A. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management, LLC
Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser primarily
based in Lincolnshire, IL. We are organized as a limited liability company (“LLC”) under the laws
of the State of Illinois. We have been providing investment advisory services since 1999. We are
primarily owned by Jeffery L. Mowery, Keith A. Schoenfeld, and Michael A. Deering.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each
investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services
to your individual needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to
Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management, LLC and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer
to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
B. Advisory Services Offered
Portfolio Management Services
In order to develop a portfolio that is appropriate for your financial circumstances we will
provide you with a financial plan based on an analysis of your individual needs.
We offer discretionary portfolio management services. Our investment advice is tailored to meet
our clients' needs and investment objectives. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio
management services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your
account. Discretionary authorization will allow us to determine the specific securities, and the
amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your account without your approval prior to
each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory
agreement you sign with our firm and the appropriate trading authorization forms.
You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can
be purchased or sold for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and
guidelines in writing.
In limited situations we may also offer non-discretionary portfolio management services. If you
enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior to
executing any transactions on behalf of your account. You have an unrestricted right to decline
to implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis.
As part of our portfolio management services, we may use one or more third party money
managers (“TPMM”) to manage a portion of your account on a discretionary basis. The TPMM(s)
may use one or more of their model portfolios to manage your account. We will regularly
monitor the performance of your accounts managed by TPMM(s), and may hire and fire any
TPMM without your prior approval. We may pay a portion of our advisory fee to the TPMM(s)
we use; however, you will not pay our firm a higher advisory fee as a result of any TPMM
relationships.
As part of our portfolio management services, in addition to other types of investments (see
disclosures below in this section), we may invest your assets according to one or more model
portfolios developed by our firm. These models are designed for investors with varying degrees
of risk tolerance ranging from a more aggressive investment strategy to a more conservative
investment approach. Clients whose assets are invested in model portfolios may not set
restrictions on the specific holdings or allocations within the model, nor the types of securities
that can be purchased in the model. Nonetheless, clients may impose restrictions on investing in
certain securities or types of securities in their account. In such cases, this may prevent a client
from investing in certain models that are managed by our firm.
Clients should promptly notify us of any changes in such restrictions or in their personal
financial circumstances, investment objectives, goals and tolerance for risk. We will remind
clients of their obligation to inform us of any such changes or any restrictions that should be
imposed on the management of the client’s account. We will also contact clients at least
annually to determine whether there have been any changes in a client's personal financial
circumstances, investment objectives, and tolerance for risk.
IRA Rollover Considerations
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that you withdraw the
assets from your employer's retirement plan and roll the assets over to an individual
retirement account (“IRA”) that we will manage on your behalf. If you elect to roll the assets to
an IRA that is subject to our management, we will charge you an asset-based fee as set forth
in the agreement you executed with our firm. This practice presents a conflict of interest
because persons providing investment advice on our behalf have an incentive to recommend
a rollover to you for the purpose of generating fee-based compensation rather than solely
based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the
rollover. Moreover, if you do complete the rollover, you are under no obligation to have the
assets in an IRA managed by our firm.
Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company
plan. Also, current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before
they retire or change jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to
the extent the following options are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of:
▪ Leaving the funds in your employer's (former employer's) plan.
▪ Moving the funds to a new employer’s retirement plan.
▪ Cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan.
▪ Rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account.
Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and before making a change we
encourage you to speak with your financial representative, CPA and/or tax attorney.
Selection of Other Advisers
We may recommend that you use the services of a third-party money manager (“TPMM”) to
manage all, or a portion of, your investment portfolio. After gathering information about your
financial situation and objectives, we may recommend that you engage a specific TPMM or
investment program. Factors that we take into consideration when making our
recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: the TPMM's performance,
methods of analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment
objectives. We will monitor the TPMM(s)' performance to ensure its management and
investment style remain aligned with your investment goals and objectives.
The TPMM(s) will actively manage your portfolio and will assume discretionary investment
authority over your account. We will assume discretionary authority to hire and fire TPMM(s)
and/or reallocate your assets to other TPMM(s) where we deem such action appropriate.
Retirement Plan Participant Account Management (Discretionary)
We use a third-party platform (Pontera Order Management System), subject to client consent, to
facilitate management of held away assets such as defined contribution plan participant
accounts, with discretion.
The platform allows us access to view and trade the account. We are not affiliated with the
Pontera platform in any way and receive no compensation from them
for using such platform.
