Advisory Firm
Interactive Financial Advisors ("IFA") is registered as an investment adviser with United States Securities
and Exchange Commission. IFA is a corporation formed under Illinois law on February 20, 2003. We are
based in New Lenox, IL. IFA has been providing investment advisory services since 2003. OrganizAmerica
is sole owner of IFA. Richard L. Peterbok is the sole owner of OrganizAmerica.
Description of Services and Fees
Interactive Financial Advisors is a fee-only independent financial adviser. We provide money
management for the mid-market client by incorporating financial planning, investment portfolio
management, risk management and other aggregated financial services. We combine industry
experience and comprehensive research to provide quality advisory services to our clients. Currently, we
offer the following investment advisory services, which are personalized to each individual client:
• Portfolio Management Services
• Selection of Third-Party Advisors, Platforms and Programs
• Financial Planning Services
• Advisory Consulting Services
• Advisory Services to Retirement Plans
• Sub-Advisory Services
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Please refer to the description of each
investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your
individual needs. Also, you may see the term Investment Adviser Representative ("IAR") throughout this
Brochure. As used in this Brochure, our IARs are our firm's officers and all individuals providing
investment advice on behalf of our firm. Some of our IARs may have relationships with other firms
(please see Item 5 - Fees and Compensation).
This brochure is not a client agreement and does not create contractual obligations between IFA and its
clients. If you choose IFA as your Advisor, the relationship will be documented with a client agreement.
Portfolio Management Services
We offer portfolio management services to clients and prospective clients. The portfolio management
services are offered on a fully discretionary basis with regard to the allocation and investment
management of client assets among various asset categories such as equity securities, fixed income
securities, mutual funds and exchange traded funds.
IFA's asset allocation models range from conservative short term to aggressive long term, as well as
various specific purpose models. They are developed and managed in accordance with research and
analysis conducted by IFA. Once the client portfolio is constructed, IFA provides ongoing supervision of
the portfolio as changes in market conditions and client circumstances may require.
Working with our clients, IFA tailors investment advice to meet the needs and investment objectives of
its clients. If you retain our firm for portfolio management services, we will meet with you to determine
your investment objectives, risk tolerance, and other relevant information (the "suitability information")
at the beginning of our advisory relationship. We will use the suitability information we gather from our
initial meeting to develop a strategy that enables our firm to tailor its advice. Through ongoing
interaction with our clients, IFA is able to give you continued focused investment advice and/or to make
investments on your behalf.
Invest With Trust
As part of our portfolio management services, our Invest With Trust service customizes an investment
portfolio for you in accordance with your risk tolerance and investing objectives. We will then allocate
and manage your assets among various asset classes. These asset classes include U.S. Equity, U.S. Fixed
Income, U.S. Government Securities, International Equity and International Fixed Income and
Alternative Investments. These allocations may change from time-to-time with the changing needs of
our clients. It is important, therefore, that our clients continue to inform us of changes in their
investment needs and objectives.
Our Invest With Trust portfolio management service includes assistance in the selection, retention, and
disposition of investment positions. We offer a product line where asset allocation models, ranging from
conservative short term to aggressive long term, are developed and managed based on our proprietary
research and analysis. The Invest With Trust service also offers various specific purpose models; that
may include, but are not limited to, bond value distribution and stock value distribution. Once we
construct an investment portfolio for you we monitor your portfolio's performance on an ongoing basis,
and will rebalance the portfolio as necessary.
Recommendation of Sub Advisors
As part of our overall portfolio management strategy, we will recommend sub advisors to manage all or
a portion of your account where the allocation meets the needs and investment objectives of clients. All
sub advisors recommended by our firm are registered as investment advisers or exempt from
registration requirements. These sub advisors might specialize in traditional or alternative investments.
Factors that we take into consideration when making our recommendations include, but are not limited
to, the following: the sub adviser’s performance, methods of analysis, fees, your financial needs,
investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. Once a sub advisory account has been
established, we will provide all administrative duties that are required to service your account. The sub
adviser will have little or no direct contact with you. Our responsibility to you will be to: (i) continuously
evaluate the performance of your portfolio to ensure the sub adviser selected adheres to your asset
allocation guidelines; (ii) make recommendations regarding the sub adviser as market factors and your
personal goals dictate, (iii) assume discretionary authority to hire or fire the sub adviser where such
action is deemed to be in your best interest.
