A. Firm Information
Blalock Williams, LLC (“Blalock Williams” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Advisor was organized as a limited liability company under the
laws of the State of Alabama in February 2023. Blalock Williams is owned and operated by Devereaux L. Williams,
Jr. (Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer) and John B. Blalock IV, CFP® (Co-Founder and Chief Executive
Officer).
This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices, and the advisory
services provided by Blalock Williams. For information regarding this Disclosure Brochure, please contact Laura H.
Lacey (Chief Compliance Officer) at (256) 444-6256 or via email to
[email protected].
B. Advisory Services Offered
Blalock Williams offers investment advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates,
businesses, and retirement plans (each referred to as a “Client”).
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and regulations. As a fiduciary,
the Advisor upholds a duty of loyalty, fairness and good faith towards each Client and seeks to mitigate potential
conflicts of interest. Blalock Williams's fiduciary commitment is further described in the Advisor’s Code of Ethics.
For more information regarding the Code of Ethics, please see Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in
Client Transactions and Personal Trading.
Investment Management Services
Blalock Williams provides customized investment advisory solutions for its Clients. This is achieved through
continuous personal Client contact and interaction while providing discretionary investment management and
related advisory services. Blalock Williams works closely with each Client to identify their investment goals and
objectives as well as risk tolerance and financial situation in order to create a portfolio strategy. Blalock Williams will
then construct an investment portfolio using its internal management or separate account managers available
through the Custodian (“Independent Manager” See below).
Internal Investment Management – For accounts managed directly by the Advisor, Blalock Williams utilizes
exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), mutual funds, individual stocks, and/or individual bonds to construct portfolios.
The Advisor may also utilize alternative investments, structured products, fee-based variable annuities, and/or other
types of investments, as appropriate for the Client. The Advisor may retain certain legacy investments based on
portfolio fit and/or tax considerations.
Blalock Williams’ investment strategies are primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re-allocate
positions that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market
conditions. Blalock Williams will construct, implement and monitor the portfolio to ensure it meets the goals,
objectives, circumstances, and risk tolerance agreed to by the Client. Each Client will have the opportunity to place
reasonable restrictions on the types of investments to be held in their respective portfolio, subject to acceptance by
the Advisor.
Blalock Williams evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal
due diligence process. Blalock Williams may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to
diversify the portfolio. Blalock Williams may recommend specific positions to increase sector or asset class
weightings. The Advisor may recommend employing cash positions as a possible hedge against market movement.
Blalock Williams may recommend selling positions for reasons that include, but are not limited to, harvesting capital
gains or losses, business or sector risk exposure to a specific security or class of securities, overvaluation or
overweighting of the position[s] in the portfolio, change in risk tolerance of the Client, generating cash to meet
Client needs, or any risk deemed unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
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At no time will Blalock Williams accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the limited
authority as outlined in Item 15 – Custody. All Client assets will be managed within the designated account[s] at the
Custodian, pursuant to the terms of the advisory agreement. Please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Retirement Accounts – When the Advisor provides investment advice to Clients regarding ERISA retirement
accounts or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), the Advisor is a fiduciary within the meaning of Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable,
which are laws governing retirement accounts. When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will
provide investment advice to a Client regarding a distribution from an ERISA retirement account or to roll over the
assets to an IRA, or recommend a similar transaction including rollovers from one ERISA sponsored Plan to
another, one IRA to another IRA, or from one type of account to another account (e.g. commission-based account
to fee-based account). Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if the Advisor will earn a new (or
increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the transaction. No client is under any obligation to roll over a
retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor.
Use of Independent Managers - Blalock Williams may recommend that a Client utilize one or more unaffiliated
investment managers, investment platforms, or third-party custom indexing strategies (collectively “Independent
Managers”) for all or a portion of a Client’s investment portfolio. In such instances, the Client may be required to
authorize and enter into an agreement with the Independent Manager[s] that defines the terms in which the
Independent Manager[s] will provide investment management and related services on a discretionary basis. The
Advisor will assist in the development of the initial policy recommendations and managing the ongoing Client
relationship. The Advisor will perform initial and ongoing oversight and due diligence over the selected Independent
Manager[s] to ensure the Independent Managers’ strategies and
target allocations remain aligned with its clients’
investment objectives and overall best interests. The Client, prior to entering into an agreement with unaffiliated
investment manager[s] or investment platform[s], will be provided with the Independent Manager's Form ADV 2A –
Disclosure Brochure. The Advisor will review the registrations of each Independent Manager to ensure the firm is
properly registered or noticed filed in the jurisdiction where the Client resides.
