A. Firm Information Joel Adams and Associates Inc. (“Adams and Associates” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Advisor is organized as a Corporation under the laws of the State of North Carolina. JB Adams and Associates Inc. was founded in April 1994. The legal entity name was changed to Joel Adams and Associates Inc. in April 2022 and became a registered investment advisor in April 2022. Adams and Associates is owned and operated by Bray Creech (Principal, Financial Advisor and Chief Compliance Officer) and Chad Storck (Principal). This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices, and the advisory services provided by Adams and Associates. B. Advisory Services Offered Adams and Associates offers advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, families, trusts, estates, small businesses, charitable organizations, and retirement plans (each referred to as a “Client”). 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 conflicts of interest. Adams and Associates’ 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. Wealth Management Services Adams and Associates provides customized wealth management solutions for its Clients. This is achieved through continuous personal Client contact and interaction while providing discretionary wealth management and related advisory services. Adams and Associates works closely with each Client to identify their investment goals and objectives as well as risk tolerance and financial situation in order to design a portfolio strategy. Adams and Associates will typically construct investment portfolios utilizing individual equities, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), and/or individual bonds to achieve the Client’s investment goals. The Advisor may also utilize investment management programs sponsored the Custodian and its affiliates. The investment programs provide access to investment products and unaffiliated money managers (as described below). The Advisor may also utilize mutual funds and/or other types of investments, as appropriate, to meet the needs of the Client. The Advisor may retain certain legacy investments based on portfolio fit and/or tax considerations. Adams and Associates’ investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re- allocate positions that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market conditions. Adams and Associates 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 acceptance by the Advisor. Adams and Associates evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal due diligence process. Adams and Associates may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to diversify the portfolio. Adams and Associates may recommend specific positions to increase sector or asset class weightings. The Advisor may recommend employing cash positions as a possible hedge against the market movement. Adams and Associates 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 the Client, generating cash to meet Client needs, or any risk deemed unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance. Use of Independent Managers – Adams and Associates may recommend that a Client utilize one or more unaffiliated investment managers or investment platforms (collectively “Independent Managers”) for all or a portion of a Client’s investment portfolio. In such instances, the Client may be required to authorize and enter into Page 5 an agreement with the Independent Manager[s] that defines the terms in which the Independent Manager[s] will provide investment management and related services. The Advisor will assist in the development of the initial policy recommendations and managing the ongoing Client relationship. The Advisor will perform initial and ongoing oversight and due diligence over the selected Independent Manager[s] to ensure the Independent Managers’ strategies and target allocations remain aligned with its clients’ investment objectives and overall best interests. The Client, prior to entering into an agreement with unaffiliated investment manager[s] or investment platform[s], will be provided with the Independent Manager's Form ADV 2A (or a brochure that makes the appropriate disclosures). At no time will Adams and Associates 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 terms of the advisory agreement. Please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices. Retirement Accounts – When the Advisor provides investment advice to Clients regarding ERISA retirement accounts or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), the Advisor is a fiduciary within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will provide investment advice to a Client regarding a distribution from an ERISA retirement account or to roll over the assets to an IRA, or recommend a similar

transaction including rollovers from one ERISA sponsored Plan to another, one IRA to another IRA, or from one type of account to another account (e.g. commission-based account to fee-based account). Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if the Advisor will earn a new (or increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the transaction. No client is under any obligation to roll over a retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor. Financial Planning Services Adams and Associates will typically provide a variety of financial planning and consulting services to Clients. Services may be offered as part of an overall wealth management engagement or contracted separately. Generally, such financial planning services involve preparing a formal financial plan or rendering a specific financial consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives. This planning or consulting may encompass one or more areas of need, including but not limited to, investment planning, retirement planning, personal savings, education savings, insurance needs, and/or other areas of a Client’s financial situation. A financial plan developed for or financial consultation rendered to the Client will usually include general recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For example, recommendations may be made that the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or alter retirement savings, establish education savings and/or charitable giving programs. Adams and Associates may also refer Clients to an accountant, attorney, or other specialists, as appropriate for their unique situation. For certain financial planning engagements, the Advisor will provide a written summary of the Client’s financial situation, observations, and recommendations. For project-based or ad-hoc engagements, the Advisor may not provide a written summary. Project-based financial plans or consultations are typically completed within six (6) months of contract date, assuming all information and documents requested are provided promptly. Financial planning and consulting 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 wealth 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. Retirement Plan Advisory Services Adams and Associates provides non-discretionary retirement plan advisory services on behalf of the retirement plans (each a “Plan”) and the company (the “Plan Sponsor”). The Advisor’s retirement plan advisory services are Page 6 designed to assist the Plan Sponsor in meeting its fiduciary obligations to the Plan and its Plan Participants. Each engagement is customized to the needs of the Plan and Plan Sponsor. Services generally include:
• Vendor Analysis
• Plan Participant Enrollment and Education Tracking
• Investment Policy Statement (“IPS”) Design and Monitoring
• Investment monitoring and oversight (3(21) Services)
• Investment Management (3(38) Services)
• Performance Reporting
• Ongoing Investment Recommendation and Assistance
• ERISA 404(c) Assistance
• Benchmarking Services These services are provided by Adams and Associates serving in the capacity as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). In accordance with ERISA Section 408(b)(2), the Plan Sponsor is provided with a written description of Adams and Associates’ fiduciary status, the specific services to be rendered and all direct and indirect compensation the Advisor reasonably expects under the engagement. C. Client Account Management Prior to engaging Adams and Associates to provide advisory services, each Client is required to enter into one or more written advisory agreements with the Advisor that define the terms, conditions, authority, and responsibilities of the Advisor and the Client. These services may include:
• Establishing an Investment Strategy – Adams and Associates, in connection with the Client, will develop a strategy that seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
• Asset Allocation – Adams and Associates will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation, and tolerance for risk for each Client or unique client goal.
• Portfolio Construction – Adams and Associates will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet the stated goals and objectives of the Client.
• Wealth Management and Supervision – Adams and Associates will provide wealth management and ongoing oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio. D. Wrap Fee Programs For certain Clients, Adams and Associates includes securities transaction fees together with its wealth management fees. Including these fees into a single asset-based fee is considered a “Wrap Fee Program”. The Advisor customizes its wealth management services for its Clients. The Advisor sponsors the Adams and Aassociates Wrap Fee Program solely as a supplemental disclosure regarding the combination of fees. Depending on the level of trading required for the Client’s account[s] in a particular year, the Client may pay more or less in total fees than if the Client paid its own transaction fees. Please see Appendix 1 – Wrap Fee Program Brochure, which is included as a supplement to this Disclosure Brochure. E. Assets Under Management As of December 31, 2023, the Advisor manages $244,444,899 in Client assets, all of which are managed on a discretionary basis. Clients may request more current information at any time by contacting the Advisor.