At the inception of the relationship, we encourage you to complete our CARES Client Confidential
Information Organizer (questionnaire). We use this questionnaire to conduct analysis through the CARES
Process on the data we collected from you. *This analysis is designed to help to determine, the time
horizon for each client's goals, client risk tolerance, and the amount of financial commitment required
for each goal e.g. a lump sum amount or ongoing savings. On completion of the analysis, we prepare the
Making Life Better Official Report (“the Report”). We will then utilize the Report in offering to assist you
in making selections between the various asset allocation products available. Individual investment
portfolios are structured in accordance with pre-established asset allocation models in keeping within
the context of your investment perspective and acceptable degree of risk tolerance. The fee to complete
the analysis, which is separate and distinct from the portfolio management fee described below, will
range between $48 and $7,500 depending on the scope and complexity of the client's financial
circumstances. This financial analysis fee is negotiable at the discretion of IFA.
Clients will enter into a written Financial Planning agreement which will govern the planning relationship
between the firm and the client. There are a number of different services IFA provides, and clients may
choose to take advantage of some or all of them.
For example, Clients may elect to retain IFA for portfolio management services, but forego the
preparation of the Making Life Better Official Report. The signed acknowledgment will be maintained in
the client master file. IFA images new account docs with ongoing notes and reviews retained by IAR.
We also offer our Invest With Trust portfolio management service through the use of various annuity
products. The assets within the annuity are managed through this portfolio management service. The
annuities may assist in providing protection from the potential of outliving your money.
If the client chooses the “Invest With Trust” service, the client will enter into a written investment
advisory agreement that will govern the relationship with the client and the firm.
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 our firm 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, a power of attorney, or trading authorization
forms. 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. This service also requires a written
agreement.
Upon entering into an Investment Advisory Agreement for Invest With Trust services, you will open an
account with an independent qualified custodian to hold the account assets. We currently utilize either
Axos Advisor Services, (“Axos’), member FINRA/SIPC.
The Legacy Service - Mutual Fund/ETF Strategies
As part of our discretionary asset management services, we offer the Legacy Service (“Legacy”) which
utilizes mutual fund and ETF strategies.
The Legacy accounts are managed to diversify a client’s investments and will generally use mutual fund
securities but may also utilize ETFs. Other types of investments may also be recommended where the
Investment Adviser Representative(s) deem such investments appropriate based on the client’s stated
goals and objectives. Investments and allocations are determined and based upon each client’s
predefined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial horizon, financial information, and various
other suitability factors. Clients may impose restrictions on the management of the account(s). Account
restrictions and guidelines imposed by clients may affect the composition and performance of a client’s
portfolio. For these reasons, performance of the portfolio may not be identical with other clients of IFA.
On an ongoing basis, the IARs assigned to you will review your financial circumstances and investment
objectives and will make any adjustments to your portfolio as may be necessary to achieve the desired
results.
Upon entering into an Investment Advisory Agreement, you will open an account with an independent
qualified custodian to hold the Account assets. We currently utilize Axos Advisor Services, member
FINRA/SIPC ("Axos"), an unaffiliated and independent qualified custodian and its clearing firm.
Selection of Third-Party Advisors, Platforms and Programs
IFA offers clients a variety of different investment management programs, each particularly suited to
individual needs. These programs are offered through various arrangements with third party advisors,
model providers and platform services. In order to assist clients in the selection of investment
management programs, we will typically gather information from you about your financial situation,
investment objectives, and reasonable restrictions you want imposed on the management of the
account. Your investment adviser representative will work with you to customize a portfolio that meets
these objectives. Your customized portfolio may include IFA managed models as described above, third
party advisory arrangements and/or utilization of specific model providers.
Third-Party Advisors – We have entered into agreements with various third-party investment advisors
for the provision of certain investment advisory services. Factors considered in the selection of a third-
party advisor include but may not be limited to: i) Our firm’s preference for a particular third-party
advisor; ii) the client’s risk tolerance, goals and objectives, as well as investment experience; and, iii) the
amount of client assets available for investment.
