Pacific Peak Advisors, LLC (hereinafter “Pacific Peak” or “firm” or “we”) is an SEC-
registered investment adviser with its principal place of business located in
Ketchum, Idaho. Pacific Peak is owned by Robin Robertson and Sean Kovich and
has been in business since 2014.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Pacific Peak provides ongoing discretionary investment management services to its
clients’ portfolio of securities who are individuals, trusts, and businesses. This means
that clients give us the authority to select, buy and sell securities in their portfolio
without obtaining prior approval. After personal discussions in which goals and
objectives based on a client’s particular circumstances are established, we create and
manage a portfolio based on the client’s individual financial plan, as described below.
During our data gathering process, we determine the client’s investment objectives,
time horizons, risk tolerance and liquidity needs. As appropriate, we also review and
discuss a client’s prior investment history, as well as family composition and
background. All client accounts are continuously monitored for adherence to their
financial plan over the course of the relationship as part of our standard advisory
services.
Clients are advised to promptly notify Pacific Peak if there are changes to their
financial situation or investment objectives and if they wish to change any existing
or impose any additional reasonable restrictions on the management of their
account that do not impact Peak’s ability to manage the client’s account in
accordance with the client approved financial plan objectives, based on Pacific
Peak’s professional judgment. For example, clients may impose reasonable
restrictions on investing in certain securities, types of securities, industry or
sectors.
Our investment recommendations are not limited to any specific product or service
offered by a broker-dealer or insurance company and will generally include advice
regarding the following securities: U.S. Exchange-traded stocks, ETFs, mutual
funds, exchange-traded ADRs, state/local municipal bonds, investment-grade
corporate bonds, and unit investment trusts (UITs). We select and invest on behalf
of our clients in the lowest cost, non-commission based ETFs and mutual funds.
Third-Party Money Managers. Pacific Peak has selected an unaffiliated third-party
investment adviser for the management of clients investing in municipal bonds, subject
to the overall supervision of Pacific Peak. (See Items 7 and 10 for additional
disclosures.)
Pacific Peak monitors the third-party adviser’s performance and adherence to
client objectives. If the third-party adviser is not providing sufficient management
services to the client or is not managing the client's portfolio in a manner
consistent with the client's stated objectives, we will terminate and select
another suitable third-party adviser to manage this portion of the client’s
portfolio.
When we make rollover recommendations to manage a retirement account, we are
a fiduciary under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”)
and the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), which governs retirement accounts. As
such, we operate under a special standard of care to provide prudent advice
requiring us to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours,
charge no more than a “reasonable fee,” as defined under ERISA, and not make
any false or misleading statements. We are required to give you basic information
about our conflicts of interest, such as when we make rollover recommendations
this allows us to earn an additional fee that is in our interest and disclose other
conflicts of interest in the way we make money, as more fully described in Item 10
of this Brochure.
Financial Planning
Financial planning is a comprehensive evaluation of a client’s current and future
financial state by using currently known variables to predict future cash flows, asset
values, and withdrawal plans. During the
financial planning process, all questions,
information and analysis are considered, as they impact and are impacted by the
entire financial and life situation of the client. Clients are given access to an online
personal financial portal designed to assist the client in achieving their financial
goals and objects. The portal consolidates all account data every night in one
secure location, accessible whenever desired from anywhere internet is available.
Clients can see updated financial projections such as cash flow and balance sheet
year by year anytime, on their own time.
In general, our financial planning service can address any or all of the following
areas:
• Cash Flow/Budget Planning: We analyze the client’s spending and help
them plan for current and future years to increase savings for various goals.
• Investment Planning: We analyze the ownership and maintenance of any
assets reflected on an individual’s balance sheet as well as the appropriate
investment management for the individual’s portfolio of securities. This
includes individual savings, managed investment accounts, qualified
retirement plans, business ownerships, home ownership, stock options, and
non-traditional assets.
• Asset Protection: This area covers wealth management strategies that
intend to preserve an individual’s wealth and protect it from potential life
related risks. This consists primarily of various types of insurance: Life
insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance,
property and casualty insurance.
• Retirement Planning: We analyze current strategies and investment plans
to help the client achieve his or her retirement goals including retirement
cash flow planning.
• Tax Planning: We mainly focus on creating strategies to help clients
mitigate their tax liability and corresponding payments based on their
projected income in current and future years. We coordinate with your tax
accountants to implement the tax strategies.
• Estate Planning: We assist the client in strategic planning for asset
transfer at death as well as the tracking of any documents that may be
relevant to an individual’s estate. It also involves charitable planning and
gifting strategies. This includes beneficiary designations, legal documents
such as trusts and wills, and the assignment of legal representatives. We
coordinate with estate attorneys to serve clients.
• Employer Benefit Planning: We analyze your employer’s benefits including
401(k) plan, medical insurance, equity compensation (stock options,
restricted stock awards), pension, and/or Deferred Compensation Plan to
help you maximize the benefits. This may involve assistance in helping
corporate executives in setting up 10b5-1 predetermined trading plan and
stock option exercise strategies.
• Education Planning: We help clients establish education funding goals and
analyze the funding methods including using 529 plans and other accounts.
• Business Planning: Once an entrepreneur’s new business venture is up and
running, a well-structured financial plan should be put in place to meet
business and personal goals by incorporating cash flow, tax planning,
compensation and benefits, risk management and exit strategy.
Typically, the financial plan is presented to the client for approval prior to either
implementing, when providing discretionary advisory services, or assisting in its
implementation when performing any of the described non-investment advisory
management of the client’s portfolio of securities, provided that all information
needed to prepare the financial plan has been promptly provided. Financial
Planning recommendations are not limited to any specific product or service offered
by a broker-dealer or insurance company. All recommendations are of a generic
nature.
ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT
As of September 7, 2023, Pacific Peak’s regulatory assets under discretionary
portfolio management of client securities was $153,359,005.