This Disclosure document is being offered to you by Abel Hall, LLC (“Abel Hall” or “Firm”)
about the investment advisory services we provide. It discloses information about our
services and the way those services are made available to you, the client.
Our Firm was registered as an Investment Adviser in April 2019 and is owned by Andrew
Hall and Leo Abel.
We are committed to helping clients build, manage, and preserve their wealth, and to
provide guidance that helps clients to achieve their stated financial goals. We specialize
in counseling our clients to behave in ways that preserve and accrete wealth. We will offer
an initial complimentary meeting upon our discretion; however, investment advisory
services are initiated only after you and Abel Hall execute an Investment Management
Agreement.
Investment Management Services
We manage advisory accounts on a non-discretionary and discretionary basis. We begin
working with clients by understanding their financial goals and objectives. Through the
financial planning process, our team strives to engage our clients in conversations around
the family’s goals, objectives, priorities, vision, and legacy – both for the near term as well
as for future generations. With the unique goals and circumstances of each family in
mind, our team may offer financial planning ideas and strategies to address the client’s
holistic financial picture, including estate, income tax, charitable, cash flow and
retirement income, wealth transfer and family legacy objectives. Upon request, our team
often partners with our client’s other advisors (CPA, estate attorney, insurance broker,
etc.) to ensure a coordinated effort of all parties toward the client’s stated goals. Such
services include various reports on specific goals and objectives or general investment
and/or planning recommendations, guidance to outside assets and periodic updates.
Our services in preparing a client’s financial planning process may incorporate:
● Review and clarification of financial goals;
● Assessment of overall financial position including cash flow and income, balance
sheet, investment strategy, risk management and estate planning;
● Creation of a unique plan for each goal, including personal and business real
estate, education, retirement, financial independence, charitable giving, estate
planning, business succession and other personal goals;
● Development of a goal-oriented investment and income plan, with input from
various advisors to our clients around tax strategy, asset allocation, expenses,
liquidity factors for each goal. This includes IRA and qualified plans, taxable and
trust accounts that require special attention.
● Crafting and implementation of, in conjunction with your estate and/or corporate
attorneys as tax advisor, an estate plan to provide for you and/or your heirs in the
event of an incapacity or death.
Through these personal discussions with clients, we determine their date and dollar
specific objectives, time horizons, and liquidity and income needs. Based on client needs
and goals, we develop the client’s comprehensive investment plan. We then create and
manage the client’s investments based on their plan pursuant to achieving their goals. It
is the client’s obligation to notify us immediately if circumstances have changed with
respect to their goals and income needs.
Account supervision is guided by the client’s written profile and investment plan. We may
accept accounts with certain restrictions if circumstances warrant. We primarily allocate
client assets among various equities, Exchanged Traded Funds (“ETFs”), mutual funds and
debt securities in accordance with their stated investment objectives and income needs.
Once we have determined the appropriate strategy for clients or client businesses and
executed the strategy, we will provide ongoing investment review and management
services. This approach requires us to periodically review client portfolios.
With our discretionary relationships, we will make changes to the portfolio as we deem
appropriate. We change portfolios when our clients’ goals change or when we have lost
confidence in a given manager based on our ongoing due diligence. As a policy we
rebalance client portfolios at least annually to keep the target allocation intact. We tailor
our advisory services to meet the needs of our clients and seek to ensure that your
portfolio is managed in a manner consistent with those needs and objectives. You will
have the ability to leave standing instructions with us to refrain from investing in
particular industries or invest in limited amounts of securities.
Clients may engage us to advise on certain investment products that are not maintained
at their primary custodian, such as annuity contracts and assets held in employer
sponsored retirement plans and qualified tuition plans (i.e., 529 plans).
You are advised and are expected to understand that our past performance is not a
guarantee of future results. Certain market and economic risks exist that adversely affect
an account’s performance. This could result in capital losses in your account.
Third Party Money Managers (TPMM)
Occasionally our firm utilizes the services of a TPMM for the management of client
accounts. Investment advice and trading of securities will only be offered by or through
the chosen TPMM. Our firm will not offer advice on any specific securities or other
investments in connection with this service. Prior to referring clients, our firm will provide
initial due diligence on third party money managers and ongoing reviews of their
management of client accounts. In order to assist in the selection of a TPMM, our firm
will gather client information pertaining to financial situation, investment objectives, and
reasonable restrictions to be imposed upon the management of the account.
