Firm Description
Curio Wealth, LLC is a limited liability company formed in the State of Maryland in
2023. It currently operates under the name Curio Wealth (referred to below as
Curio Wealth, Curio, us, our, or we) and has been registered with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission since October 2023.
Principal Owners
James S. Kantowski, Lyn Dippel, Jacob Sadler and Elizabeth Gillette are Curio
Wealth’s principal owners.
Types of Advisory Services
Curio Wealth provides discretionary investment advisory services on a fee basis
as discussed in Item 5 below. Curio's annual investment advisory fee shall include
investment advisory 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 Curio), Curio 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.
To commence the investment advisory process, Curio will ascertain each client’s
investment objective(s) and then allocate the client’s assets consistent with the
client’s designated investment objective(s), financial goals, income needs, tax
circumstances and risk tolerance. Once allocated, Curio provides ongoing
supervision of the account(s). Before engaging Curio to provide investment
advisory services, clients are required to enter into an Investment Advisory
Agreement with Curio setting forth the terms and conditions of the engagement
(including termination), describing the scope of the services to be provided, and
the fee that is due from the client. Clients may impose restrictions on investing in
certain securities or types of securities.
Curio Wealth also regularly furnishes advice to clients on matters not involving
securities, such as financial planning matters, taxation issues, and estate planning.
Curio Wealth provides personalized financial planning and discretionary
investment management services to individuals, trusts, estates, and small
businesses and non-discretionary investment management services to one client
as an exception only. Advice is provided through consultation with the client and
may include: determination of financial objectives, identification of financial
problems, cash flow management, tax planning, insurance review, investment
management, education funding, retirement planning, and estate planning.
Investment advice is an integral part of financial planning. In addition, Curio
Wealth advises clients regarding cash flow, college planning, retirement planning,
tax planning and estate planning.
A written evaluation of each client's initial situation is usually provided to the client,
often in the form of a net worth statement. Periodic reviews are also communicated
to provide reminders of the specific courses of action that require attention. More
frequent reviews occur but are not necessarily communicated to the client unless
immediate changes are recommended.
Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, insurance agents) are engaged
directly by the client on an as-needed basis. Unless otherwise disclosed in this
brochure, conflicts of interest will be disclosed to affected clients in the unlikely
event they arise.
The initial meeting, which may be by telephone, is free of charge and is considered
an exploratory interview to determine the extent to which financial planning and
investment management may be beneficial to the client
Financial Planning Agreement
A financial plan is designed to help the client with all aspects of financial planning
without ongoing investment management after the financial plan is completed.
The financial plan may include, but is not limited to: a net worth statement; a cash
flow statement; a review of investment accounts, including reviewing asset
allocation and providing repositioning recommendations; strategic tax planning; a
review of retirement accounts and plans including recommendations; a review of
insurance policies and recommendations for changes, if necessary; one or more
retirement scenarios; estate planning review and recommendations; and
education planning with funding recommendations.
Detailed investment advice is provided as part of a financial plan. Implementation
of the recommendations is at the discretion of the client.
Please Note: Planning Limitations. Registrant believes that it is important for the
client to address financial planning issues on an ongoing basis. Registrant’s
advisory fee, as set forth at Item 5 below, will remain the same regardless of
whether or not the client determines to address financial planning issues with
Registrant. It remains each client’s responsibility to promptly notify Registrant if
there is ever any change in his/her/its financial situation or investment objectives
for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations
and/or services.
Advisory Service Agreement
Most clients choose to have Curio Wealth manage their assets in order to obtain
ongoing in-depth advice and life planning. All aspects of the client’s financial
affairs are reviewed, including those of their minor children, upon request.
Realistic and measurable goals are set and objectives to reach those goals are
defined. As goals and objectives change over time, suggestions are made and
implemented on an ongoing basis.
The scope of work and fees for an Advisory Service Agreement is provided to the
client in writing prior to the start of the relationship. An Advisory Service Agreement
generally includes: cash flow management; insurance review; investment
management (including performance reporting); education planning; retirement
planning; estate planning; and tax planning, as well as the implementation of
recommendations within each area.
Although the Advisory Service Agreement is an ongoing agreement and constant
adjustments are required, the length of service to the client is at the client’s
discretion.
Asset Management
Assets are invested primarily in no-load mutual funds and exchange-traded funds
(ETFs), usually through discount brokers. Shareholders of mutual funds and ETFs
are indirectly responsible for the payment of the fees and expenses of these
investments, which include investment management fees that are disclosed in
each fund’s prospectus. Broker-dealers may also charge a transaction fee for the
purchase of some funds.
Stocks and bonds may be purchased or sold through a brokerage account when
appropriate. The brokerage firm may charge fees for certain stock and bond
trades. Curio Wealth does not receive any compensation, in any form, from fund
companies.
