A. Portfolio Advisors, Inc., (the “Registrant”) was originally formed as a general partnership
in 1990 and became a registered Investment Adviser Firm on November 30, 1990. On
December 17, 2007, Registrant became a corporation formed in the State of California.
The Registrant is owned by Tina Mistry, CFP, through the Ellis Family Trust.
B. As discussed below, the Registrant offers to its clients (individuals, high net worth
individuals, and pension and profit-sharing plans) investment advisory services and, to the
extent specifically requested by the client, financial planning and consulting services.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
The client can determine to engage the Registrant to provide non-discretionary investment
advisory services on a fee-only basis. The Registrant’s annual investment advisory fee is
based upon a percentage (%) of the market value of the assets placed under the Registrant’s
management.
Registrant’s annual investment advisory fee shall include investment advisory services,
and, to the extent specifically requested by the client, financial planning and consulting
services. For clients who do not have assets under Registrant’s management, Registrant
may instead render financial planning and consulting services on a standalone fixed fee
basis. If requested by the client, Registrant may recommend the services of other
professionals for implementation purposes. The client is under no obligation to engage the
services of any such recommended professional. The client retains absolute discretion over
all such implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject any recommendation from
the Registrant. If the client engages any professional (e.g., 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), and not Registrant, shall be responsible
for the quality and competency of the services provided.
Registrant does not provide ongoing monitoring of previously-provided financial planning
recommendations, and the client is free to accept or reject any recommendations made by
Registrant. Unless otherwise agreed, the client remains exclusively responsible for
implementation of any accepted recommendations. It remains the client’s responsibility to
promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any change in his/her/its financial situation
or investment objectives in order to request a re-evaluation of Registrant’s previous
recommendations and/or services.
WEALTH.COM – ESTATE PLANNING
When appropriate, Registrant can provide clients with access to the Wealth.com platform
for various estate planning needs. Wealth.com is an unaffiliated third-party technology
platform that provides a holistic estate planning solution allowing users to create, manage
and administer estate plans. Wealth.com also provides an optional hybrid model where
clients can start the process digitally, but still receive a bespoke human experience by
consulting live with one of Wealth.com’s local estate planning attorney partners, for a fee.
Registrant remains reasonably available to assist in the client’s use and navigation of the
platform, and can receive read-only visibility into the client’s progress, but the client will
retain exclusive responsibility for determining the specific data to be submitted and the
specific estate planning services and documents sought. Registrant is not a law firm,
Registrant’s representatives are not lawyers, and no aspect of Registrant’s services should
be construed as legal services.
PENSION CONSULTING SERVICES
The Registrant also provides non-discretionary pension consulting services, pursuant to
which it assists sponsors of self-directed retirement plans with the selection and/or
monitoring of investment alternatives (generally open-end mutual funds) from which plan
participants shall choose in self-directing the investments for their individual plan
retirement accounts. In addition, to the extent requested by the plan sponsor, the Registrant
may also provide participant education designed to assist participants in identifying the
appropriate investment strategy for their retirement plan accounts. The terms and
conditions of the engagement shall generally be set forth in a Retirement Plan Consulting
Agreement between the Registrant and the plan sponsor.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation
Services. To the extent requested by a client, Registrant may provide financial planning
and related consulting services regarding non-investment related matters, such as estate
planning, tax planning, insurance, etc. The Registrant does not serve as a law firm,
accounting firm, or insurance agency, and no portion of Registrant’s services should be
construed as legal, accounting, or insurance services. Accordingly, Registrant does not
prepare estate planning documents, tax returns or sell insurance products. To the extent
requested by a client, Registrant may recommend the services of other professionals for
these purposes (e.g., attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, etc.). Clients are reminded
that they are under no obligation to engage the services of any such recommended
professional. The client retains absolute discretion over all such implementation decisions
and is free to accept or reject any recommendation made by Registrant or its
representatives. If the client engages any professional, 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 professional(s), and
not Registrant, shall be responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
Non-Discretionary Service Limitations. Clients that determine to engage Registrant on a
non-discretionary investment advisory basis must be willing to accept that Registrant
cannot effect any account transactions without obtaining prior consent to such
transaction(s) from the client. Thus, in the event that Registrant would like to make a
transaction for a client’s account (including in the event of an individual holding or general
market correction), and the client is unavailable, the Registrant will be unable to effect the
account transaction(s) without first obtaining the client’s consent.
