Firm Description
Baring Financial, LLC (“Baring Financial,” “us,” “we,” “firm”) was founded in 2014 and became
registered as an investment adviser in 2015. Melvin Danson is the sole owner of Baring
Financial.
We provide personalized, confidential investment management to individuals, pension and
profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses.
Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc.) are engaged directly
by the client on an as-needed basis. Conflicts of interest will be disclosed to the client in the
unlikely event they should occur.
The initial meeting, which may be by telephone, is free of charge and is considered an
exploratory interview to determine the extent to which our investment management services
may be beneficial to the client.
Types of Advisory Services
We provide ongoing asset management services on a discretionary basis. Suitable asset
management requires examination of each client’s personal financial affairs. We work with
you to set realistic and measurable goals and define objectives to help reach those goals. As
a client’s particular circumstances change, we will update your goals and objectives as
needed and appropriate.
We gather and retain suitability and profile details for our clients, including the client’s current
financial situation, cash flow needs, investment objectives, and other information we need to
provide investment advice for the client’s specific situation and investing needs. We create
an Investment Policy Statement at the onset of the relationship to reflect each client’s stated
goals and objective and help guide our selection of a portfolio model that meets your
individual needs. As your goals and objectives change over time, we will update your
Investment Policy Statement as needed. Clients may impose restrictions on investing in
certain securities or types of securities.
We work with you to implement your customized portfolio. We manage portfolios on a
discretionary basis, typically using strategies that contain mutual funds, ETFs, individual
equities, and fixed income solutions, though we are not limited to specific security types. We
recommend a brokerage/custodial platform we believe best suited to the client’s investments,
needs, and the services we will provide to them. See Item 12 of this brochure for a discussion
of the costs associated with these different platforms and the conflicts of interest present
when we make our recommendation.
Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) acts as broker-dealer/custodian and offers a full range
of products in addition to execution and custodial services. is the primary broker-
dealer/custodian we recommend providing our clients with brokerage and custodial
services.
SEI Private Trust (SEI) offers various investment models and programs. We use the
SEI platform to create custom models for clients. SEI offers both proprietary and non-
proprietary investment options but does not offer access to all publicly traded
securities and cannot custody all publicly traded securities. Individual security
management, derivatives, and legacy position management are not generally features
of managed accounts at SEI. This is primarily a legacy platform for us. We believe
Schwab offers comparable services and we are more likely to recommend Schwab
for new clients working with our firm.
Shareholders Service Group (SSG) is a broker-dealer providing trade execution
services for independent investment advisers like Baring Financial. Accounts opened
with SSG are custodied with Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York
Mellon Corporation. Pershing LLC also provides clearing and settlement of trades
executed through SSG. SSG/Pershing offers a robust brokerage and operational
platform. Accounts have investment allocations to customized security selection as
well as the ability to use model portfolios.
The details of our asset management services and the fees we charge are captured in our
written Investment Advisory Agreement, which is signed prior to the start of the relationship.
We provide periodic financial reports to
clients as needed, as requested, and as appropriate
for the client’s given circumstances and planning needs.
Tax preparation work is not included in our investment advisory services. If the client chooses
to use the tax preparation services of our affiliate firm, that is done under a separate
engagement and fee. Clients are under no obligation to use our tax preparation services.
See Item 10 of this brochure for details about our affiliated firm.
We recommend primarily no-load or low-load mutual funds and exchange-traded funds for
our clients’ portfolios. Other investments may include stocks, warrants, corporate debt
securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities, U.S. government
agency securities, and options contracts.
We do not offer investment recommendations regarding privately held securities,
and Initial public offerings (IPOs) are not available through our firm.
Use of Third-Party Advisers
At times we recommend the use of a third-party investment adviser to manage a
portion of a client’s portfolio. We’re more likely to recommend a third-party adviser
for a larger portfolio with potentially significant future tax liabilities. Clients will sign
an account agreement directly with that other adviser through our custodian’s third-
party adviser platform. That account agreement will authorize the other adviser to
charge a fee and directly deduct that fee from the client’s account. The fee they
charge is in addition to the fee we charge. See Item 5 of this brochure for further
discussion of our fees.
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.
Termination of Services
A Client may terminate our Agreement without penalty within five business days of entering
into our advisory agreement. After five business days, the client or Baring Financial may
terminate an Agreement by written notice to the other party. We are not responsible for
investment allocation or advice upon receipt of a client's termination notice. We will also need
to inform the custodian of record that the relationship between parties has been terminated
if the client has not already done so.
At termination, for any accounts where fees were paid in advance, fees will be billed on a pro
rata basis for the portion of the quarter completed and any unearned fees will be refunded to
you. The portfolio value at the completion of the prior full billing quarter is used as the basis
for the fee computation, adjusted for the number of days during the billing quarter prior to
termination. We will provide a final invoice detailing the amount of fees charged initially, what
was earned (the days the account was managed during the quarter), and the amount of your
refund.
For accounts where fees are billed in arrears, fees will be billed on a pro rata basis for the
portion of the quarter completed where our fees were earned, but not yet paid. The portfolio
value will be as of the last day your assets were under our management and prior to any
assets transferring out. We will provide a final invoice detailing the amount of fees charged
initially, what was earned (the days the account was managed during the quarter), and the
amount due to us.
Assets Under Management
As of January 22, 2024, we managed assets of $136,435,327, all on a discretionary basis.