Description of Firm Meld Financial is a registered investment adviser primarily based in Birmingham, AL. We are organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Alabama. We have been providing investment advisory services since April 2004. We are owned by Kyle B. Whittington, Blake May, and James B. Cornehlsen.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your individual needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to Meld Financial and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm.
Portfolio Management Services We offer discretionary portfolio management services. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives.
If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your account. Discretionary authorization will allow us to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your account without your approval prior to each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm and the appropriate trading authorization forms.
As part of our portfolio management services, we may use one or more sub-advisers to manage fixed income securities in your account on a discretionary basis. The sub-adviser(s) may use one or more of their model portfolios to manage your account. We will regularly monitor the performance of your accounts managed by sub-adviser(s), and may hire and fire any sub-adviser without your prior approval. We may pay a portion of our advisory fee to the sub-adviser(s) we use; however, you will not pay our firm a higher advisory fee as a result of any sub-advisory relationships.
You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased or sold for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing.
We may also offer non-discretionary portfolio management services. If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior to executing any transactions on behalf of your account. You have an unrestricted right to decline to implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis.
As part of our portfolio management services, in addition to other types of investments (see disclosures below in this section), we may invest your assets according to one or more model portfolios developed by our firm. These models are designed for investors with varying degrees of risk tolerance ranging from a more aggressive investment strategy to a more conservative investment approach. Clients whose assets are invested in model portfolios may not set restrictions on the specific holdings or allocations within the model, nor the types of securities that can be purchased in the model. Nonetheless, clients may impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities in their account. In such cases, this may prevent a client from investing in certain models that are managed by our firm. 4 Financial Planning Services We offer financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their individual needs. These services can range from broad-based financial planning to consultative or single subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will meet with you to gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also use financial planning software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify your long-term goals and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and non-financial), we will develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we will deliver a written plan to you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation, goals, objectives, or needs change.
You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
Individual Consultations On more than an occasional basis, we may furnish advice on matters not involving securities. Such matters may involve issues related to retirement planning, estate planning, insurance products, mortgage financing, college funding, savings strategies, executive benefit, etc. As a particular segment of this service type, insurance products may also be reviewed, analyzed and recommended where needed.
These services may include providing seminars, workshops or training to interested employees of companies that we are engaged to provide services for. We may charge a fee for these programs, or receive reimbursement of its costs or it may not charge any fee or receive consideration of any kind in exchange for these types of services.
As part of these services, the client may or may not engage us to provide to him/her with any written documentation that supports recommendations or conclusions reached in advising the client. If the client wishes to engage us for some type of service not specifically mentioned or referred to in the services noted above, he/she must then provide us with guidance as to the scope of the engagement.
If you wish to engage us for some type of service not specifically mentioned or referred to in the services noted above, you may provide us with guidance as to the scope of the engagement. Regardless of the services ultimately requested, the specific services and corresponding fees will be set forth in some form of written agreement.
Pension Consulting Services We offer pension consulting services to employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries based upon the needs of the plan and the services requested by the plan sponsor or named fiduciary. In general, these services may include an existing plan review and analysis, plan-level advice regarding fund selection and investment options, education services to plan participants, investment performance monitoring, and/or ongoing consulting. We may take the role as an ERISA 3(21) co-fiduciary to the plan and our pension consulting services will generally be non-discretionary and advisory in nature. The ultimate decision to act on behalf of the plan shall remain with the plan sponsor or other named 5 fiduciary. Alternatively, we may act as an ERISA 3(38) investment manager as a full-fiduciary to the plan. We will have discretionary authority over the plan and all of its assets as detailed

in the investment management agreement.
Although not all-inclusive, the following information will describe some of the activities offered under our pension consulting services: Preparation of Investment Policy Statement ("IPS"): We may meet with an Employer-Sponsored Plan Client to determine the relevant plan's investment needs and goals. If desired by the Employer- Sponsored Plan Client, we will 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 plan's investment options/vehicles and the procedures and timing interval for monitoring of investment performance.
Recommendation of Investment Options: The number and type of investment options/vehicles to be recommended will be determined by the Employer-Sponsored Plan Client, based upon the plan's stated needs. We will review various investments, consisting predominantly of mutual funds (both index and managed) to determine which of these investments are appropriate to implement the Employer-Sponsored Plan Client's IPS. Our review process will result in the recommendation of specific investment options for the Employer-Sponsored Plan Client to consider for inclusion in the list of plan investment options.
Monitoring of Investment Performance: A plan's investment options will be monitored continuously based on the procedures and timing intervals delineated in the IPS or as otherwise set forth by the Employer-Sponsored Plan Client. Although we may not be involved in the purchase or sale of these investments, we will supervise the plan portfolio and will make recommendations to the Employer- Sponsored Plan Client as market factors and the plan's needs dictate. Plan Performance Reporting: In conjunction with our monitoring activities, we may also provide periodic reports regarding the performance of a retirement plan and its underlying investment options. Such reports may include analysis from us as well as outside parties engaged by us to provide additional analysis in regard to such plans. Such outside parties would be engaged exclusively by us and not by an Employer-Sponsored Plan Client.
Employee Communications: For Employer-Sponsored Plan Clients whose plans offer plan participants the ability to self-direct their own investments, we may also provide educational support and investment workshops designed for the plan participants. The nature of the topics to be covered will be determined by us and in conjunction with an Employer-Sponsored Plan Client under the appropriate ERISA guidelines.
Advice to Participants: We may also provide individualized advice to plan participants. This service includes a review of a participant's individual situation, including age, existing assets, financial goals and attitude towards risk, and recommending an allocation of assets offered by the plan based on this information. Unless separately engaged to do so by a plan participant, we will not monitor a plan participant's situation or otherwise supervise or consult on the ongoing management of a participant's assets within the plan or otherwise.
We may also provide additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed above or customized for the plan based upon requirements from the plan fiduciaries (which may include additional plan-level or participant-level services) shall be detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the plan documents.
6 Either party to the pension consulting agreement may terminate the agreement upon written notice to the other party in accordance with the terms of the agreement for services. The pension consulting fees will be prorated for the quarter in which the termination notice is given and any unearned fees will be refunded to the client.
Educational Seminars and Workshops We may provide educational seminars or workshops for groups seeking general advice on investing and other areas of personal finance. The content of these seminars will vary depending upon the needs of the attendees. Our seminars and workshops are educational in nature and do not involve the sale of investment products. The information presented will not be based on any one person's need, nor do we provide individualized investment advice to attendees during our general sessions.
Wrap Fee Programs We do not participate in any wrap fee program.
Types of Investments We primarily offer advice on mutual funds, equity securities, certificates of deposit, corporate debt, U.S. government securities, options contracts on securities, money market funds, municipal securities, variable life insurance, and variable annuities. Refer to the Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss below for additional disclosures on this topic.
Additionally, we may advise you on various types of investments based on your stated goals and objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your portfolio at the inception of our advisory relationship.
Since our investment strategies and advice are based on each client's specific financial situation, the investment advice we provide to you may be different or conflicting with the advice we give to other clients regarding the same security or investment.
IRA Rollover Recommendations Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the following acknowledgment to you. When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries 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. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under this special rule's provisions, we must:
•Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent advice);
•Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal advice);
•Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees and investments;
•Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best interest;
•Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
•Give you basic information about conflicts of interest. 7 We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in your best interest.
Assets Under Management As of December 31, 2023, we provide continuous management services for $594,413,274 in client assets on a discretionary basis, and $0 in client assets on a non-discretionary basis.