Description of Firm and Services Provided
We are a registered investment advisor based in Birmingham, Alabama. We are organized as a
corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware and we have been providing investment advisory
services since 1995. We are a subsidiary of Porter White Companies, Inc. James H. White III is the
majority owner of the Porter White Companies, Inc.
Our clients fall into four major categories:
i. wealth management,
ii. institutional,
iii. retirement plan, and
iv. financial planning
Wealth management includes individuals, personal trusts, estates, individual retirement accounts and
the like. The institutional category includes governments, endowments, and for profit, non-profit and
government corporations. Retirement plans include both defined benefit and defined contribution plans
and may be either pooled or participant-directed. Financial planning is primarily done for individuals.
The following paragraphs describe our services. The descriptions of services are intended to be a
complete description of the services available from Advisor. The services applicable to each client are
described in a written client agreement.
As used in this brochure, the words "we", "our" and "us" refer to Porter White Investment Advisors, Inc.
and the words "you", "your" and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
Also, you may see the term Associated Person or Investment Advisor Representative throughout this
Brochure. As used in this Brochure, our Associated Persons or Investment Advisor Representatives
are our firm's officers, employees, and all individuals providing investment advice on behalf of our firm.
If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm
discretionary authority to manage your account, subject to an approved asset allocation policy.
Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our
firm, a power of attorney, or trading authorization forms. Typically our discretionary authority is limited
by an approved asset allocation policy and we secure approval for any trades outside of the approved
asset allocation policy. Changes in the asset allocation policy are communicated to you in writing and
are reflected in the written reports we send you, usually quarterly.
Wealth Management
We offer discretionary portfolio management services in which our investment advice is tailored to
meet our clients' needs and investment objectives.
1. Financial Planning and Consulting
a. Personal Financial Review. Meet with you to gather "suitability information" and
determine financial situation, investment goals, risk tolerance, tax position, and any
special circumstances. Information will be used to create a personal balance sheet. We
will meet annually or as circumstances require to review goals and update information.
b. Investment Policy Development. Outline personal goals and constraints that will guide
our investment plan. As your circumstances change, so will the policy.
c. Retirement Goal Analysis. Prepare analyses to determine likelihood of reaching
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retirement goals and outline a plan to help you reach the goals.
d. Insurance, Tax, & Estate Planning. Review other planning areas and make
recommendations as necessary to protect your assets and maximize tax efficiency. We
may also coordinate with other advisors and professionals.
2. Investments
a. Asset Allocation. Recommend an allocation of investments in line with your goals and
risk tolerance.
b. Investment Selection and Monitoring. Recommend diversified investment options and
monitor the performance of these selections over time.
c. Trading and Rebalancing. Execute trades in line with agreed upon asset allocation
policy and rebalance the account no less frequently than annually. Trades will be made
to maximize tax efficiency where necessary.
d. Cash Management. If needed, match assets with disbursement liabilities to manage
cash flow needs.
e. Report performance of account compared to a benchmark each quarter along with
commentary on overall market conditions.
f. Account Servicing. Facilitate initial account set up and transfers and serve as ongoing
liaison between you and the Custodian to handle account maintenance.
We manage assets using an open architecture strategy. Asset allocations are determined by using the
results of the initial risk assessment, continuous updating of account information and supervision of
activity. The adviser makes recommendations that demonstrably are in the client's own best interests
and based upon the client's needs and goals. The firm seeks to establish this personal dimension
through active and ongoing discussion with clients and account supervision.
Institutional and Retirement Plan Accounts (Pooled)
We act as fiduciary for your retirement or institutional investment account. We work with the investment
committee to make recommendations consistent with the mission and circumstances of the institution
and track adherence to the investment policy statement over time, updating the policy when situations
change.
1. Planning
a. Financial Statement Review. Analyze current financial position, including assets,
liabilities, and disbursement needs.
b. Risk Assessment. Determine the institution's tolerance for taking risk based on factors
like financial position and institutional constraints. We like to know a minimum value that
the account cannot fall below.
c. Investment Policy Development. Use information gathered to outline an investment plan,
goals, and constraints. We prepare statistical analyses and project likelihood of meeting
goals.
d. Annual Review. At least annually, we will review the investment policy statement and
our adherence to its guidelines. In the review, we examine planned performance versus
actual performance, taking into account variance in disbursements, contributions, and
investment performance.
