A. Sage Financial Advisors Inc. (the “Registrant”) is a corporation formed on September 21,
1998 in the state of Arizona. The Registrant became registered as an Investment Adviser
Firm in November 2001. The Registrant is owned, directly by the KA & JL
CHRISTENSEN FAMILY TRUST, and indirectly by Kelly A. Christensen and Julia L.
Christensen. Kelly A. Christensen is the Registrant’s President and Chief Compliance
Officer.
B. As discussed below, the Registrant offers to its clients (individuals, business entities,
trusts, charitable organizations, and pension and profit-sharing plans, etc.) discretionary
investment advisory services, financial planning, tax return preparation, tax planning and
investment and non-investment related consulting.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
The client can determine to engage the Registrant to provide discretionary investment
advisory services on a fee-only 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 Registrant provides investment advisory services, an
investment adviser representative will ascertain each client’s investment objectives.
Thereafter, the Registrant will allocate and/or recommend that the client 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.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONSULTING SERVICES (STAND-ALONE)
To the extent requested by a client, the Registrant may provide financial planning and/or
consulting services (including investment and non-investment related matters, including
retirement planning, insurance planning, college funding, etc.) on a stand-alone separate
fee basis. Registrant’s planning and consulting fees are negotiable, depending upon the
level and scope of the service(s) required and the professional(s) rendering the service(s).
Prior to engaging the Registrant to provide planning or consulting services, clients are
generally required to enter into a Financial Planning and Consulting 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 portion of the
fee that is due from the client prior to Registrant commencing services.
If requested by the client, Registrant may recommend the services of other professionals
for implementation purposes (i.e., attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, etc.). 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 the Registrant. If the client
engages any professional, 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), and not
Registrant, shall be responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
It remains the client’s responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any
change in their financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing,
evaluating or revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
INVESTMENT CONSULTING
Registrant may, in its sole discretion, determine to provide non-discretionary investment-
related consulting services on a stand-alone basis. The Registrant’s consulting fee shall
be based upon a percentage (%) of the market value of the assets placed under the
Registrant’s consulting service as mutually agreed upon between the Registrant and the
client and such fee will be charged each time a client requests a review of their
investment portfolio. The client maintains absolute discretion as to whether or not to
accept any of the Registrant’s investment recommendations, and the client is responsible
for implementation and monitoring activities.
The Registrant’s investment consulting service does not include investment
implementation or monitoring. Registrant’s investment consulting service is generally
intended to provide limited non-discretionary investment advice to those individuals who
do not wish to engage the Registrant for comprehensive ongoing discretionary investment
advisory services described above.
TAX RETURN PREPARATION & TAX PLANNING SERVICES
To the extent requested by the client, Registrant may provide tax return preparation and
tax planning services on a stand-alone separate fee basis.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation
Services. To the extent requested by a client, Registrant may provide financial planning
and related consulting services regarding non-investment related matters, such as estate
planning, tax planning, insurance, etc. The Registrant does not serve as a law firm,
accounting firm, or insurance agency, and no portion of Registrant’s services should be
construed as legal, accounting, or insurance implementation services. Accordingly,
Registrant does not prepare estate planning documents or sell insurance products. 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.). Clients are reminded that they are under no
obligation to engage the services of any such recommended professional. The client
retains absolute discretion over all implementation decisions and is free to accept or
reject any recommendation made by Registrant or its representatives.
If the client engages any professional, 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), and not
Registrant, shall be responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
Retirement Rollovers-Potential for 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 Registrant recommends that a client roll over
their retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by Registrant, such a
recommendation creates a conflict of interest if Registrant will earn new (or increase its
current) compensation as a result of the rollover. If 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.
Variable Annuity Advisory Services. The client can also engage Registrant to provide
discretionary investment advisory services with respect to assets held in variable
annuities. In such engagements, Registrant allocates client investment assets on a
discretionary basis among the investment sub accounts made available through the
variable annuity product(s). Once allocated, Registrant provides ongoing monitoring and
review of sub account performance, asset allocation, and client investment objectives.
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, 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).
Use of Mutual Funds. 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 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 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.
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 cash investments.
Cash Sweep Accounts. Certain account custodians can require that cash proceeds from
account transactions or new deposits, be swept to and/or initially maintained in a
specific custodian designated sweep account. The yield on the sweep account will
generally be lower than those available for other money market accounts. When this
occurs, to help mitigate the corresponding yield dispersion Registrant shall (usually
within 30 days thereafter) generally (with exceptions) purchase a higher yielding money
market fund (or other type security) available on the custodian’s platform, 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.
The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within a 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.
The client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield dispersion/cash balance
decisions and corresponding transactions for cash balances maintained in any Registrant
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 their
responsibility to promptly notify the Registrant if there is ever any change in their
financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or
revising Registrant’s previous recommendations and/or services.
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 procedures 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.
Disclosure Statement. A copy of the Registrant’s written Brochure and Client
Relationship Summary (when appropriate) as set forth on Part 2 of Form ADV and Form
CRS, respectively, shall be provided to each client prior to, or contemporaneously with,
the execution of the Investment Advisory Agreement or Financial Planning and
Consulting 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 $190,169,664 in assets under management
on a discretionary basis.