Description of Service
Intercarolina Financial Services, Inc. is an Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registered
Investment Advisor and is a corporation formed under the laws of the State of North Carolina. Marcus D.
Kindley & Joseph E. Navolanic are the principal owners of IFS. IFS specializes in providing Investment
Advisor and Retirement Plan Consulting Services to qualified retirement plans. We provide investment
portfolio management for individuals, and pension, profit sharing, 403 (b), 404 (c) and 401 (k) Plans.
Clients may choose to utilize a third-party account manager. We do participate in Wrap Fee Programs.
thru Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group (MPMG), Fairfax Global Markets and First Trust.
Please refer to the description of each investment advisory service listed below for information on how
we tailor our advisory services to your individual needs. As used in this brochure, the words or
abbreviations: “ IFS” “adviser”, “firm”, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to Intercarolina Financial Services,
Inc. and the words “you”, “your” and “client” refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our
firm. Also, you may see the term Associated Person throughout this brochure. As used in this brochure,
our Associated Persons are our firm’s officers, employees, and all individuals providing investment
advice on behalf of our firm. Please review Item 5-Fees and Compensation of this Brochure which
describes brokerage and other transaction costs.
Client accounts may be managed on a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. As of December 31,
2021, client assets managed on a discretionary basis were $10,505,751 and $ 101,761,455 managed on a
non-discretionary basis.
Portfolio Management Services:
IFS provides ongoing advice to clients regarding investment of client funds based on the individual needs
for the client. IFS develops an individual investment policy based on results from personal discussions
about the individual's financial goals, objectives and other circumstances. We work with each client on a
one-on-one basis through interviews and questionnaires. Clients will have the opportunity to place
reasonable restrictions on the types of investments which will be made on the client's behalf.
A portfolio is created and managed based on the investment policy. IFS manages accounts either on a
discretionary of non-discretionary basis. Account supervision is guided by the stated objectives of the
client. With discretionary authority, we will determine the securities to be bought and sold, the amount of
securities to be bought and sold and when the securities will be bought and sold for a client’s account. If
the adviser does not have discretionary authority to place trade orders with a broker-dealer, pursuant to a
third party trading agreement, Adviser must secure client permission prior to effecting securities
transactions for the client’s broker-dealer account(s). IFS/RIA is authorized to use “at the market” orders
for discretionary and non-discretionary accounts.
IFS will allocate the client's assets among various investments taking into consideration the overall
management style selected by the client.. We may modify our investment strategy to accommodate
special situations like: low basis stock, legacy holdings, inheritances, closely held businesses, collectibles,
or special tax situations. (Please refer to Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of
Loss for more information.)
Types of Investments
Portfolios will consist of one or more of any of the following: individual equities, government and
corporate debt securities, municipal securities, no-load (i.e. no trading fee) and load-waived (i.e. trading
fee waived) mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETF). IFS allocates the client's assets among
various investments taking into consideration the overall management style selected by the client. The
mutual funds will be selected on the basis of any or all of the following criteria: the fund's performance
history, the industry sector in which the fund invests, the track record of the fund's manager, the fund's
investment objectives, the fund's management style and philosophy, and the fund's management fee
structure. Portfolio weighting between funds and market sectors will be determined by each client's
individual needs and circumstances. We restrict our investments to the types described in this Section 4-
Advisory Business.
Wrap Accounts
As noted previously on page 4 Item 4, IFS, participates in Wrap Fee Programs via MPMG, FGM and FT.
These are RIA Firms separate from IFS and wrap clients are required to endorse a separate IA agreement
with these firms to employ them.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services:
In combination with
Investment Advisory Services, IFS provides several Retirement Plan Consulting
Services to it’s clients, including but not limited to; pension, profit sharing, 403(b), 404 (c) and 401(k),
MEP & PEP Plans. Retirement Plan Consulting Services are comprised of seven different services. The
following is a description of the seven services:
(1) Investment Policy Statement (hereinafter “IPS”)
IFS will prepare an IPS for the Plan based upon consultation with the client to ascertain the client’s
investment objectives, policies, and constraints and will assist the client in developing a policy and IPS
that is consistent with the requirements of ERISA if the client is a retirement plan. The IPS will be
specific enough to provide guidance to the client’s investment manager(s) and shall include the
investment objectives of the Plan, the asset classes to be offered under the Plan, the criteria and
benchmarks for selection and monitoring of the investments offered under the Plan, and the criteria used
for monitoring IFS as a fiduciary of the Plan.
(2) Mutual Fund Search and Recommendation
IFS will provide a mutual fund search report designed to provide a list of mutual funds whose investment
philosophies and policies are, in IFS’ opinion, compatible with investment objectives, policies,
constraints and risk tolerance, as specified by the client. IFS will review various investments to determine
which of these investments are appropriate to implement the client's IPS.
Because IFS will render advice regarding the purchase and sale of securities, there is a mutual
understanding that IFS' advice will be the primary basis for investment decisions, and IFS will receive
advisory fees, IFS will accept, in writing, the status of a fiduciary under ERISA § (3)(21)(A).
Upon the plan sponsor’s request IFS can also serve as the investment manager under ERISA § (3) (38).
(3) Performance Monitoring of the Investment Manager(s)/Mutual Funds
IFS will perform ongoing monitoring of the investments held by or offered as investment options and the
investment manager(s) under the Plan in accordance with the IPS guidelines to ensure compliance. The
investment manager(s) or investments will be evaluated according to the established guidelines as
outlined in the IPS and investment portfolio characteristics, performance of duties, and investment
process and philosophy. IFS will not have discretion in the purchase or sale of these investments unless
the client gives IFS discretion in writing. IFS will supervise the client's portfolio and will make
recommendations to the client as market factors and the client's needs dictate.
(4) Mutual Fund Performance Reports
IFS will prepare Quarterly Mutual Fund Performance Reports, evaluating the performance of funds over
specified periods of time, comparing various aspects of the performance to benchmarks agreed upon by
the client and IFS if the client is a retirement plan. Analysis will include, but is not limited to,
performance, style, manager tenure, peer comparison and holdings analysis.
(5) Employee Education Services
IFS will provide education services with on-site group sessions, or Webcasts, or one-on-one (by
telephone, in person, or email) and will provide education materials to participants in the Plan, and advise
them of the investment options under the Plan. In addition IFS will provide participants information
regarding Plan benefits, features, and investment options. The nature of the topics to be covered will be
determined by IFS and the client under the guidelines established in ERISA § 404(c). IFS provides
information to participants about the benefits of retirement plans, advantages of contributing to a plan,
increasing one’s contributions, the tax status of contributions, terms of the plan and the impact of
withdrawals or loans on retirement income. IFS provides information pertaining to the investments
offered in the plan, such as prospectuses, investment objectives, risk and return characteristics of a
particular fund and historical returns. IFS will provide plan participants with information about general
investment concepts, including concepts such as diversification, dollar-cost averaging, compounding, risk
and return, the effect of inflation, and tax deferral.
(6) Fee Analysis
As a one-time service, IFS will provide an analysis of the client’s current plan fee arrangement. IFS’
analysis will be based solely on information supplied by the client and the client’s plan service providers.
This fee analysis will pertain to the Plan's investment expenses as well as administration and
recordkeeping fees.
(7) Provider Search Support
IFS will manage the preparation, distribution, evaluation of "Request for Proposal’s", finalist interviews,
and conversion support.