A. The Registrant is a corporation that was formed in January 2002 in the State of California.
The Registrant became registered as an investment adviser firm in March 2001. The
Registrant is principally owned by Eric Rudney.
B. As discussed below, the Registrant offers investment advisory services to its clients, which
are comprised of individuals; high net worth individuals; pension and profit-sharing plans;
trusts and estates; and business entities, and charitable organizations, etc. The Registrant
does not hold itself out as providing financial planning, estate planning or accounting
services.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
The client can determine to engage the Registrant to provide discretionary and/or non-
discretionary investment advisory services on a fee 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. Before engaging the Registrant to provide
investment advisory services, clients are required to enter into an Investment Advisory
Agreement with Registrant setting forth the terms and conditions of the engagement
(including termination), describing the scope of the services to be provided, and the fee
that is due from the client.
If requested to do so, Registrant may also provide investment advisory services relative to
the client’s 401(k) plan assets. In such event, Registrant shall allocate (or recommend that
the client allocate) the retirement account assets among the investment options available
on the 401(k) platform. Registrant’s ability shall be limited to the allocation of the assets
among the investment alternatives available through the plan. Registrant will not receive
any communications from the plan sponsor or custodian, and it shall remain the client’s
exclusive obligation to notify Registrant of any changes in investment alternatives,
restrictions, etc. pertaining to the retirement account.
Before Registrant provides investment advisory services, an investment adviser
representative will ascertain each client’s investment objectives. Thereafter, the Registrant
will allocate investment assets consistent with the designated investment objectives. Once
allocated, the Registrant provides ongoing monitoring and review of account performance
and asset allocation as compared to client investment objectives and may rebalance the
account as a result.
RETIREMENT PLAN CONSULTING SERVICES.
The Registrant also provides retirement plan consulting/management services, pursuant to
which it assists sponsors of self-directed retirement plans organized under the Employee
Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The terms and conditions of the engagement
shall be set forth in a Retirement Plan Services Agreement between the Registrant and the
plan sponsor.
To the extent that the plan sponsor engages the Registrant in an ERISA Section 3(21)
capacity, the Registrant will assist with the selection and/or monitoring of investment
options (generally open-end mutual funds and exchange traded funds) from which plan
participants shall choose in self-directing the investments for their individual plan
retirement accounts. If the plan sponsor chooses to engage the Registrant in an ERISA
Section 3(38) capacity, Registrant may provide the same services as described above, but
may also: create specific asset allocation models that Registrant manages on a discretionary
basis, which plan participants may choose in managing their individual retirement account;
and/or modify the investment options made available to plan participants on a discretionary
basis.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitations of Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation Services. To the extent
requested by the client, Registrant may provide consulting services regarding non-
investment related matters, such as estate planning, tax planning, insurance, etc. Registrant
does not serve as a law firm or accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be
construed as legal or accounting services. Accordingly, Registrant does not prepare estate
planning documents or tax returns. To the extent requested by a client, Registrant may
recommend the services of other professionals for certain non-investment implementation
purposes (i.e., attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, etc.), including representatives of
Registrant in their separate individual capacities as licensed insurance agents. 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 Registrant and/or its representatives.
Please Note: If the client engages any professional (i.e., attorney, accountant, 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) (i.e., attorney, accountant, etc.), and not Registrant, shall
be responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided. Please Also Note-
Conflict of Interest: The recommendation by Registrant’s representative that a client
purchase an insurance commission product through Registrant’s representative in his/her
separate and individual capacity as an insurance agent, presents a conflict of interest, as
the receipt of commissions provides an incentive to recommend insurance products based
on commissions to be received, rather than on a particular client’s need. No client is under
any obligation to purchase any insurance commission products through such a
representative. Clients are reminded that they may purchase insurance products
recommended by Registrant through other, non-affiliated insurance agencies. Registrant’s
Chief Compliance Officer, Ashley Kirk, remains available to address any questions
that a client or prospective client may have regarding the above conflict of interest.
Custodian Charges-Additional Fees. As discussed below at Item 12 below, when
requested to recommend a broker-dealer/custodian for client accounts, Registrant generally
recommends that Charles Schwab & Co. (“Schwab”), an unaffiliated SEC-registered
broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC/NFA member, serve as the broker-dealer/custodian for
client investment management assets. Broker-dealers such as Schwab charge brokerage
commissions, transaction, and/or other type fees for effecting certain types of securities
transactions (i.e., including transaction fees for certain mutual funds, and mark-ups and
mark-downs charged for fixed income transactions, etc.). The types of securities for which
transaction fees, commissions, and/or other type fees (as well as the amount of those fees)
shall differ depending upon the broker-dealer/custodian. While certain custodians,
including Schwab, generally (with potential exceptions) do not currently charge fees on
individual equity transactions (including ETFs), others do. Please Note: there can be no
assurance that Schwab will not change its transaction fee pricing in the future. Please Also
Note: Schwab may also assess fees to clients who elect to receive trade confirmations and
account statements by regular mail rather than electronically.
