A. Description of the Advisory Firm.
SAL was established in 2019 as a limited company organized under the laws of the Cayman
Islands with a principal place in New York, New York. SAL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Secfi, Inc. (“ Secfi ”), a Delaware corporation established on February 9, 2017. Secfi’s largest
shareholders are co-founders Frederik Mijnhardt and Wouter Witvoet.
Secfi operates and manages the Secfi.com platform (the “ Platform ”) which seeks to identify
persons holding unregistered shares of stock in private technology-enabled companies who are
seeking liquidity (“ Shareholders ”) as well as provide Shareholders with educational tools
regarding private company options and equity. The Platform serves as an online portal, whereby
Shareholders seeking liquidity may provide details regarding their stock holdings so that they
may ultimately be matched with investors that desire exposure to such holdings (the “ Shares ”),
typically in late-stage and growth-stage private technology-enabled companies (each, a
“ Portfolio Company ”).
SAL is an affiliate of Secfi Securities, LLC (“ Secfi Securities ”), a San Francisco-based Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (“ FINRA ”) member and SEC-registered broker-dealer (the
“ Broker ”). Secfi Securities is also wholly-owned by Secfi.
B. Types of Advisory Services.
SAL engages in two distinct advisory business lines. It provides discretionary and
non-discretionary investment advisory services to institutional investors. SAL also offers
financial planning and wealth management services to individual clients. Some financial
planning and wealth management clients are Shareholders that use the Platform.
1. Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Institutional Investment Advisory Services.
SAL serves as either discretionary investment manager or non-discretionary sub-adviser to
private investment funds that seek to acquire exposure to Portfolio Company Shares by entering
into variable prepaid forward contracts with Shareholders (“ Forward Contracts ”). The forward
contracts are structured to preserve the applicable private placement exemptions under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, pursuant to which the Portfolio Company issued those
shares, and potentially acquired by Shareholder directly from the Portfolio Company in a
primary issuance of Shares. As used herein, the term “ Managed Fund ” means private investment
funds to which SAL serves as investment manager that purchase Forward Contracts and
“ Advised Fund ” means private investment funds to which SAL serves as non-discretionary
sub-adviser solely with respect to the recommendation, negotiation, and execution of Forward
Contracts. Collectively, Managed Funds and Advised Funds are “ Forward Contract Funds .”
SAL is the manager (the “ Manager ”) of the Sonoma 2022 Fund and the Rioja Fund I
(collectively, the “Funds”). The Manager is responsible for handling accounting, recordkeeping,
custody of Funds Assets, distributions, investor communications and compliance, and other
matters consistent with the Fund’s offering documents and/or governing documents (“ Fund
Documentation ”), including all management decisions regarding the business of the Funds.
Various managers serve as Manager to the Advised Funds. Each Manager is responsible for
handling accounting, recordkeeping; custody of Advised Fund assets, Advised Fund
distributions, investor communications and compliance, and other matters consistent with the
relevant Advised Fund Documentation, including all management decisions regarding the
business of the particular Advised Fund.
2. Financial Planning and Wealth Management Advisory Services.
Financial Planning. SAL helps clients make important personal and financial transitions in their
lives by helping them plan, protect and grow their assets, provide for their families and achieve
their personal and financial objectives. Depending on the complexity of a client’s personal needs
and desires, this will be accomplished by providing some or all of the following financial
planning services:
● Stock Option Exercise Planning. Educating clients on potential value, tax
considerations, and exercising possibilities of current and upcoming equity
compensation. This involves modeling multiple exercise scenarios that include possible
costs, taxes, and profits.
● AMT/Income Tax Planning. Recommending tax optimization strategies specific to a
client’s personal situation and coordinating with a client’s accountant or tax advisor
regarding the projection of the client’s estimated tax liability, withholdings, estimated
quarterly payments and others.
● Pre-Exit Liquidity Planning. Modeling multiple exit scenarios and discussing tax and
financial planning considerations within each scenario. This involves educating the client
on diversification benefits, tax implications, and potential lockup considerations upon an
exit event or when considering a secondary sale
or tender offer.
