Financial Designs Wealth Management, LLC, (“FD Wealth,” the Advisor or “the Firm”) was
organized on April 15, 2021, as a Florida LLC. FD Wealth is owned by Jorge Valdes and Jennifer
Valdes. FD Wealth offers wealth management services to individuals, high net worth individuals,
trusts, corporations, and retirement plan sponsors. At the start of the relationship, FD Wealth’s
advisors will meet with clients to determine their financial needs and goals and design a personalized
investment strategy that includes the selection of third-party money managers, and/or Separately
Managed Accounts (“SMAs”). FD Wealth offers discretionary or non-discretionary portfolio
management. Client assets will be invested in a wide range of products including U.S. and
international stocks, bonds, Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), mutual funds and where appropriate,
alternative investments.
Clients will sign an Investment Management Agreement that sets forth the terms and conditions of
the engagement and other important disclosures. The Investment Management Agreement will be
effective upon acceptance by the client, FD Wealth, and the custodian. We will only provide
investment management supervision to client assets listed in the Investment Management
Agreement.
Selection of Other Investment Advisers /Independent Third-Party Managers
FD Wealth will use one or more independent third-party managers as sub advisers. Clients will
enter into a separate written agreement with the independent third-party manager and will receive the
independent third-party manager’s Brochure, Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary) and other
pertinent disclosure documents.
On an ongoing basis, FD Wealth will monitor the performance of accounts managed by third party-
managers. FD Wealth seeks to ensure that the third-party manager’s strategies and target
allocations remain aligned with our clients’ investment objectives.
Pension Consulting Services
FD Wealth offers 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 consistent with the parameters set forth in the plan
documents, education services to plan participants, investment performance monitoring, and/or
ongoing consulting. 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 sessions to plan participants on such topics as: asset allocation, diversification, risk
tolerance and investment time horizons. Our educational sessions may also include other
investment-related educational topics applicable to the particular plan. FD Wealth may also provide
additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually negotiated basis. We will
provide the plan fiduciaries with a written document that lists all agreed to services and fees.
Retirement Account Rollovers
We offer recommendations and advice concerning employer retirement plan or other qualified
retirement accounts. Our recommendations may generally include that the client consider
withdrawing the assets from his/her employer's retirement plan or other qualified retirement
account and roll the assets over to an Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRA”) or other qualified
investment vehicle. If a client elects to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our management,
we will charge an asset-based fee as described above under Item 5 below. This
poses a conflict
of interest because we have an incentive to recommend a rollover for the purpose of generating
compensation rather than solely based on the client’s needs. As a fiduciary, we are required to
always act in the client’s best interests. Clients are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise,
to rollover their retirement assets, or to have their assets rolled into an IRA managed by us.
It is important for clients to understand that many employer retirement plan sponsors permit former
employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan, even after the employee
terminates their employment with the company or retires. In determining whether to rollover
employment retirement plan assets to an IRA or other investments vehicle, clients should consider
the costs and benefits of each option. Employees will typically have the following options:
• Leave the funds in the employer's (or former employer's) plan.
• Move the funds to the new employer's retirement plan.
• Withdraw the funds from the plan, which results in a taxable distribution and a taxable
event.
• Rollover the funds into an IRA rollover account.
Before making any changes to their plan, we encourage clients to carefully consider any tax
implications with their accountant or tax advisor. Below are some general 401K Plan features and
differences versus an IRA that clients should take into account:
• Although employer retirement plans may have a more limited investment menu than the
investment options available in an IRA, the plan may also have unique investment
options not available to the public, such as the opportunity to invest in the employer’s
securities if the employer is a publicly traded company.
• The employer retirement plan may offer financial advice, guidance, and/or model
management or portfolio options at no additional cost, or at a fee which may be lower
than our advisory fee.
• Clients should understand the various investments available in an IRA and the costs.
• In some cases, the employer retirement plan may allow participants to hire us as
manager and keep the assets titled in the plan’s name.
• Clients interested in investing only in mutual funds should understand the cost structure
of the share classes available in the employer's retirement plan and how the costs of
those share classes compare with those available in an IRA.
• It may be possible to take out a loan on 401k Plan assets. This option is not available for
IRAs.
• It may be possible to delay taking 401k Plan or retirement account minimum distributions
beyond age 72.
• A 401k Plan may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA. Although IRA assets
are generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies, it depends on state law and there
can be some exceptions to the general rules.
• IRA distributions are subject to ordinary income tax and may also be subject to a 10%
early distribution tax penalty unless they qualify for an exception. There are certain
exceptions available based on age, disability, or if the assets are used to pay for higher
education expenses or to purchase a home.
It is important that clients understand the differences and options available as well as the cost and tax
implications to be able to decide whether an IRA rollover is appropriate.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, FD Wealth has assets under management of $137,745,191, of which
$87,270,237 are discretionary regulatory assets under management and $50,474,953 are non-
discretionary assets. FD Wealth also managed $54.2 million in assets under advisement consisting
of variable insurance products and annuities. For reporting purposes, annuity contracts are shown
based on contract values and variable universal life contracts are shown based on surrender values.