Zephyr Wealth Management (“Zephyr, we, us, our,
ours”), which is located in Westlake Village, California,
is a corporation organized under the laws of the State
of California. The firm was founded in 1997. Cheryl
Munoz, who has been associated with Zephyr since
1997, purchased the firm in 2013 and is the firm’s
President and Chief Compliance Officer. Zephyr is
registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange
Commission as an investment adviser.
Types of Advisory Services Offered
Investment Management Services
When offering Investment Management Services, we
are primarily focused on the management of client
investment portfolios. The transactions we execute
for client accounts are effected on both a
discretionary basis (meaning that we are authorized
to effect transactions for the accounts of our clients
without obtaining their prior approval for each
individual transaction) and a non-discretionary basis
(meaning that we must obtain the specific prior
approval of the client before we can effect a
transaction for the client’s account).
In managing your investment portfolio, we consider
your financial situation, risk tolerance, investment
horizon, liquidity needs, tax considerations, investment
objectives, and any other issues important to your state
of affairs. Based upon the information you provide, we
identify what we believe to be appropriate investment
options for you. You should notify us promptly if
there are any changes in your financial situation or
investment objectives, or if you wish to impose any
reasonable restrictions upon the management of your
account. Your advisory representative will arrange to
contact you annually to review the performance of
your investment account and to recommend any
changes that appear appropriate based on economic or
market conditions, or changes to your financial
situation, investment objectives, or risk tolerances.
You may call in at any time during normal business
hours to discuss your account, your financial situation,
or your investment needs directly with your advisory
representative.
We will review our investment recommendations
with you and obtain direction from you as to whether
to manage your account on a discretionary or a non-
discretionary basis. The scope of the discretionary
authority that you may grant to us is limited to
selecting specific investments for your account and
deciding how to allocate your assets among those
investments. We may decide if, when and how much
to buy, hold, or sell the investments in your accounts
without first consulting with you. Once you have
granted discretionary authority to us, it is effective
until you change it or revoke it in writing.
We provide you with the opportunity to impose
reasonable restrictions on our management of your
account. These restrictions pertain to (among other
things) the types of securities to be purchased for your
account and the amounts to be invested.
Business Cycle Asset Management
We provide Investment Management Services under
an investment strategy called Business Cycle Asset
Management (“BCAM”) which implements a
strategy that follows the economy as it flows through
a series of naturally occurring stages in the business
cycle. Our BCAM strategy is built to take advantage
of all stages of the business cycle. Studies show that
various investments provide significantly different
results dependent upon where we are in the economic
and market cycles. Understanding these cycles
provides the foundation from which we make
investment decisions.
BCAM strives to assess and anticipate business cycles
common in our economy by analyzing economic and
market indicators. We then allocate investments to the
sectors or asset classes that we believe make the most
sense for the stage of the economic cycle we are
entering. We then adjust your account holdings to take
advantage of anticipated changes in that cycle. Please
note that past performance is not a guarantee
of future
returns.
We analyze market trends utilizing fundamental and
technical (charting) analysis, as well as our own
proprietary indicators. BCAM seeks to enhance asset
appreciation and reduce risk by increasing or
decreasing the amount of assets placed in multiple
investment categories. Our goal is to focus your
account in those sectors/asset classes that we believe
show the potential for appreciation and avoid those
that we believe show the potential for lower value.
Although we use models as the foundation for
investment decisions, your specific account will be
managed based on your individual financial
circumstances, investment objectives, and risk
tolerances. We may periodically adjust your
account(a process referred to as “rebalancing”) to
help ensure that your investment account remains
consistent with your objectives, goals, and risk
tolerances.
Financial Planning
We consider financial planning an important aspect of
the asset management process. We will provide
various levels of financial planning as part of our
advisory services. Financial planning includes, but
is not limited to retirement planning, goal planning,
tax review, estate plan review, and insurance review.
Should you choose to implement the
recommendations contained in your financial plan,
we encourage you to work closely with your attorney,
accountant, insurance agent, and other advisers. Your
advisory representative will assist you to the extent
you choose. Although you may choose to implement
the recommendations made in your financial plan
through your advisory representative, you are free to
employ the services of any adviser or registered
representative of your choice, regardless of whether
or not that person is associated with Zephyr.
Consulting Services
We will also provide consulting services to you if you
desire a review of a specified area, but do not wish to
engage us for investment management services.
These services are not considered financial planning
services because we will not perform a
comprehensive analysis of your financial position.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services
We offer retirement plan consulting services to
defined contribution retirement plans (the “Plan(s)”)
and to the Plan’s named fiduciary (the “Plan
Sponsor”). These services are offered on a non-
discretionary investment basis.
Investment Adviser 3(21) Fiduciary Services: We shall
serve as an “Investment Adviser” and a
“fiduciary” within the meaning of Section 3(21) of
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(“ERISA”), as amended, with respect to accounts in
the Plan. (Although 3(21) fiduciaries provide advice,
they do not take control of plan assets, so the Plan
Sponsor retains the final say regarding
implementation of the recommended investment
options.)
If we are engaged as an Investment Adviser, we will
provide recommendations concerning the selection of
the investment options for the Plan, as well as the
replacement, addition or removal of such options on
an ongoing basis. In general, the services may
include an existing plan review and analysis,
investment performance monitoring, and/or ongoing
consulting. In providing these services, we will have
the ongoing responsibility to select or make
recommendations based upon the needs of the Plan.
While the ultimate decision to act on behalf of the
Plan shall remain with the Plan Sponsor, we will
generally aid with the implementation of our
recommendations after approval by said Plan
Sponsor.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, Zephyr managed
$111,956,786 in client assets on a discretionary basis
where we made all investment decisions. We
managed
$229,524,238 in client assets on a non-discretionary
basis, where our clients made the investment
decisions based upon our recommendations. Total
advisory assets under management were
$341,481,024.