A. Description of the Advisory Firm
Elphinstone, Inc. (“Elphinstone”) provides portfolio management to clients under this
wrap fee program as sponsor and portfolio manager.
Elphinstone is an automated software platform accessible via the Android and IOS App
Stores – Elphinstone is what is known as a “robo-advisor.” All investment advice is
provided pursuant to the information provided by the client in the onboarding process.
Elphinstone strives to provide what it considers the appropriate investment advice
based on client responses (thus a client is responsible for providing accurate
information). However, a client may choose a different investment strategy and
Elphinstone will work with broker partners (see section 4.E below) to execute. No
personalized investment advice beyond the automated software response is provided.
Total Assets Under Management Annual Fee
All Assets 1.00%
Fees will be invoiced and billed directly to the client, payable by bank transfer, on a
monthly basis.
Fees are paid in arrears. Elphinstone uses an average of the daily balance in the client’s
account throughout the billing period, after taking into account deposits and withdrawals,
for purposes of determining the market value of the assets upon which the advisory fee is
based.
Clients may terminate the agreement without penalty, for full refund of Elphinstone’s
fees, within five business days of signing the Investment Advisory Contract. Thereafter,
clients may terminate the Investment Advisory Contract immediately upon written
notice.
Elphinstone also has a related business in Pakistan operating as Elphinstone Pakistan, Ltd.
(“Elphinstone Pakistan”). Elphinstone Pakistan is registered with the Pakistan Securities
and Exchange Commission and provides automated investment advising to Pakistani
individuals and to corporate customers providing accounts to their employees through
Elphinstone Pakistan. This investment advice is distinct from the automated advisory
service provided by Elphinstone, Inc. Clients should verify that they are using the correct
Elphinstone software application to access Elphinstone’s advisory software. Employees of
Elphinstone Pakistan also provide software and technical support to Elphinstone. This
brochure and related filings are for Elphinstone for Elphinstone’s US products.
B. Contribution Cost Factors
The program may cost the client more or less than purchasing such services separately.
There are several factors that bear upon the relative cost of the program, including the
trading activity in the client’s account, the adviser’s ability to aggregate trades, and the
cost of the services if provided separately (which in turn depends on the prices and
specific services offered by different providers).
C. Additional Fees
Elphinstone will wrap third party fees (i.e., custodian fees, brokerage fees, mutual fund
fees, transaction fees, etc.) for wrap fee portfolio management accounts. Elphinstone will
charge clients one fee, and pay all transaction fees using the fee collected from the client.
Accounts participating in the wrap fee program are not charged higher advisory fees
based on trading activity, but clients should be aware that Elphinstone has an incentive
to limit trading activities for those accounts since the firm absorbs those transaction costs.
Certain other fees are not included in the wrap fee and are paid for separately by the client.
These include, but are not limited to, margin costs, charges imposed directly by a mutual
fund or exchange traded fund, fees associated with “step out” transactions if the account
uses different custodians or broker-dealers, deferred sales charges, odd-lot differentials,
transfer taxes, wire transfer and electronic fund fees, and other fees and taxes on
brokerage accounts
and securities transactions.
D. Compensation of Client Participation
Neither Elphinstone, nor any representatives of Elphinstone receive any additional
compensation beyond advisory fees for the participation of client’s in the wrap fee
program. However, compensation received may be more than what would have been
received if client paid separately for investment advice, brokerage, and other services.
Therefore, Elphinstone may have a financial incentive to recommend the wrap fee
program to clients.
E. Broker Relationships
Elphinstone does not operate its own broker-dealer, but instead partners with Alpaca
Securities and Interactive Brokers to offer brokerage services and accounts to its clients.
Client assets must be maintained in an account at a “qualified custodian,” generally a
broker-dealer or a bank. The Firm makes custodial recommendations that are based on
our perception of the breadth of services offered and quality of execution.
We seek to recommend custodians that will hold your assets and execute transactions on
terms that are, overall, most advantageous when compared to other available providers
and their services. We consider a wide range of factors, including but not limited to the
quality of transaction execution services, the quality of asset custody services, the
capability to execute and settle trades, the capability to facilitate transfers and payments
to and from client accounts, the breadth and choice of no-load and load-waived mutual
funds and the availability of, the lowest cost (class) shares within a particular mutual fund
family, the availability of investment research and tools that assist our firm in making
investment decisions and which therefore benefit the end client, the overall quality of
service and communication, the pricing competitiveness in providing services, including
trading costs, the willingness to negotiate prices for services, prior service to us and to our
clients, the availability of free (no transaction fee) exchange-traded funds, and the
availability of other services and investment products that benefit us and our clients.
Alpaca Securities does not charge brokerage fees to our clients – or to us – but instead
earns its revenue via payment for order flow from market makers in order to offer trade
execution services to its clients. Interactive Brokers does charge a brokerage fee to its
clients, but those fees are covered under Elphinstone’s wrap fee.
F. Custody
Custody of client assets invested in US-listed securities is maintained by Alpaca Securities,
LLC or with Interactive Brokers. Alpaca Securities’ head office is located at 20 N San
Mateo Drive, Suite 10, San Mateo, CA 94401. Interactive Brokers’ headquarters is at One
Pickwick Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830.
Elphinstone takes custody of client funds solely for the purpose of facilitating deposit and
withdrawal transactions for our clients between their personal bank accounts and their
brokerage accounts at the brokerage firms at which they have accounts. Those funds are
maintained at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Generally these funds are passed through
within one business day to an Alpaca Securities or Interactive Brokers custodial account,
unless there is an unforeseen error or delay technical error. If there is a significant delay,
or for some reason the transfer between Elphinstone’s custody account and Alpaca
Securities or Interactive Brokers cannot be completed, Elphinstone shall notify the client
promptly.
For securities in Pakistan through Elphinstone Pakistan, the Central Depository Company
of Pakistan physically holds a client’s investments. The CDC Head Office is located at
CDC House, 99-B, Block B, S.M.C.H.S. Main Shahra-e-Faisal, Karachi – 74400.