A. Description of the Advisory Firm
B. Types of Advisory Services
Retirement Rollovers – Potential for Conflict of Interest
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 The Foundry
recommends that a client roll over their retirement plan assets into an account to be
managed by The Foundry, such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if The
Foundry will earn new (or increase its current) compensation as a result of the rollover. If
The Foundry provides a recommendation as to whether a client should engage in a
rollover or not (whether it is from an employer’s plan or an existing IRA), The Foundry 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 The Foundry, whether it is from an employer’s plan or an
existing IRA.
Custodian Charges – Additional Fees.
As discussed below at Item 12 below, when requested to recommend a broker-
dealer/custodian for client accounts, The Foundry generally recommends that Charles
Schwab & Co., Inc. serve as the broker-dealer/custodian for client investment
management assets. Broker-dealers such as Schwab charge brokerage commissions,
transaction, and/or other type fees for effecting certain types of securities transactions
(i.e., including transaction fees for certain mutual funds, and mark-ups and mark-downs
charged for fixed income transactions, etc.). The types of securities for which transaction
fees, commissions, and/or other type fees (as well as the amount of those fees) shall differ
depending upon the broker-dealer/custodian. While certain custodians, including
Schwab, generally (with the potential exception for large orders) do not currently charge
fees on individual equity transactions (including ETFs), others do.
There can be no assurance that Schwab will not change their transaction fee pricing in the
future. Schwab may also assess fees to clients who elect to receive trade confirmations and
account statements by regular mail rather than electronically.
Cash Positions
The Foundry continues to treat cash as an asset class. As such, unless determined to the
contrary by The Foundry, all cash positions (money markets, etc.) shall continue to be
included as part of assets under management for purposes of calculating The Foundry’s
advisory fee. At any specific point in time, depending upon perceived or anticipated
market conditions/events (there being no guarantee that such anticipated market
conditions/events will occur), The Foundry may maintain cash positions for defensive
purposes. In addition, while assets are maintained in cash, such amounts could miss
market advances. Depending upon current yields, at any point in time, The Foundry’s
advisory fee could exceed the interest paid by the client’s money market fund.
Cash Sweep Accounts
Certain account custodians can require that cash proceeds from account transactions or
new deposits, be swept to and/or initially maintained in a specific custodian designated
sweep account. The yield on the sweep account will generally be lower than those
available for other money market accounts. When this occurs, to help mitigate the
corresponding yield dispersion, The Foundry shall (usually within 30 days thereafter)
generally (with exceptions) purchase a higher yielding money market fund available on
the custodian’s platform, unless The Foundry 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 a need for access to such cash, or the client has a demonstrated
history of writing checks from the account.
The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within The Foundry’s
actively managed investment strategy (the cash balances for which shall generally remain
in the custodian designated cash sweep account), assets allocated to an unaffiliated
investment manager, and cash balances maintained for fee billing purposes or anticipated
client withdrawals. The client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield
dispersion/cash balance decisions and corresponding transactions for cash balances
maintained in any of The Foundry’s unmanaged accounts.
Portfolio Activity
The Foundry has a fiduciary duty to provide services consistent with the client’s best
interest. The Foundry 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, market conditions, fund manager tenure, style drift, account
additions or withdrawals, and/or a change in the client’s investment objective. Based
upon these factors, there may be extended periods of time when The Foundry determines
that changes to a client’s portfolio are unnecessary. Clients remain subject to the fees
described in Item 5 below during periods of portfolio inactivity. Of course, as indicated
below, there can be no assurance that investment decisions made by The Foundry will be
profitable or equal any specific performance level(s).
Other Assets
A client’s account(s) may hold securities that were purchased at the request of the client
or acquired prior to the client’s engagement of The Foundry. There may be other securities
owned by the client for which The Foundry does not maintain custodian access and/or
trading authority. Generally (with potential exceptions), The Foundry does not/would
not recommend nor follow such securities, and absent mitigating tax consequences or
client direction to the contrary, would prefer to liquidate such securities. Despite these
limitations, The Foundry: (1) upon client request, shall remain available to discuss these
securities; (2) shall generally consider these securities as part of the client’s overall asset
allocation; and (3) include the market value of all such securities for purposes of
calculating its advisory fee.
If/when liquidated, it should not be assumed that the replacement securities purchased
by The Foundry will outperform the liquidated positions. To the contrary, different types
of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that future
performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments
and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by The Foundry) will be
profitable or equal any specific performance level(s).
Independent Managers
The Foundry may allocate some or all of a client’s investment assets among unaffiliated
independent investment managers (“Independent Manager(s)”), including SEI
Investment Management Corp., in accordance with the client’s designated investment
objective(s). Typically, The Foundry will identify an appropriate strategy or portfolio (or
a blend thereof) offered by the Independent Manager(s), and the Independent Manager(s)
will then implement such strategy in the client account by allocating among other
unaffiliated third-party managers. In such situations, the Independent Manager(s) will
have day-to-day responsibility for the ongoing allocation between third party managers,
and such third-party managers will have investment authority over the management of
the allocated assets. The Foundry will continue to render investment supervisory services
to the client relative to the ongoing monitoring and review of account performance, asset
allocation and client investment objectives. The factors The Foundry considers in
recommending Independent Manager(s) include the client’s designated investment
objective(s), management style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting,
pricing, and research. The investment management fee charged by the Independent
Manager(s) is separate from, and in addition to, The Foundry’s advisory fee as set forth in
Item 5.
