This Disclosure document is being offered to you by Foster & Wood, Inc. (“Foster & Wood”
or “Firm”) about the investment advisory services we provide. It discloses information
about the services that we provide and the way those services are made available to you,
the client.
Foster Wealth, Inc. was established as an Oregon Corporation in August of 2012. Foster
Wealth, Inc. was registered as an Investment Advisor in September of 2012 with the State
of Oregon. Foster Wealth, Inc. was registered with the State of Washington in November
2018. Foster Wealth, Inc. changed its legal name to Foster & Wood, Inc. in February 2021.
The Firm registered with the SEC in February 2021. The principal owners are David T.
Foster and Timothy E. Wood.
Investment advisory services are initiated only after you and Foster & Wood execute an
investment management agreement.
RETIREMENT PLAN ADVISORY SERVICES
Retirement Plan Advisory Services consists of helping employer plan sponsors to establish,
monitor and review their company's retirement plan. As the needs of the plan sponsor
dictate, areas of advising could include: investment selection and monitoring, plan
structure, and participant education.
Pursuant to Section 402(c)(3) of ERISA, the client may appoint us as the Plan’s “investment
manager” with respect to the Plan’s portfolio of investment options. We acknowledge that
we are registered as an investment adviser under the State Securities Statutes. Our firm
acts as a “fiduciary” within the meaning of Section 3(21) and 3(38) of ERISA with respect
to the Plan.
When serving as an ERISA 3(21) investment adviser, the Plan Sponsor and our Firm share
fiduciary responsibility. The Plan Sponsor retains ultimate decision-making authority for
the investments and may accept or reject the recommendations in accordance with the
terms of a separate ERISA 3(21) Plan Sponsor Investment Management Agreement
between our Firm and the Plan Sponsor. Under the 3(21) agreement, our Firm can provide
the following services to the Plan Sponsor:
• Review or Development of an Investment Policy Statement
• Perform Due Diligence on Money Managers
• Provide Initial Investment and Management Selection ‐ Foster & Wood typically
uses mutual funds/managed accounts/collective trusts/cash equivalents to
structure portfolios designed to meet client objectives and risk profiles.
• Provide ongoing Performance Evaluation and Monitoring of Money Mangers
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• Make Investment Recommendations when necessary
• Retirement Plan Services Analysis ‐ Foster & Wood will conduct an analysis of a
client’s retirement plan to evaluate the services currently provided to the client
by third parties. The areas of analysis may include asset management services,
record keeping, administration, customer service, participant education, etc.
These services may also include a cost/benefit analysis, recommendation of
alternative vendors, facilitation of the RFP process for solicitation of a new
vendor, and/or assistance in fee negotiations with proposed vendors.
• Provide Employee Education Services ‐ Foster & Wood will provide enrollment
and educational services the content of the program will be generic in nature.
As a result of the 3(38) appointment, we are granted full trading authority over the Plan
and have the responsibility for the selection and monitoring of all investment options
offered under the Plan in accordance with the investment policy statement and its
underlying investment objectives and strategies for the Plan. Plan participants have the
ability to exercise control over the assets in their account, and we have no authority or
discretion to direct the investment of assets of any participant’s account under the Plan.
Participant one-on-ones
We can also be engaged to provide financial education to plan participants. The scope of
education provided to participants will not constitute “investment advice” within the
meaning of ERISA and participant education will relate to general principles for investing
and information about the investment options currently in the plan.
As part of our investment advisory services, our Investment Adviser Representative (“IAR”)
can make recommendations to plan participants regarding the rollover of employer
sponsored retirement plan assets. In the case where an IAR recommends a retirement plan
rollover into our individual wealth management advisory program, the IAR will earn a
portion of the advisory fee. This presents a conflict of interest because IARs have an
economic incentive to recommend you to rollover your retirement plan assets into our
individual wealth management services at Foster & Wood. Plan participants are under no
obligation to rollover retirement plan assets to an IRA with our Firm and should carefully
consider all relevant factors, such as penalty-free withdrawals, whether loans are
permitted, legal protections, required minimum distributions, fees and expenses, service
levels, available investment options, employer stock considerations and state taxes.
INDIVIDUAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION SERVICES
We manage advisory accounts on a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. For
discretionary accounts, once we have determined a profile and investment plan with a
client, we will execute the day-to-day transactions without seeking prior client consent but
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within the expected investment guidelines. Account supervision is guided by the client’s
written profile and investment plan. We will accept accounts with certain restrictions if
circumstances warrant. We primarily allocate client assets among various equities,
Exchanged Traded Funds (“ETFs”), no-load or load-waived mutual funds in accordance with
their stated investment objectives.
During personal discussions with clients, we determine the client’s objectives, time
horizons, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. As appropriate, we also review a client’s prior
investment history, as well as family composition and background. Based on client needs,
we develop a client’s personal profile and investment plan. We then create and manage
the client’s investments based on that policy and plan. It is the client’s obligation to notify
us immediately if circumstances have changed with respect to their goals. Once we have
determined the types of investments to be included in a client’s portfolio and have
allocated the assets, we provide ongoing investment review and management services.