2. Investments (same scope as individuals and trusts)
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Retirement Plans (Participant Directed)
Our services for retirement plans as fiduciary are comprehensive and can begin by advising on the
initial construction of the plan and continue through ongoing advisement of investment selections and
employee education. We monitor performance of the plan and aim to achieve the same results as our
other managed institutional accounts. The services described below are typically provided, but
additional advisory or planning needs can be arranged and negotiated for an additional fee.
1. Plan Architect.
a. Plan Design Review. If a plan already exists, we will provide analysis on the current plan
design and how effectively it is meeting your needs. If no plan is in place, we will work
with you to design a new plan.
b.
Evaluate Record-Keeping & Custody Options. We will examine different service
providers and make a recommendation.
c. Coordinate Plan Administration. Ensure that services are transitioned smoothly and that
day-to-day administration needs are being met.
d. Employee Enrollment and Education. Offer initial employee enrollment and education
meetings and as needed thereafter. We aim to offer employee education that is
understandable and emphasizes the importance of retirement saving.
2. Plan Fiduciary
a. Investment Policy Development. We develop an investment policy statement outlining
plan goals in the context of plan document stipulations and restrictions.
b. Annual Plan Review. We examine plan performance, suitability of investments, and
compliance with the investment policy statement. We also review plan expenses and
employee activity, flagging activity that may need to be addressed.
3. Investments
a. Selection and Monitoring. Recommend diversified investment options and monitor the
performance of these selections over time.
b. Model Portfolio Development. Recommend model portfolios that can be chosen by
employees in which to invest their accounts. Several models will be developed to offer a
variety of risk exposure.
c. Rebalancing Policy. Model portfolios will be rebalanced no less than annually or as
model portfolios change.
d. Reporting. Plan account performance will be reported quarterly compared to a
benchmark along with commentary on overall market conditions.
Financial Planning
1. Personal Financial Review. We conduct a thorough "discovery meeting" to create a more
detailed financial profile and determine goals, needs, and objectives. Topics discussed may
include broader goals, important relationships and interests, a more complete accounting of
your assets, liabilities and income sources, and other tax, insurance, legal and accounting
advisors that you work with. Information will be used to create a personal balance sheet and
guide the financial planning process.
2. Retirement Goal Analysis. Prepare analyses to determine likelihood of reaching retirement
goals and outline a plan to help you reach the goals.
3. Insurance, Tax, & Estate Planning. Review other planning areas and make recommendations
as necessary to protect your assets and maximize tax efficiency. We may also coordinate with
other advisors and professionals.
4. Asset Allocation. Recommend an asset allocation of investments, if necessary, in line with your
goals and risk tolerance.
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5. Financial Plan. Assemble recommendations and a course of action for implementation with
responsibilities outlined for Advisor and Client.
We offer fee-based financial planning. 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. The specific services to be provided will be agreed upon in a separate
agreement between us and the Client. Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, tax preparers,
etc.) are engaged directly by the Client on an as-needed basis and may charge fees of their own.
We are a registered investment adviser and, in that capacity, may recommend securities products to
meet the Client's needs and for which we will earn investment advisory fees for implementing the plan.
This creates a conflict of interest since the recommendation of the securities products may be based
on the incentive to receive the investment advisory fees rather than the needs of the Client. If the
Client elects to act on any of recommendations, the Client is under no obligation to implement the plan
through us.
Types of Investments
We primarily offer advice on mutual funds. When suitable, we generally recommend no load mutual
funds investing in equity and fixed income securities. We may also recommend fixed income securities
with maturities we deem appropriate to the circumstances of the client. We generally do not purchase
other securities for clients but may do so if suitable for the client. On occasion, clients may direct us not
to sell or to delay the sale of low basis securities acquired prior to our firm assuming investment
oversight over the account. In such cases, we will include the securities in our overall portfolio analysis
and report but will provide only limited investment advice with regard to the merits of the individual
security.
You may request that we refrain from investing in particular securities or certain types of securities.
You must provide these restrictions to our firm in writing.
Refer to the Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss below for additional
disclosures on this topic.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
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"). 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. Under this special rule's provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give
prudent advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
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• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in
your best interest.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, we provide continuous management services for $697,548,953 in client
assets on a discretionary basis, and $9,769,975 in client assets on a non-discretionary basis. We also
manage $22,965,957 in client assets on a non-continuous basis.