Participant Account Management – As part of the Advisor’s Investment Management Services, the Advisor will use
a third-party platform, Pontera Solutions, Inc. (“Pontera”), to facilitate management of held away assets such as
defined contribution plan participant accounts, with investment discretion. The platform enables the Advisor to gain
access to the Client account without having access through the Client’s credentials. This independent advisor
access ensures that the Advisor will not have custody of Client funds or securities when implementing trades for the
Client. The Advisor is not affiliated with the platform in any way and receives no compensation from the platform. A
link will be provided to the Client allowing them to connect their account[s] to the platform for the Advisor’s secure
access.
Financial Planning Services
Blalock Williams will typically provide a variety of financial planning and consulting services to Clients, pursuant to a
written financial planning agreement. Services are offered in several areas of a Client’s financial situation,
depending on their goals and objectives. Generally, such financial planning services involve preparing a formal
financial plan or rendering a specific financial consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives. This
planning or consulting may encompass one or more areas of need, including but not limited to, investment
planning, retirement planning, personal savings, education savings, insurance needs, business planning, and/or
other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
A financial plan developed for, or financial consultation rendered to the Client will usually include general
recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For example,
recommendations may be made that the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or alter
retirement savings, establish education savings and/or charitable giving programs.
Blalock Williams does not act as an attorney or accountant, but may refer Clients to an accountant, attorney or
other specialists, as appropriate for their unique situation. For certain financial planning engagements, the Advisor
will provide a written summary of the Client’s financial situation, observations, and recommendations. For
consulting or ad-hoc engagements, the Advisor may not provide a written summary. Plans or consultations are
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typically completed within six (6) months of contract date, assuming all information and documents requested are
provided promptly.
Financial planning and consulting recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the
interests of the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor for
investment management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any
recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects to
act on any of the recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the
transaction through the Advisor.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
Blalock Williams provides non-discretionary retirement plan advisory services on behalf of the retirement plans,
including, but not limited to, 401(k), SIMPLE+ and other plans (each a “Plan”) and the company (the “Plan
Sponsor”). The Advisor’s retirement plan advisory services are designed to assist the Plan Sponsor in meeting its
fiduciary obligations to the Plan and its Plan Participants. Each engagement is customized to the needs of the Plan
and Plan Sponsor.
Services generally include:
• Vendor Analysis
• Plan Participant Enrollment and Education Tracking
• Investment monitoring and oversight
• Performance Reporting
• Ongoing Investment Recommendation and Assistance
• ERISA 404(c) Assistance
These services are provided by Blalock Williams serving in the capacity as a fiduciary under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). In accordance with ERISA Section 408(b)(2), the
Plan Sponsor is provided with a written description of Blalock Williams’ fiduciary status, the specific services to be
rendered and all direct and indirect compensation the Advisor reasonably expects under the engagement.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging Blalock Williams to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter into one
or more agreements with the Advisor that define the terms, conditions, authority and responsibilities of the Advisor
and the Client. These services may include:
• Establishing an Investment Strategy – Blalock Williams, in connection with the Client, will develop a
strategy that seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
• Asset Allocation – Blalock Williams will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the
investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk for each Client.
• Portfolio Construction – Blalock Williams will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet the
stated goals and objectives of the Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – Blalock Williams will provide investment management and
ongoing oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
Blalock Williams does not manage a wrap fee program.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, Blalock Williams manages $105,500,674 in Client assets $96,060,000 of which is
managed on a discretionary basis and $9,440,674 on a non-discretionary basis. Clients may request more current
information at any time by contacting the Advisor.
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