A. Firm Information
Columbia Asset Management (“CAM” or the “Advisor”) is registered investment advisor with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). CAM was founded in 1997 by Brian H.
Weisman and since that time has offered investment advisory and consulting services. At
present, Mr. Weisman is our principal owner. The Disclosure Brochure provides information
regarding the qualifications, business practice, and the advisory services provided by CAM
B. Advisory Services Offered
CAM offers investment advisory services to clients, who may be individuals, trusts, estates,
corporations, and charitable organizations (each referred to as a “Client”).
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and
regulations. As a fiduciary, the Advisor upholds a duty of loyalty, fairness, and good faith
towards each Client and seeks to mitigate any potential conflict of interest. CAM’s fiduciary
commitment is further described in the Advisor’s Code of Ethics. For more information please
see Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal
Trading.
Wealth Management Services
CAM provides customized wealth management solutions for its Clients. This achieved through
continuous personal Client contacts and interaction while providing discretionary investment
management and related financial planning services CAM works closely with each Client to
identify their investment goals and objectives as well as risk tolerance and financial situation to
create a portfolio strategy. CAM will then construct an investment portfolio using equities and
fixed income including individual stocks, individual fixed income, mutual funds and exchange
traded funds to achieve the Client’s investment goals. The Advisor may retain certain types of
investments based on the Client’s legacy investments based on portfolio fit and/or tax
considerations.
CAM will select, recommend and/or retain securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds & ETFs) on
an individual holding’s basis. Investment decisions are made according to the investment
objectives and risk tolerances of each client, and the client’s stated investment restrictions (if
any) and special circumstances.
CAM’s investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re-
allocate positions that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client
or due to market conditions. CAM will construct, implement, and monitor the portfolio to ensure
the selection aligns with the Client’s financial objective.
CAM evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying it
internal due diligence. CAM may recommend redistributing investment allocations to diversify
the portfolio. CAM may recommend specific positions to increase sector or asset class
weightings. The Advisor may recommend employing/increasing cash positions as a hedge
against market movement. CAM may recommend selling positions for reasons that include, but
are not limited to, harvesting capital gains or losses, business or sector risk exposure to a specific
security or class of securities, overevaluation or overweighting of the position[s] in the portfolio,
change in risk tolerance of the Client, generating cash to meet Client needs, or any risk deemed
unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
At no time will CAM accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the
limited authority as outlined in Item 15 – Custody. All Clients assets will be managed within the
designated account[s] at the Custodian, pursuant to the terms of the advisory agreement. Please
see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Retirement Accounts – When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will
recommend that a Client take a distribution from an ERISA sponsored plan or to rollover the
assets to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”), or recommend a similar transaction
including rollovers from one ERISA sponsored Plan to another, one IRA to another ORA, or
from one type of account to another account (e.g. commission based
account to fee based
account). In such instances, the Advisor will serve as an investment fiduciary as that term is
defined under The Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and /or the
Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts.
Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if the Advisor will earn a new (or increase
its current) advisor fee as a result of the transaction. No client is under any obligation to roll over
a retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor.
Financial Planning Services
CAM typically provides a variety of financial planning and consulting services to Clients as part
of their overall wealth management engagement. Financial planning is also offered as a stand-
alone service. Services are offered in several areas of a Client’s financial situation, depending on
their goals and objectives.
Generally, such financial planning services involve preparing a formal financial plan or
rendering a specific financial consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives.
This planning or consulting may encompass one or more areas of need, including but not limited
to, investment planning, retirement planning, personal savings, education savings, insurance
needs and other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
A financial plan developed for, or financial consultation rendered to the Client will usually
include general recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the
Client. For example, recommendations may be made that the Client start or revise their
investment programs, commence, or alter retirement savings, establish education savings and/or
charitable giving programs.
CAM may also refer Clients to an accountant, attorney, or other specialists, as appropriate for
their unique situation. For certain financial planning engagements, the Advisor will provide a
written summary of the Client’s financial situation, observations, and recommendations. For
consulting or ad-hoc engagements, the Advisor may not provide a written summary.
Financial planning and consulting recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the
Advisor and the interests of the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend
that Clients engage the Advisor for investment management services or to increase the level of
investment assets with the Advisor, as it would increase the advisory fees paid to the Advisor.
Clients are not obligated to implement any recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain
an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects to act on any of the
recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the
transaction through the Advisor.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging CAM to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter
into an agreement with the Advisor to define the terms, conditions, authority and responsibilities
of the Advisor and the Client. These services may include:
• Establishing an Investment Strategy – CAM, in connection with the Client, will develop
a strategy that seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
• Asset Allocation – CAM will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet
the investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk for
each Client.
• Portfolio Construction – CAM will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to
meet the stated goals and objectives of the Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – CAM will provide investment management
and ongoing oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
CAM does not manage or place Client assets into a wrap fee program. Investment management
services are provided directly by CAM.
E. Assets Under Management
CAM’s most recent ADV I (filed on 4/6/2023) reported a total asset under management of
$794,811,645.00. Clients may request assets under management information at any time by
contacting the Advisor via email, phone, or mail.