Firm Description
The Family Wealth Advisory Group, LLC, (hereinafter FWAG) was formed in
March 2002 and is 100% owned by Robert J Grossheim.
FWAG provides personalized wealth management, financial planning, and
investment management services, where appropriate, to individuals, high net
worth individuals, trusts, and estates. Advice is provided through
consultation with the client and may include determination of financial
objectives, cash flow management, tax planning, insurance review,
investment management, education funding, retirement planning, and estate
planning.
FWAG is strictly a fee-only financial planning and investment management
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 in any form are accepted by the firm. No finder’s fees are
accepted.
Investment advice is provided, with or without the client making the final
decision on investment selection depending on the extent to which discretion
has been authorized. FWAG does not act as a custodian of client assets.
The client always maintains asset control. FWAG places trades for clients
under a limited power of attorney.
An evaluation of each client's initial situation is provided to the client, often in
the form of a financial plan or simply a net worth statement. Periodic reviews
are also communicated to provide reminders of the specific courses of action
that need to be taken. More frequent reviews occur but are not necessarily
communicated to the client unless immediate changes are recommended.
Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc.) are
engaged directly by the client on an as-needed basis. Conflicts of interest will
be disclosed to the client in the unlikely event they should occur.
The initial meeting, which may be by telephone, is free of charge and is
considered an exploratory interview to determine the extent to which financial
planning and investment management may be beneficial to the client.
Types of Advisory Services
FWAG provides wealth management services, financial planning only
services and investment supervisory services. On more than an occasional
basis, FWAG furnishes advice to clients on matters not involving securities,
such as financial planning matters and taxation issues.
As of 12/31/23, the total of FWAG’s regulatory assets under management
was $273,889,797. The firm had additional assets under advisement of
$151,913,473 for overall assets being advised upon of $425,803,270. Of the
regulatory assets managed, $187,067,512 was on a discretionary basis and
$86,822,285 was on a non-discretionary basis.
Tailored Relationships
The goals and objectives for each client are documented in our client files.
Clients may impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of
securities.
Agreements may not be assigned without the client’s consent.
Types of Agreements
The following agreements define the typical client relationships.
Wealth Management Agreement
Most clients choose to have FWAG manage their assets to obtain ongoing in-
depth advice and life planning. All key aspects of the client’s financial affairs
are reviewed. Realistic and measurable goals are set and objectives to reach
those goals are defined. As goals and objectives change over time,
suggestions are made and implemented on an ongoing basis.
The scope of work and fee for a Wealth Management Agreement (WMA) is
communicated to the client prior to the start of the relationship. A WMA may
include cash flow planning; insurance planning; investment planning and
management (including performance reporting); education planning;
retirement planning; estate planning; and tax planning (preparation may be
offered based on complexity of the return), as well as the implementation of
recommendations within each area.
The annual WMA fee is based on a percentage of the investable assets
according to the following schedule:
1.00% on the first $1,000,000
0.75% on the next $4,000,000
0.50% over $5,000,000
The minimum annual fee is $6,500 and is not negotiable. Current client
relationships may exist where the fees are higher or lower than the fee
schedule above. This is a progressive scale. For example, a client with
$1,750,000 would pay $15,625 per year ($1,000,000 * 1.00%) + ($750,000 *
.75%).
Although the Wealth Management Agreement is an ongoing agreement and
constant adjustments are required, the length of service to the client is at the
client and/or firm’s discretion. The client or the
FWAG Adviser of record 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, adjusted for the number of days during the
billing quarter prior to termination.
As of 03/01/2024, FWAG introduced a growing investor advisory service for
selected individuals under the age of thirty (30) whose circumstances are
such that full ongoing Wealth Management Services are not yet required but
anticipated in the future. The cost of the growing investor advisory service is a
flat monthly fee of $125.00.
Investment Supervisory Agreement
An Investment Supervisory Agreement may be executed when only
investment planning and management services are provided. Under this
agreement, financial planning topics and tax preparation are not provided as
part of the relationship. The Investment Supervisory Agreement is enacted
via a modification of the Wealth Management Agreement and has no
minimum annual fee. The annual fee for an Investment Supervisory
Agreement is 1.00% of the assets under supervision and is not negotiable.
Financial Planning Agreement
A financial plan is designed to help the client with all aspects of financial
planning but does not include ongoing investment management or tax
preparation after the financial plan is completed.
The financial plan may include, but is not limited to: a net worth statement; a
cash flow statement; a review of investment accounts, including reviewing
asset allocation and providing repositioning recommendations; strategic tax
planning; a review of retirement accounts and plans including
recommendations; a review of insurance policies and recommendations for
changes, if necessary; one or more retirement scenarios; estate planning
review and recommendations; and education planning with funding
recommendations.
Detailed investment advice and specific recommendations are not provided
as part of a financial plan. Implementation of the recommendations is at the
discretion of the client.
The fee for a financial plan is predicated upon the facts known at the start of
the engagement. Since financial planning is a discovery process, situations
occur wherein the client is unaware of certain financial exposures or
predicaments.
If the client’s situation is substantially different than disclosed at the initial
meeting, a revised fee will be provided for mutual agreement. The client must
approve the change of scope in advance of the additional work being
performed when a fee increase is necessary.
After delivery of a financial plan, future face-to-face meetings may be
scheduled as necessary for up to 6 months.
Tax Preparation Agreement
Tax preparation work is not a stand-alone service but may be included in the
Wealth Management Agreement scope of work, as indicated above.
Hourly Planning Engagements
FWAG no longer provides hourly planning services for clients who need
advice on a limited scope of work as of 12/31/13.
Asset Management
Assets are invested primarily in no-load or load-waived mutual funds and
exchange-traded funds, usually through discount brokers or fund companies.
Fund companies charge each fund shareholder an investment management
fee that is disclosed in the fund prospectus. Discount brokerages may charge
a transaction fee for the purchase of some funds.
Stocks and bonds may be purchased or sold through a brokerage account
when appropriate. The brokerage firm charges a fee for stock and bond
trades. FWAG does not receive compensation, in any form, from fund
companies or the brokerage companies.
Investments may also include equities (stocks), corporate debt securities,
commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities, investment
company securities (no load variable life insurance, no load variable
annuities, and mutual funds shares), U. S. government securities, options
contracts, and interests in partnerships.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) are not available through FWAG.
Termination of Agreement
A Client may terminate any of the agreements at any time by notifying FWAG
in writing and paying the rate for the time spent on the investment advisory
engagement prior to notification of termination. If the client made an advance
payment, FWAG will refund any unearned portion of the advance payment.
FWAG may terminate any of the agreements at any time by notifying the
client in writing. If the client made an advance payment, FWAG will refund
any unearned portion of the advance payment.