Valpey Financial Services, LLC (herein known as VFS) is a limited liability corporation organized under New
Hampshire law and registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission. VFS maintains its primary office
in Concord, NH and also maintains a satellite office in Dover, NH (no client information or required books or
records are maintained at this satellite location). VFS is solely owned by Ronald L. Valpey and has been in
business since July 1, 2010 as a fee-only investment adviser.
Asset Management
As a fee-only investment advisor, the firm is compensated solely by our clients. There are no commissions,
payments or compensation contingent upon the purchase or sale of financial products or plans. We have a
fiduciary duty to provide unbiased advice, disclose and mitigate conflicts of interest and to do what is in your
best interest.
• We do not work on commissions, have hidden fees.
• We do not create client statements or have access to withdraw client funds.
• An independent third-party custodian holds client funds, issues statements and mails the statements
directly to clients.
VFS offers a combination of the following advisory services, where appropriate, to individuals, high net worth
individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans and corporations or other business entities.
Wrap Fee Program
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. The fee is not based directly upon advisory services or the execution of transactions.
• VFS does not participate in any wrap fee program.
Financial Planning
VFS provides financial planning advice via a financial needs analysis. Clients who request so, will receive a
customized plan designed to help achieve stated financial goals and objectives. Information for the plan is
gathered through personal interviews and includes current financial status, future goals and attitudes towards
risk. In general, the financial plan will address any or all of the following areas of concern:
• Personal – Financial goals
• Cash Flow – Pre-tax withdrawal analysis
• Death & Disability – Cash needs at death and disability income analysis
• Retirement – Analysis of current strategies and investment plans to help achieve retirement goals.
The principal officers, employees and advisory representatives of VFS can also be licensed as insurance
agents. VFS individuals in their separate capacities as insurance agents can suggest insurance products and
strategies, but do not sell insurance products, receive any commissions or share in any commissions related to
any insurance products that you purchase. VFS individuals can, upon your request, refer you to insurance
specialists but you are not under any obligation to use these specialists. The implementation of any or all
insurance recommendations or strategies is solely at the discretion of the client.
Portfolio Investment Management Services
The firm provides continuous portfolio management services. These services will include selecting or
recommending investments to a client or making investments for a client based on the individual needs of the
client. At the time of the client’s initial engagement, the investment adviser representative will assist the client
in determining the client’s current financial situation, financial goals and objectives, and attitudes towards risk.
This determination will allow the investment adviser representative to review the client’s situation and
determine an appropriate asset allocation plan.
Account supervision is guided by the stated objectives of the client (i.e., aggressive, moderately- aggressive,
moderate, moderately conservative or conservative). We then develop a personal investment policy and
construct and manage your portfolio based on that policy. The investment adviser representative will
implement or make recommendations with respect to changes to a client’s account based on market, economic
and political circumstances, and the individual characteristics of securities
We will create a portfolio consisting of, but not limited to the following types of investment:
• Cash Positions – Based on perceived or anticipated market conditions or events, certain assets may be
taken out of the market and held in a defensive cash position, such as high yield money markets. Cash is
not included as assets subject to the agreed-upon advisory fee. The firm generally invests client's cash
balances in money market funds, FDIC Insured Certificates of Deposit, high -grade commercial
paper or government-backed debt instruments.
• Equity – Investments that generally refer to buying shares of stocks in return for receiving a future
payment of dividends and capital gains if the value of the stock increases. The value of equity securities
may fluctuate in response to specific situations for each company, industry conditions and the general
economic environment.
• Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) – An ETF is a portfolio of securities invested to track a market index
like an index mutual fund, but the shares are traded on an exchange like an equity. An ETF share price
fluctuates intraday depending on market conditions instead of having a net asset value (NAV) that is
calculated once at the end of the day. The shares may trade at a premium or discount; and as a result,
investors pay when purchasing shares and receive more or less than when selling shares. The supply of
ETF shares is regulated through a mechanism known as creation and redemption that involves large,
specialized investors, known as
authorized participants (APs). Authorized participants are large
financial institutions with a high degree
of buying power, such as market makers, banks or investment
companies that provide market liquidity. When there is a shortage of shares in the market, the
authorized participant creates more (creation). Conversely, the authorized participant
will reduce
shares in circulation (redemption) when supply falls short of demand. Multiple authorized participants
help improve the liquidity of a particular ETF and stabilize the share price. To the extent that
authorized participants cannot or are otherwise unwilling to engage in creation and redemption
transactions, shares of an ETF tend to trade at a significant discount or premium and may face trading
halts and delisting from the exchange. The performance of ETFs is subject to market risk, including the
complete loss of principal. ETFs also have a trading risk based on cost inefficiency if the ETFs are
actively traded and a liquidity risk if the ETFs has a significant price spread and low trading volume.
