Our Services and Fees
MWM generally provides discretionary portfolio management and wealth management services to
individuals, families, and businesses through the firm’s Wrap Fee Program whereby participants in
the program receive portfolio management, financial planning, custodial, reporting and clearing
services for one inclusive fee. In limited circumstances, MWM may also provide non-discretionary
portfolio management services to clients. When providing portfolio management services, the firm
not only makes recommendations related to investments, but also implements these
recommendations and provides ongoing monitoring and reporting.
Our portfolio management services provide our clients with the ability to have a customized
investment plan based on their individual needs and goals. We assist clients in assessing their current
financial situation, financial goals, and attitudes towards risk, and then recommend an appropriate
asset allocation. We will recommend changes to a client's portfolio based on market, economic, or
political circumstances, and the individual characteristics of the securities in a portfolio.
As part of our wealth management services, MWM provides financial planning, advice or other
strategic assistance in areas such as education funding, retirement planning, estate planning, risk
management, employee benefits planning, tax planning, etc. We identify goals and objectives,
collect, and analyze data, and formulate a personalized strategy.
Annual wrap program fees range up to 1.5% and are negotiated based on the complexity of the
engagement prior to the start of the engagement, with a minimum annual fee of $5,000.
The firm’s standard graduated fee schedule is as follows:
Assets Under Management Annual Advisory Fee
First $500,000 1.50%
Next $500,000 1.25%
Next $4,000,000 0.85%
Next $5,000,000 0.75%
Amounts over $10,000,000 0.60%
Fees are calculated and charged quarterly in advance based on the ending balance of the preceding
quarter and are typically deducted directly from the client’s account.
Upon termination of your advisory agreement with our firm, we will promptly refund any prepaid,
unearned fees. Fees for partial quarters are prorated based on the number of days assets are
managed.
Costs of Our Program
MWM’s wrap fees include costs for investment management, trade execution and custodial services.
Fees for our investment management services may be higher or lower than fees charged by other
advisers who offer similar services, or if you paid separately for investment advice and other services.
Clients may be charged different fees than similarly situated clients for the same services. Although
MWM absorbs transaction costs in Wrap Program accounts, we have negotiated institutional
pricing for an unlimited number of trades for our clients’ accounts.
A wrap fee program may or may not be the lowest cost option for clients who would like to restrict
investments to open-end mutual funds or other long-term investment products. We encourage
clients to consider their anticipated level of trading and compare the costs they may incur in this
Wrap Program versus paying separately for investment management and brokerage services. Clients
should carefully review this Wrap Fee Program Brochure to understand the fees and other sources of
compensation that exist among our services prior to entering into an investment advisory contract
with our firm.
Other Types of Fees and Expenses You May Incur
Clients may incur certain charges imposed by custodians, product sponsors and other third parties,
such as custodial fees, expenses or other charges imposed directly by mutual funds or exchange
traded funds, margin costs, odd-lot differentials, transfer taxes, wire transfer and electronic fund
transfer fees, and other fees and taxes on brokerage accounts and securities transactions. Decisions
to reallocate your account assets may result in a redemption fee imposed by one or more mutual
funds held in your account. Mutual funds and exchange traded funds also charge internal
management fees, which are disclosed in a fund’s prospectus. Such charges, fees and commissions
are exclusive of and in addition to MWM’s fee. MWM shall not receive any portion of these
commissions, fees, and costs, including any distribution or “12b-1” fees paid by the mutual funds in
which your account assets are invested. MWM primarily invests in individual securities that do not
have any internal expenses.
Brokerage Practices
Selection and Recommendation of Broker-Dealers
We do not maintain custody of client assets. Client assets are maintained in an account at a non-
affiliated “qualified custodian,” generally a broker-dealer or bank. We are not affiliated with any
custodian, but instead all custodians are independently owned and operated. The custodian will
hold your assets in an account and we will be able to buy and sell securities on your behalf.
We cannot open accounts for you, but we can assist you in opening an account at whatever
custodian/broker you decide to use.
When recommending a custodian or broker for our clients, we consider many different factors,
including quality of service, types of services offered, overall capability, execution quality,
competitiveness of transaction costs, availability of investment research, reputation of the firm, and
financial resources, among other things. In determining the reasonableness of a broker’s
compensation, we consider the overall cost to you relative to the benefits you receive, both directly
and indirectly, from the broker.
