Atlas Brown, Inc. (“Atlas Brown” or the “Firm”) was formed in December 2004 by a group of
Louisville, Kentucky investment professionals and is an investment adviser providing Family
Wealth Management. Our investment management solutions combined with our suite of Family
Office Services are offered primarily to individuals and their families, including high net-worth
individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations. Our
mission is to provide individuals and families with thoughtful, independent, and comprehensive
advice combined with exceptional services. Our client relationships are grounded in a complete
and thorough understanding of each family’s complex needs, desires, and objectives. This focus on
all aspects of a family’s needs, both financial and otherwise, is what sets us apart from other wealth
management firms.
As of December 31, 2023:
Discretionary Assets under Management: $ 441,729,959
Non-Discretionary Assets under Management: $ 13,483,230
Total: $ 455,213,189
Investment Management Services
Atlas Brown’s primary investment management services consist of allocating its clients’ investment
management assets, on a discretionary basis, among individual debt and equity securities, options,
mutual funds, and/or exchange traded funds in accordance with clients’ investment objectives.
Atlas Brown may also recommend that clients who are “accredited investors” as defined under Rule
501 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, invest in private placement securities, which may
include debt, equity, and/or pooled investment vehicles when consistent with such client’s
investment objectives. The majority of Atlas Brown’s clients have authorized the Firm to
determine, without specific consent, the broker-dealer to be utilized for client trading activity.
However, Atlas Brown also emphasizes the unrestricted right of the client to direct all transactions
to any broker-dealer he or she wishes.
Atlas Brown also renders non-discretionary investment advisory services on a limited basis. Atlas
Brown does not place trades in a non-discretionary account without first obtaining and
documenting specific client consent to the transaction. There are no exceptions to this policy.
As of December 31, 2023, Fidelity serves as Atlas Brown’s primary custodian and US Bank serves as
its primary trust custodian. Other custodians may be used in limited circumstances at the specific
direction of our clients.
Prior to engaging Atlas Brown to provide investment management services, new clients are
required to enter into a Discretionary Investment Management Agreement or a Non-Discretionary
Investment Advisory Agreement with Atlas Brown setting forth the terms and conditions under
which the Firm shall provide its services to such clients. Clients are advised to promptly notify Atlas
Brown in writing if there are any changes in their financial situation or investment objectives or if
they wish to impose any restrictions upon the management services being provided.
Atlas Brown allows clients to place restrictions or prohibitions on the activities and holdings in
their portfolios; however, the Firm reserves the right to refuse to accept any client account if the
restrictions are too restrictive for the account to be managed properly. Additions may be in cash or
securities provided that Atlas Brown reserves the right to liquidate any transferred securities or
decline to accept particular securities into a client’s account. Atlas Brown will consult with its
clients about the options and ramifications of transferring securities but will not provide any tax
advice with respect thereto. Clients should keep in mind at all times that when transferred
securities are liquidated, they are typically subject to transaction fees, fees assessed at the mutual
fund level if applicable (e.g., contingent deferred sales charges) and/or tax consequences. Atlas
Brown would not be responsible for any gains or losses incurred by clients as a result of any
restrictions and/or trades directed by them.
With respect to mutual fund/ETF investing, Atlas Brown engages in discussions with clients
regarding their anticipated account balances and distribution needs and a good faith selection is
made regarding the most cost-effective investment for them. Atlas Brown uses its best efforts to
select the share class that is most appropriate for each client at the time of investment and will use
its discretionary authority to exchange client shares to less expensive investment options if such
products become available.
Rollover to IRA
Clients considering rolling over assets from a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan
(“Employer Plan”) to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) should review and consider the
advantages and disadvantages of an IRA rollover
from their Employer Plan. A plan participant
leaving an employer typically has four options (and may engage in a combination of these options):
(1) Leave the money in the former employer’s plan, if permitted;
(2) Rollover the assets to a new employer’s plan (if available and rollovers are permitted);
(3) Rollover Employer Plan assets to an IRA; or,
(4) Cash out the Employer Plan assets and pay the required taxes on the distribution.
At a minimum, clients should consider fees and expenses, investment options, services, penalty-free
withdrawals, protection from creditors and legal judgments, required minimum distributions, and
employer stock. Atlas Brown encourages you to discuss your options and review the above listed
considerations with an accountant, third-party administrator, investment advisor to your Employer
Plan (if available), or legal counsel, to the extent you consider necessary.
By recommending that you rollover your Employer Plan assets to an IRA, Atlas Brown and your
financial advisor may earn fees based on the terms of your management agreement. In contrast,
leaving assets in your Employer Plan or rolling the assets to a plan sponsored by your new
employer likely results in little or no compensation to Atlas Brown. Atlas Brown has an economic
incentive to encourage investors to rollover Employer Plan assets into an IRA managed by the Firm.
Clients face increased fees when they move retirement assets from an Employer Plan to a Rollover
IRA account. Even if there are no costs associated with the IRA rollover itself, there will be costs
associated with account administration, investment management, or both. In addition to the fees
charged by Atlas Brown, the underlying investment (mutual fund, ETF, annuity, or other
investment) charges a management fee. Custodial and trading fees also apply. Investing in an IRA
with Atlas Brown will typically be more expensive than an Employer Plan.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
For purposes of complying with the US Department of Labor (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.
Additional resources about IRA Rollovers are available to investors through FINRA’s web site at
www.finra.org.
Family Office Services
Finally, Atlas Brown provides certain clients with a broad range of comprehensive advice and
services (which may include non-investment related matters) commonly referred to as “Family
Office Services” based on each client’s individual needs. This suite of services includes, without
limitation, one or more of the following: preparing financial plans and/or evaluations based on a
client's current and anticipated financial situation, investment objectives and needs; consulting
services regarding the need to establish trusts and/or annual gifting programs, and the adequacy
and appropriateness of insurance coverages; coordination of pre-legal estate planning involving
trusts and wills to be drafted by clients’ attorneys; retirement and estate planning; personal
financial reporting; bill paying including, in very limited cases, the custody of clients funds (i.e.,
checking accounts); private foundation management; debt negation (which involves the irrevocable
setting aside of assets for repayment of debt without the actual corresponding retirement of the
debt); cash management; consulting on real property and tangible personal property identification,
acquisition and management; consulting of negotiation of business transactions; and consulting on
business succession oversight and coordination. This suite of Family Office Services are included in
the Investment Management Services fee as described in Item 5 below.