Retirement 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 the
Registrant recommends that a client roll over their retirement plan assets into an account
to be managed by the Registrant, such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if
the Registrant will earn a new (or increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the
rollover. No client is under any obligation to roll over retirement plan assets to an account
managed by Registrant.
ERISA / IRC Fiduciary Acknowledgment. When Registrant provides investment advice
to a client regarding the client’s retirement plan account or individual retirement account,
it does so as 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. The way Registrant makes money creates some
conflicts with client interests, so Registrant operates under a special rule that requires it to
act in the client’s best interest and not put its interests ahead of the client’s.
Under this special rule's provisions, Registrant must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations
(give prudent advice);
• Never put its financial interests ahead of the client’s when making
recommendations (give loyal advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that Registrant gives advice that
is in the client’s best interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for Registrant’s services; and
• Give the client basic information about conflicts of interest.
Independent Managers. Registrant may recommend that a client allocate a portion of its
investment assets among unaffiliated independent investment managers (“Independent
Manager(s)”) in accordance with the client’s designated investment objective(s). In such
situations, the Independent Manager(s) will have day-to- day responsibility for the active
discretionary management of the allocated assets. Registrant 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
Registrant 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) shall be set forth in a written agreement between the client and
the engaged Independent Manager(s) and such fee is separate from, and in addition to,
Registrant’s advisory fee as set forth in Item 5.
Dimensional Fund Advisors. Mutual funds issued by Dimensional Fund Advisors
(“DFA”) are generally only available through select registered investment advisers. As one
such select registered investment adviser, Registrant may allocate client investment assets
to DFA mutual funds. Upon the termination of Registrant’s services to a client, restrictions
regarding transferability and/or additional purchases of, or reallocation among, DFA funds
will apply.
Periods of Portfolio Inactivity. Registrant has a fiduciary duty to provide services
consistent with the client’s best interest. As part of its investment advisory services,
Registrant 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 Registrant determines that changes to a client’s portfolio
are neither necessary nor prudent. Clients nonetheless remain subject to the fees described
in Item 5 below during periods of account inactivity. Of course, as indicated below, there
can be no assurance that investment decisions made by Registrant will be profitable or
equal any specific performance level(s).
Cash Positions. Registrant considers cash and cash equivalents (e.g., money market funds,
etc.) are a material component of an investor’s asset allocation. Therefore, depending upon
perceived or anticipated market conditions/events (there being no guarantee that such
anticipated market conditions/events will occur), the Registrant may maintain cash and
cash equivalent positions for defensive, liquidity, or other purposes. Unless otherwise
agreed in writing, all such cash positions are included as part of assets under management
for purposes of calculating the Registrant’s advisory fee. Clients are advised that, at any
particular time, the fee charged by Registrant for advisory services may exceed the yield
earned on cash and cash equivalent positions.
Client Obligations. In performing its services, Registrant shall not be required to verify
any information received from the client or from the client’s other designated professionals,
and is expressly authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, each client is advised that it remains
their responsibility to promptly notify Registrant if there is ever any change in their
financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or
revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of Registrant’s written disclosure statement as set forth on
Part 2 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.
C. The Registrant shall provide investment advisory services specific to the needs of each
client. Prior to providing investment advisory services, an investment adviser
representative will ascertain each client’s investment objective(s). Thereafter, the
Registrant shall allocate and/or recommend that the client allocate investment assets
consistent with the designated investment objective(s). The client may, at any time, impose
reasonable restrictions, in writing, on the Registrant’s services.
D. The Registrant does not participate in a wrap fee program.
E. As of December 31, 2023, the Registrant had $206,237,451 in assets under management
on a non-discretionary basis.