cryptocurrency. For clients who want exposure to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin,
the Registrant, may advise the client to consider a potential investment in corresponding
exchange traded securities, or an allocation to separate account managers and/or private
funds that provide cryptocurrency exposure. Crypto is a digital currency that can be used
to buy goods and services but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography (i.e., a
method of protecting information and communications through the use of codes) to
secure online transactions. Unlike conventional currencies issued by a monetary
authority, cryptocurrencies are generally not controlled or regulated and their price is
determined by the supply and demand of their market. Because cryptocurrency is
currently considered to be a speculative investment, the Registrant does not recommend
or advocate the purchase of or investment in cryptocurrencies. The Registrant will not
purchase cryptocurrency for a client’s account.
Clients who choose to purchase cryptocurrency as an investment should be prepared for
the potential for liquidity constraints, extreme price volatility and complete loss of
principal.
Cross Transactions. In limited circumstances, Registrant may arrange for cross-
transactions pursuant to which the Registrant may cross transactions between two of its
managed client accounts (i.e., arranging for the clients’ securities trades by “crossing”
these trades when the Registrant believes that such transactions are beneficial to its
clients). For all such transactions, neither the Registrant nor any related person will be
acting as a broker or receive any commission or transaction-based compensation. The
client may revoke Registrant’s cross-transaction authority at any time upon written notice
to the Registrant.
Portfolio Activity. Registrant has a fiduciary duty to provide services consistent with the
client’s best interest. As part of its investment advisory services, Registrant will review
client portfolios on an ongoing basis to determine if any changes are necessary based
upon various factors, including, but not limited to, investment performance, manager
tenure, style drift, and/or a change in the client’s investment objective. Based upon these
factors, there may be extended periods of time when Registrant determines that changes
to a client’s portfolio are neither necessary nor prudent. Clients nonetheless remain
subject to the fees described in Item 5 below during periods of account inactivity.
Cash Positions. Registrant continues to treat cash as an asset class. As such, unless
determined to the contrary by Registrant, all cash positions (money markets, etc.) shall
continue to be included as part of assets under management for purposes of calculating
Registrant’s advisory fee. At any specific point in time, depending upon perceived or
anticipated market conditions/events (there being no guarantee that such anticipated
market conditions/events will occur), Registrant may maintain cash positions for
defensive purposes. In addition, while assets are maintained in cash, such amounts could
miss market advances. Depending upon current yields, at any point in time, Registrant’s
advisory fee could exceed the interest paid by the client’s money market fund.
Cash Sweep Accounts. Certain account custodians can require that cash proceeds from
account transactions or new deposits, be swept to and/or initially maintained in a
specific custodian designated sweep account. The yield on the sweep account will
generally be lower than those available for other money market accounts. When this
occurs, to help mitigate the corresponding yield dispersion Registrant shall (usually
within 30 days thereafter) generally (with exceptions) purchase a higher yielding money
market fund (or other type security) available on the custodian’s platform, unless
Registrant reasonably anticipates that it will utilize the cash proceeds during the
subsequent 30-day period to purchase additional investments for the client’s account.
Exceptions and/or modifications can and will occur with respect to all or a portion of the
cash balances for various reasons, including, but not limited to the amount of dispersion
between the sweep account and a money market fund, the size of the cash balance, an
indication from the client of an imminent need for such cash, or the client has a
demonstrated history of writing checks from the account.
The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within a Registrant actively
managed investment strategy (the cash balances for which shall generally remain in the
custodian designated cash sweep account), an indication from the client of a need for
access to such cash, assets allocated to an unaffiliated investment manager and cash
balances maintained for fee billing purposes.
The client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield dispersion/cash balance
decisions and corresponding transactions for cash balances maintained in any Registrant
unmanaged accounts.
Client Obligations. In performing its services, Registrant shall not be required to verify
any information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals, and is
expressly authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, each client is advised that it remains their
responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any change in their
financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or
revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
Cybersecurity Risk. The information technology systems and networks that Registrant
and its third-party service providers use to provide services to Registrant’s clients employ
various controls, which are designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents stemming from
intentional or unintentional actions that could cause significant interruptions in
Registrant’s operations and result in the unauthorized acquisition or use of clients’
confidential or non-public personal information. Clients and Registrant are nonetheless
subject to the risk of cybersecurity incidents that could ultimately cause them to incur
losses, including for example: financial losses, cost and reputational damage to respond
to regulatory obligations, other costs associated with corrective measures, and loss from
damage or interruption to systems. Although Registrant has established procedures to
reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents, there is no guarantee that these efforts will
always be successful, especially considering that Registrant does not directly control the
cybersecurity measures and policies employed by third-party service providers. Clients
could incur similar adverse consequences resulting from cybersecurity incidents that
more directly affect issuers of securities in which those clients invest, broker-dealers,
qualified custodians, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other
financial market operators, or other financial institutions.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of the Registrant’s written Brochure and Client
Relationship Summary (when appropriate) as set forth on Part 2 of Form ADV and Form
CRS, respectively, shall be provided to each client prior to, or contemporaneously with,
the execution of the Investment Advisory Agreement, Financial Planning and Consulting
Agreement and/or the Retirement Plan Services Agreement.
C. The Registrant shall provide investment advisory services specific to the needs of each
client. Prior to providing investment advisory services, an investment adviser
representative will ascertain each client’s investment objective(s). Thereafter, the
Registrant shall allocate and/or recommend that the client allocate investment assets
consistent with the designated investment objective(s). The client may, at any time,
impose reasonable restrictions, in writing, on the Registrant’s services.
D. The Registrant does not participate in a wrap fee program.
E. As of February 2, 2024, the Registrant had $419,575,089 in assets under management on
a discretionary basis and $96,093,934 in assets under management on a non-discretionary
basis.