A. Kooman & Associates, LLC (the “Registrant”) is a limited liability company formed in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on June 8, 2011. The Registrant became registered with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2022. The Registrant is principally
owned by Jeffrey Starkey and Kathryn Starkey. Mr. Starkey and Ms. Starkey also serve as
the Registrant’s Co-Managing Members.
B.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
The Registrant provides discretionary investment advisory services on a fee basis.
Registrant’s annual investment advisory fee includes investment management services,
and, to the extent specifically requested by the client, financial planning and consulting
services. In the event that the client requires extraordinary planning and/or consultation
services (to be determined in the sole discretion of the Registrant), the Registrant may
determine to charge for such additional services, the dollar amount of which shall be set
forth in a separate written notice to the client.
The Registrant provides investment advisory services specific to the needs of each client.
Before providing investment advisory services, an investment adviser representative will
ascertain each client’s investment objectives. Thereafter, the Registrant will recommend
that the client allocate investment assets consistent with the designated investment
objectives. The Registrant primarily recommends that clients allocate investment assets
among various individual equity (stocks), debt (bonds) and fixed income securities, mutual
funds and/or exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) in accordance with the client’s designated
investment objective(s). Once allocated, the Registrant provides ongoing monitoring and
review of account performance, asset allocation and client investment objectives.
It remains the client’s responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any
change in their financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing,
evaluating or revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONSULTING SERVICES (STAND-ALONE)
The Registrant may provide financial planning and/or consulting services (including
investment and non-investment related matters, including estate planning, insurance
planning, etc.) on a stand-alone separate fee basis.
Prior to engaging the Registrant to provide planning or consulting services, clients are
generally required to enter into an agreement with Registrant setting forth the terms and
conditions of the engagement (including termination), describing the scope of the services
to be provided and the portion of the fee that is due from the client prior to Registrant
commencing services.
It remains the client’s responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any
change in their financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing,
evaluating or revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES
The Registrant also provides retirement plan consulting/management services, pursuant to
which it assists sponsors of self-directed retirement plans organized under the Employee
Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The terms and conditions of the engagement
shall be set forth in a Retirement Plan Services Agreement between the Registrant and the
plan sponsor.
If the plan sponsor engages the Registrant in an ERISA Section 3(21) capacity, the
Registrant will assist with the selection and/or monitoring of investment options (generally
open-end mutual funds and exchange traded funds) from which plan participants shall
choose in self-directing the investments for their individual plan retirement accounts. If
the plan sponsor chooses to engage the Registrant in an ERISA Section 3(38) capacity,
Registrant may provide the same services as described above, but may also: create specific
asset allocation models that Registrant manages on a discretionary basis, which plan
participants may choose in managing their individual retirement account; and/or modify
the investment options made available to plan participants on a discretionary basis.
Miscellaneous
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation
Services. As indicated above, to the extent requested by a client, Registrant may provide
financial planning and related consulting services inclusive of its advisory fee as set forth
at Item 5 below (exceptions may occur based upon assets under management, special
projects, etc., for which the Registrant may charge a separate fee). However, neither the
Registrant nor its investment adviser representatives assist clients with the implementation
of any financial plan, unless they have agreed to do so in writing. The Registrant does not
monitor a client’s financial plan, unless specifically engaged to do so, and it is the client’s
responsibility to revisit the financial plan with the Registrant, if desired.
Furthermore, although the Registrant may provide recommendations regarding non-
investment related matters, such as estate planning, tax planning and insurance, the
Registrant does not serve as an attorney or accountant, and no portion of its services should
be construed as legal or accounting services. Accordingly, the Registrant does not prepare
estate planning documents or tax returns.
To the extent requested by a client, the Registrant may recommend the services of other
professionals for certain non-investment implementation purposes (i.e., attorneys,
accountants, insurance, etc.), including certain of the Registrant’s representatives in their
individual capacities as licensed insurance agents (See disclosure at Item 10.C below). The
client is under no obligation to engage the services of any such recommended professional.
The client retains absolute discretion over all such implementation decisions and is free to
accept or reject any recommendation from Registrant and/or its representatives.
