Firm Description
Camden Financial Management, Inc. (“Camden”) was founded in 1996.
Camden provides customized Investment Advisory and Financial Planning Services.
These services are provided to individuals, families, retirement plans, trusts and
estates. Investment advice is personalized through conversations with Clients and
may include the evaluation of the Client’s: financial objectives, risk parameters,
financial structure, cash management and life experiences. Camden strongly
believes that building customized portfolios is not an exact science since a Client’s
tolerance for stock market risk is not always a static measurement. It has been
Camden’s experience that Clients are willing to take on greater risk/uncertainty during
up markets and exhibit less of a willingness to take on risk/uncertainty during down
markets. Thus, Camden knows it may take a few market cycles to “fine tune” and
arrive at a portfolio structure that ultimately meets the Client’s desires.
Within our Investment Advisory Service, Camden spends about 50% of our time
helping clients with non-investment oriented issues. Camden refers to these non-
investment services as Financial Planning Services. Financial Planning Services are
very broad in nature and are Client specific, but may include tax planning, risk
management/insurance planning, education funding, retirement planning, and estate
planning.
Camden is strictly a fee-only investment management and financial planning firm.
The firm does not sell annuities, insurance, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, limited
partnerships, or other commissioned products. The firm is not affiliated with entities
that sell financial products or securities. No commissions or finder’s fees are
accepted in any format.
Camden does not act as a custodian of Client assets. Assets always remain in the
name of the Client and Camden does not accept title or vesting of any assets within
the firm’s name. All assets are held at large, “well known” custodians.
Camden implements the recommended investment strategy via a limited power of
attorney provided to the firm by the Client. The nature of this limited power of attorney
is discussed in greater detail in the following pages.
After Camden has spent time understanding the Client’s financial situation and
desires, a “Recommendation Letter” is drafted to propose the specific investment
allocation to be utilized. The Client has the full authority to accept or reject the
recommendations in this Recommendation Letter. Once the investment allocation is
approved by the Client, Camden will proceed in implementing the allocation over the
time period noted in the Recommendation Letter.
Periodic updates are provided to Clients as to the recommended current course of
action. Camden believes that two-way communication is imperative to achieve a
successful outcome. Camden utilizes articles, emails, phone conversations and face
to face meetings as modes of communication. Camden fully relies on Clients to
update them immediately of any changes in their financial or personal lives. It is also
crucial that the Client maintain contact with Camden via one of the above modes of
communication.
The Recommendation Letter is utilized for the noted implementation period. Beyond
the implementation of the Recommendation Letter, Camden will make rebalancing
and investment changes without notice to the Client. It is our intention, whenever
possible, to communicate our future plans in our articles, but we know that a portion of
investments will need to be effectuated in a timelier manner, without Client notice.
Some months, or possibly a few years, after the Recommendation Letter has been
fully implemented, the Advisor will write an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) for
Client.
It is imperative that the Client has other professional relationships (e.g., lawyer,
accountant, insurance agents, etc.) that are engaged directly by the Client on an as-
needed basis. It is the Client’s responsibility to make sure these other professionals
are being proactive and contacting the Client if any changes need to be made within
their area of specialty. All of these professionals provide unique and distinct services
beyond the services that are provided by Camden, thus the importance of these other
relationships. Camden will occasionally write articles on legal, tax and insurance
topics, but it is the Client’s responsibility to take the next step in contacting their
particular professional to implement any desired changes within these specific areas.
We are pleased to discuss options before the Client contacts their other professionals,
but the Client needs to take the initiative and assume responsibility in making contact.
One of the main reasons that Camden prepares an annual Net Worth Statement for
Clients is for this document to be utilized to better inform these “other professionals”
as to the Client’s current financial position.
It is the policy of Camden to eliminate conflicts of interest wherever possible. It may
not be possible to eliminate conflicts of interest in every situation. Camden will
disclose any known conflicts of interest in writing.
The initial meeting(s), which may be by telephone and/or in person, is/are free of
charge and is/are considered an exploratory interview to determine the needed scope
of services and to determine if there will likely be a mutual benefit to both the Client
and Camden.
Principal Owners
Randy Oldenburg is the 100% stockholder.
Types of Advisory Services
The only advisory service Camden provides is the above-mentioned Investment
Advisory Service.
On a regular basis, Camden furnishes advice to Clients on matters not involving
securities. We refer to these other services as Financial Planning Services. These
other services are very broad in scope and are typically driven by specific Client
requests or needs, but they may include retirement planning, tax planning, risk
management/insurance planning and estate planning. It is Camden’s belief that one
of the differentiating elements of our firm is the time we spend with Clients on these
non-investment advisory issues.
As of December 31, 2023, Camden manages approximately $134,967,514 in assets
for approximately 43 clients. Approximately $134,967,514 is managed on a
discretionary basis, and $0 is managed on a non-discretionary basis.
Tailored Relationships
Through our initial conversations with Clients, Camden tailors a customized
investment allocation that is communicated to the Client in what we refer to as the
“Recommendation Letter.” The presentation
and conversation about this letter give
the Client the forum to accept or decline the initial recommendations. Camden
provides periodic updates to Clients on our beliefs in the macro economy. These
updates allow for the Client to contact Camden and discuss any possible
disagreements regarding our investment recommendations or broad global beliefs.
