Capital Advisory Group, Inc. (“CAG”) a Dallas, Texas based wealth management firm has
been providing financial planning and investment advisory services to its Clients for over
twenty five years since its formation in 1990.
It was founded by James S. Hopson, Jr. MBA, CPA, CFP® a resident of Dallas, Texas for
over 40 years who currently holds the positions of President, Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Hopson has been in the financial services industry since 1978
when he began his career with Price Waterhouse & Co. (now Price Waterhouse Coopers an
international accounting firm) in the Dallas office after graduating from the University of North
Texas with his Masters of Business Administration in Accounting and Taxation. Mr. Hopson
also holds a Bachelors of Business Administration with a major in accounting from Abilene
Christian University. After working in the tax department at Price Waterhouse & Co. he
subsequently worked at two other companies in investment related businesses as a financial
manager, controller and chief financial officer before founding his own public accounting firm in
1987.
Capital Advisory Group, Inc. offers advisory services designed to address the major areas
of personal financial planning and investment management including, but not limited to, the
management of retirement accounts, jointly owned and individual investment accounts as
well as company retirement and 401(k) plans. We offer personal financial planning, estate
planning, retirement planning, tax planning, cash flow strategies, and insurance planning
on a comprehensive basis or for a specific area of financial planning. The purchase of these
various planning services are not required in order to become a Client but are offered on an
as needed and/or as requested basis.
CAG’s assets under management as of February 23, 2024 were $191,571,302. These Client assets
are managed on a discretionary basis for approximately 80 families, individuals, and trusts.
CAG’s services are based on the individual needs of each Client. CAG offers an initial
meeting and data gathering session at no charge between the prospective Client and their
designated Investment Advisor Representative “Investment Advisor” in order to more
completely understand the Client's current financial situation and investment objectives.
The initial meeting gives the prospective Client the opportunity to get to know CAG, its
management, its financial planning and investment philosophies as well as to discuss guidance,
concerns and limitations regarding the management of their investment accounts, planning needs
and any other financial or personal matters the Client believes we need to be made aware of.
Once a prospective Client agrees to become a Client of the firm we jointly determine and agree in
writing, by signing an Investment Management Agreement, to the duties and responsibilities of
CAG and the Client. We also jointly agree to the Client’s investment objectives and their
financial planning needs by signing an Investment Policy Statement with the Investment
Objectives of each of the Clients accounts outlined in the attached addendum. Clients have the
ability during this process to discuss their investment concerns and establish standing
investment instructions and restrictions on their account with CAG and their Investment
Advisor Representative. For example; A Client may establish in its Investment Policy Statement
a requirement to refrain from investing in particular securities or types of securities or to limit
investments in certain securities.
Each quarter CAG will remind the Client in writing via its newsletter to contact their
Investment Advisor and notify in writing us if there have been any changes in their financial
situation or investment objectives, or to request a meeting or impose some new or modify
existing account restrictions. Usually the Investment Advisor Representative will contact
and/or email the Client several times during the year in order to discuss or update the Client’s
current situation and update the Clients investment objectives if necessary or desired. CAG will
respond to each Client more often if the Client requests advice on any other important financial
issues.
Client Obligations: In performing our services, CAG shall not be required to verify any
information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals, and is expressly
authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, each client is advised that it remains his/her/its
responsibility to promptly notify us if there is ever any change in his/her/its financial situation or
investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous
recommendations and/or services. After such notice we can then make adjustments or
recommendations. The Client can also impose new restrictions that will be confirmed by us in
writing or shown as an update to their Investment Policy Statement or Statement of Investment
Objectives. Clients may call in at any time to discuss directly with their Investment Advisor
Representative information about their account, their personal financial situation, concerns or
investment needs but all changes need to be confirmed in writing.
Clients will receive each month a consolidated activity and performance report and each
quarter a more detailed consolidated performance report and portfolio analysis from CAG.
Clients will also receive from their specific custodian or brokerage firm timely trade
confirmations as required and monthly or quarterly statements containing a description of
all account transactions and all account activity, including the fees charged by CAG. After
the initial transfer of assets, cash or securities to a custodian recommended by CAG, the Client
retains all rights of ownership of all securities and funds in the account to the same extent as if the
Client held the securities and funds outside the supervision of CAG and their Investment Advisor
representative. In other words there is no change of ownership of the assets transferred to the new
custodian. As mentioned earlier, in addition to statements from the custodian, CAG sends
monthly and quarterly performance reports to the Client in order to keep the Client clearly
informed of the changes in the values and performance of their accounts.
When requested, CAG offers to provide its Clients financial planning and related consulting
services generally at an additional cost described in the following section of this Brochure.
The planning is designed to focus on each individual Client's financial situation, needs and
concerns. Planning may be done on a comprehensive basis where we focus on all areas of the
Clients situation or it may be focused specifically on investments, insurance, taxes, estate or other
planning needs.
Written financial plans are only prepared under the terms of a CAG’s written Financial
Planning Agreement that specifies the objectives of the plan, how the plan will be delivered
and the costs associated with preparing the plan. CAG may also provide clients access to an
online financial planning and asset aggregation software to help assist the Client with a
better understanding of their financial situation.
CAG and its Investment Advisor Representatives are concerned about each Client’s
financial situation. Therefore, discussions between the Investment Advisor and the Client
regarding important areas of financial planning
can be incorporated into most formal
Client meetings. During these discussions we try to help our Clients remain aware of certain
financial risks (such as the possible need for life insurance, long term care or disability
insurance) and the steps required to manage them such as applying for and obtaining
certain types of insurance coverage. These steps even though they may be discussed or
recommended are not the responsibility of CAG to implement, manage, monitor or correct
unless requested and agreed to in writing by both parties.
