Description of Firm
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC is a registered investment adviser based in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania. We are organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of
Delaware. We have been providing investment advisory services since July 27, 2018. We are primarily
owned by Michael Henley and Alison C. Dorsman.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each
investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to
your individual needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we," "Firm," and "Brandywine Oak
Private Wealth" refer to Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC and the words "you," "your," and
"client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth offers a variety of advisory services, which include financial planning,
consulting, and investment and wealth management services. Prior to Brandywine Oak Private Wealth
rendering any of the foregoing advisory services, clients are required to enter into one or more written
agreements with Brandywine Oak Private Wealth setting forth the relevant terms and conditions of the
advisory relationship (the "Advisory Agreement").
While this brochure generally describes the business of Brandywine Oak Private Wealth, 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 other persons who provide investment advice on Brandywine Oak Private Wealth's
behalf and are subject to the Firm's supervision or control.
Financial Planning and Consulting Services
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth offers clients a broad range of financial planning and consulting
services, which include any or all of the following functions:
• Business Planning • Retirement Planning
• Cash Flow Planning • Liability Management
• Trust and Estate Planning • Charitable Planning
• Banking Services • Family Gifting
• Educational Planning • Tax Planning
• Insurance Planning • Financial Reporting
While each of these services is available on a stand-alone basis, certain of them can also be rendered
in conjunction with investment portfolio management as part of a comprehensive wealth management
engagement (described in more detail below).
In performing these services, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth 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. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth recommends
certain 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
for the Firm to recommend that clients engage Brandywine Oak Private Wealth or its affiliates to
provide (or continue to provide) additional services for compensation, including investment
management services. Clients retain absolute discretion over all decisions regarding implementation
and are under no obligation to act upon any of the recommendations made by Brandywine Oak Private
Wealth under a financial planning or consulting engagement.
Financial plans are based on the client's financial situation at the time Brandywine Oak Private
Wealth present the plan to the client, and on the financial information the client provides to Brandywine
Oak Private Wealth. 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 Brandywine Oak Private Wealth's recommendations and/or services.
Investment and Wealth Management Services
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth provides certain clients with investment and wealth management
services which include a broad range of financial planning and consulting services as well as
discretionary and/or non-discretionary management of investment portfolios.
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth 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. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth 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
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth if there are changes in their financial situation or if they wish to place
any limitations on the management of their portfolios. Clients can impose reasonable restrictions or
mandates on the management of their accounts if Brandywine Oak Private Wealth 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.
If a client selects to participate in Brandywine Oak Private Wealth's discretionary investment and
wealth management services, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth requires clients to grant or firm
discretionary authority to manage the client account(s). Subject to a grant of discretionary
authorization, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth will have the authority and responsibility to formulate
investment strategies on the client's behalf. Discretionary authorization will allow Brandywine Oak
Private Wealth to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or
sold for the client account(s) without obtaining the client's approval prior to each transaction.
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth will also have discretion over the broker or dealer to be used for
securities transactions in the client's account(s). Discretionary authority is typically granted through the
Advisory Agreement each client signs with Brandywine Oak Private Wealth or trading authorization
forms.
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth may also offer non-discretionary
investment and wealth management
services. If a client select to enter into non-discretionary arrangements with Brandywine Oak Private
Wealth, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth must obtain the client's approval prior to executing any
transactions on behalf of the client's account(s). Clients have an unrestricted right to decline to
implement any advice provided by Brandywine Oak Private Wealth on a non-discretionary basis.
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth may invest client assets according to one or more model portfolios
developed by Brandywine Oak Private Wealth. These models are designed for investors with varying
degrees of risk tolerance ranging from a more aggressive investment strategy to a more conservative
investment approach. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth may use one or more independent investment
managers ("Independent Managers") to manage a portion of your account on a discretionary basis, as
described in more detail below.
Use of Independent Managers
As mentioned above, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth selects or recommends certain Independent
Managers to actively manage all, or a portion of, its clients' assets. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth
evaluates a variety of information about Independent Managers, which includes 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. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth also
takes into consideration each Independent Manager's management style, returns, reputation, financial
strength, reporting, pricing and research capabilities, among other factors.
After gathering information about its clients financial situation and objectives, Brandywine Oak Private
Wealth may select or recommend that you engage a specific Indepedent Manager or investment
program. On an ongoing basis, the Firm monitors the performance of those accounts being managed
by Independent Managers. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth seeks to ensure the Independent
Managers' strategies and target allocations remain aligned with its clients' investment objectives and
overall best interests. The Independent Managers will actively manage the client's portfolio and will
assume discretionary investment authority over the client's account. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth
will assume discretionary authority to hire and fire Independent Managers and/or reallocate client
assets to other Independent Managers where the Firm deems such action appropriate.
Types of Investments
Brandywine Oak Private Wealth primarily allocates client assets among various exchange-traded funds
("ETFs"), individual debt and equity securities, in accordance with their stated investment objectives. In
addition, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth also recommends 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), or structured products.
Where appropriate, the Firm also provides advice about any type of legacy position or other investment
held in client portfolios. Clients can engage Brandywine Oak Private Wealth 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, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth 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. Please refer to the Methods of Analysis, Investment
Strategies and Risk of Loss section below for additional disclosures on this topic.
Since Brandywine Oak Private Wealth's investment strategies and advice are based on each client's
specific financial situation, the investment advice our Firm provides to one client may be different or
conflicting with the advice we give to other clients regarding the same security or investment.
Rollover Recommendations
Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field
Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the
following acknowledgment to you. When we provide investment advice to you regarding your
retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries 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. The way we make money creates some conflicts with
your interests, so we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not
put our interest ahead of yours. Under this special rule's provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent
advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in
your best interest.
Assets Under Management
As of March 6, 2024, we provide continuous management services for $1,253,355,598 in client assets
managed on a discretionary basis. We also advise $311,966,650 in client assets on a non-continuous
basis.