Goodwin Investment Advisory, LLC, (“GIA”) was founded in 2004. Tim Goodwin is the managing
member and majority owner.
GIA provides personalized, investment management and advisory services as described below:
Investment Management
GIA will generally manage client brokerage assets using Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC as the
custodian. At the client’s request, and under certain circumstances, GIA can manage or advise on
assets held away from Fidelity Investments such as 401(k) retirement plans, Health Savings
Accounts, and 529 College Savings plans. The client gives GIA limited power of attorney to buy
and sell securities within the client’s account(s). The investment adviser representative will
evaluate the client’s risk tolerance, time horizon, financial needs, and financial resources when
recommending investment portfolios. We generally invest Clients’ cash balances in money market
funds, FDIC Insured Certificates of Deposit and treasuries. In most cases, at least a partial cash
balance will be maintained in a money market account so that our firm may debit advisory fees for
our services related to this service. The client may impose restrictions and guidelines on investing
in certain securities or types of securities. These restrictions and guidelines may cause the
performance of the portfolio to significantly differ from other portfolios with the same investment
objective and risk tolerance.
We have limited authority to direct the Custodian to deduct our investment advisory fees from
accounts, but only with the appropriate written authorization from clients.
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.
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 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 reviewed by our Firm’s Chief
Compliance Officer and remain available to address any questions that a client or prospective
client has regarding the oversight.
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.
GIA outsources some of its trading responsibilities to 55ip. 55ip will act as a Separate Account
Manager for this activity. 55ip is only authorized to trade client accounts for the purpose of
managing the account to the model portfolios that GIA assigns to the account. GIA is still
responsible for the selection of model portfolios, whether designed in house, in collaboration with
Fidelity Institutional Wealth Advisors, or designed by other intuitional partners. The client will be
required to sign a Separately Managed Account agreement to authorize 55ip to trade in their
account.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
GIA provides non-discretionary investment advice, as described in Section 3(21) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), to retirement plan clients in a co-fiduciary role
regarding the selection of a broad range of investment options consistent with ERISA section
404(c) and the regulations thereunder. However, the Client shall have the final decision-making
authority regarding the initial selection, retention, removal, and addition of investment options
available to Plan participants.
GIA also provides discretionary investment management, as a Plan Fiduciary defined by Section
3(38) of ERISA, regarding the selection, retention, removal, and addition of investment alternatives
available to Plan participants. Where, GIA will be solely responsible for investment decisions,
relieving the plan sponsor of liability related to investment selection.
Rollover Recommendation Disclosure
Our Firm is considered a fiduciary under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. 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 the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts.
We must act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours. At the same time, how
we make money conflicts with Client interests.
A Client leaving an employer typically has four options regarding an existing retirement plan (and
may engage in a combination of these options):
• leave the money in the former employer’s plan, if permitted,
• roll over the assets to the new employer’s plan, if one is available and rollovers are
permitted,
• rollover to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”), or
• cash out the account value (which depending upon the Client’s age, could result in adverse
tax consequences).
Our Firm may recommend a Client rollover plan assets to an IRA for which our Firm provides
investment advisory services. As a result, our Firm and its advisors may earn an asset-based fee on
the rolled assets. In contrast, a recommendation that a Client leave their plan assets with their
previous employer or rollover the assets to a plan sponsored by a new employer will generally result
in no compensation to our Firm. Therefore, our Firm 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:
• the investment options available in the plan versus the investment options available in an
IRA,
• fees and expenses in the plan versus the fees and expenses in an IRA,
• the services and responsiveness of the plan’s investment professionals versus those of our
Firm,
• protection of assets from creditors and legal judgments,
• required minimum distributions and age considerations, and
• employer stock tax consequences, if any.
The Chief Compliance Officer remains available to address client questions regarding the
supervision and oversight of rollover and transfer assets.
Dynamic Financial Planning
Dynamic Financial Planning is an ancillary service that is available upon request. This planning
includes an evaluation of the client’s current and future financial state by using currently known
variables to predict future cash flows, asset values, and withdrawal plans. These metrics are used
along with estimates of asset growth to determine if a client’s financial goals can be met in the
future, or what steps need to be taken to ensure that they are. The elements of a Dynamic
Financial Plan generally include some or all of the following:
● Financial goals: A financial plan is based on an individual's or a family's clearly defined
financial goals, including funding a college education for the children, buying a larger home,
starting a business, retiring on time or leaving a legacy.
● Personal net worth statement: A snapshot of assets and liabilities serves as a benchmark
for measuring progress towards financial goals.
● Cash flow analysis: An income and spending plan determines how much can be set aside
for debt repayment, savings and investing each month.
● Retirement strategy: The plan may include a strategy for achieving retirement independent
of other financial priorities. The plan may include a strategy for accumulating the required
retirement capital and its planned lifetime distribution.
● Long-term investment plan: Include an asset allocation strategy based on specific
investment objectives and a risk profile.
● Tax planning: Identify potential ways to minimize taxes on personal income to the extent
permissible by the tax code. The strategy may include identification of tax-favored
investment vehicles that can reduce taxation of investment income.
Once financial planning advice is given, the client may choose to have GIA implement the client’s
financial plan and manage the investment portfolio on an ongoing basis. However, the Client is
under no obligation to act upon any of the recommendations made by GIA under a financial
planning engagement and/or engage the services of any recommended professional.
Participant Account Management (Discretionary)
We use a third-party platform to facilitate management of held away assets such as defined
contribution plan participant accounts, with discretion. The platform allows us to avoid being
considered to have custody of Client funds since we do not have direct access to Client log-in
credentials to affect trades. We are not affiliated with the platform in any way and receive no
compensation from them for using their platform. A link will be provided to the Client allowing
them to connect an account(s) to the platform. Once Client account(s) is connected to the
platform, the Adviser will review the current account allocations. When deemed necessary, the
Adviser will rebalance the account considering client investment goals and risk tolerance, and any
change in allocations will consider current economic and market trends. Client account(s) will be
reviewed regularly and allocation changes will be made as deemed necessary.
Financial Consulting
GIA provides financial consulting which generally includes verbal advice that addresses one or
more areas of a client's financial situation, such as debt management, risk management, budgeting
and cash flow controls, retirement planning, education funding, and aligning couples financial
goals.
Wrap Fee Program
Our Firm does not sponsor a Wrap Fee Program.
Assets
As of December 31, 2023, GIA managed $265,863,813 in assets on a discretionary basis.
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