A. Firm Information
Silver Coast Investments LLC d/b/a PracticeCFO Investments (“PracticeCFO” or the “Advisor”) is a registered
investment advisor located with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Advisor is organized as a
limited liability company (“LLC”) under the laws of California and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PracticeCFO
LLP, which is beneficially owned by Wesley W. Read, CFP®, CPA. PracticeCFO was founded in April 2013 and
is operated by President, Wesley W. Read CFP®, CPA and Chief Investment Officer and and Chief Compliance
Officer, Brandon W. Hobson, CFA®, CPA. This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the
qualifications, business practices, and the advisory services provided by PracticeCFO.
B. Advisory Services Offered
PracticeCFO offers a variety of advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, pension and profit
sharing plans, charitable organizations, trusts, estates, retirement plans, endowments and corporate accounts
(each referred to as a “Client”). Advisory services include strategic personal and business financial planning,
investment management, tax and accounting services and insurance planning.
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and regulations. As a fiduciary,
the Advisor upholds a duty of loyalty, fairness and good faith towards each Client and seeks to mitigate potential
conflicts of interest. PracticeCFO’s fiduciary commitment is further described in the Advisor’s Code of Ethics. For
more information regarding the Code of Ethics, please see Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in
Client Transactions and Personal Trading.
Financial Planning Services
PracticeCFO will typically provide a variety of financial planning services to individuals, families and business
Clients, pursuant to a written Financial Planning Agreement. Services are offered in several areas of a Client’s
financial situation, depending on their goals and objectives.
Generally, such financial planning services will involve preparing a financial plan or rendering a financial
consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives. This planning may encompass one or more
areas of need, including, but not limited to investment planning, retirement planning, personal savings, education
savings, insurance needs and other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
Generally, PracticeCFO initiates its services by completing a high-level, but comprehensive, review of their
personal and business financial conditions and goals. Once complete, the delivered plan provides the context for
the Advisor’s other wealth management services. This process begins by establishing and defining the terms of
the relationship between PracticeCFO and the Client. Once the relationship is defined and agreed upon,
PracticeCFO will collect and assemble relevant financial planning documents and goal information, which may
include assets, liabilities, income, expenses, insurance policies, estate documentation and other appropriate
information. PracticeCFO will then analyze the information in order to offer a written set of recommendations that
can, if implemented by the Client, increase the likelihood of achieving their financial goals. The Client will have
the option to accept, reject, or modify the information.
The effectiveness of the personal financial plan (the “Plan”) will depend largely on the amount and accuracy of
information provided to PracticeCFO by the Client. Because the projections used in the Plan, and the
accompanying results, are calculated over many years, small changes can create large differences in future
results. Consequently, the Plan will not convey any form of assurance on the achievability of those projections or
reasonableness of the underlying results. In addition, the Plan does not provide any legal advice. Before making
decisions with legal ramifications, Clients should consult appropriate professionals for advice that is specific to
their situation.
Any investment recommendations developed as a result of the personal financial plan should be implemented by
a licensed investment professional. PracticeCFO does not take any responsibility for the outcome of any specific
investment strategy[ies] recommended by other advisors. If the Client wishes to engage PracticeCFO to
implement the investment recommendations, PracticeCFO may offer to provide such services under a separate
agreement.
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Financial planning recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the interests of the
Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor for investment
management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would increase the
amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any recommendations made
by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects to act on any of the
recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the transaction through
the Advisor.
Investment Management Services
PracticeCFO provides discretionary investment management services for its Clients. Each engagement
commences with a review of the Client’s investment goals and objectives as well as risk tolerance and financial
situation in order to create a portfolio strategy. PracticeCFO will then construct a portfolio, consisting primarily of
exchanged traded-funds (“ETFs”) to achieve the Client’s investment goals. PracticeCFO may also utilize mutual
funds, individual securities or other types of securities to meet the needs of its Clients.
PracticeCFO’s investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re-allocate
positions that have been held less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market conditions.
PracticeCFO will construct, implement and monitor the portfolio to ensure it meets the goals, objectives,
circumstances, and risk tolerance agreed to by the Client. Each Client will have the opportunity to place
reasonable restrictions on the types of investments to be held in their respective portfolio, subject to the
acceptance by the Advisor.
We use a hybrid investment management approach that combines passive asset management with tactical asset
allocation. Low cost, passive exchange traded funds (ETFs) form the core of our portfolios. Tactical asset
allocation may be used to capitalize on market opportunities.
PracticeCFO follows a four-step process to define and monitor Client investment objectives.
STEP 1: Understanding the Client. To begin, the Advisor always starts by developing a Client-specific financial
profile. This profile consists of:
1.
Client’s goals – Generally this is obtained through the Advisor’s personal financial planning service. If
this service is not selected, PracticeCFO will collect baseline information on the purpose and timing of
the money being invested.
2.
Client’s financial capacity for risk – PracticeCFO collects information on the Client’s financial condition
and coupled with their financial goals, helps to determine what level of risk is necessary in order for the
Client to meet their established goals.
3.
Client’s emotional capacity for risk – We analyze their emotional and psychological
tolerance for market
and portfolio volatility.