Variable Annuity Sub-divisions
The Foundry may render discretionary investment management services to clients
relative to variable annuity products that they may own. In so doing, The Foundry directs
the allocation of client assets among the various mutual fund sub-divisions which
comprise the variable annuity product based upon the investment
objectives of the client.
Such services are subject to The Foundry’s investment advisory fee as outlined in Item 5
below.
Cybersecurity Risk
The information technology systems and networks that The Foundry and its third-party
service providers use to provide services to The Foundry’s clients employ various
controls, which are designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents stemming from
intentional or unintentional actions that could cause significant interruptions in The
Foundry’s operations and result in the unauthorized acquisition or use of clients’
confidential or non-public personal information. Clients and The Foundry 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 The Foundry 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 The Foundry 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.
ERISA Plan and 401(k) Individual Engagements
Trustee Directed Plans. The Foundry 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, The Foundry will serve as an investment fiduciary as that term is defined
under The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The Foundry
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. The Foundry 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 The Foundry and the plan.
For such engagements, The Foundry 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 The Foundry),
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, The Foundry 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, The Foundry
shall allocate (or recommend that the client allocate) the retirement account assets among
the investment options available on the 401(k) platform. The Foundry’s ability shall be
limited to the allocation of the assets among the investment alternatives available through
the plan. The Foundry will not receive any communications from the plan sponsor or
custodian, and it shall remain the client’s exclusive obligation to notify The Foundry of
any changes in investment alternatives, restrictions, etc. pertaining to the retirement
account. Unless expressly indicated by The Foundry to the contrary, in writing, the client’s
401(k) plan assets shall be included as assets under management for purposes of The
Foundry calculating its advisory fee.
Use of Mutual and Exchange Traded Funds
The Foundry utilizes mutual funds and exchange traded funds for its client portfolios. In
addition to The Foundry’s investment advisory fee described below, and transaction
and/or custodial fees discussed above, 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).
Non-Discretionary Service Limitations
Clients that determine to engage The Foundry on a non-discretionary investment
advisory basis must be willing to accept that The Foundry cannot effect any account
transactions without obtaining prior consent to any such transaction(s) from the client.
Thus, in the event that The Foundry would like to make a transaction for a client’s account,
and client is unavailable, The Foundry will be unable to effect the account transaction (as
it would for its discretionary clients) without first obtaining the client’s consent.
Client Obligations
In performing our services, The Foundry 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. Moreover, it remains each client’s responsibility to promptly
notify The Foundry 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.
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
the Foundry) will be profitable or equal any specific performance level(s).
Disclosure Brochure
A copy of The Foundry’s written Brochure as set forth on Part 2A of Form ADV and Form
CRS (Client Relationship Summary) shall be provided to each client prior to, or
contemporaneously with, the execution of an agreement between the client and The
Foundry.
The Foundry will customize a program for each individual client. As part of our client
discovery process, we will get to know the client’s specific needs and requirements and
develop a plan to be executed by The Foundry on behalf of the client. Financial needs and
priorities will be identified and assessed. Preferences and any specific plan restrictions
expressed by the client will also be noted. The Foundry will then begin analyzing plans
and developing recommendations through our initial plan implementation and an
iterative process of client review meetings.
The investment adviser representatives of the Foundry strongly weigh the client's time
horizon when considering appropriate allocations. For certain clients, we develop time-
segmented portfolios allocations that are designed to match the dates at which portfolio
distributions will be required. Goals-based investing can divide portfolio assets into sub-
portfolios based on the specific goals identified by the client (e.g., college funding, new
home fund, retirement funds). Each sub-portfolio can have its own unique risk profile.
A wrap fee program is an investment program where the investor pays one stated fee that
includes management fees, transaction costs, fund expenses, and other administrative
fees. The Foundry does not participate in any wrap fee programs.
C. Customized Services and Client Imposed Restrictions
D. Wrap Fee Programs
As of December 1, 2023, The Foundry has $143,380,000 in assets under
management on a discretionary basis, and $55,370,000 in assets under management
on a non-discretionary basis, for a total of $198,750,000 in assets under management.
Investment Advisory Fees
The Foundry’s standard investment management fee schedule for investment advisory
services only is as follows:
0.75% on the first $1,000,000
0.65% on the next $9,000,000
0.50% on all assets over $10,000,000
The Foundry’s investment management fee schedule to include financial planning
services is as follows (a minimum annual fee of $5,000 will apply):
1.00% on the first $1,000,000
0.80% on the next $9,000,000
0.50% on all amounts over $10,000,000
The Foundry’s investment management fee schedule for 401(k) profit-sharing plans is as
follows:
0.50% on the first $3,000,000
0.40% on the next $7,000,000
0.30% on all amounts over $10,000,000
The Foundry’s investment management fee schedule for SIMPLE IRA accounts is as
follows:
0.50% on all plan assets
Grandfathered Schedule
Clients engaged with The Foundry prior to October 1, 2023 have been grandfathered
under their current fee schedule as follows:
0.70% on the first $500,000
0.60% on the next $1,500,000
0.50% on the next $8,000,000
0.40% on all assets over $10,000,000
Custodian Charges – Additional Fees
As discussed below at Item 12 below, when requested to recommend a broker-
dealer/custodian for client accounts, The Foundry generally recommends that Schwab
E. Assets Under Management