Cassedy Financial Group, Inc. (“CFG”) is a Florida corporation with its main business office located
in Tampa, FL. Thomas A. Cassedy is the principal owner of the firm which has been in existence
since 2000 and Mr. Cassedy has been in the investment business for over 38 years. CFG advises
high net worth families in wealth planning and money management. Consulting and money
management services are also provided to corporations and retirement plans. CFG provides
clients with discretionary and non-discretionary asset management services and financial
consulting services. CFG at this time does not participate in any wrap fee programs.
Asset Management Services
CFG reviews with each new client investment goals, risk tolerance and objectives. We consider
the client’s investment goals and needs when recommending any advisory products or services.
Our intention is to provide each client with bespoke solutions and products and services that will
help to meet their goals and needs. We will gather personal information about each client when
helping to choose a product or service. This information may include:
• Investment experience
• How soon money is needed
• Retirement goals
• Current financial situation and future needs
• Annual income
• A client’s ability to withstand losses
• A client’s ability to withstand market fluctuations
• A client’s personal instructions on how to invest
CFG then manages client assets consistent with the clients’ stated objectives or restrictions. As
one of its services, CFG can structure mutual fund, or Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) portfolios
for clients. These portfolios will be constructed to meet clients' objectives and sometimes to
meet broader diversification needs.
Besides managing various types of securities for clients, such as mutual funds, preferred stocks,
warrants, rights common stocks, bonds, municipal securities and government bonds, a portion
of the client's account may be held in cash or cash equivalents, including money market mutual
funds.
As of December 31, 2023, CFG had regulatory assets under management of $165,780,751 of
which $94,523,870 are assets under discretionary management and $71,256,881 are assets
under non-discretionary management. Additionally, CFG manages $1.8 million in assets under
advisement.
Consulting Services
CFG will at times act in a consultant capacity. Consulting services may include but are not limited
to reviewing the performance of an investment portfolio and providing asset allocation direction.
Fees for these services will be negotiated based on time and complexity of task. Prior to
engagement, the client will be provided with an agreement which provides and estimates of the
total fee for services. Fees for Consulting Services can be $400-$500 per hour depending on the
complexity of the engagement and subsequent services requested. Fees are due after services
are rendered.
The agreement between CFG and a client for consulting services may be terminated by either
party at any time by 30 day written notice to the other. Any fees due, but not yet paid by the
client, are due promptly after termination of the agreement. The decision to accept any
recommendations or advice provided by CFG as part of its Consulting Services and all decisions
regarding implementation thereof are left to the client. Clients are free to implement
recommended transactions through broker-dealers and other service providers of their choice.
Management of Held Away Assets
We use a third-party platform to facilitate management of certain held away assets such as
defined contribution plans, 401(k) accounts, Health Savings Accounts, and similar types of
accounts. When an account is established on the platform, a link is sent to the client allowing
them to connect their account(s) to the third-party platform in a secure, compliant manner. Once
the client account(s) is connected to the platform, we will have access to periodically review the
current account allocations and rebalance the client’s account, as deemed appropriate,
considering the client’s investment objectives and risk tolerance. This limited access only
provides us with the ability to rebalance investment allocations, it does not provide us with the
ability to transfer funds or securities out of the client’s account. We offer this option as a service
to our clients and at no additional cost. We are not affiliated with the platform and do not receive
compensation for using or referring clients to their platform.
Pension Consulting Services
We offer pension consulting services to employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries based upon
the needs of the plan and the services requested by the plan sponsor or named fiduciary. In
general, these services may include an existing plan review and analysis, plan-level advice
regarding fund selection and investment options,
education services to plan participants,
investment performance monitoring, and/or ongoing consulting. These pension consulting
services will generally be non-discretionary and advisory in nature. The ultimate decision to act
on behalf of the plan shall remain with the plan sponsor or other named fiduciary.
We may also assist with participant enrollment meetings and provide investment-related
educational sessions to plan participants on such topics as: diversification, asset allocation, risk
tolerance, time horizon. Our educational sessions may include other investment-related topics
specific to the particular plan. Additionally, we may also provide additional types of pension
consulting services to plans on an individually negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed
above or customized for the plan based upon requirements from the plan fiduciaries shall be
detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the plan
documents.
Retirement Account Rollovers
We offer recommendations and advice concerning employer retirement plan or other qualified
retirement accounts. Our recommendations may generally include that the client consider
withdrawing the assets from his/her employer's retirement plan or other qualified retirement
account and roll the assets over to an Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRA”) or other qualified
investment vehicle. If a client elects to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our
management, we will charge an asset-based fee as described above under Item 5 below. This
poses a conflict of interest because we have an incentive to recommend a rollover for the
purpose of generating compensation rather than solely based on the client’s needs. As a
fiduciary, we are required to always act in the client’s best interests. Clients are under no
obligation, contractually or otherwise, to rollover their retirement assets, or to have their assets
rolled into an IRA managed by us.
It is important for clients to understand that many employer retirement plan sponsors permit
former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan, even after the
employee terminates their employment with the company or retires. In determining whether
to rollover employment retirement plan assets to an IRA or other investments vehicle, clients
should consider the costs and benefits of each option. Employees will typically have the
following options:
• Leave the funds in the employer's (or former employer's) plan
• Move the funds to the new employer's retirement plan
• Withdraw the funds from the plan, which results in a taxable distribution and a taxable
event
• Rollover the funds into an IRA rollover account
Before making any changes to their plan, we encourage clients to carefully consider any tax
implications with their accountant or tax advisor. Below are some general 401K Plan features
and differences versus an IRA that clients should consider:
• Although employer retirement plans may have a more limited investment menu than
the investment options available in an IRA, the plan may also have unique investment
options not available to the public, such as the opportunity to invest in the employer’s
securities if the employer is a publicly traded company.
• The employer retirement plan may offer financial advice, guidance, and/or model
management or portfolio options at no additional cost, or at a fee which may be lower
than our advisory fee.
• Clients should understand the various investments available in an IRA and the costs.
• In some cases, the employer retirement plan may allow participants to hire us as
manager and keep the assets titled in the plan’s name.
• Clients interested in investing only in mutual funds should understand the cost structure
of the share classes available in the employer's retirement plan and how the costs of
those share classes compare with those available in an IRA.
• It may be possible to take out a loan on 401k Plan assets. This option is not available for
IRAs.
• It may be possible to delay taking 401k Plan or retirement account minimum
distributions beyond age 72.
• A 401k Plan may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA. Although IRA assets
are generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies, it depends on state law and there
can be some exceptions to the general rules.
• IRA distributions are subject to ordinary income tax and may also be subject to a 10%
early distribution tax penalty unless they qualify for an exception. There are certain
exceptions available based on age, disability, or if the assets are used to pay for higher
education expenses or to purchase a home.
It is important that clients understand the differences and options available as well as the cost
and tax implications to be able to decide whether an IRA rollover is appropriate.