If the client engages any recommended unaffiliated professional, and a dispute arises
thereafter relative to such engagement, the client agrees to seek recourse exclusively from
and against the engaged professional. At all times, the engaged licensed professional(s)
(i.e., attorney, accountant, insurance agent, etc.), and not the Registrant, shall be
responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
Independent Managers. Registrant may recommend that the client allocate a portion of a
client’s investment assets among unaffiliated independent investment managers
(“Independent Manager(s)”) in accordance with the client’s designated investment
objective(s). In such situations, the Independent Manager(s) will have day-to-day
responsibility for the active discretionary management of the allocated assets. Registrant
will continue to render investment supervisory services to the client relative to the ongoing
monitoring and review of account performance, asset allocation, and client investment
objectives. The Registrant generally considers the following factors when recommending
Independent Manager(s): the client’s designated investment objective(s), management
style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting, pricing, and research. The
investment management fees charged by the designated Independent Manager(s) are
exclusive of, and in addition to, Registrant’s ongoing investment advisory fee, subject to
the terms and conditions of a separate agreement between the client and the Independent
Manager(s). Registrant’s advisory fee is set forth in the fee schedule at Item 5 below.
Use of Mutual and Exchange Traded Funds: Most mutual funds and exchange traded
funds are available directly to the public. Therefore, a prospective client can obtain many
of the funds that may be utilized by Registrant independent of engaging Registrant as an
investment advisor. However, if a prospective client determines to do so, he/she will not
receive Registrant’s initial and ongoing investment advisory services.
In addition to Registrant’s investment advisory fee described below, and transaction and/or
custodial fees discussed below, clients will also incur, relative to all mutual fund and
exchange traded fund purchases, charges imposed at the fund level (e.g., management fees
and other fund expenses).
Use of DFA Mutual Funds: Registrant utilizes the mutual funds issued by Dimensional
Fund Advisors (“DFA”). DFA funds are generally only available through registered
investment advisers approved by DFA. Thus, if the client was to terminate Registrant’s
services, and transition to another adviser who has not been approved by DFA to utilize
DFA funds, restrictions regarding additional purchases of, or reallocation among other
DFA funds, will generally apply.
Portfolio Activity. Registrant has a fiduciary duty to provide services consistent with the
client’s best interest. As part of its investment advisory services, Registrant will review
client portfolios on an ongoing basis to determine if any changes are necessary based upon
various factors, including, but not limited to, investment performance, fund manager
tenure, style drift, account
additions/withdrawals, and/or a change in the client’s
investment objective. Based upon these factors, there may be extended periods of time
when Registrant determines that changes to a client’s portfolio are neither necessary nor
prudent. Clients nonetheless remain subject to the fees described in Item 5 below during
periods of account inactivity.
Cash Positions. Registrant treats cash as an asset class. As such, unless determined to the
contrary by Registrant, all cash positions (money markets, etc.) shall be included as part of
assets under management for purposes of calculating Registrant’s advisory fee. In addition,
while assets are maintained in cash, such amounts could miss market advances. Depending
upon current yields, at any point in time, Registrant’s advisory fee could exceed the interest
paid by the client’s cash positions.
Cash Sweep Accounts. Certain account custodians can require that cash proceeds from
account transactions or new deposits, be swept to and/or initially maintained in a
specific custodian designated sweep account. The yield on the sweep account will
generally be lower than those available for other money market accounts. When this
occurs, to help mitigate the corresponding yield dispersion Registrant shall (usually within
30 days thereafter) generally (with exceptions) purchase a higher yielding money market
fund (or other type security) available on the custodian’s platform, unless Registrant
reasonably anticipates that it will utilize the cash proceeds during the subsequent 30-day
period to purchase additional investments for the client’s account. Exceptions and/or
modifications can and will occur with respect to all or a portion of the cash balances for
various reasons, including, but not limited to the amount of dispersion between the sweep
account and a money market fund, the size of the cash balance, an indication from the client
of an imminent need for such cash, or the client has a demonstrated history of writing
checks from the account.
The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within a Registrant actively
managed investment strategy (the cash balances for which shall generally remain in the
custodian designated cash sweep account), when there is an indication of client need for
access to such cash, to assets allocated to an unaffiliated investment manager, or cash
balances maintained for fee billing purposes.
The client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield dispersion/cash balance decisions
and corresponding transactions for cash balances maintained in any Registrant unmanaged
accounts.