This information is gathered through various questionnaires, including a questionnaire on the Client’s financial
goals, circumstances, and feelings toward investment risk. Throughout this process PracticeCFO will assess
their level of understanding of financial and investment concepts, such as market returns, different types of
investment products, market volatility, and inflation. Collectively, this information provides the context for
PracticeCFO to define an appropriate investment objective for the assets the Advisor is engaged to manage for
the Client.
STEP 2: Develop an Investment Policy Statement. Once sufficient information about the Client is gathered for
purposes of developing an investment objective, PracticeCFO formalizes a plan to deploy the investments in a
manner consistent with that objective. This plan includes:
1. A target allocation between equity investments, fixed income investment, and cash. This is the Client’s
strategic asset allocation.
2. A target allocation between various asset classes within both the equity and fixed income portions of the
investment portfolio. This is the Client’s tactical allocation.
3. Identification of the investment managers used within each asset class.
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4. A review of existing investment holdings, their embedded taxes, any restrictions, and any redemptions
fees.
5. The development of specific steps to manage concentrated positions, illiquid investments, stock options,
and restricted stock.
6. Timing guidelines for moving their investment assets into the market if they are current in cash.
7. The preparation of a cash distribution plan (if the Client is relying on investment asset for spending
needs)
8. The preparation of rebalancing guidelines.
This information, collectively, is assembled into a document, as a matter of best practices, the Investment Policy
Statement (“IPS”). This document, along with other potential analyses the Advisor provides, may include certain
investment projections. These projections are intended strictly for the use of PracticeCFO. PracticeCFO does not
provide any level of assurance of these projections. PracticeCFO believes that markets and investment
performance cannot be predicted in the short run and may not repeat itself in the long run. Although the Advisor
believes capital markets will continue to offer returns over time to capital investors, PracticeCFO expresses no
form of assurance for their investment assets. In other words,
past performance is not a predictor of future
performance.
However, PracticeCFO strongly believes that the Advisor’s portfolios are structured to offer Clients a share in
broad market returns according to their exposure to those markets. That level of exposure is Client-specific and
is documented in the IPS.
STEP 3: Execute the Investment Policy Statement. After the IPS is complete, PracticeCFO executes the
policy instructions by selling all securities that are not consistent with the Advisor’s target portfolio and use the
proceeds to purchase those securities that are. Timing of this transition may be phased according to security
restrictions, Client preferences, and tax constraints. Once executed, the Client will be notified and provided a
report illustrating that the investment portfolio is consistent with the target portfolio design.
STEP 4: Monitor the Investment Portfolio. PracticeCFO does not attempt to time the market cycles. Please
see Item 8 - Methods of Analysis. Instead, PracticeCFO designs a portfolio that maintains its current strategic
allocation and adjusts for two reasons only:
1. Shift the portfolio back to its target allocation after market changes have altered the portfolio’s allocation.
2. Reconfigure the portfolio to a new strategic allocation that is motivated by changes to a Client’s
circumstances. Such changes will be documented in an updated IPS.
This method of monitoring the investment portfolio produces greater levels of discipline into the PracticeCFO
investment process. It removes many of the behaviorally motivated investment decisions that so often erode
long-term investment returns. However, PracticeCFO will not, at any time, restrict Clients from making the
investment decision that they ultimately wish to make. Any decisions made by Clients that are inconsistent with
the PracticeCFO recommendations will be documented and saved in the Advisor’s archives. If the client's
decisions are inconsistent with the goals agreed upon or make it impossible to carry out the investment plan
outlined in the Investment Policy Statement, PracticeCFO will revisit the advisory relationship.
PracticeCFO Advisory Persons will meet with Clients periodically to review the portfolio holdings and
performance. These meetings may be scheduled annually, semi-annually, or if necessary, quarterly. If the Client
has also obtained a personal financial plan, from time to time, PracticeCFO will review the investment portfolio in
conjunction with the financial plan. Doing so allows PracticeCFO to compare the portfolio returns to those
projected in the financial plan and assists in the Advisor’s ongoing financial planning reviews and updates.
Lastly, Clients will receive periodic reports, electronically or in paper form, on the portfolio holdings, gains, losses,
fees, trading costs, and investment performance. We will also generally coordinate with their tax accountant to
reduce taxes where possible and permitted.
PracticeCFO evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal
due diligence process. PracticeCFO may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to
diversify the portfolio. PracticeCFO may recommend specific positions to increase sector or asset class
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weightings. PracticeCFO may recommend selling positions for reasons that include, but are not limited to,
harvesting capital gains or losses, business or sector risk exposure to a specific security or class of securities,
overvaluation or overweighting of the position[s] in the portfolio, change in risk tolerance of Client, generating
cash to meet Client needs, or any risk deemed unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
At no time will PracticeCFO accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the limited
authority as outlined in Item 15 – Custody. All Client assets will be managed within their designated account[s] at
the Custodian, pursuant to the Client investment management agreement. Please see Item 12 – Brokerage
Practices.
Insurance Planning Services
PracticeCFO may offer non-variable life insurance placement services for Clients, as necessary. This service will
only take place if deemed appropriate based on the Advisor’s review of the Client’s financial circumstances.
Generally, insurance products are only recommended and placed after a financial plan has been completed and
a full review of the Client’s risk of loss has taken place. If placed, a life insurance policy will result in a
commission paid to an Advisory Person in their separate capacity as an insurance agent executing the
transaction. Clients are under no obligation to implement any recommendations made by the Advisor. Please see