Camden will fully rely on the Client to contact us with any significant “big picture”
disagreements with our recommended investment theories.
Agreements may not be assigned without Client consent.
Types of Agreements
Investment Advisory Agreement
The vast majority of Clients elect to hire Camden under an Investment Advisory
Agreement to provide Asset Management. Due to Camden’s high minimums, the firm
naturally gravitates to Clients that are well on their way to being financially
independent or have reached the point of not needing to continue to work. Most
Clients hire Camden for the management of their assets, but over numerous years
Clients come to understand the significant value in ongoing, broad non-investment
oriented services that are provided by Camden. Camden believes that the pursuit of
these Financial Planning topics is crucial to obtaining financial success. Financial
Planning has become synonymous with a formalized, 60-page document. We believe
Financial Planning is the ongoing pursuit of issues that will more fully maximize
clients’ Net Worth and improve one’s quality of life. The Investment Advisory Service
provides the ongoing management of the Client’s investment portfolio and the
continuous pursuit of financial planning issues that need to be integrated into the
Client’s financial structure. If the Client wants an upfront comprehensive analysis of
all financial planning issues, the Client must initially hire Camden under a Financial
Planning Document Preparation Agreement. The Financial Planning Services under
the Investment Advisory Agreement should in no way be construed as a
comprehensive Financial Plan.
We understand how Clients initially minimize these non-investment services
addressed under our Investment Advisory Agreement, thus the following list of
recently written articles may help prospective Clients understand the depth of our
additional services:
Estate Planning Medicare and Supplemental Policies
Asset Protection College Planning – 529 Plans
Charitable Gifting Missing Money (State Dept. Rev.)
Property Casualty/Umbrella Policies Life Planning
Beneficiary Designations Credit Reports – FICO Scores
Roth Conversions Client’s Health
Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Update
Identity Theft Reverse Mortgages
As directly pertaining to Asset Management, the following services will be provided:
• Risk Tolerance Determination
• Portfolio design to pursue financial independence
• Tailored Asset Allocation Plan with Specific Investment Recommendations
• Implementation and Ongoing support
o Account establishment and/or account transfer assistance
o Quarterly appraisal and performance reports
o Ongoing portfolio monitoring and management – we spend a significant
amount of time researching how to best position your portfolio relative to the
current economic environment
o Quarterly updates as to potential investment changes due to changes in the
macro worldwide economy
o Constant access to the Advisor via phone, email or in person to evaluate
life changes and family financial issues
The following is a list of services that we provide annually that only partially relate to
management of Client’s investments:
1) Tax Reporting including Realized Gain and Loss reports and detailed notes to the
Client’s accountant to assist in completion of the Client’s tax return. Upon Client
direction, Camden communicates directly with the Client’s accountant as to any tax
reporting revisions by the custodian.
2) Required Minimum Distribution calculation and distribution plan (if applicable).
3) Annual Net Worth Calculation to determine progress of the Client’s overall financial
situation. Camden prepares Net Worth Statements during the second quarter of the
year. Camden sends the Clients out a query for asset values at the beginning of the
second quarter. The Client is encouraged to provide the Net Worth Statement to their
estate planning attorney and insurance agent to ensure that these other professionals
understand the Client’s current structure and current asset values to determine if
changes need to be made to estate planning documents or insurance coverage.
4) Tax Loss Harvesting opportunities are pursued throughout the year. At times,
there can be significant value to the Client in this service.
5) Year-end tax evaluation to determine if tax deferral or tax acceleration is beneficial
for the Client. In an example of this analysis, Camden might determine if a Roth
Conversion or additional income will benefit the Client in normalizing tax liabilities over
numerous years.
The scope of work and fee for an Investment Advisory Service relationship is provided
to the Client in writing prior to the start of the relationship via a formalized contract.
The annual Investment Advisory Service Agreement fee is based on a percentage of
the investable assets according to the following schedule:
Portfolio Value Quarterly Rate Equivalent Annual Rate
< or = $2,000,000 0.1875% 0.75%, plus
>$2,000,000 0.125% 0.50%
Current Clients under previous contracts may have a lower fee than the fee schedule
above. Camden has a minimum annual fee of $20,000.
Camden, in its sole discretion, may reduce the minimum fee and/or charge a lesser
investment advisory fee based upon certain extenuating factors.
Although the Investment Advisory Service Agreement is an ongoing agreement, the
length of service to the Client is at the Client’s discretion. The Client or the Advisor
may terminate an Agreement by written notice to the other party. At termination, fees
will be billed on a pro rata basis for the portion of the quarter completed. The portfolio
value at the completion of the prior full billing quarter is used as the basis for the fee
computation.
Termination of Agreement
A Client may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by notifying
Camden in writing and paying the pro-rata portion of the investment advisory expense
for the given quarter.
Camden may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by
notifying the Client in writing. If the Client made an advance payment, Camden will
refund any unearned portion of the advance payment.