● Post-Exit Sales Strategy. Providing a customized sales plan based on the client's specific
timeline, upcoming goals, and risk tolerance. The planner will assist with the
coordination of settling financial contracts, transferring shares into an individual
investment account, and investment implementation strategy for post-exit sales proceeds.
● Goal-Based Life Planning. Assisting clients in identifying their life goals (i.e. buying a
home, paying off student loans, etc.) and determining the costs to pursue these goals.
The planner will assist clients in taking an inventory of current assets and then work with
clients to develop a plan to make their future goals financially attainable.
● Cash Flow Analysis. Analyzing a client’s current income and expenses (including
income taxes) and recommending a specific course of action with regard to the
appropriate savings necessary to fund the client’s various financial objectives.
● Retirement Analysis. Utilizing retirement income computer models to project cash flow
needs and income available for retirement, analyze the impact of inflation on retirement
income and evaluate client's retirement plan pay-out options and maximum benefits
available through any employee benefit programs. If appropriate, coordinating client's
retirement income and employee benefits with the asset allocation and investment
strategy recommended by SAL.
● Asset Protection and Estate Planning Coordination. Advising clients on asset
protection techniques and coordinating with the client's estate planning attorney in order
to develop and implement a comprehensive estate plan. This plan may involve the
implementation of wills, revocable living trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, durable
powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney and other estate planning techniques.
This type of planning normally will require significant involvement of the client's
attorney and accountant to assure optimal implementation of the plan.
If a client chooses to implement a SAL financial plan, SAL may recommend the services of
other professionals and/or that of its affiliates. Accordingly, clients are advised that a conflict of
interest exists if SAL recommends its own services or that of its affiliates. Clients are under no
obligation to act upon any of the recommendations made by SAL or its supervised persons under
a financial planning arrangement and/or engage the services of any such recommended
professional or affiliate. The client retains absolute discretion over all such implementation
decisions and is free to accept or reject any of SAL’s or its supervised persons’
recommendations. SAL will cooperate with any attorney, accountant, broker or other adviser
chosen by the client regarding implementation of any such recommendations.
Wealth Management. SAL offers wealth management services to individual clients, some of
whom are expected to be Shareholders (the “ Wealth Management Clients ”). Such wealth
management services involve helping Wealth Management Clients develop greater insight about
the financial markets and designing their personalized investment strategy. Wealth Management
Client portfolios will primarily use mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (“ ETFs ”) and
Separately Managed Accounts (“ SMAs ”) and individual stock options; however, SAL will use
other vehicles where it is appropriate. SAL creates an investment policy statement for each
Wealth Management Client, that outlines the client’s current risk tolerance profile and details the
inputs to the asset allocation and investment strategy decision. Wealth Management Client
services include, but are not limited to, investment strategy, asset allocation, risk tolerance,
personal investment policy, asset selection, rebalancing, and regular portfolio monitoring, along
with on-going financial planning services.
C. Client Tailored Services and Client Imposed Restrictions.
For Managed Funds, the investment objective and appropriate level of risk, and any applicable
investment limitations or restrictions, and set forth in that Managed Fund’s Fund Documentation.
For Advised Funds, SAL’s advisory services are limited exclusively to providing
non-discretionary investment advice with respect to Forward Contracts. Accordingly, SAL does
not have discretion to make investments on behalf of such fund save for recommending,
facilitating and negotiating Forward Contracts consistent with the general strategy and
investment guidelines of the relevant fund. SAL tailors its advisory services to the Advised
Funds consistent with their investment objectives and guidelines.
For Wealth Management Clients, an investment policy statement outlines client-specific
investment strategies, restrictions, and limitations.
D. Participation in Wrap Fee Programs.
SAL does not participate in wrap fee programs.
E. Assets Under Management.
As of December 31, 2023, SAL manages approximately $122,066,189 on a discretionary basis
and $34,250,000 on a non-discretionary basis.