In addition, investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market pay brokerage commissions,
which is a cost not incurred by mutual funds. Like mutual funds, shares of an ETF represent partial
ownership of an underlying portfolio of securities.
• Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) – An ETN is a senior unsecured debt obligation designed to track the
total return of an underlying market index or other benchmark. ETNs may be linked to a variety of
assets, for example, commodity futures, foreign currency and equities. ETNs are similar to ETFs in that
they are listed on an exchange and can typically be bought or sold throughout the trading day.
• Fixed Income – Investments generally pay a return on a fixed schedule, though the amount of the
payments can vary. This type of investment can include corporate and government debt securities,
leveraged loans, high yield, and investment-grade debt and structured products. For example, mortgage
and other asset-backed securities, although individual bonds may be the best-known type of fixed
income security. In general, the fixed income market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry
interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is often more
pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk, liquidity risk,
call risk, and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. The risk of default on treasury
inflation protected/inflation-linked bonds is dependent upon the U.S. Treasury defaulting (extremely
unlikely); however, they carry a potential risk of losing share price value, albeit rather minimal. Risks of
Investing in foreign fixed income securities also include the general risk of non-U.S. investing described
below.
• Mutual Funds – A pool of funds collected from many investors t
o invest in securities such as stocks,
bonds
, money market instruments and similar assets.
o Open-End Mutual Funds – A type of mutual
fund that does not have restrictions on the amount of
shares the fund will issue and will buy back shares when investors wish to sell. Investing in mutual
funds carries the risk of capital loss, and thus you may lose money investing in mutual funds. All
mutual funds have costs that lower investment returns. The funds can be of bond “fixed income”
nature (lower risk) or stock “equity” nature.
o Closed-End Mutual Funds – A type of mutual fund that raises a fixed amount of capital through an
initial public offering (IPO). The fund is then structured, listed and traded like a stock on a stock
exchange. Clients should be aware that closed-end funds available within the program are not
readily marketable. To provide investor liquidity, the funds may offer to repurchase a certain
percentage of shares at net asset value periodically. Thus, clients may be unable to liquidate all or a
portion of their shares in these types of funds.
o Alternative Strategy Mutual Funds – Certain mutual funds available in the program invest
primarily in alternative investments and strategies. Investing in alternative investments or strategies
may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, such as risks associated with
commodities, real estate, leverage, selling securities short, the use of derivatives, potential adverse
market forces, regulatory changes and possible illiquidity. There are unique risks associated with
mutual funds that invest principally in real estate securities, such as sensitivity to changes in real
estate values and interest rates and price volatility because of the fund's concentration in the real
estate industry.
We will allocate your assets among various investments taking into consideration your desired overall
management style. Holdings will be selected on the basis of any or all of the following criteria:
• Performance history
• Industry sector
• Management style
• Fee structure
• Expense ratio
• Investment Objectives
• Diversification
Portfolio weighting between equities and non-equities will be determined by your individual needs and
circumstances. You will have the opportunity to place reasonable written restrictions on the types of
investments which will be made on your behalf. You will retain individual ownership of all securities.
Clients should be aware that VFS makes different recommendations and effect different trades with respect
to the same securities to different advisory clients.
For clients in need of brokerage or custodial services, we recommend the use of an unaffiliated
FINRA/SIPC member broker/dealer, Schwab Advisor Services, a division of Charles Schwab & Co.,
Inc (“Schwab”)
As of March 21, 2024, VFS has the following assets under management:
Discretionary Non-Discretionary Total
$163,225,893 $16,588,118 $179,814,011
Consulting
You can also receive investment advice on a more limited basis. This can include advice regarding an
isolated area of concern such as retirement planning, reviewing your existing portfolio, or any other
specific topic. We also provide specific consultation and administrative services regarding your investment
and financial concerns when within our area of expertise.