Firm Description and Overview GW Financial, Inc. ("GWF") was founded in 1981 by Glenn D. Woody. In June 2014, Julie Anderson Bray and Scott K. Anderson, Jr. purchased GWF from Mr. Woody. Ms. Bray is now the President of GW Financial, Inc.. GWF is organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada.
GWF offers personalized confidential financial planning, tax strategy and investment management services to individuals, pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable and fraternal organizations and small businesses.
The investment strategies used to implement any investment advice given to clients include long term purchases, securities held at least a year, and short term purchases, securities sold within a year. GWF does not act as a custodian of client assets. The client always maintains asset control. GWF places trades for clients under a limited power of attorney.
Assets are invested in no-load mutual funds or exchange-traded funds, through the discount brokerage firm, Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. ("Schwab"). Fund companies charge each fund shareholder an investment management fee that is disclosed in the fund prospectus. Schwab charges a transaction fee to buy and sell some of these securities. This transaction fee is paid by the client.
GWF additionally furnishes advice to clients on matters not involving securities. 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.
As of December 31, 2023, GWF managed approximately $93,514,000 in assets (approximately $83,277,923 discretionary and $10,236,077 non-discretionary). Portfolios that are actively managed by GWF are done so on a discretionary basis.
Types of Advisory Services GWF provides several types of advisory services including personalized financial planning, tax planning and investment management services.
Clients for whom GWF has provided financial planning services and are current investment management clients may utilize continuing services, modular planning updates, tax-related inquiries and consultation services on assets other than those in the account managed by GWF as part of their investment management fee.
GWF is strictly a fee-only financial planning, tax strategies and investment management firm. GWF financial planning services do not include preparation of any kind of income tax, gift or estate tax returns or preparation of any legal documents, including wills or trusts.
GWF does not sell annuities, insurance, limited partnerships, or other commissioned products. GWF is not affiliated with entities that sell financial products or securities. No commissions in any form are accepted. No finder's fees are accepted. GWF is not registered as a securities broker-dealer, a futures commission merchant, commodity pool operation or commodity trading advisor. GWF does not have an arrangement with another investment advisor that is material to its advisory business or its clients. GWF does not manage accounts as part of a wrap or bundled fee program. Initial public offerings (IPOs) are not available through GWF.
Distinct Advisory Services Personalized Financial Planning This service includes the gathering of complete financial information regarding the client's current and historical status in the areas of net worth, income, expenses, taxes, investments, retirement plans, life insurance, health and medical insurance, business arrangements and divorce agreements, as well as future goals and objectives. A personalized plan is then developed including specific recommendations in all applicable areas.
Financial Consulting Services This is a standalone consulting service, for the management of financial resources based upon an analysis of the current situation, goals, and objectives. These meetings typically last 90-minutes. Financial Consulting may encompass retirement planning, estate planning, education planning, personal tax planning, real estate analysis, mortgage/debt analysis, and insurance analysis. The session can touch on taxes, debt, mortgages, and many different topics during a meeting, but no investment advice is offered during a Financial Consultation.
Financial Consultations rendered usually include general recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the clients. Implementation of the recommendations will be at the discretion of the client. Consultations are not typically accompanied by a written summary of observations and recommendations, as the process is less formal. These sessions only take into account the information and documents the client provides at the time of the meeting and consultations are typically completed at the close of the meeting.
Investment Management Services GWF provides a variety of asset management and monitoring services separate from the financial planning services listed above. GWF provides investment management services in which investment portfolios are actively managed and monitored. The assets included in this service will include exchange-traded funds, and/or mutual funds and, in the case of mutual funds, they will always be ones which can be purchased by the client with no commission paid to any Salesperson.
Each portfolio will be structured individually for the client's investment

needs and risk tolerances, as best as those can be determined by the client and GWF. Each portfolio will be widely diversified by using a variety of investment vehicles of differing asset classes and management styles. The accounts will pay a proportional share of the investment vehicle's internal expenses, in addition to GWF's management fee.
Wealth Management Services Wealth Management Includes Personal Financial Planning and Investment Management. GWF will get acquainted with the clients financial situation and begin our financial planning process to create their net worth statement, analyze their cash flow, set up accounts in our planning software and at our qualified custodian.
Wealth Management Silver (WM - S) For clients with less than $2MM in assets under management, we provide Personal Financial Planning and Investment Management services as described above without the minimum investment.
Selection of Other Advisers We may recommend that you use the services of a third party money manager ("TPMM") to manage all, or a portion of, your investment portfolio. After gathering information about your financial situation and objectives, we may recommend that you engage in a specific TPMM or investment program. Factors that we take into consideration when making our recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: the TPMM's performance, methods of analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. We will monitor the TPMM(s)' performance to ensure its management and investment style remains aligned with your investment goals and objectives.
The TPMM(s) will actively manage your portfolio and will assume discretionary investment authority over your account. We will assume discretionary authority to hire and fire TPMM(s) and/or reallocate your assets to other TPMM(s) where we deem such action appropriate.
Retirement Rollovers-No Obligation/Conflict of Interest Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the following acknowledgment to you. When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries 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.
The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.
A client leaving an employer typically has four options (and may engage in a combination of these options): 1) leave the money in his former employer's plan, if permitted, 2) roll over the assets to his/her new employer's plan, if one is available and rollovers are permitted, 3) rollover to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or 4) cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the client's age, result in adverse tax consequences).
GWF may recommend an investor roll over plan assets to an IRA managed by GWF. As a result, GWF may earn an asset-based fee; however, a recommendation that a client or prospective client leave their plan assets with their old employer will result in no compensation. GWF has an economic incentive to encourage an investor to roll plan assets into an IRA that GWF will manage.
There are various factors that GWF may consider before recommending a rollover, including but not limited to: i) the investment options available in the plan versus the investment options available in an IRA, ii) fees and expenses in the plan versus the fees and expenses in an IRA, iii) the services and responsiveness of the plan's investment professionals versus those of GWF, iv) required minimum distributions and age considerations, and vi) employer stock tax consequences, if any. No client is under any obligation to roll over plan assets to an IRA managed by GWF.
Imposed Restrictions GWF manages client investment accounts on an individual basis based on each client's individual circumstances and financial situation. Investment decisions for clients are made based on information the client supplies about their financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance. GWF recommendations may be limited if the client does not provide them with accurate and complete information. It is the client's responsibility to keep GWF informed of any changes to their investment objectives or restrictions.
Clients may also request other restrictions on the account, such as when a client needs to keep a minimum level of cash in the account or does not want GWF to buy or sell certain specific securities or security types in the account. GWF reserves the right to not accept and/or to terminate management of a client's account if we feel that the client-imposed restrictions would limit or prevent us from meeting or maintaining the client's investment strategy.
Termination of Agreement A client may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by notifying GWF In writing and paying the fee for the time spent on the engagement prior to notification of termination. GWF may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by notifying the client in writing.