Welch & Forbes provides investment management and supervisory services on a discretionary and non-discretionary basis, as well as personal trust and fiduciary services, estate planning and administration, and tax and custodial services. The Firm has been in business since 1838. Welch & Forbes currently has 55 employees working in the Firm’s Boston office. As of December 31, 2023, the Firm had approximately $7.9 billion in assets under management. Welch & Forbes provides investment advice primarily to individuals and trusts. Welch & Forbes’ clients also include pension and profit-sharing plans, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations and other business entities. Please see “Item 7 – Types of Clients” of this Brochure for more information with respect to Welch & Forbes’ clients. Principal Ownership Welch & Forbes is a Delaware limited liability company. Welch & Forbes’ institutional partner, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (“AMG”), holds a majority ownership interest in Welch & Forbes. Certain Welch & Forbes employees own the remaining equity interest. AMG, a publicly-traded asset management company (NYSE: AMG), also hold equity interests in other investment management firms (“AMG Affiliates”). Further information on AMG and AMG Affiliates is provided in “Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations” of this Brochure. Advisory Services As noted, Welch & Forbes is an investment management firm that provides investment advice primarily to individuals and trusts for which individual officers of Welch & Forbes often serve as trustee or co-trustee. The Firm’s investments on behalf of its clients include equities (including exchange-traded, over-the-counter, and foreign), fixed income securities (including corporate debt, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities, U.S. Government securities, and foreign sovereign debt), mutual fund shares, exchange-traded fund shares, funds of funds, warrants, and options. The Firm also offers advice on investing in privately placed securities, including common stock equivalents and partnership interests (including real estate and oil and gas interests), which may be purchased for investors through private funds sponsored by Welch & Forbes (“W&F Funds”). These entities are neither registered under the Securities Act of 1933, nor registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Accordingly, interests in these funds (which represent interests in certain underlying private placements) are offered exclusively to investors satisfying the applicable eligibility and suitability requirements. Clients of Welch & Forbes, prospective clients, and other investors may also be solicited by Welch & Forbes to invest in private placements through the W&F Funds. Please see additional information on these investments in “Item 5 – Fees and Compensation” of this Brochure. As an asset manager for both individual and institutional clients, Welch & Forbes recognizes that all of our clients are unique and that, therefore, their investment needs may be different. As such, we may modify our primary investment strategies, as necessary, to meet the goals that our clients specify, in an effort to accommodate the particular investment objectives and accompanying restrictions requested by our clients. At the commencement of the client relationship, each of our clients executes an Investment Counsel Agreement (“ICA”), which sets forth their investment objectives, investment strategy and any investment restrictions that

will be applicable to our management of the assets in the client’s account. Prior to the execution of the agreement, we review requested objectives and restrictions, and work with the client as needed to refine these objectives and restrictions to both meet the client’s needs and provide us with sufficient discretion to properly invest the client’s assets. In the event the scope of work is substantially different than disclosed at the initial client meeting, a revised fee may be provided for agreement. When a fee increase is necessary, the client must approve and agree to the scope change before any additional work is performed. In such cases, we will notify the client to obtain this approval. (See Item 5: Fees & Compensation for additional details.) Clients will acknowledge and agree to their obligation to promptly notify Welch & Forbes in writing if any information material to the advisory services to be provided changes, information previously provided that might affect how their account should be managed occurs, or if previously disclosed data becomes inaccurate. The client or their successor shall also promptly notify us in writing of the client's dissolution, termination, merger, or bankruptcy if the client is other than a natural person and the occurrence of any other event that might affect the validity of their Agreement or our authority thereunder. Welch & Forbes reserves the right to terminate any client engagement where a client has willfully concealed or has refused to provide pertinent information about information material to the advisory services to be provided or individual/financial situations when necessary and appropriate; in its judgment, provide proper financial advice. Other Services In addition to investment advisory services, Welch & Forbes also provides personal trust and fiduciary services, philanthropic services, estate administration, tax and custodial services, bill paying, and cash flow and wealth simulation analysis. Personal Trust and Fiduciary Services In some instances, Welch & Forbes serves as a client’s trustee or agent under Power of Attorney. In such roles, Welch & Forbes provides clients with services such as management of cash distributions, bill paying, assistance with philanthropic programs, and recordkeeping for fiduciary reporting. Estate Administration Our Estate Settlement Department manages the details of estate administration and settlement, including income tax and probate filings. In performing these duties, Welch & Forbes works with legal counsel, tax specialists, and executors as requested by clients. Tax and Custodial Services Welch & Forbes maintains a tax department that manages the preparing and filing of income tax returns for individuals and families and fiduciary returns for trusts and estates. We also offer clients guidance on certain tax-related topics. In addition, in instances where Welch & Forbes serves as an executor of an estate, the Firm will appoint an unaffiliated qualified custodian as our agent to provide custody of the client’s funds and securities. Assets Under Management As noted above, as of December 31, 2023, Welch & Forbes’ had approximately $7,909,000,000 of client assets under management (“AUM”). Of this amount, approximately $7,677,000,000 is managed by Welch & Forbes on a discretionary basis, and approximately $232,000,000 is managed by Welch & Forbes on a non-discretionary basis. Please see Welch & Forbes’ Form ADV Part 1A – Item 5.F for more information.