Synergy Financial Group, LTD dba Synergy FG in California (‘we,” “us,” “our,” or “Synergy”) was formed by and is
100% owned by Palash Islam.
We provide comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management services to a variety of
clients, including individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. Advice is provided
through consultation with you and will include determination of financial goals and objectives, identification of
financial issues, investment management, tax and estate planning, insurance review, education funding, retirement
planning and cashflow management.
Types of Advisory Services
Portfolio Management Services
We provide continuous management of client assets based on your individual needs and circumstances. Through
one-on-one discussions with you, we determine your individual goals and objectives, time horizon, risk tolerance
and liquidity needs. As appropriate, we may also discuss and review with you your prior investment history and
intergenerational planning and wealth transition issues. Through these discussions, we develop a portfolio
allocation designed to match your specific circumstances. We then manage assets according to that allocation,
which will change over time as both your own situation and the broader markets change.
We manage assets on a discretionary basis, although you may impose reasonable restrictions on investing in certain
securities, types of securities, or industry sectors.
As noted in Item 7 below, our portfolio management services are most appropriate for clients with at least $10
million in investible assets. For clients under that threshold, and who do not require financial planning services, we
offer investment solutions through our Launch program
(synergyfg.com/launch). Launch offers 3 customized
portfolios as described more fully in Item 8 below. While we do not impose a minimum fee for our Launch program,
we believe these services are most appropriate for clients with at least $500,000 of investible assets.
Financial Planning Services
A comprehensive financial plan outlines your objective, clarifies your goals, sets your priorities, and serves as the
compass that guides every financial decision you make.
Using discovery conversations, we discuss your thoughts, needs, and concerns regarding retirement, investing,
education, taxes, insurance, estate issues, and giving. With a thorough understanding of your objectives, we are
able to formulate a plan that includes an integrated set of strategies based on established planning and investment
techniques.
Once your initial plan is developed, we work with you to systematically implement your strategies. We periodically
review and measure your progress to remain aligned with your plan. This process keeps our understanding of your
situation fresh and allows us to update your plan as needed.
Planning and plan implementation are much more than just an investment portfolio. A comprehensive plan (along
with on-going issues or projects), may include but not be limited to:
Analysis of your net worth
Cash flow projections
Retirement planning
Educational savings
Estate planning needs
Risk management (insurance and appropriate levels of coverage for your family)
Tax management and planning
Synergy does not provide tax advice or estate planning. We encourage you to consult your accountant and attorney
for specific implementation on such matters.
You will receive a plan that includes certain projections based on output from our planning software and/or other
available resources. All reports, financial statement projections, and other data are intended for your use in
assessing and implementing your financial plan. As a result, the statements or other materials should not be
considered complete financial statements.
As you know, the more accurate the data provided to us the better the
output in your plan. Of course, we do not have responsibility to verify the data you provide as information necessary
to complete your plan. We are, by our written agreement we have with you, authorized to rely on this data and
information.
We strongly urge you to contact us promptly if there are changes to your financial situation or life situation
(marriage, divorce, inheritance, pregnancy, etc.) that can impact your goals, objectives or personal situation. These
events may cause us to review, evaluate and/or revise your financial plan. The result can be changes in previous
recommendations or advice.
Financial plan recommendations often differ between projected and actual results, as events or circumstances are
not predictable, do not occur as expected, or occur with different results than expected. Our analysis is highly
dependent upon certain economic assumptions that you make about the future. We advise our clients as to the
consistency (over time) of your personal assumptions (in the context of historical data); however, we do not express
assurances on the accuracy or reasonableness of your personal assumptions. You are ultimately responsible for the
accuracy of the information and personal data provided to us to generate your financial plan.
Third-Party Managers
As appropriate, we may utilize the service of a third-party money manager, an unaffiliated investment advisor, to
manage a portion of your assets. We typically engage an outside manager in a sub-advisory relationship, which
means the agreement is between Synergy and the third-party manager rather than between you and the other
manager.
In situations where we select an outside manager to manage a portion of your overall portfolio, that manager is
chosen based on your investment goals for your specific circumstances. The other manager will manage that portion
of your portfolio allocated to them and will have discretionary authority over those specific assets.
Through our advisory agreement with you, we retain the discretionary authority to engage new managers or to
replace managers for your portfolio. Advisory fees for third-party managers selected on your behalf are distinct,
separate, and in addition to, our management fees. A detailed description of the sub-advisors’ services and fees is
provided in their disclosure Brochure.
ERISA Accounts and our Fiduciary Role
In recommending that any client roll over retirement plan assets to our management, we have a conflict of
interest. Before making any such recommendation we review your existing investment options, fees and expenses,
and your overall investment objectives. We only make the recommendation once we’ve determined that doing so
is in your best interest.
As an investment advisor we are a fiduciary to all our clients. We explicitly acknowledge that we also may act as a
“fiduciary” under ERISA with respect to our investment advisory recommendations.
Participation in Wrap Fee Programs
We do not offer of participate in a Wrap fee program.
Important Information for Retirement Investors
When we recommend that you rollover retirement assets or transfer existing retirement assets (such as a 401(k) or
an IRA) to our management, we have a conflict of interest. This is because we will generally earn additional revenue
when we manage more assets. In making the recommendation, however, we do so only after determining that the
recommendation is in your best interest. Further, in making any recommendation to transfer or rollover retirement
assets, we do so as a “fiduciary,” as that term is defined in ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code, or both. We also
acknowledge we are a fiduciary under ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code with respect to our ongoing investment
advisory recommendations and discretionary asset management services, as described in the advisory agreement
we execute with you. To the extent we provide non-fiduciary services to you, those will be described in the advisory
agreement.
Regulatory Assets Under Management
As of January 31, 2023, we managed a total of $157,114,647, of which $156,557,751, was on a discretionary basis
and $556,896 on a non-discretionary basis.