Retirement Rollovers – No Obligation / Conflict of Interest: 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. Registrant provides a recommendation
as to whether a client should engage in a rollover or not (whether it is from an employer’s
plan or an existing IRA), Registrant is acting as a fiduciary 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. No client is under any obligation
to roll over retirement plan assets to an account managed by Registrant whether it is from
an employer’s plan or an existing IRA. The Registrant’s Chief Compliance
Officer,
Ashley Kirk, remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective
client may have regarding the conflict of interest presented by such a rollover
recommendation.
Cybersecurity Risk. The information technology systems and networks that Registrant
and its third-party service providers use to provide services to Registrant’s clients employ
various controls, which are designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents stemming from
intentional or unintentional actions that could cause significant interruptions in Registrant’s
operations and result in the unauthorized acquisition or use of clients’ confidential or non-
public personal information. Clients and Registrant are nonetheless subject to the risk of
cybersecurity incidents that could ultimately cause them to incur losses, including for
example: financial losses, cost and reputational damage to respond to regulatory
obligations, other costs associated with corrective measures, and loss from damage or
interruption to systems. Although Registrant has established its processes to reduce the risk
of cybersecurity incidents, there is no guarantee that these efforts will always be successful,
especially considering that Registrant does not directly control the cybersecurity measures
and policies employed by third-party service providers. Clients could incur similar adverse
consequences resulting from cybersecurity incidents that more directly affect issuers of
securities in which those clients invest, broker-dealers, qualified custodians, governmental
and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, or other
financial institutions.
Use of Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”). While the Registrant may
recommend allocating investment assets to mutual funds that are not available directly to
the public, the Registrant may also recommend that clients allocate investment assets to
publicly-available mutual funds and ETFs that the client could obtain without engaging
Registrant as an investment adviser. However, if a client or prospective client determines
to allocate investment assets to publicly-available mutual funds and ETFs without engaging
Registrant as an investment adviser, the client or prospective client would not receive the
benefit of Registrant’s initial and ongoing investment advisory services. Other mutual
funds, such as those issued by Dimensional Fund Advisors (“DFA”), are generally only
available through registered investment advisers. Registrant may allocate client investment
assets to DFA mutual funds. Therefore, 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. The Registrant’s Chief Compliance Officer, Ashley Kirk,
remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective client may have
regarding the above.
Please Note: Cash Positions. Registrant continues to treat cash as an asset class. As such,
unless determined to the contrary by Registrant, all cash positions (money markets, etc.)
shall continue to be included as part of assets under management for purposes of
calculating Registrant’s advisory fee. At any specific point in time, depending upon
perceived or anticipated market conditions/events (there being no guarantee that such
anticipated market conditions/events will occur), Registrant may maintain cash positions
for defensive purposes. In addition, while assets are maintained in cash, such amounts
could miss market advances. Depending upon current yields, at any point in time,
Registrant’s advisory fee could exceed the interest paid by the client’s money market fund.
ANY QUESTIONS: The Registrant’s Chief Compliance Officer, Ashley Kirk, remains
available to address any questions that a client or prospective may have regarding the above
fee billing practice.
Fee Dispersion. Registrant, in its discretion, may charge a lesser investment advisory fee,
charge a flat fee, waive its fee entirely, or charge fee on a different interval, based upon
certain criteria (i.e. anticipated future earning capacity, anticipated future additional assets,
dollar amount of assets to be managed, related accounts, account composition, complexity
of the engagement, anticipated services to be rendered, grandfathered fee schedules,
employees and family members, courtesy accounts, competition, negotiations with client,
etc.). Please Note: As result of the above, similarly situated clients could pay different fees.
In addition, similar advisory services may be available from other investment advisers for
similar or lower fees.
Portfolio Activity. 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, market conditions,
mutual fund manager tenure, style drift, 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 Sweep Accounts. Account custodians generally require that cash proceeds from
account transactions or cash deposits be swept into and/or initially maintained in the
custodian’s sweep account. The yield on the sweep account is generally lower than those
available in money market accounts. To help mitigate this issue, Registrant shall generally
purchase a higher yielding money market fund available on the custodian’s platform with
cash proceeds or deposits, unless Registrant reasonably anticipates that it will utilize the
cash proceeds during the subsequent 30-day period to purchase additional investments for
the client’s account. Exceptions and/or modifications can and will occur with respect to all
or a portion of the cash balances for various reasons, including, but not limited to, the
amount of dispersion between the sweep account and a money market fund, the size of the
cash balance, an indication from the client of an imminent need for such cash, or the client
has a demonstrated history of writing checks from the account.
Please Note: The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within the
Registrant’s actively managed investment strategy (the cash balances for which shall
generally remain in the custodian designated cash sweep account), an indication from the
client of a need for access to such cash, assets allocated to an unaffiliated investment
manager, and cash balances maintained for fee billing purposes. Please Also Note: The
client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield dispersion/cash balance decisions and
corresponding transactions for cash balances maintained in any of the Registrant’s
unmanaged accounts.
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 professionals and is
expressly authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, each client is advised that it remains
his/her/its responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any change in
his/her/its financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of
reviewing/evaluating/revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of the Registrant’s written disclosure statement as set forth
on Part 2 of Form ADV and Form CRS (Relationship Summary) shall be provided to each
client prior to, or contemporaneously with, the execution of the Registrant’s Investment
Advisory 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 $751,141,322 in assets under management
on a discretionary basis.