FIRM DESCRIPTION
WFA Wealth Managers hereinafter (“Adviser” or “WFA”) is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Zermatt
Holdings, LLC and Louis Dworsky became the principal owners of ZWP in 2020.
The Adviser provides personalized confidential wealth planning and investment management to individuals,
pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses.
The Adviser is a fee-only wealth advisory and investment management firm. The firm does not sell
securities or receive compensation from any other source other than its clients.
The Adviser does not act as a custodian of client assets. The client always maintains ownership of his or
her assets.
OTHER PROFESSIONALS
Lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc. may be engaged directly by the client on an as-needed basis.
Any conflicts of interest arising out of the Adviser’s or its associated persons are disclosed in this brochure.
PRINCIPAL OWNERS
WFA San Diego, LLC (“WFA SD”), and Zermatt Wealth Partners LLC (“ZWP”) are all entities owned or
controlled by Louis Dworsky and Zermatt Holdings, LLC.
TYPES OF ADVISORY SERVICES
The Adviser provides investment supervisory services, also known as asset management services;
manages investment advisory accounts not involving investment supervisory services; and furnishes
investment advice through consultations. On more than an occasional basis, the Adviser furnishes advice
to clients on matters not involving securities.
WFA Wealth Managers is a Registered Investment Adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
WFA provides advisory services to individuals, employee benefit plans, trusts, corporations, or other
businesses (collectively “Client”). Advisory fees vary according to the type of investment services provided
and higher or lower fees than those shown on the schedules below may be charged to particular Clients.
Any fee arrangements will be consistent with the requirements of applicable laws and regulations, including
the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the" Advisers Act"), Advisers Act Rule 205-3, and if
applicable, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"). WFA will require
each Client to make a selection of services in writing as part of the Client Agreement(s) herein referred as
“CA” which sets forth the rights and obligations of WFA and the Client. Fees charged for investment
management services are payable quarterly, in arrears, utilizing the then-current fee structure, based upon
the market value of assets on the last business day of the preceding quarter. On occasion fees for investment
management services are based upon a flat fee agreed to in advance and not upon the value of the assets
under management. A copy of WFA's written disclosure statement as set forth on Part 2 “Brochure” and
Part 3 “CRS” of Form ADV shall be provided to each Client before or at the time a CA is executed.
WFA generally provides investment supervisory services on a discretionary basis. Under limited
circumstances, WFA may provide investment supervisory services on a nondiscretionary basis. In order to
determine a suitable course of action for an individual Client, WFA may perform a review of the
variables that are presented. Such review may include, but may not be limited to investment objectives,
consideration of the Client's overall financial condition, income and tax status, personal and business
assets, risk profile and other factors unique to the Client's particular circumstances.
WFA's investment supervisory services may include the following:
• Design, revision and reallocation of Client’s portfolio. Investments may be determined by Client's
investment objectives, risk tolerance, net worth, net income, age, time horizon, tax situations and
other suitability factors. Client accounts are managed on an individualized basis. Restrictions and
guidelines imposed by Client may affect the composition and performance of portfolios. As a result,
performance of portfolios with the same investment objective may differ. Clients should not expect
that the performance of their portfolios will be identical to any other individual's portfolio
performance.
• Utilization of established third party research services to assist WFA with formulating asset
allocation, industry and sector selection, and individual security investment recommendations in
constructing and maintaining Client portfolios. WFA may provide investment advisory services that
do not involve investment supervisory services.
In determining a suitable course of action for a Client, WFA may perform a review of the variables that are
presented. Such review may include, but is not necessarily limited to: investment objectives, consideration
of the Client's overall financial condition, income and tax status, personal and business assets, risk profile,
and other factors unique to the Client's particular circumstances.
WFA may provide investment advice through consultations not included in either service described above
on a non-discretionary-only basis for Participant Directed Qualified Retirement Plans - 401(k)s. WFA may
manage individual participant accounts in these 401(k)s and may provide specific investment advice to
individual participants in these plans.