Socially Responsible (ESG) Investing Limitations. Registrant does not maintain or
advocate an ESG investment strategy but will seek to employ ESG if directed by a client
to do so. Socially Responsible Investing involves the incorporation of Environmental,
Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations into the investment due diligence process.
ESG investing incorporates a set of criteria/factors used in evaluating potential
investments: Environmental (i.e., considers how a company safeguards the environment);
Social (i.e., the manner in which a company manages relationships with its employees,
customers, and the communities in which it operates); and Governance (i.e., company
management considerations). The number of companies that meet an acceptable ESG
mandate can be limited when compared to those that do not and could underperform broad
market indices. Investors must accept these limitations, including potential for
underperformance. Correspondingly, the number of ESG mutual funds and exchange-
traded funds are limited when compared to those that do not maintain such a mandate. As
with any type of investment (including any investment and/or investment strategies
recommended and/or undertaken by Registrant), there can be no assurance that investment
in ESG securities or funds will be profitable or prove successful. If implemented,
Registrant shall rely upon the assessments undertaken by the unaffiliated mutual fund,
exchange traded fund or separate account portfolio manager to determine that the fund’s
or portfolio’s underlying company securities meet a socially responsible mandate.
Retirement Rollovers-Potential for Conflict of Interest: A client or prospective client
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) roll over 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). If Registrant recommends that a client roll over their
retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by Registrant, such a recommendation
creates a conflict of interest if Registrant will earn new (or increase its current)
compensation as a result of the rollover. If Registrant provides a recommendation as to
whether a client should engage in a rollover or not (whether it is from an employer’s plan
or an existing IRA), Registrant is acting as a fiduciary 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. No client is under any obligation
to roll over retirement plan assets to an account managed by Registrant, whether it is from
an employer’s plan or an existing IRA.
Client Obligations. In performing its services, Registrant shall not be required to verify
any information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals and is
expressly authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, each client is advised that it remains their
responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any change in their financial
situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or revising
Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
Cybersecurity Risk. The information technology systems and networks that Registrant
and its third-party service providers use to provide services to Registrant’s clients employ
various controls, which are designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents stemming from
intentional or unintentional actions that could cause significant interruptions in Registrant’s
operations and result in the unauthorized acquisition or use of clients’ confidential or non-
public personal information. Clients and Registrant are nonetheless subject to the risk of
cybersecurity incidents that could ultimately cause them to incur losses, including for
example: financial losses, cost and reputational damage to respond to regulatory
obligations, other costs associated with corrective measures, and loss from damage or
interruption to systems. Although Registrant has established procedures to reduce the risk
of cybersecurity incidents, there is no guarantee that these efforts will always be successful,
especially considering that Registrant does not directly control the cybersecurity measures
and policies employed by third-party service providers. Clients could incur similar adverse
consequences resulting from cybersecurity incidents that more directly affect issuers of
securities in which those clients invest, broker-dealers, qualified custodians, governmental
and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, or other
financial institutions.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of the Registrant’s written Brochure and CRS, as set forth
on Parts 2 and 3 of Form ADV, respectively, shall be provided to each client prior to the
execution of any new advisory agreement.
C. The Registrant shall provide investment advisory services specific to the needs of each
client. Prior to providing investment advisory services, an investment adviser
representative will ascertain each client’s investment objective(s). Thereafter, the
Registrant shall allocate and/or recommend that the client allocate investment assets
consistent with the designated investment objective(s). The client may, at any time, impose
reasonable restrictions, in writing, on the Registrant’s services.
D. The Registrant may recommend investment strategies that include an unaffiliated wrap-fee
program. Under a wrap program, the program sponsor arranges for the investor participant
to receive investment advisory services, execution of securities brokerage transactions,
custody and reporting services for a single specified fee. Participation in a wrap program
may cost the participant more or less than purchasing such services separately.
If the Registrant is engaged to provide investment advisory services as part of an
unaffiliated wrap-fee program, clients may incur higher transaction costs or receive less
favorable net prices on transactions for the account than would otherwise be the case
through alternative clearing arrangements recommended by Registrant. Higher transaction
costs adversely impact account performance.
E. As of December 31, 2023, the Registrant had $411,330,658 in assets under management
on a discretionary basis.