Upon consent of the client, a link will be provided to the client by Pontera allowing them to
connect an account(s) to the platform. Once client account(s) is connected to the platform, we
will review the current account allocations. When deemed necessary, we will rebalance the
account considering client investment goals and risk tolerance, and any change in allocations
will consider current economic and market trends. The goal is to improve account performance
over time, minimize loss during difficult markets, and manage internal fees that harm account
performance. Client account(s) will be reviewed at least quarterly and allocation changes will be
made as deemed necessary. We may provide these services or, alternatively, may arrange for the
Plan’s other providers to offer these services, as agreed upon between our firm and the client.
Financial Planning Services
Financial planning services are offered to all our portfolio management clients and included in
the overall AUM pricing (please see Item 5.A of this Brochure). We do not offer standalone
financial planning.
Our financial planning services typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to clients
regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their individual
needs. These services can range from broad-based financial planning to consultative or single
subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will meet with you to
gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also use financial
planning software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify your
long-term goals and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and
non-financial), we will develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze
the information you provide to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning
software, we will deliver a written plan to you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial
goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and
on the financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your
financial situation, goals, objectives, or needs change.
You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you
choose to act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial
plan through any of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our
recommendations by placing securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
We also offer financial consulting services that primarily involve advising clients on specific
financial-related topics. The topics we address may include, but are not limited to, risk
assessment/management, investment planning, financial organization, or financial decision
making/negotiation.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
We provide various consulting services to qualified employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries.
This suite of institutional services is designed to assist plan sponsors in structuring, managing
and optimizing their corporate retirement plans. Each engagement is individually negotiated
and customized, and may include any or all of the following services.
Fiduciary Services
Service Level 1
We will, on a discretionary basis, select the designated diversified investment options for the
Plan from which Plan participants may choose. We may also create specific asset allocation
models (the “Models”) comprised of any and/or all of the designated investment alternatives.
The designated investment options and the Models are subject to change at our discretion.
We will monitor the Plan investment options on an ongoing and continuous basis and will be
responsible for making additions/deletions. Sponsor must approve the QDIA.
Service Level 2
We will provide the Sponsor and the Plan with the recommended diversified investment
options for the Plan from which Plan participants may choose. We may also create specific
asset allocation models (the “Models”) comprised of any and/or all of the designated
investment alternatives. The Sponsor maintains absolute discretion as to whether or not to
accept any of our recommendations, including the Models. Except for Models (for which we
will retain ongoing discretionary authority for as long as approved for the Plan by the
Sponsor), we will monitor the designated investment alternatives offered by the Plan on at
least a quarterly basis, and, to the extent applicable, make recommendations to the Sponsor
for additions/deletions.
Service Level 3
We will provide the Sponsor and the Plan with recommended diversified investment options
(which do not include the Models) from which Plan participants may choose. The Sponsor
maintains absolute discretion as to whether or not to accept any of our recommendations.
We will monitor the designated investment alternatives offered by the Plan on at least a
quarterly basis, and, to the extent applicable, make recommendations to the Sponsor for
additions/deletions.
Additional Fiduciary Services
QDIA – We will recommend a qualified default investment alternative (“QDIA”) as defined in
Section 404(c)(5) of ERISA and related regulations, in which a Plan participant’s assets will be
invested in the absence of an affirmative election by a Plan participant. We will also monitor,
evaluate, and, if appropriate, recommend changes to the QDIA. Sponsor must approve the
QDIA regardless of selecting Service Level 1 above.
Investment Policy Statement – We will revise existing (and/or develop and maintain) an
Investment Policy Statement establishing the investment policies and objectives for the Plan,
setting forth the asset classes and investment categories to be offered under the Plan, and
providing the criteria and standards for selecting and monitoring such assets.
Non-Fiduciary Services
Participant Education – We will provide Plan participants with up to four (4) annual general
informational seminars, to include materials which describe the various investment alternatives
available under the Plan, information about investing generally, including information about
different types of investments, information about different investment allocation strategies,
including information about historical returns, and interactive materials designed to help
participants identify appropriate investment strategy.
C. Client-Tailored Services and Client-Imposed Restrictions
Each client’s account will be managed on the basis of the client’s financial situation and
investment objectives and in accordance with any reasonable restrictions imposed by the client
on the management of the account—for example, restricting the type or amount of security to
be purchased in the portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
We do not participate in wrap fee programs. (Wrap fee programs offer services for one all-
inclusive fee.)
E. Client Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, we provided continuous management services for $286,714,983 in
client assets on a discretionary basis.
Item 5: Fees and Compensation