MISCELLANEOUS DISCLOSURES
Custodian Charges-Additional Fees. As discussed at Brokerage Practices below, CAG
generally recommends that Schwab serve as the broker-dealer/custodian for client investment
management assets. Broker-dealers such as Schwab charge brokerage commissions, transaction,
and/or other type fees for effecting certain types of securities transactions (i.e., including
transaction fees for certain mutual funds, and mark-ups and mark-downs charged for fixed
income transactions, etc.). The types of securities for which transaction fees, commissions, and/or
other type fees (as well as the amount of those fees) shall differ depending upon the broker-
dealer/custodian (while certain custodians, including Schwab does not currently charge fees on
individual equity transactions, others do). CAG does not receive any portion of these
fees/charges. Any Questions: CAG’s Chief Compliance Officer, James S. Hopson Jr.,
remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective client may have
regarding the above.
Portfolio Activity. CAG has a fiduciary duty to provide services consistent with the client’s best
interest. CAG will review client portfolios on an ongoing basis to determine if any changes are
necessary based upon various factors, including, but not limited to, investment performance,
market conditions, fund manager tenure, style drift, account additions/withdrawals, and/or a
change in the client’s investment objective. Based upon these factors, there may be extended
periods of time when CAG determines that changes to a client’s portfolio are neither necessary,
nor prudent. Clients remain subject to the fees described in Fees and Compensation below
during periods of account inactivity.
Independent Managers. The CAG may allocate a portion of the client’s investment assets
among unaffiliated independent investment managers in accordance with the client’s designated
investment objective(s). In such situations, the Independent Manager[s] shall have day-to- day
responsibility for the active discretionary management of the allocated assets. CAG shall continue
to render investment supervisory services to the client relative to the ongoing monitoring and
review of account performance, asset allocation and client investment objectives. Factors that
CAG shall consider in recommending Independent Manager[s] include the client’s designated
investment objective(s), management style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting,
pricing, and research. Please Note. The investment management fee charged by the Independent
Manager[s] is separate from, and in addition to, CAG’s investment advisory fee disclosed at Item
5 below. Any Questions: CAG’s Chief Compliance Officer, James S. Hopson Jr., remains
available to address any questions that a client or prospective client may have regarding the
allocation of account assets to an Independent Manager(s), including the specific additional fee to
be charged by such Independent Manager(s).
Unaffiliated Private Investment Fund. CAG may also recommend, on a non-discretionary
basis, that qualifying clients consider purchase of DWS RREEF Property Trust (the “Fund”), an
unaffiliated non-publicly traded REIT that provides daily net asset value. The terms and
conditions of a fund investment (i.e., objective, risks, liquidity constraints, etc.) are set forth in the
Fund’s offering documents, a copy of which is presented to each client investor prior to
determining whether to become a fund investor. Prior to becoming a Fund investor, each
prospective client investor must complete a Subscription Agreement for submission to the Fund
to demonstrate his/her qualification to become a Fund investor. If a client determines to become
a Fund investor, the amount of assets invested in the Fund shall be included as part of “assets
under management” for purposes of CAG calculating its investment advisory fee. CAG’s fee shall
be in addition to the Fund’s fees. CAG’s clients are under absolutely no obligation to consider or
make an investment in any private investment fund(s).
Please Note: Private investment funds generally involve various risk factors, including, but not
limited to, potential for complete loss of principal, liquidity constraints and lack of transparency,
a complete discussion of which is set forth in each fund’s offering documents, which will be
provided to each client for review and consideration. Unlike liquid investments that a client may
own, private investment funds do not provide daily liquidity or pricing. Each prospective client
investor will be required to complete a Subscription Agreement, pursuant to which the client shall
establish that he/she is qualified for investment in the fund, and acknowledges and accepts the
various risk factors that are associated with such an investment.
Please Note-Use of Mutual and Exchange Traded Funds: CAG utilizes mutual funds and
exchange traded funds for its client portfolios. In addition to CAG’s investment advisory fee
described below, and transaction and/or custodial fees discussed below, clients will also incur,
relative to all mutual fund and exchange traded fund purchases, charges imposed at the fund level
(e.g. management fees and other fund expenses).
Please Note: Cash Positions. CAG continues to treat cash as an asset class. As such, unless
determined to the contrary by CAG, all cash positions (money markets, etc.) shall continue to be
included as part of assets under management for purposes of calculating CAG’s advisory fee. At
any specific point in time, depending upon perceived or anticipated market conditions/events
(there being no guarantee that such anticipated market conditions/events will occur), CAG may
maintain cash positions for defensive purposes. In addition, while assets are maintained in cash,
such amounts could miss market advances. Depending upon current yields, at any point in time,
CAG’s advisory fee could exceed the interest paid by the client’s money market fund. Any
Questions: CAG’s Chief Compliance Officer, James S. Hopson Jr., remains available to
address any questions that a client or prospective may have regarding the above fee billing
practice.
Client Obligations. In performing our services, CAG shall not be required to verify any
information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals, and is expressly
authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, it remains each client’s responsibility to promptly notify
CAG if there is ever any change in his/her/its financial situation or investment objectives for the
purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services.
Please Note: Investment Risk. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk,
and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment
strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by
CAG) will be profitable or equal any specific performance level(s).