The third party advisors are registered investment advisors who offer investment advisory and
investment management programs. A complete description of the services provided, the amount of
total fees, the payment structure, termination provisions and other aspects of the third-party advisor’s
program wrap brochure (if applicable) or other applicable disclosure documents; iii) the disclosure
documents of the portfolio manager(s) selected; or, iv) the third-party advisor’s account opening
documents. A copy of all relevant disclosure documents of
the third-party advisor and of the individual
portfolio manager(s) will be provided to anyone interested in these programs/managers. You will be
required to sign an agreement directly with recommended third party advisor(s).
Model Portfolio Selection – IFA offers model portfolio selection services which allows IFA to exercise
discretion to select model portfolios managed by third party non-affiliated investment advisors,
collectively referred to as “model providers”. We will select the model portfolio(s) that align with your
risk tolerance and investment objectives. The model providers are available to IFA through the Axos
Advisory Services platform. The platform provides IFA with discretionary authority to implement
selected model providers on your behalf. Securities transactions will be decided upon and executed by
the model provider on a discretionary basis. This means that the model provider selected will have the
ability to buy and sell securities in your account without obtaining your approval. Generally, clients may
not impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities in accounts managed by a
third-party advisor.
We will have the discretionary authority to select the model provider and the model portfolio(s) as well
as the ability to reallocate funds from or to a model provider and/or model portfolio(s). You should be
aware that there may be other model providers not recommended by our firm, that are suitable for you
and that may be less costly than arrangements recommended by our firm. No guarantees can be made
that your financial goals or objectives will be achieved through the selection of model providers or by a
recommended/selected model portfolio.
We will periodically review reports provided to clients. We will contact clients at least annually, or more
often to review your financial situation and objectives, and, to assist you in understanding and
evaluating the services provided by a third-party advisor and/or model provider. Please notify us of any
changes in your financial situation, investment objectives, or account restrictions.
Family and Employee Access Program
We offer access to our portfolio management services to the family and employees of our Firm at a
reduced asset management fee. Family/Employee pricing for asset management services is available to
spouses, children, step-children, and guardianship relationships. Employees eligible for reduced asset
management pricing include any employees who have been employed for at least one year through our
Firm. The account requirements and fees are negotiable and will be specified in a service agreement.
Financial Planning Services
We offer goal oriented financial planning advice, which is primarily designed to supplement our portfolio
management services, as described above. Financial planning services are offered through our CARES
Client Confidential Information Organizer which will result in a Making Life Better Official Report. We
offer broad-based, modular, and consultative financial planning services to our clients and prospective
clients. We may use financial planning software to determine your current financial position and to
define and quantify your long-term goals and objectives.
Financial planning will 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. If you retain
our firm and sign the Financial Planning agreement which governs the relationship between the client
and the 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. After 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 report 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 our firm. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial
situation, goals, objectives, or needs change.
Per the Financial Planning agreement, 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 our firm, our advisory representatives, or any of our other
investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing securities
transactions with any brokerage firm.
Advisory Consulting Services
We offer Advisory Consulting services through a combination of in-house services, contracted third
party vendors and referral arrangements. These services are provided through our firm and non-
affiliated entities. This integrated suite of services is designed to complement our Making Life Better
Official Report by providing a full range of financial services and products.
The Firm's Making Life Better Official Report development begins with a Client CARES Client Confidential
Information Organizer (questionnaire) and utilizes proprietary products and tools to analyze a client's
financial and investment goals. The process defines how the impact of one financial decision or
investment may affect the overall financial goals or objectives of the client. Through this proprietary
method, IFA is able to evaluate, prioritize and balance financial values with a client's personal situation.
The Advisory Consulting service involves the following four steps:
1. Discovery: Interactive discussion where we listen to discover what is really important to you.
Essential information will be gathered to clarify your financial objectives and what you feel
would make life better for you.
2. Analysis: Review the analysis prepared to understand your unique situation which measures and
clarifies your specific goals. This helps you determine your priorities and your appropriate
financial commitment.
3. Solutions: Based on your situation analysis and the priorities you have identified; appropriate
solutions will be presented. These solutions will provide you the best value. This will begin the
implementation stage of your plan.
4. Service: Establish a well-structured communications and service schedule of future meetings
with you as appropriate, to stay on track and make any necessary future adjustments.
Through this process additional services may be suggested, such as:
• Insurance Solutions. Life insurance evaluations and strategies, asset and liability risk analysis,
disability insurance assessments and long-term care needs.