Investments may also include: equities (stocks), warrants, corporate debt
securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities,
investment company securities (variable life insurance, variable annuities, and
mutual funds shares), U.S. government securities, and interests in partnerships.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) are not available through Curio Wealth.
ERISA PLAN and 401(k) INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENTS
Trustee Directed Plans. Curio may be engaged to provide discretionary
investment advisory services to ERISA retirement plans, whereby the Firm shall
manage Plan assets consistent with the investment objective designated by the
Plan trustees. In such engagements, Curio will serve as an investment fiduciary as
that term is defined under The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(“ERISA”). Curio will generally provide services on an “assets under management”
fee basis per the terms and conditions of an Investment Advisory Agreement
between the Plan and the Firm.
Participant Directed Retirement Plans. Curio may also provide investment
advisory and consulting services to participant directed retirement plans per the
terms and conditions of a Retirement Plan Services Agreement between Curio and
the plan. For such engagements, Curio shall assist the Plan sponsor with the
selection of an investment platform from which Plan participants shall make their
respective investment choices (which may include investment strategies devised
and managed by Curio), and, to the extent engaged to do so, may also provide
corresponding education to assist the participants with their decision-making
process.
Client Retirement Plan Assets. If requested to do so, Curio shall provide
investment advisory services relative to 401(k) plan assets maintained by the client
in conjunction with the retirement plan established by the client’s employer. In such
event, Curio shall allocate (or recommend that the client allocate) the retirement
account assets among the investment options available on the 401(k) platform.
Curio’s ability shall be limited to the allocation of the assets among the investment
alternatives available through the plan. Curio will not receive any communications
from the plan sponsor or custodian, and it shall remain the client’s exclusive
obligation to notify Curio of any changes in investment alternatives, restrictions,
etc. pertaining to the retirement account. Unless expressly indicated by the Curio
to the contrary, in writing, the client’s 401(k) plan assets shall be included as assets
under management for purposes of Curio calculating its advisory fee.
Please Note: Non-Discretionary Service Limitations. Curio offers discretionary
and non-discretionary investment management services. Non-discretionary clients
must accept that Curio cannot effect any account transactions without obtaining
prior consent to any such transaction(s) from the client. Thus, in the event that
Curio would like to make a transaction for the client’s account, and client is
unavailable, Curio will be unable to effect the account transaction (as it would for
its discretionary clients) without first obtaining the client’s consent.
Miscellaneous
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/
Implementation Services. To the extent requested by the client, Curio will
generally provide financial planning and related consulting services regarding non-
investment related matters, such as tax and estate planning, insurance, etc. Curio
will generally provide such consulting services inclusive of its advisory fee set forth
at Item 5 below (exceptions could occur based upon assets under management,
special projects, stand-alone planning engagements, etc. for which Firm may
charge a separate or additional fee). Please Note. Curio believes that it is
important for the client to address financial planning issues on an ongoing basis.
Curio’s advisory fee, as set forth at Item 5 below, will remain the same regardless
of whether or not the client determines to address financial planning issues with
Curio. Please Also Note: Curio does not serve as an attorney, accountant, or
insurance agent, and no portion of our services should be construed as same.
Accordingly, Curio does not prepare legal documents, prepare tax returns, or sell
insurance products. To the extent requested by a client, we may recommend the
services of other professionals for non-investment implementation purpose (i.e.,
attorneys, accountants, insurance, etc.), including our affiliated firm, JSK Tax
Strategies (“JSK”) for tax preparation services. The client retains absolute
discretion over all such implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject
any recommendation from Curio and/or its representatives. If the client engages
any professional (i.e., attorney, accountant, insurance agent, etc.), recommended
or otherwise, and a dispute arises thereafter relative to such engagement, the
client agrees to seek recourse exclusively from the engaged professional. At all
times, the engaged licensed professional[s] (i.e., attorney, accountant, insurance
agent, etc.), and not Curio, shall be responsible for the quality and competency of
the services provided. If a client determines to engage JSK, he/she
does so per
the terms and conditions of a separate written agreement between JSK and the
client, to which Curio is not a party. There is no fee-sharing arrangement between
the JSK and Curio. The recommendation by a Curio representative that a client
engage JSK for tax preparation services, presents a conflict of interest because
Curio’s affiliate will derive additional compensation from such engagement. No
client or prospective client is obligated to engage JSK. Curio will work with the tax
professional of the client’s choosing.
Retirement Plan Rollovers. 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 Curio recommends that a
client roll over their retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by Curio,
such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if Curio will earn a new (or
increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the rollover. Whether Curio provides
a recommendation as to whether a client should engage in a rollover or not, Curio
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 Curio.
Curio’s, Chief Compliance Officer, Lyn Dippel, remains available to address
any questions that a client or prospective client may have regarding the
conflicts of interest presented by such rollover recommendation.