Our firm will periodically review third party money manager reports provided to the client
at least annually. Our firm will contact clients from time to time in order to review their
financial situation and
objectives; communicate information to third party money
managers as warranted; and, assist the client in understanding and evaluating the
services provided by the TPMM. Clients will be expected to notify our firm of any changes
in their financial situation, investment objectives, or account restrictions that could affect
their financial standing.
Our firm takes actions on behalf of the client to hire or fire money managers used in the
implementation of a client’s investment plan and execution of the Advisory Agreement
with our Firm. Therefore, the firm has the discretionary authority to hire or fire the
manager or to allocate assets among managers without obtaining the Client’s consent.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
The Retirement Plan Advisory Services we offer help employer plan sponsors to establish,
monitor and review their company’s retirement plan. As the needs of the plan sponsor
dictate, areas of advising could include investment selection and monitoring plan
structure and participant education. We offer investment management of 401(k)
accounts, profit sharing plans and defined contribution plans on a Plan level by managing
the investment line-up making changes as necessary. Our firm provides its advisory
services as an investment advisor as defined under Section 3(21) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”).
We will establish the plan’s needs and objectives through an initial meeting to collect
data, review plan information and assist in developing or updating the plan’s provision.
Ongoing services may include recommendations regarding the selection and review of
unaffiliated mutual funds that, in the Firm’s judgment, are suitable for plan assets to be
invested. We periodically review the investment options selected and make
recommendations to keep or replace plans investment options as appropriate.
Additionally, our firm offers Retirement Plan Consulting services to Plan Sponsors. Our
Firm may assist the Plan Sponsor by acting as a service liaison between the Plan and
service providers, product sponsors and/or vendors. Other consulting services include
providing Plan search or Plan Provider benchmarking and fee analysis, providing
education to plan committee members, and conducting participant enrollment meetings.
Participant Level
We can also be engaged to provide financial education to plan participants. The scope of
education provided to participants will not constitute “investment advice” within the
meaning of ERISA and participant education will relate to general principles for investing
and information about the investment options currently in the plan. We may also
participate in initial enrollment meetings and periodic workshops and enrollment
meetings for new participant.
Disclosure Regarding Rollover Recommendations
A client or prospect 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) rollover 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). Our Firm may recommend an
investor roll over plan assets to an IRA for which our Firm provides investment advisory
services. As a result, our Firm and its representatives may earn an asset-based fee. In
contrast, a recommendation that a client or prospective client leave their plan assets with
their previous employer or roll over the assets to a plan sponsored by a new employer
will generally result in no compensation to our Firm. Our Firm therefore has an economic
incentive to encourage a client to roll plan assets into an IRA that our Firm will manage,
which presents a conflict of interest. To mitigate the conflict of interest, there are various
factors that our Firm will consider before recommending a rollover, including but not
limited to: (i) the investment options available in the plan versus the investment options
available in an IRA, (ii) fees and expenses in the plan versus the fees and expenses in an
IRA, (iii) the services and responsiveness of the plan’s investment professionals versus
those of our Firm, (iv) protection of assets from creditors and legal judgments, (v)
required minimum distributions and age considerations, and (vi) employer stock tax
consequences, if any. All rollover recommendations are also reviewed by our Firm’s Chief
Compliance Officer in a best effort to determine that the recommendation to a client was
reasonable or that the client has determined to make the rollover after being provided
ample information about their options. No client is under any obligation to roll over plan
assets to an IRA advised by our Firm or to engage our Firm to monitor and/or advise on
the account while maintained with the client's employer. Our Firm’s Chief Compliance
Officer remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective client has
regarding this disclosure.
We are fiduciaries under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and when we provide
investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement
account, we are also 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. We have to act in your best interest and not put our
interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts
with your interests.
Wrap Fee Programs
We do not sponsor a Wrap Fee Program.
Assets
As of December 31, 2022, we have a total of $285,835,093 in regulatory assets under
management. Of our total assets there are $277,435,298 of discretionary assets and
$8,399,794 of non-discretionary assets.