Firm Information Elite Retirement Planning, doing business as Merkle Retirement Planning, is a registered investment adviser firm located in Grimes, Iowa. The firm is a limited liability company (LLC) formed under the laws of the State of Iowa. Merkle Retirement Planning is owned by MRP Holdings, Inc., a holding company formed under the laws of the State of Iowa. MRP Holdings, Inc. also owns MRP Insurance, LLC, an insurance agency. Principal Owners Loren Merkle is the sole Direct Owner of MRP Holdings, Inc. Loren is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Certified Financial Fiduciary® and has his Iowa life, health and accident insurance licenses. He also has passed the Series 6,7,24,63 securities exams. He is the host of the Retiring Today TV show and podcast. See Item 10 – Other Financial Activities and Affiliations for more information. Conflicts of Interest The investment advisory services of Merkle Retirement Planning are provided by an appropriately licensed and qualified individual who is an investment adviser representative of Merkle Retirement Planning. As a client of Merkle Retirement Planning your investment adviser representative will also serve as an insurance agent under our affiliated insurance agency MRP Insurance, LLC. This means your investment adviser representative, acting as an insurance agent, will recommend you place your assets in insurance products and annuities when he or she believes it is in your best interest to do so. These insurance products and annuities pay commissions to MRP Insurance and your investment adviser representative in his or her separate capacity as an insurance agent. This presents a conflict of interest to your investment adviser representative as they could have a financial incentive to recommend you place your assets in either insurance products or an advisory account depending on which would pay them more. Insurance Products Some investment adviser representatives of Merkle Retirement Planning are also insurance agents able to sell insurance products for commission compensation. Client portfolios are initially reviewed to determine the degree of market exposure compared to their risk profile and income needs. We may recommend that a portion of a client’s total portfolio may benefit from an insurance product that has features not available with a securities portfolio. Insurance products are only recommended to clients where we believe, after careful review, that the product is in each client’s best interest; insurance products are therefore not recommended to all clients. MRP Insurance, LLC, an affiliate of Merkle Retirement Planning, and individual insurance agents will receive commissions on all insurance product sales. MRP Insurance, LLC Insurance products, including annuities, are offered through MRP Insurance, LLC, Inc. MRP Insurance, LLC and Merkle Retirement Planning are affiliated and under common control, but offer services separately. Merkle Retirement Planning does not receive commission compensation through MRP Insurance, LLC; however, individual investment adviser representatives of Merkle Retirement Planning in their individual capacity as an insurance agent, do receive commission compensation.
• Advisory fees are not charged on funds used to purchase insurance products.
• Advisory fees are not reduced due to compensation received by individual insurance agents.
• The receipt of commissions provides an incentive to purchase insurance products.
• Advisory fees are not reduced due to commission compensation received. Merkle Retirement Planning has taken steps to manage this conflict of interest by requiring that each investment adviser representative:
• only recommend insurance and annuities when in the best interest of the client and without regard to the financial interest of Merkle Retirement Planning and its investment adviser representative or MRP Insurance and its insurance agents;
• not recommend insurance and/or annuities which result in your investment adviser representative acting as an insurance agent and/or Merkle Retirement Planning or MRP Insurance receiving unreasonable compensation related to the recommendation. Financial Planning Merkle Retirement Planning offers financial planning services, which involve preparing a comprehensive financial plan covering specific or multiple topics. Our role is to find ways to help you understand your overall financial situation and help you set financial objectives. We provide comprehensive financial plans, which can address the following topics: Financial Planning
• Asset Allocation
• Estate Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Insurance Planning
• Income Planning
• Tax Planning
• Investment Planning
• Risk Management
• Other The firm also offers consultations in order to discuss financial planning issues when a comprehensive financial plan is not required, known as “as-needed” consultations. As needed consultations are limited to a particular investment or planning issue. Financial planning and consulting services do not involve implementing any transaction on your behalf or the active and ongoing monitoring or management of your investments or accounts. You have the sole responsibility for determining whether to implement the financial plan and consulting recommendations. To the extent that you would like to implement any of our investment recommendations through Merkle Retirement Planning or retain Merkle Retirement Planning to actively monitor and manage your investments, you must execute a separate written agreement with Merkle Retirement Planning for our Asset Management Services. Asset Management Services Services are provided based on individual needs. For example, when we provide asset management services, you are given the ability to impose restrictions on the Accounts, including specific investment selections and sectors. We work with you on a one-on-one basis through interviews and questionnaires to determine your investment objectives and suitability information. When managing client Accounts through our firm’s Asset Management Services program, we most often manage a client’s Account in accordance with one or more investment models developed either internally by our firm or developed externally by Model Managers. When client Accounts are managed using models, investment selections are based on the underlying model and we do not develop customized (or individualized) portfolio holdings. The determination to use a particular model or models is based on each client’s individual investment goals, objectives and mandates. Merkle Retirement Planning has entered into an agreement with AE Wealth Management, LLC (“AEWM”), an SEC registered investment adviser, to provide asset management services that include:
• model money managers
• portfolio managers
• strategists As part of the AEWM program, Clients provide Merkle Retirement Planning and AEWM discretion to select third party, non-affiliated investment managers (“Model Managers”) to design and manage model portfolios. Merkle Retirement Planning has access to AEWM’s reporting systems, client relationship management systems and workflow systems to assist clients to establish an advisory account. Clients receive continuous investment advice based on investment objective, risk profile and time-horizon. While investment strategies and recommendations are tailored to the individual needs of each client, they consist of an asset allocation consistent with:
• Income with Capital Preservation. Designed as a longer-term accumulation account, this investment objective is considered generally the most conservative. Emphasis is placed on generation of current income with minimal risk of capital loss. Lowering the risk generally means lowering the potential income and overall return.