Please Note-Use of Mutual and Exchange Traded Funds: Curio utilizes mutual
funds and exchange traded funds for its client portfolios. In addition to Curio’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). Please Note-Use of DFA Mutual Funds: Curio 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 Curio’ 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. ANY QUESTIONS: Curio’s Chief Compliance Officer, Lyn Dippel,
remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective client
may have regarding the above.
Socially Responsible Investing Limitations. Socially Responsible Investing
involves the incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance
considerations into the investment due diligence process (“ESG”). There are
potential limitations associated with allocating a portion of an investment portfolio
in ESG securities (i.e., securities that have a mandate to avoid, when possible,
investments in such products as alcohol, tobacco, firearms, oil drilling, gambling,
etc.). The number of these securities may be limited when compared to those that
do not maintain such a mandate. ESG securities 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 few 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. The Registrant does not maintain or advocate an ESG investment
strategy but will seek to employ ESG if directed by a client to do so.
Portfolio Activity. Curio has a fiduciary duty to provide services consistent with
the client’s best interest. As part of its investment advisory services, we 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 we determine that changes to a client’s portfolio
are neither necessary nor prudent. Of course, as indicated below, there can be no
assurance that investment decisions made by Curio will be profitable or equal any
specific performance level(s). Clients nonetheless remain subject to the fees
described in Item 5 below during periods of account inactivity.
Client Obligations. In performing its services, Curio 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. It remains the client’s responsibility to
promptly notify us if there is ever any change in their financial situation or
investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating, or revising Curio’s
previous recommendations and/or services.
Reporting Services. Curio can also provide account reporting services, via
Tamarac, which can incorporate client investment assets that are not part of the
assets that Curio manages (the “Excluded Assets”). Unless agreed to otherwise,
the client and/or his/her/its other advisors that maintain trading authority, and not
Curio, shall be exclusively responsible for the investment performance of the
Excluded Assets. Unless also agreed to otherwise, Curio does not provide
investment management, monitoring or implementation services for the Excluded
Assets. If Curio is asked to make a recommendation as to any Excluded Assets,
the client is under absolutely no obligation to accept the recommendation, and
Curio shall not be responsible for any implementation error (timing, trading, etc.)
relative to the Excluded Assets. The client can engage Curio to provide investment
management services for the Excluded Assets pursuant to the terms and
conditions of the Investment Advisory Agreement between Curio and the client.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of Curio’s written Privacy Notice, Form CRS and
Disclosure Brochure and Brochure Supplement, as set forth on Parts 2A and 2B
of Form ADV, shall be provided to each client prior to, or contemporaneously with,
the execution of the Investment Advisory Agreement or Financial Planning and
Consulting Agreement.
Investment Risk. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk,
and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment
or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies
recommended or undertaken by Curio) will be profitable or equal any specific
performance level(s).
Cash Sweep Accounts. Account custodians generally require that cash proceeds
from account transactions or cash deposits be swept into and/or initially maintained
in the custodian’s sweep account. The yield on the sweep account is generally
lower than those available in money market accounts. To help mitigate this issue,
Registrant shall generally purchase a higher yielding money market fund available
on the custodian’s platform with cash proceeds or deposits, 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, 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. ANY QUESTIONS: Registrant’s Chief
Compliance Officer, Lyn Dippel, remains available to address any questions that
a client or prospective client may have regarding the above.
Other Assets. To the extent that the Registrant provides advisory monitoring or
review services for client investment assets for which the Registrant does not
maintain custodian access or trading authority (including initial and ongoing
consideration of such assets as part of the client’s asset allocation), the registrant
may determine to include such assets in its advisory fee calculation per Item 5
below.
WE DON’T RECOMMEND Cryptocurrency: For clients who want exposure to
cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, the Registrant, will advise the client to consider
a potential investment in corresponding exchange traded securities, or an
allocation to separate account managers and/or private funds that provide
cryptocurrency exposure. Crypto is a digital currency that can be used to buy
goods and services but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography (i.e., a
method of protecting information and communications through the use of codes)
to secure online transactions. Unlike conventional currencies issued by a monetary
authority, cryptocurrencies are generally not controlled or regulated, and their
price is determined by the supply and demand of their market. Because
cryptocurrency is currently considered to be a speculative investment, the
Registrant will not exercise discretionary authority to purchase a cryptocurrency
investment for client accounts. Rather, a client must expressly authorize the
purchase of the cryptocurrency investment. Please Note: The Registrant does not
recommend or advocate the purchase of, or investment in, cryptocurrencies. The
Registrant considers such an investment to be speculative. Please Also Note:
Clients who authorize the purchase of a cryptocurrency investment must be
prepared for the potential for liquidity constraints, extreme price volatility and
complete loss of principal.
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 its
systems to reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents from coming to fruition, 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.
Curio Wealth does not participate in a wrap fee program.
As of October 1, 2023, Curio Wealth managed approximately $0 in assets under
management on a discretionary basis and $0 in assets under management on a
non-discretionary basis.