Your Brokerage and Custody Costs
MWM’s investment management fees include costs for trade execution and custodial services. We
have negotiated competitive pricing and services with the brokers and custodians we recommend
that is based on the condition that our clients collectively maintain a certain level of assets at the
custodian. We feel this commitment benefits you because we expect the overall rates you pay will
be lower than they might be otherwise.
MWM utilizes Trade-PMR, Inc. (“Trade-PMR”)
for brokerage and trade execution services. Trade-
PMR clears trades and custodies assets with First Clearing, a FINRA member broker-dealer. First
Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC., a non-bank affiliate of Wells
Fargo & Company. Trade-PMR acts as an introducing broker dealer on a fully disclosed basis.
Trade-PMR and First Clearing are members of SIPC and are unaffiliated registered broker dealers
and FINRA members. The brokerage commissions and/or transaction fees charged by Trade-PMR
or any other designated broker-dealer are separate of MWM’s fee, however, are incorporated into
the wrap fee you pay. MWM regularly reviews these programs to seek to ensure that its
recommendation is consistent with its fiduciary duty. Factors which MWM considers in
recommending Trade-PMR and First Clearing or any other broker-dealer to clients include their
respective financial strength, reputation, execution, pricing, research, and service. The commissions
and/or transaction fees charged by these brokers may be higher or lower than those charged by other
broker-dealers.
In addition, Trade-PMR provides MWM with access to its institutional trading and custody services,
which are typically not available to retail investors. These brokerage services include the execution
of securities transactions, research, and access to mutual funds and other investments that are
otherwise generally available only to institutional investors or would require a significantly higher
minimum initial investment.
We have determined that having the custodians execute most trades is consistent with our duty to
seek “best execution” of your trades. Best execution means seeking the most favorable terms for a
transaction based on all relevant factors, including those listed above.
Products and Services Available to Us from Brokers/Custodians
The custodians provide us and our clients with access to its institutional brokerage services, such as
trading, custody, reporting, and related services, many of which are not typically available to retail
customers. The custodians also make available various support services, some of which may help us
manage or administer our clients’ accounts, while others may help us manage and grow our
business.
Other institutional brokerage services which benefit you directly include access to a broad range of
investment products, execution of securities transactions, and asset custody. The investment
products available through the custodians include some to which we might not otherwise have
access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients.
The custodians may also make available to us other products and services that benefit us but may
not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services assist us in managing and
administering our clients’ accounts. They include investment research, both the custodians’ own and
that of third parties. We may use this research to service all or a substantial number of our clients’
accounts, including accounts not maintained at the custodians. In addition to investment research,
the custodians may also make available software and other technology that provide access to client
account data, facilitates trade execution for multiple client accounts, provides pricing and other
market data, facilitates payment of our fees from our clients’ accounts, and assists with back-office
functions, recordkeeping, and client reporting.
The custodians may also offer other services intended to help us manage and further develop our
business. These services include educational conferences and events, consulting on technology,
compliance, legal, and business needs, publications and conferences on practice management and
business succession, and access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and
insurance providers, as well as discounts on products and services from third-party providers and
discounted negotiated margin and lending rates for our clients.
The availability of these services from the custodians benefit us because we do not have to produce
or purchase them. Of course, this may give us an incentive to recommend that you maintain your
account with a particular custodian based on our interests rather than yours, which is a conflict of
interest. We believe, however, that our recommendation of a custodian is in the best interests of our
clients, and is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of the custodian’s services and not
the custodian’s services that benefit only us.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
MWM does not participate in soft-dollar relationships.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
When selecting broker-dealers for the execution of client securities transactions, MWM does not
consider whether we will receive any client referrals from the broker-dealer or any other third-party.
Directed Brokerage
As MWM will not request the discretionary authority to determine the broker-dealer to be used or
the commission rates to be paid, clients must direct MWM to use Trade-PMR as the broker-dealer.
The commissions and transaction fees charged by Trade-PMR could be higher or lower than those
charged by other custodians and broker-dealers. In directing the use of a particular broker-dealer, it
should be understood that MWM will not have authority to negotiate commissions among various
broker-dealers or obtain volume discounts. As such, best execution may not be achieved. Not all
investment advisers require clients to direct the use of specific broker-dealers.
The brokerage commissions and/or transaction fees charged by Trade-PMR or any other designated
broker-dealer are separate of MWM’s fee, however, are incorporated into the wrap fee you pay.
Aggregation of Transactions
MWM may, from time to time, aggregate client orders into blocks in order to facilitate more efficient
account management and execution. When aggregating orders, an average price is given to all
participants in the block, or other measures are taken, in order to treat all accounts fairly.