In order to determine a suitable course of action for a 401(k) Client, WFA may perform a review of the
variables that are presented. Such review may include, but would not necessarily be limited to: the needs
and objectives of the employer, the costs involved, and other factors unique to the Client's particular
circumstances.
Investments may include: equities (stocks), warrants, corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit,
municipal securities, investment company securities (variable life insurance, variable annuities, and mutual
funds shares), U. S. government securities, options contracts, and interests in partnerships etc.
WFA may offer advice on private equity and/or futures funds that contain investments in other private equity
funds, also known as a "fund of funds," and/or "hedge-funds." WFA may also offer advice on private equity
and/or funds that contain investments in equities, futures, options, and other securities, such as commodity
futures. The prospectus or offering memorandum will reflect the investment objectives of the funds and the
typical investments purchased by the management of those private equity and/or futures funds.
WFA may, on occasion, provide advice to Clients on matters not involving securities, and may include but
is not limited to Business Planning, Business Succession Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning,
Insurance Planning, and Wealth Management. Initial public offerings (IPOs) are not available through the
Adviser.
In addition to the above, WFA offers an automated investment program (the “Program”) through which
Clients are invested in a range of investment strategies WFA has constructed and manages, each
consisting of a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (“Funds”) and a cash allocation. The Client may instruct
WFA to exclude up to three Funds from their portfolio. The Client’s portfolio is held in a brokerage account
opened by the Client at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“CS&Co”). WFA uses the Institutional Intelligent
Portfolios® platform (“Platform”), offered by Schwab Performance Technologies (“SPT”), a software
provider to independent investment advisers and an affiliate of CS&Co., to operate the Program.
WFA is independent of and not owned by, affiliated with, or sponsored or supervised by SPT, CS&Co., or
their affiliates (together, “Schwab”). WFA, and not Schwab, is the Client’s investment adviser and primary
point of contact with respect to the Program. WFA is solely responsible, and Schwab is not responsible, for
determining the appropriateness of the Program for the Client, choosing a suitable investment strategy and
portfolio for the Client’s investment needs and goals, and managing that portfolio on an ongoing basis. WFA
has contracted with SPT to provide our firm with the Platform, which consists of technology and related
trading and account management services for the Program. The Platform enables WFA to make the
Program available to Clients online and includes a system that automates certain key parts of our
investment process (the “System”). Based on information the Client provides to us, WFA will recommend a
portfolio via the System. The Client may then indicate an interest in a portfolio that is one level less or more
conservative or aggressive than the recommended portfolio, but WFA then makes the final decision and
selects a portfolio based on all the information WFA has about the client. The System also includes an
automated investment engine through which WFA manages the Client’s portfolio on an ongoing basis
through automatic rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting (if the Client is eligible and elects).
Rebalancing: The System will rebalance a Client’s account periodically by generating instructions to
CS&Co to buy and sell shares of ETFs and depositing or withdrawing funds through the “Sweep Program”,
considering the asset allocation for the Client’s investment strategy. Rebalancing trade instructions can be
generated by the System when (i) the percentage allocation of an ETF varies by a set parameter established
by WFA, (ii) WFA decides to change the ETFs or their percentage allocations for an investment strategy or
(iii) WFA decides to change a Client’s investment strategy, which could occur, for example, when a Client
makes changes to their investment profile or imposes or modifies restrictions on the management of their
account. Accounts below $5,000 may deviate farther than the set parameters as well as the target allocation
of the selected investment profile. Rebalancing below $5,000 may impact the ability to maintain positions
in selected asset classes due to the inability to buy or sell at least one share of an ETF. For example,
withdrawal requests may require entire asset classes to be liquidated
to generate and disburse the
requested cash.
