Description of Advisory Firm
Claremont Financial Group, Inc. (“CFG” or the “Advisor and also “we”, “our” or “us”) is a privately-
owned corporation headquartered in Claremont, California. CFG is registered as an investment advisor
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). CFG was founded in January 1994 and has
been registered as an investment advisor since February 2006. Gaetan Scalzo is the owner of CFG.
Advisory Services Offered
CFG offers personal financial planning and investment management services to individuals, high net
worth individuals, trusts, estates and charitable organizations (each 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. CFG’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.
Personal Financial Planning Services
CFG offers personal financial planning services for a fee. We specialize in providing advice to
professionals, pre-retirees and those who are retired. CFG uses financial strategies consistent with the
Client's financial condition, tax status, and risk/reward objectives. Strategies may focus on investments,
insurance, taxes, and/or estate plans.
Over the series of planning meetings, we compile written information and analysis, which may include
one or more of the following areas:
1. the Client's objectives and financial goals,
2. a review of the Client's assets, liabilities, income and expenses,
3. a review, analysis and recommendations regarding one or more of the subject planning areas
previously listed,
4. a summary of findings, and
5. an action guide or "To Do" list.
Personal financial planning (the analysis, written report, and subsequent modifications and services) is a
service separate from our investment management services. Clients have full discretion as to how they
choose to implement the recommendations discussed in the financial planning phase. CFG will generally
recommend implementation of financial plans, using CFG or an affiliate as the investment advisor. There
are no requirements to use us, or our affiliate, for investment management services.
The investment management services, described below, are part of the implementation process that
occurs once the initial planning has been accomplished. Use of our investment management services is
not required. Some Clients may use the services of CFG only for the financial planning; others may
choose to use CFG only for investment management services. Many Clients engage CFG for both of
these services.
Our personal financial planning services do not include preparation of any kind of income tax, gift, or
estate tax returns nor preparation of any legal documents, including wills or trusts. We do not provide
Clients with any legal or accounting advice.
We describe fees charged for personal financial planning services in Item 5 below.
Investment Management Services
CFG offers asset allocation systems through third-party providers (“Investment Platforms”) including
Pacific Financial Group, LLC (formerly The Elements Financial Group, LLC and herein “PFG”), an affiliate
of CFG, and Orion Platform Services, LLC (“Orion”) We will use a sub-advisor to manage portfolios for
Clients where an asset allocation system is not suitable for a Client.
Through these Investment Platforms, we advise Clients as to the selection of asset allocation models and
provide continuous monitoring of the models. We describe the material investment risks under the
heading Specific Security Risks in Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies, and Risk of Loss.
We discuss our discretionary authority below under Item 16 – Investment Discretion. For more
information about the restrictions Clients can put on their account[s], see Tailored Services and Client
Imposed Restrictions in this item below.
We describe the fees charged for investment management services in Item 5 below.
Limitations on Investments – In some circumstances, CFG’s advice may be limited to certain types
of securities.
Limitation by Issuer – In the event CFG is managing assets within an annuity, CFG is limited to
those investment options chosen by the insurance agency.
No Load Mutual Funds – The vast majority of mutual fund investments we recommend are in the form
of no load or load waived mutual funds.
Limitation by Client – CFG may also limit advice based on certain Client-imposed restrictions. For more
information about the restrictions Clients can put on their accounts, see Tailored Services and Client
Imposed Restrictions in this Item below.
Non-Managed Assets – CFG may offer securities trading activities for non-managed positions in a
Client’s managed account[s], acting as an intermediary between the Client and the custodian. We do not
provide investment advice regarding that portion of the Client’s managed account designated as non-
managed assets nor do we provide opinions as to the merits of any non-managed asset held in the
account[s]. We also do not make any judgments as to the appropriateness of assumed risk or suitability
of any non-managed investment given the Client’s situation. CFG offers this service at no charge and at
our discretion, in consideration of the Client’s other accounts that we manage.
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.
At no time will CFG 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 their designated
account[s] at the Custodian, pursuant to the terms of the advisory agreement. For additional
information, please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Tailored Services and Client Imposed Restrictions
CFG manages Client accounts based on the investment strategy the Client chooses, as discussed below
under Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies, and Risk of Loss. CFG applies the selected
strategy for each Client based on the Client’s individual circumstances and financial situation. We make
investment decisions for Clients based on information the Client supplies about their financial situation,
goals, and risk tolerance. Our recommendations may not be suitable if the Client does not provide us
with accurate and complete information. It is the Client’s responsibility to keep CFG informed of any
changes to their investment objectives or restrictions.
Generally, CFG does not allow Clients to impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of
securities in the accounts. CFG reserves the right to not accept and/or terminate management of a
Client’s account[s] if we feel that a Client wants to put a restriction that limits or prevents us from
meeting or maintaining the Client’s investment strategy.
Wrap Fee Program
CFG does not sponsor a wrap fee program in connection with their investment management services. A
wrap fee program is defined as any advisory program under which a specified fee or fees not based
directly upon transactions in a Client’s account is charged for investment advisory services (which may
include portfolio management or advice concerning the selection of other investment advisers) and the
execution of Client transactions. Whenever a fee is charged to a Client for services described in this
brochure (whether wrap fee or non-wrap fee), we will receive all or a portion of the fee charged.
A complete description of these programs and related fees, charges, when due and termination
procedures are described in the respective manager’s disclosure brochures, which you receive at or
prior to the time a third-party managed account is established.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2022, CFG manages $100,035,737 in Client assets, $96,277,760 of which are
managed on a discretionary basis and $3,757,977 on a non-discretionary basis. Clients may request
more current information at any time by contacting the Advisor.