• Education Planning. Assistance in selecting, applying, and funding options for college education.
IFA has partnered with SAGE Scholars and participates in its Tuition Rewards program.
• Advisory Services to 401k and 529 Plans. 529 Plans are national advisor-sold savings plan(s) that
give parents, grandparents, and others a tax-advantaged way to save for a child's college
education. The Savings Plans and/or 401k Plans feature flexible portfolio solutions using ETFs or
mutual funds. We will provide assistance with recommendations as to how to allocate your
investments among the ETFs/mutual funds investment choices.
Advisory Services to Retirement Plans
We offer advisory services to employee benefit plans ("Plan") and to the participants of such plans
(“Participants”). The services are designed to assist plan sponsors in meeting their management and
fiduciary obligations to Participants under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (“ERISA”).
Pursuant to adopted regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor under ERISA Section 408(b)(2), we are
required to provide the Plan's responsible plan fiduciary (the person who has the authority to engage us
as an investment adviser to the Plan) with a written statement of the services we provide to the Plan,
the compensation we receive for providing those services, and our status (which is described below).
The services we provide to your Plan and the corresponding compensation are described above, and in
the service agreement that you have previously signed with our firm. We may, with consent of the Plan,
and in accordance with Plan documents, bill out-of-pocket expenses (such as overnight mailings,
messenger, translation fees, etc.) at cost. We do not reasonably expect to receive any other
compensation, direct or indirect, for the services we provide to the Plan or Participants. Nonetheless,
since Associated Persons of our firm are registered representatives of broker/dealers and/or licensed
insurance agents, these individuals may receive 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing or other forms of indirect
compensation in connection with mutual fund investments allowable under applicable authority
through Fortune Financial Services, Inc. (refer to Items 5, 10, 12 and 14 for additional disclosures). If we
receive any other compensation for such services, we will (i) offset the compensation against our stated
fees, and (ii) we will promptly disclose the amount of such compensation, the services rendered for such
compensation and the payer of such compensation to you.
In providing services to the Plan and Participants, our status is that of an investment adviser registered
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and we are not subject to any disqualifications under
Section 411 of ERISA. In performing fiduciary services, we are acting either as a non-discretionary
fiduciary of the Plan as defined in Section 3(21) under ERISA, or as a discretionary fiduciary of the plan as
defined in Section 3(38) under ERISA.
Sub-Advisory Services
We offer sub-advisory services to unaffiliated, third party investment advisers and broker/dealers. As
part of these services, we will provide certain proprietary investment services called ‘Invest with Trust
Asset Management Services’. While we are responsible for the overall management of the assets
delegated to our firm, we will not communicate investment recommendations or selections directly to
the third-party investment adviser(s) and/or broker/dealer(s). Fees and payment arrangements are
negotiable and will vary on a case-by-case basis.
Types of Investments
Pursuant to the agreement you enter into with IFA, we will primarily offer advice on exchange traded
funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. We offer advice on equity securities, corporate, municipal and
government debt securities, MLPs (master limited partnerships), certificates of deposit, and variable
annuities.
Additionally, we may advise you on any type of investment that we deem appropriate 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.
Wrap Fee Programs
IFA is neither the sponsor nor portfolio manager of a wrap fee program in regard to the investment
advisory services provided directly to you through IFA.
However, most third-party money management programs are considered “wrap fee” programs in which
the client pays a specified fee for portfolio management services and trade execution. Wrap fee
programs differ from other programs in that the fee structure for wrap programs is all-inclusive,
whereas non-wrap fee programs assess trade execution costs that are in addition to the investment
advisory fees. To compare the cost of the wrap fee program with non-wrap fee portfolio management
services, you should consider the frequency of trading activity associated with investment strategies and
the brokerage commissions charged by the third-party money manager’s clearing firm or other broker-
dealers, and the advisory fees charged by other investment advisers. Please refer to the recommended
third-party money manager’s Form ADV Part 2A – Appendix 1, the Wrap Fee brochure for a complete
description of the programs and services provided, the amount of total fees, the payment structure,
termination provisions and other aspects of wrap fee program.
Assets Under Management
As of February 10, 2023, we managed $278,271,719 in client assets on a discretionary basis and $0.00 in
client assets on a non-discretionary basis.