• Income with Moderate Growth. This investment objective emphasizes generation of current income with a secondary focus on moderate capital growth.
• Growth with Income. This investment objective emphasizes modest capital growth with some focus on generation of current income.
• Growth. This investment objective emphasizes achieving high long-term growth and capital appreciation. There is little focus on generation of current income.
• Aggressive Growth. This investment objective emphasizes aggressive growth and maximum capital appreciation, with no focus on generation of current income. This objective has a very high level of risk and is for investors with a longer timer horizon. We will not enter into an investment adviser relationship with a prospective client whose investment objectives are considered incompatible with our investment philosophy or strategies or where the prospective client seeks to impose unduly restrictive investment guidelines. However, Clients have the ability to impose reasonable restrictions on the management of Accounts, including the ability to instruct the firm not to purchase certain securities. Third-Party Investment Advisers Merkle Retirement Planning can select third-party investment advisers to serve either as a signal-provider or as a sub-adviser to your Account. When selected as a signal-provider, the third-party investment adviser will develop and provide us with model investment portfolios and recommendations for when to buy and sell investments. This means we will trade your Account to implement and make all trades in your Account. When a third-party investment adviser is selected as a sub-adviser, the third-party investment adviser will have trading authority on your account to manage the Account or a portion of the assets of the Account. In this regard, the third-party investment adviser selected by our firm will have discretionary authority on your Account to place trades and make changes to the Account or the portion of your Account the Sub-Adviser is authorized to manage. Moreover, the firm monitors the performance of all third-party investment advisers with respect to the third- party investment advisers’ model portfolio performance and/or management of the designated assets of all Program accounts relative to appropriate peers and/or benchmarks. It is important to understand that we manage investments for other clients

and 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. At no time will Merkle Retirement Planning accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities. All Client assets will be managed within their designated brokerage account or pension account, pursuant to the Client Investment Adviser Agreement on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis. Accounts are held at either the Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Institutional Platform, or the Fidelity Institutional Wealth Program (collectively referred to as Fidelity) under the client’s name. Wrap Fee Program Merkle Retirement Planning offers a wrap fee program where the firm acts as the sponsor and portfolio manager. A wrap fee program is a comprehensive advisory account with a single fee that covers a bundle of services; such as, portfolio management, advice, and investment research as well as trade execution, custody and reporting fee. Please see Appendix 1 –Wrap Fee Program Brochure, which is included as a supplement to this Disclosure Brochure. The advisory fee for a wrap fee program may be higher to account for the transaction fees. Depending on the anticipated level of trading, investment adviser representatives will work with each client to determine the most cost-effective fee structure. Workshops Merkle Retirement Planning provides in person and online webinar workshops. Workshop topics focus on retirement planning issues and other general financial planning topics. Workshops are always offered on an impersonal basis and do not focus on the individual needs of participants. Workshops are offered to clients and prospects at no cost. Retirement Plan Consulting Services Investment adviser representatives assist clients that are trustees or other fiduciaries to retirement plans (“Plans”) by providing fee-based consulting and/or non-discretionary advisory services. Investment adviser representatives perform one or more of the following services, as selected by the client in the client agreement:
• Assistance in the preparation and/or review of an investment plan based upon consultation with the client to ascertain Plan’s investment objectives and constraints.
• Acting as a liaison between the Plan and service providers, product sponsors or vendors.
• Ongoing monitoring of investment manager(s) or the investment guidelines of the Plan.
• Preparation of reports describing the performance of Plan investment manager(s) or investments, as well as comparing the performance to benchmarks.
• Ongoing recommendations for consideration and selection by client about specific investments to be held by the Plan or, in the case of a participant directed defined contribution plan, to be made available as investment options under the Plan.
• Training for the members of the Plan Committee with regard to their service on the Committee, including education and consulting with respect to fiduciary responsibilities.
• Assistance in enrolling Plan participants in the Plan, including conducting an agreed upon number of enrollment meetings. As part of such meetings, Representatives may provide participants with information about the Plan, which includes information on the benefits of Plan participation, the benefits of increasing Plan contributions, the impact of pre-retirement withdrawals on retirement income, the terms of the Plan and the operation of the Plan.
