Description of Firm
Portside Wealth Group, LLC is a registered investment adviser primarily based in Provo, UT. We are
organized as a limited liability company ("LLC") under the laws of the State of Delaware. We began
conducting business in 2023 following the approval of our investment advisor registration by the
Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
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 Portside Wealth Group, LLC,
and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
Portfolio Management Services
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 us
discretionary authority to manage your account. Subject to a grant of discretionary authorization, we
have the authority and responsibility to formulate investment strategies on your behalf. Discretionary
authorization will allow us to determine the specific securities, and the number of securities, to be
purchased or sold for your account without obtaining your approval prior to each transaction. We will
also have discretion over the broker or dealer to be used for securities transactions in your account.
Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm,
a power of attorney, or 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.
As part of our portfolio management services, we may use one or more sub-advisers to manage a portion
of your account on a discretionary basis. The sub-adviser(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 sub-adviser(s) and may hire and fire any sub-adviser without your prior approval. We may pay a
portion of our advisory fee to the sub-adviser(s) we use; however, you will not pay our firm a higher
advisory fee as a result of any sub-advisory 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 an unaffiliated investment manager. 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.
Financial Planning Services
We offer financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to
clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their individual
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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.
Pension Consulting Services
We offer pension consulting services to employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries based upon the
needs of the plan and the services requested by the plan sponsor or named fiduciary. In general, these
services may include an existing plan review and analysis, plan-level advice regarding fund selection
and investment options, education services to plan participants, investment performance monitoring,
and/or ongoing consulting. These pension consulting services will generally be non-discretionary and
advisory in nature. The ultimate decision to act on behalf of the plan shall remain with the plan sponsor
or other named fiduciary.
We may also assist with participant enrollment meetings and provide investment-related educational
seminars to plan participants on such topics as diversification, asset allocation, risk tolerance, and time
horizon.
Our educational seminars may include other investment-related topics specific to the particular plan.
We may also provide additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually
negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed above or customized for the plan based upon
requirements from the plan fiduciaries (which may include additional plan-level or participant-level
services), shall be detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the
plan documents.
Either party to the pension consulting agreement may terminate the agreement upon written notice to
the other party in accordance with the terms of the agreement for services. The pension consulting fees
will be prorated for the quarter in which the termination notice is given, and any unearned fees will be
refunded to the client.
Co-Advisory Services
We may also enter into a co-advisory service agreement with another advisory firm which provides
fiduciary services to Retirement and Pension Plans. In our role as co-advisor, we may assist with
participant enrollment meetings and provide investment-related educational seminars to plan
participants on such topics as: diversification; asset allocation; risk tolerance; and time horizon. Our
educational seminars may include other investment-related topics specific to a particular plan.
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We may also provide additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually
negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed above or customized for the plan based upon
requirements from the plan fiduciaries shall be detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with
the parameters set forth in the plan documents.
Either party to the co-advisory service agreement may terminate the agreement upon written notice to
the other party in accordance with the terms of the agreement for services. The co-advisory fees will be
prorated for the quarter in which the termination notice is given, and any unearned fees will be refunded
to the plan.
Selection of Other Advisers
After gathering information about your financial situation and objectives, we may recommend services
provided by other advisers such as Orion OCIO ("TownSquare Capital" or “TownSquare”), Orion Portfolio
Solutions ("OPS"), or other sub-adviser or Third-Party Money Manager (“TPMM”) to manage your
portfolio.
We may also utilize the services of Orion OCIO as a sub-advisor in managing a portion of your portfolio.
Factors that we take into consideration when making our recommendation(s) include methods of
analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. We will
monitor your portfolio to ensure its management and investment style remains aligned with your
investment goals and objectives.
Types of Investments
We primarily offer advice on ETFs, equities, and mutual funds. Refer to the Methods of Analysis,
Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss below for additional disclosures on this topic.
Additionally, we may advise you on various types of investments based on your stated goals and
objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your portfolio at the inception
of our advisory relationship. We may also advise you on the opening of a donor advised fund account or
make recommendations regarding the various types of investments held in your donor advised fund
portfolio.
Since our investment strategies and advice are based on each client’s specific financial situation, the
investment advice we provide to you may be different from or conflict with the advice we give to other
clients regarding the same security or investment.
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, contractual 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
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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:
1. Leaving the funds in your employer's (former employer's) plan.
2. Moving the funds to a new employer’s retirement plan.
3. Cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan.
4. 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 CPA and/or tax attorney.
If you are considering rolling over your retirement funds to an IRA for us to manage here are a few points
to consider before you do so:
1. Determine whether the investment options in your employer's retirement plan address your needs
or whether you might want to consider other types of investments.
a. Employer retirement plans generally have a more limited investment menu than IRAs.
b. Employer retirement plans may have unique investment options not available to the public
such as employer securities, or previously closed funds.
c. Your current plan may have lower fees than our fees.
d. If you are interested in investing only in mutual funds, you should understand the cost
structure of the share classes available in your employer's retirement plan and how the
costs of those share classes compare with those available in an IRA.
e. You should understand the various products and services you might take advantage of at
an IRA provider and the potential costs of those products and services.
2. Our strategy may have higher risk than the option(s) provided to you in your plan.
3. Your current plan may also offer financial advice.
4. If you keep your assets titled in a 401k or retirement account, you could potentially delay your
required minimum distribution beyond age 73.
5. Your 401k may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA; each state may vary.
a. Generally, federal law protects assets in qualified plans from creditors. Since 2005, IRA
assets have been generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies. However, there can
be some exceptions to the general rules so you should consult with an attorney if you are
concerned about protecting your retirement plan assets from creditors.
6. You may be able to take out a loan on your 401k, but not from an IRA.
7. IRA assets can be accessed any time; however, distributions are subject to ordinary income tax
and may also be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty unless they qualify for an exception
such as disability, higher education expenses or the purchase of a home.
8. If you own company stock in your plan, you may be able to liquidate those shares at a lower
capital gains tax rate.
9. Your plan may allow you to hire us as the manager and keep the assets titled in the plan name.
It is important that you understand the differences between these types of accounts and to decide
whether a rollover is best for you. Prior to proceeding, if you have questions contact your investment
adviser representative, or call our main number as listed on the cover page of this brochure.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) Field Assistance
Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL’s Prohibited Transaction
Exemption 2020-02 (“PTE 2020-02”) where applicable, we are providing the following acknowledgment
to you. When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual
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retirement account, we are fiduciaries 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. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a
special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under
this special rule’s provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent
advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management and,
in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in your best
interest.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, we provide continuous management services for $884,770,030 in client
assets on a discretionary basis.