Overview
Firm Description and Principal Owners:
Girard Pension Services, LLC (“GPS” or “Advisor” or “the firm”) was founded as an Investment
Advisor Firm in 1997 under the name TCG Investment Advisory, Inc. In 2008, the Advisor's
owner became Univest Bank and Trust Co. which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Univest
Financial Corporation, a public reporting company listed on NASDAQ as UVSP. Beginning in
2019, the Advisor changed its name from TCG Investment Advisory, Inc. to Girard Pension
Services, LLC and its statutory entity structure to a limited liability company.
Advisor specializes in providing investment management, pension administration and pension
consulting services to clients who are municipalities and their related pension plans.
Types of Services Offered:
GPS offers the following advisory services to our clients and they can choose to utilize any or all
of these services.
Investment Policy Statement Preparation (hereinafter referred to as “IPS”):
GPS will meet with a client to determine the client’s investment needs and goals. GPS will then
prepare a written IPS stating those needs and goals and encompassing a policy under which these
goals are to be achieved. The IPS will also list the criteria for selection of investment vehicles
and the procedures and timing interval for monitoring of investment performance. This process
will take into account any limitations placed on the types or quantity of investments that may be
required by state, county or local statute or ordinance.
Selection of Investment Vehicles:
When implementing a client’s IPS, Advisor’s selection of investments typically consists of
exchange traded funds (ETF), mutual funds and an annuity platform. However, some client
portfolios may also contain one or more of the following investments if agreed upon between
Advisor and client: individual stocks, corporate bonds and government bonds.
Portfolio Management:
GPS provides Investment Supervisory Services, defined as giving continuous advice to a client
or making investments for a client based on the individual needs of the client. Through personal
discussions in which goals and objectives based on a client’s particular circumstances are
established, GPS develops a client’s investment strategy
and creates and advises a portfolio
based on that strategy. GPS manages advisory accounts on a discretionary and non-discretionary
basis (See section entitled “Investment Discretion”). Account supervision is guided by the stated
objectives of the client.
GPS will create a portfolio consisting of one or more of the aforementioned investments. GPS
will allocate the client’s assets among various investments taking into consideration the overall
management style selected by the client. All investments will be selected on the basis of any or
all of the following criteria: performance history; industry sector; the money manager’s track
record; the investment objective; management style and philosophy; and the management fee
structure. Portfolio weighting between investments and market sectors will be determined by
each client’s individual needs and circumstances. Clients will have the opportunity to place
reasonable restrictions on the types of investments which will be made on the client’s behalf.
Clients will retain individual ownership of all securities.
Monitoring of Investment Performance:
Client investments will be monitored continuously based on the procedures and timing intervals
delineated in the Investment Policy Statement. GPS will supervise the client’s portfolio and will
make recommendations to the client as market factors and the client’s needs dictate.
Wrap Fee Program:
Some of Advisor’s clients utilizing the Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) and MG Trust
Company (Matrix) platforms as custodian will be charged an asset management fee by GPS that
includes the cost of portfolio management services, custodial services and the execution of
securities transactions. This arrangement is considered to be a wrap program since clients are
paying a single asset-based fee for the aforementioned services and expenses in lieu of paying
for them separately. Advisor does not manage client assets differently under a wrap fee program.
Please refer to Advisor’s Wrap Fee Program Brochure for more information.
Amount of Client Assets Managed by Our Firm:
As of December 31, 2023, Advisor had discretionary assets under management of
$557,000,000.00, which represents Advisor’s total assets under management.