• Assistance with investment workshops and informational meetings for Plan participants. Such meetings may be on a group or individual basis and includes information about the investment options under the Plan (e.g., investment objectives, risk/return characteristics, and historical performance), investment concepts (e.g., diversification, asset classes, and risk and return), and how to determine investment time horizons and assess risk tolerance. Such meetings do not include specific investment advice about investment options under the Plan as being appropriate for a particular participant.
• Assistance at client’s direction in making changes to investment options under the Plan.
• Assistance with the preparation, distribution and evaluation of Request for Proposals, finalist interviews, and conversion support with vendor analysis and service provider support.
• Preparation of comparisons of Plan data (e.g., regarding fees and services and participant enrollment and contributions) to data from the Plan’s prior years and/or a benchmark group of similar plans.
• Assistance in identifying the fees and other costs borne by the Plan for, as specified by client, investment management, record keeping, participant education, participant communication and/or other services provided with respect to the Plan. If the Plan makes available publicly traded employer stock (“company stock”) as an investment option under the Plan, Representatives do not provide investment advice regarding company stock and are not responsible for the decision to offer company stock as an investment option. In addition, if participants in the Plan invest the assets in their accounts through individual brokerage accounts, a mutual fund window, or other similar arrangement, or obtain participant loans, investment adviser representatives do not provide any individualized advice or recommendations to the participants regarding these decisions. If a client elects to engage the firm to perform ongoing investment monitoring and ongoing investment recommendation services in the client agreement, such services will constitute “investment advice” under Section 3(21)(A)(ii) of ERISA. Therefore, the firm and investment adviser representative will be deemed a “fiduciary” as such term is defined under Section 3(21)(A)(ii) of ERISA in connection with those services. Clients should understand that to the extent the firm and our investment adviser representatives are engaged to perform services other than ongoing investment monitoring and recommendations, those services are not “investment advice” under ERISA, and therefore, the firm and our investment adviser representatives will not be a “fiduciary” under ERISA with respect to those other services. ERISA Fiduciary Such services provided as an investment adviser representative are subject to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”), and the adviser is a fiduciary under the Advisers Act with respect to such services. In addition, if client elects to engage an investment adviser representative to perform ongoing investment monitoring and ongoing investment recommendation services to a Plan subject to ERISA in the client agreement, such services will constitute “investment advice” under Section 3(21)(A)(ii) of ERISA. Therefore, the IARs will be deemed a “fiduciary” as such term is defined under Section 3(21)(A)(ii) of ERISA in connection with those services. Clients should understand that to the extent the investment adviser representative is engaged to perform services other than ongoing investment monitoring and recommendations, those services are not “investment advice” under ERISA and therefore, the investment adviser representative will not be a “fiduciary” under ERISA with respect to those other services. From time to time the investment adviser representative may make the Plan or Plan participants aware of other services available from investment adviser representative that are separate and apart from the services provided under Retirement Plan Consulting. Such other services may be services to the Plan, to a client with respect to client's responsibilities to the Plan and/or to one or more Plan participants. In offering any such services, the investment adviser representative is not acting as a fiduciary under ERISA with respect to such offering of services. If any such separate services are offered to a client, the client will make an independent assessment of such services without reliance on the advice or judgment of the investment adviser representative. Retirement Plan Rollovers An employee generally has four (4) options for their retirement plan when they leave an employer: 1. Leave the money in his/her former employer’s plan, if permitted 2. Rollover the assets to his/her new employer’s plan, if one is available and permitted 3. Rollover to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or 4. Cash out the account value, which has significant tax considerations The firm provides educational services pertaining to retirement plan assets that could potentially be rolled-over to an IRA managed by the firm. Education is based on a particular client’s financial circumstances. Merkle Retirement Planning has an incentive to recommend such a rollover based on the compensation received, which is mitigated by the fiduciary duty to act in a client’s best interest and acting accordingly. Client Account Management Prior to engaging Merkle Retirement Planning to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter into an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Adviser that defines the terms, conditions, authority and responsibilities of the Adviser and the Client. Assets Under Management Assets under management will be amended at least annually within 90 days of the December 31 fiscal year-end. Assets under Management (02/02/2024) Discretionary $334,796,134 Non-Discretionary $0.00 Total $334,796,134 Financial Planning Before commencing financial planning services, Merkle Retirement Planning provides an estimate of the approximate hours needed to complete the requested financial planning services. If Merkle Retirement Planning anticipates exceeding the estimated number of hours required, Merkle Retirement Planning will contact the client to receive authorization to provide additional services. Fees are due immediately upon completion and delivery of the financial plan.
• Merkle Retirement Planning can provide financial planning services under an hourly fee arrangement. An hourly fee of $350 per hour is charged by Merkle Retirement Planning for financial planning services