Sweep Program: Each investment strategy involves a cash allocation (“Cash Allocation”) that will be held
in a sweep program at Charles Schwab Bank (the “Sweep Program”). The Cash Allocation will be a
minimum of 4% of an account’s value to be held in cash, and may be higher, depending on the investment
strategy chosen for a client. The Cash Allocation will be accomplished through enrollment in the Sweep
Program, a program sponsored by CS&Co. By enrolling in the Program, Clients consent to having the free
credit balances in their brokerage accounts at CS&Co swept into deposit accounts (“Deposit Accounts”) at
Charles Schwab Bank (“Schwab Bank”) through the Sweep Program. Schwab Bank is an FDIC-insured
depository institution that is a Schwab affiliate. The Sweep Program is a required feature of the Program.
If the Deposit Account balances exceed the Cash Allocation for a client’s investment strategy, the excess
over the rebalancing parameter will be used to purchase securities as part of rebalancing. If Clients request
cash withdrawals from their accounts, this likely will require the sale of ETF positions in their accounts to
bring their Cash Allocation in line with the target allocation for their chosen investment strategy. If those
clients have taxable accounts, those sales may generate capital gains (or losses) for tax purposes. In
accordance with an agreement with CS&Co, Schwab Bank has agreed to pay an interest rate to depositors
participating in the Sweep Program that will be determined by reference to an index.
WFA charges Clients a fee for our services as described below under Item 5 Fees and Compensation.
WFA’s fees are not set or supervised by Schwab. Clients do not pay brokerage commissions or any other
fees to CS&Co. as part of the Program. Schwab does receive other revenues, including (i) the profit earned
by Charles Schwab Bank, a Schwab affiliate, on the allocation to the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Sweep
Program described in the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Sweep Program Disclosure Statement; (ii)
investment advisory and/or administrative service fees (or unitary fees) received by Charles Schwab
Investment Management, Inc., a Schwab affiliate, from Schwab ETFs™ Schwab Funds® and Laudus
Funds® that WFA selects to buy and hold in the client’s brokerage account; (iii) fees received by Schwab
from third-party ETFs that participate in the Schwab ETF OneSource™ program and mutual funds in the
Schwab Mutual Fund Marketplace® (including certain Schwab Funds and Laudus Funds) in the Client’s
brokerage account for services Schwab provides; and (iv) remuneration Schwab may receive from the
market centers where it routes ETF trade orders for execution.
WFA does not pay SPT fees for the Platform so long as WFA maintains $100 million in client assets in
accounts at CS&Co. that are not enrolled in the Program. If WFA does not meet this condition, then WFA
pays SPT an annual licensing fee of 0.10% (10 basis points) on the value of our Clients’ assets in the
Program. This fee arrangement gives WFA an incentive to recommend or require that our Clients with
accounts not enrolled in the Program be maintained with CS&Co.
TYPES OF AGREEMENTS
Wealth Planning Agreement
The Adviser will assist Client in the comprehensive management of affairs surrounding Client’s wealth,
including:
• Review, maintenance, and retention of documents including wills, trusts contracts, corporate
documents, family records, etc.
• Recommendations pertaining to estate planning, retirement planning, generation planning issues,
corporate issues, tax issues, asset protection, offshore asset planning, real estate, etc.
• Meetings, phone calls, and other coordination efforts with Client’s other advisors including attorney,
accountant, pension administrator, trustee, banker, insurance agent, etc.
• Other such services as may be agreed to in writing by Adviser and Client attached to the “CA”.
The Adviser is not an attorney, accountant, or expert in many of the areas covered by the Client Agreement
“CA” and does not provide such services. The role of Adviser is to act as a catalyst and as Client’s agent
in dealing with the matters under the “CA”.
There is an inherent conflict of interest for the Adviser whenever a wealth plan recommends use of
professional investment management services. The Adviser or its associated persons may receive
compensation for wealth planning and investment management services. The Adviser does not make any
representation that these services are offered at the lowest available cost and the Client may be able to
obtain the same services at a lower cost from other providers. The Client is under no obligation to accept
any of the recommendations of the Adviser or use the services of the Adviser.
