Firm Description
LFN Advisors Inc., (“LFN”) was founded in 2013. Michael Jay Markey, Jr. (“Advisor”) is a
100% owner.
LFN provides financial planning services and solicits for Gradient Investments, a third party
investment manager. Advice is provided through consultation with the client and may
include: determination of financial objectives, identification of financial problems, cash
flow management, tax planning, insurance review, investment management, education
funding, retirement planning, and legacy planning.
The firm does not sell annuities, insurance, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, limited
partnerships, or other commissioned products. The firm’s managing member is affiliated
with Legacy Financial Network that sells insurance products.
LFN does not act as a custodian of client assets.
An evaluation of each client's initial situation is provided to the client, often in the form of
a net worth statement or risk analysis. Periodic reviews are also communicated to provide
reminders of the specific courses of action that need to be taken. More frequent reviews
occur but are not necessarily communicated to the client unless immediate changes are
recommended.
Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, tax preparers, insurance agents, etc.) are
engaged directly by the client on an as-needed basis and may charge fees of their own. For
example, for tax preparation and updating the client’s estate plan, the tax preparer and/or
attorney will bill the client separately. Conflicts of interest will be disclosed to the client in
the event they should occur.
Types of Advisory Services
ASSET MANAGEMENT
LFN offers discretionary and non-discretionary asset management services, which
involves LFN providing you with continuous and ongoing supervision over your specified
accounts.
You must appoint our firm as your investment adviser of record on specified accounts
(collectively, the “Account”). The Account consists only of separate account(s) held by
qualified custodian(s) under your name. The qualified custodians maintain physical
custody of all funds and securities of the Account, and you retain all rights of ownership
(e.g., right to withdraw securities or cash, exercise or delegate proxy voting and receive
transaction confirmations) of the Account.
The Account is managed by us based on your financial situation, investment objectives and
risk tolerance. We actively monitor the Account and provide advice regarding buying,
selling, reinvesting or holding securities, cash or other investments of the Account.
We will need to obtain certain information from you to determine your financial situation
and investment objectives. You will be responsible for notifying us of any updates
regarding your financial situation, risk tolerance or investment objective and whether you
wish to impose or modify existing investment restrictions; however we will contact you at
least annually to discuss any changes or updates regarding your financial situation, risk
tolerance or investment objectives. We are always reasonably available to consult with
you relative to the status of your Account. You have the ability to impose reasonable
restrictions on the management of your accounts, including the ability to instruct us not to
purchase certain securities.
Retirement Plan Rollover Recommendations - When LFN provides 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 investment/proceeds from the retirement plan account to a IRA or make a
distribution from the retirement plan account, we acknowledge that LFN is a “fiduciary”
within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”)
and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) as applicable, which are laws governing
retirement accounts. The way LFN makes money creates conflicts with your interests so
LFN operates under a special rule that requires LFN to act in your best interest and not
put our interest ahead of you.
Under this special rule’s provisions, LFN must as a fiduciary to a retirement plan account
or IRA under ERISA/IRC:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations
(e.g., give prudent advice);
• Never put the financial interests of LFN ahead of you when making
recommendations (e.g., give loyal advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that LFN gives advice that is in
your best interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for the services of LFN; and
• Give Client basic information about conflicts of interest.
To the extent We recommend you roll over your account from a current retirement plan
account to an individual retirement account managed by LFN, please know that LFN and
our investment adviser representatives have a conflict of interest.
We can earn increased investment advisory fees by recommending that you roll over
your account at the retirement plan to an IRA managed by LFN. We will
earn fewer
investment advisory fees if you do not roll over the funds in the retirement plan to an IRA
managed by LFN.
Thus, our investment adviser representatives have an economic incentive to recommend
a rollover of funds from a retirement plan to an IRA which is a conflict of interest because
our recommendation that you open an IRA account to be managed by our firm can be
based on our economic incentive and not based exclusively on whether or not moving the
IRA to our management program 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 LFN receiving unreasonable compensation
related to the rollover of funds from the retirement plan to an IRA, and (iii) fully disclose
compensation received by LFN and our supervised persons and any material conflicts of
interest related to recommending the rollover of funds from the retirement plan to an
IRA and refrain from making any materially misleading statements regarding such
rollover.
When providing advice to your regarding a retirement plan account or IRA, our
investment advisor 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
LFN or our affiliated personnel.
It is important that you understand that we manage investments for other clients and may
give them advice or take actions for them or for our personal accounts that is different from
the advice we provide to you or actions taken for you. We are not obligated to buy, sell or
recommend to you any security or other investment that we may buy, sell or recommend
for any other clients or for our own accounts.
Conflicts may arise in the allocation of investment opportunities among accounts that we
manage. We strive to allocate investment opportunities believed to be appropriate for
your account(s) and other accounts advised by our firm among such accounts equitably
and consistent with the best interests of all accounts involved. However, there can be no
assurance that a particular investment opportunity that comes to our attention will be
allocated in any particular manner. If we obtain material, non-public information about a
security or its issuer that we may not lawfully use or disclose, we have absolutely no
obligation to disclose the information to any client or use it for any client’s benefit.
SOLICITOR ARRANGEMENTS
LFN solicits the services of Gradient Investments Inc. (“GI”), a Third Party Money Manager
to manage client accounts. In such circumstances, LFN receives solicitor fees from the GI.
LFN will be soliciting for Gradient Investments Inc. (“Gradient”) CRD 141726. LFN acts as
the liaison between the client and the GI in return for an ongoing portion of the advisory
fees charged by the GI. LFN helps the client complete the necessary paperwork of the GI,
provides ongoing services to the client, will provide the GI with any changes in client status
as provide to LFN by the client and review the quarterly statements provided by the GI. LFN
will deliver the Form ADV Part 2, Privacy Notice and Solicitors Disclosure Statement of the
GI. Clients placed with GIs will be billed in accordance with the GI’s Fee Schedule which will
be disclosed to the client prior to signing an agreement.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONSULTING
LFN offers financial planning services to all clients. Services include but are not limited to
a thorough review of all applicable topics including Wills, Estate Plan/Trusts, Investments,
Taxes, and Insurance. If a conflict of interest exists between the interests of the investment
advisor and the interests of the client; the client always has the right to act upon the
investment advisor’s recommendation. If the client elects to act on any of the
recommendations, the client is under no obligation to effect the transaction through
Advisor. Financial plans will be completed and delivered inside of six (6) months.
Client Tailored Services and Client Imposed Restrictions
The goals and objectives for each client are documented in our client files. Investment
strategies are created that reflect the stated goals and objective. Clients may impose
restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities in Schedule A of the
Investment Advisor Agreement.
Agreements may not be assigned without prior written client consent.
Wrap Fee Programs
LFN does not sponsor any wrap fee programs.
Client Assets Under Management
As of March 5, 2024, LFN managed $2,425,980 of client assets. All assets are managed on
a discretionary basis.