With
our discretionary relationship, we will make changes to the portfolio, as we deem
appropriate, to meet client financial objectives. We trade these portfolios based on the
combination of our market views and client objectives, using our investment process. We
tailor our advisory services to meet the needs of our clients and seek to ensure that your
portfolio is managed in a manner consistent with those needs and objectives. Clients have
the ability to leave standing instructions with us to refrain from investing in particular
industries or invest in limited amounts of securities.
If a non-discretionary relationship is in place, calls will be placed presenting the
recommendation made and only upon your authorization will any action be taken on your
behalf.
We do have limited authority to direct the Custodian to deduct our investment advisory
fees from accounts, but only with the appropriate written authorization from clients.
Where appropriate, we provide advice about any type of legacy position held in client
portfolios. Typically, these are assets that are ineligible to be custodied at our primary
custodian. Clients will engage us to advise on certain investment products that are not
maintained at their primary custodian, such as variable life insurance, annuity contracts,
and assets held in employer sponsored retirement plans and qualified tuition plans (i.e.,
529 plans).
You are advised and are expected to understand that our past performance is not a
guarantee of future results. Certain market and economic risks exist that adversely affect
an account’s performance. This could result in capital losses in your account.
As part of our individual wealth management services, our Firm may offer financial
planning services. Our team strives to engage our clients in conversations around the
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family’s goals, objectives, priorities, vision, and legacy – both for the near term as well as
for future generations. With the unique goals and circumstances of each family in mind,
our team will offer financial planning ideas and strategies to address the client’s holistic
financial picture, including estate, income tax, charitable, cash flow, wealth transfer, and
family legacy objectives. Our team partners with our client’s other advisors (CPAs, Enrolled
Agents, Estate Attorneys, Insurance Brokers, etc.) to ensure a coordinated effort of all
parties toward the client’s stated goals. Such services include various reports on specific
goals and objectives or general investment and/or planning recommendations, guidance
to outside assets, and periodic updates.
Our specific services in preparing your plan may include:
▪ Review and clarification of your financial goals
▪ Assessment of your overall financial position including cash flow, balance sheet,
investment strategy, risk management, and estate planning.
▪ Creation of a unique plan for each goal you have, including personal and business
real estate, education, retirement or financial independence, charitable giving,
estate planning, business succession, and other personal goals.
▪ Development of a goal-oriented investment plan, with input from various advisors
to our clients around tax suggestions, asset allocation, expenses, risk, and liquidity
factors for each goal.
▪ Design of a risk management plan including risk tolerance, risk avoidance,
mitigation, and transfer, including liquidity as well as various insurance and possible
company benefits; and
▪ Crafting and implementation of, in conjunction with your estate and/or corporate
attorneys as tax advisor, an estate plan to provide for you and/or your heirs in the
event of an incapacity or death.
A written evaluation of each client's initial situation or Financial Plan would be provided to
the client.
Disclosure Regarding Rollover Recommendations
A client or prospect leaving an employer typically has four options regarding an existing
retirement plan (and may engage in a combination of these options): (i) leave the money
in the former employer’s plan, if permitted, (ii) roll over the assets to the new employer’s
plan, if one is available and rollovers are permitted, (iii) rollover to an Individual Retirement
Account (“IRA”), or (iv) cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the
client’s age, result in adverse tax consequences). Our Firm may recommend an investor
roll over plan assets to an IRA for which our Firm provides investment advisory services.
As a result, our Firm and its representatives may earn an asset-based fee. In contrast, a
recommendation that a client or prospective client leave their plan assets with their
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previous employer or roll over the assets to a plan sponsored by a new employer will
generally result in no compensation to our Firm. Our Firm therefore has an economic
incentive to encourage a client to roll plan assets into an IRA that our Firm will manage,
which presents a conflict of interest. To mitigate the conflict of interest, there are various
factors that our Firm will consider before recommending a rollover, including but not
limited to: (i) the investment options available in the plan versus the investment options
available in an IRA, (ii) fees and expenses in the plan versus the fees and expenses in an
IRA, (iii) the services and responsiveness of the plan’s investment professionals versus
those of our Firm, (iv) protection of assets from creditors and legal judgments, (v) required
minimum distributions and age considerations, and (vi) employer stock tax consequences,
if any. All rollover recommendations are reviewed by our Firm’s Chief Compliance Officer
and remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective client has
regarding the oversight.
We are fiduciaries under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and when we provide
investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement
account, we are also fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws
governing retirement accounts. We have to act in your best interest and not put our
interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts
with your interests.
ASSETS
As of March 10, 2024, we have a total of $164,248,088 in regulatory assets under
management. $112,066,865 are under our discretionary management and $52,181,223
are under our non-discretionary management.