A. Firm Information
Avantra Family Wealth, Inc. (herein “Avantra” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Advisor is organized as a corporation under the laws of the
State of Pennsylvania. Avantra was founded in April 2017 and is owned and operated Kim Lee Kenawell
(Founder and Chief Executive Officer), and Wade A. Hoffman (Founder and Chief Compliance Officer). This
Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices, and the advisory
services provided by Avantra.
B. Advisory Services Offered
Avantra offers investment advisory services to individuals and high net worth individuals (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. Avantra’s 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
Avantra provides comprehensive wealth management services for its Clients, which include customized
investment management and financial planning services. Clients may also engage the Advisor for these services
individually.
Investment Management Services
Avantra provides customized investment advisory solutions for its Clients. The Advisor’s goal is to help the Client
achieve their financial goals while mitigating risk. This is achieved through personal Client contact and interaction
while providing discretionary investment management and related advisory services. In certain situations, the
Advisor also provides non-discretionary investment management services in addition to or instead of discretionary
investment management services. Avantra works closely with each Client to develop an investment strategies
that seeks to achieve the goals of the Client.
Internal Investment Management - Avantra customizes its investment management services for its Clients.
Portfolios are primarily constructed using mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), individual stocks and
fixed income securities. The Advisor may also utilize other types of investments, as appropriate, to meet the
needs of each particular Client. The Advisor will retain certain legacy investments based on portfolio fit and/or tax
considerations.
Avantra evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal due
diligence process. Avantra’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. If it is consistent with the Client’s goals, the Advisor may also engage in an investment strategy
that utilizes frequent trading in securities; please see Item 8 for more information. Avantra will construct,
implement and monitor the portfolio taking into consideration the goals, objectives, circumstances, and risk
tolerance communicated to the Advisor by the Client. Each Client will have the opportunity to place reasonable
restrictions on the types of investments to be held in their respective portfolio, subject to acceptance by the
Advisor.
Avantra may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to diversify the portfolio. Avantra 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. Avantra 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
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portfolio, change the Client’s risk tolerance, generating cash to meet the Client’s needs, or any risk deemed
misaligned with the Client’s communicated risk tolerance.
At no time will Avantra 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 account[s] held at the respective
Custodian, pursuant to the Client’s investment advisory agreement, please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Use of Independent Managers - Avantra may recommend to Clients that all or a portion of their investment
portfolio be implemented by utilizing one or more unaffiliated money managers or investment platforms
(collectively “Independent Managers”). Independent Managers may be sourced directly or accessed through an
investment management platform. The Client will be required to enter into a separate agreement with the
Independent Manager[s].
Avantra serves as the Client’s primary advisor and relationship manager. However, the Independent Manager[s]
will assume discretionary authority for the day-to-day investment management of those assets placed in their
control. Avantra will assist and advise the Client in establishing investment objectives for their account[s], the
selection of the Independent Manager[s], and defining any restrictions on the account[s]. Avantra will continue to
provide oversight of the Client’s account[s] and ongoing monitoring of the activities of these unaffiliated parties.
The Independent Manager[s] will implement the selected investment strategies based on their investment
mandates. The Client may be able to impose reasonable investment restrictions on these accounts,
subject to the
acceptance of these third parties. Avantra does not receive any compensation from these Independent Managers
or Investment Platforms, other than its investment advisory fee. Please see Item 5 – Fees and Compensation.
Retirement Accounts – When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will recommend that a Client
take a distribution from an ERISA sponsored plan or to roll over the assets to an Individual Retirement Accounts
(“IRAs”), 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). In such instances, the Advisor will serve as an investment fiduciary as that term is defined under
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as
applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if
the Advisor will earn a new (or increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the transaction. No client is under
any obligation to roll over a retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor.
Financial Planning Services
Avantra will typically provide a variety of financial planning services to Clients, as a component of our wealth
management services, but is also offered under a separate agreement. Services are offered in several areas of a
Client’s financial situation, depending on their goals, objectives and financial situation. Generally, such financial
planning services will involve preparing a financial plan or rendering a financial consultation based on the Client’s
financial goals and objectives. This planning or consulting may encompass one or more areas of need, including, but
not limited to investment planning, retirement planning, personal savings, insurance needs, education savings and
other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
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. Avantra may also refer Clients
to an accountant, attorney or other specialist, as the Advisor deems appropriate for their unique situation. For
certain financial planning engagements, the Advisor will provide a written summary of the Client’s communicated
financial situation, along with the Advisor’s observations and recommendations. For consulting or ad-hoc
engagements, the Advisor may not provide a written summary. Plans or consultations are typically completed
within six months of contract date, assuming all information and documents requested are provided promptly.
Financial planning 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, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any financial
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planning recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client
elects to act on any of the financial planning recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no
obligation to implement the transaction through the Advisor.
The Advisor may also be engaged separately for divorce planning services. These services may include, but are
not limited to, pre-divorce financial counseling and education, assistance with financial forms, analysis of financial
positions, analysis of proposed marital settlement, financial mediation, analysis of income tax effects and financial
impact forecasting. The Advisor may also serve in either a mediation or financial neutral capacity, separate from
advisory services rendered. Please see Item 10 – Financial Industry Affiliations for additional details.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging Avantra to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter into one or
more advisory 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 – Avantra, in connection with the Client, will develop a strategy that
seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
• Asset Allocation – Avantra will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the investment
objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk for each Client.
• Portfolio Construction – Avantra will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet the stated
goals and objectives of the Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – Avantra will provide investment management and ongoing
oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
• Financial Planning – For Clients engaging for wealth management services, the Advisor provides ongoing
financial planning and related services regarding the Client’s overall financial situation.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
Avantra does not manage or place Client assets into a wrap fee program. Investment management services are
provided directly by Avantra.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, Avantra manages $158,290,952 in Client assets, $147,720,366 of which are managed on
a discretionary basis and $10,570,586 on a non-discretionary basis. Clients may request more current information at
any time by contacting the Advisor.