Investment Management Agreement
Adviser will direct, in Adviser’s sole discretion and without first consulting Client, the investment and
reinvestment of the assets in Client’s account (the “Account”) in securities and cash or cash equivalents.
The investment management services provided as outlined in the “CA” are as follows:
• Evaluation. Determine Client’s investment objectives, time horizons, investment bias, risk
tolerance, and other factors that may impact the portfolio design.
• Portfolio Review. Review Client’s existing portfolio for continuity with Client’s objectives and risk
tolerance.
• Asset Allocation. Determine the most efficient allocation of capital to appropriate asset classes for
Client’s portfolio.
• Asset/Asset Manager Selection. Select the assets and/or asset managers.
• Portfolio Monitoring. Regularly monitor Client’s portfolio to ensure that economic conditions, market
performance, and the asset mix remain consistent with Client’s objectives and risk tolerance.
• Periodic Reporting. Provide a comprehensive quarterly inventory of Client’s investments under
Adviser’s management.
• Regular Meetings. Provide regular meetings with Client to review the Account.
Client’s financial circumstances and investment objectives and any special instructions or limits that Client
wishes Adviser to follow in managing the Account are described in Client’s Investment Policy Statement.
Client agrees to notify Adviser promptly of any significant change in the information provided by Client or
any other significant change in Client’s financial circumstances or investment objectives that might affect
the manner in which Client’s Account should be managed. Client also agrees to provide Adviser with such
additional information as Adviser may be consistent with obtaining best execution, transactions for Client’s
Account may be directed to brokers in return for research services furnished by them to Adviser. Such
research generally will be used to service all of Adviser’s Clients, but brokerage commissions paid by Client
may be used to pay for research that is not used in managing Client’s Account. The Adviser may, in its
discretion, cause the Account to pay brokers commission greater than another qualified broker might charge
to effect the same transaction where Adviser determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable
in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services received.
WFA offers three levels of service:
Portfolio Administration Services
The Adviser will provide Client with portfolio administration services including:
• Quarterly Reporting with an inventory of Client’s investments under Client’s management.
• Trade Execution. Adviser will execute trades at Client’s direction.
• Trade Settlement Review. Adviser will review all trades that have been executed to ensure
that they have been completed as Client has directed, subject to the receipt of trade details
from Client.
• Year-end Gains and Losses Reporting. Adviser will provide report of realized gains and
losses for tax purposes.
Portfolio Administration Services do not include Wealth Advisory Services, Investment Management
Services, or Consulting Services. Adviser assumes no fiduciary responsibility for Portfolio
Administration Accounts. It is Client’s responsibility to notify Adviser of all Buy/Sell orders to be
executed by Adviser. Buy/Sell orders to be executed by Adviser cannot be given through electronic or
voicemail communications. Client has authorized Adviser to enter into such agreements and make such
representations as necessary or proper in connection with the performance of its duties.
Exchange Traded Funds Portfolio Services
The Adviser provides a selection of discretionally managed investment portfolios using Exchange
Traded Funds (ETF) exclusively. The Adviser provides the following services for all ETF Portfolios:
• Asset Allocation. Determine the most efficient allocation of capital to appropriate asset
classes for each ETF Portfolio.
• Fund Selection. Select appropriate ETFs from the available universe for each ETF Portfolio.
• Portfolio Monitoring. Regularly monitor all ETF Portfolios to ensure that economic conditions,
market performance, and the asset mix remain consistent with ETF Portfolio objectives.
• Periodic Reporting. Provide a quarterly performance report via a secure web service.
The ETF Portfolio account is not an individually managed account. It is intended for Clients with smaller
investment portfolios. Clients with investment portfolios greater than $500,000, should discuss the
advantages of individually managed investment accounts with Adviser.
Hourly Planning Engagements
The Adviser provides hourly planning services for Clients who need advice on a limited scope of
work.
ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT
As of December 31st, 2023, the Adviser manages approximately $9,242,959 in assets. All assets are
managed on a discretionary basis for 115 Client Accounts.