Allen Capital Group, LLC (ACG) is registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) since July 2005 and Mark Allen is the sole managing member of
ACG. The other members of ACG are Jenny Nichol, Travis Portwood, Steven Wilbur, Philip
McBride, Kent Koch, Michael Stanton and Shane Wissmann. ACG offers an Investment
Management Program, Financial Planning Services, a Retirement Plan Advisory and Review
Program and Trust Services to its clients.
As an Investment Adviser, ACG is a Fiduciary, meaning we must put client needs first, and provide
advice in client’s best interest. When we offer investment advice to retirement accounts covered
by ERISA, we must also comply with ERISA’s fiduciary standards.
Investment Management Program
ACG provides investment management program services, defined as giving continuous advice to
clients based on their individual needs through ACG’s Investment Management Program
accounts. ACG obtains financial information on the ACG Client Investment Profile Questionnaire
and other new account documents from prospective clients to determine the suitability of
establishing Investment Management Program accounts and to determine the appropriate
investment management strategies that are specific for each client account that is established
with ACG. Clients may impose restrictions on the type of investments that may be included in
their Investment Management Program accounts.
ACG uses discretionary trading authority to buy, sell and direct investments within the client
accounts, including reinvestment of proceeds from assets sold and income attributable to client
accounts in cash, cash equivalents, bonds, shares of common or preferred stock, unit investment
trusts, ETF’s, mutual funds, options, variable annuity sub-accounts, or other alternative securities
selected by ACG for client accounts.
ACG has established a relationship with Pontera Solutions Inc. (Pontera). Pontera is a technology
firm that provides service platform solutions to investment advisers, such as ACG, that advise
and/or manage held away client accounts, such as qualified plan participant accounts. The
Pontera platform allows ACG to receive feeds from held away accounts, analyze accounts, plan
fees, and execute trades. The Pontera service platform allows ACG to integrate the management
and advise of held away accounts into ACG’s adviser services and programs.
Flat Fee - Outside Account Advice – Clients that are being provided Investment Management
Services under an ACG Investment Management agreement may also have ACG provide them
Flat Fee- Outside Account Advice on other accounts. These outside accounts may or may not be
ERISA accounts. ACG may have the ability to trade these accounts on a discretionary basis.
Selection of Other Advisors - In some instances, the management of client accounts are
delegated to other investment advisors that have sub-advisor agreements with ACG or separate
agreements with clients. In such instances, the other investment advisors will have discretionary
authority to manage client accounts. A complete description of each of these other investment
advisor’s’ services is described in their Form ADV Part 2A Disclosure Brochures. When another
investment advisor is used in a client account the client will be provided the other investment
advisor’s Form ADV Part 2A Disclosure Brochure. A client may always place limitations on the
use of other investment advisors by ACG.
Financial Planning Services
ACG provides Financial Planning Services to clients. Financial Planning Services include
investment related planning and non-investment related planning services. When providing
financial planning services, ACG will obtain financial information and documents from clients to
determine the appropriate advice to be provided to them. ACG provides the following Financial
Planning Services:
Current Plan Results Reviews
Flat Fee - Qualified Retirement Plan Reviews
What If Planning Scenario Comparisons
Monte Carlo Investment Analysis Simulations
Life Insurance/Disability Needs Analysis
Long-Term Care Needs Analysis
Trust and Estate Planning reviews
Other planning services as required
ACG’s Financial Planning Services are tailored to the individual needs of each client. ACG obtains
financial information from prospective clients to determine the suitability of ACG’s Financial
Planning Services. Each client may impose limits on the type of Financial Planning Services
provided to them by ACG.
The Financial
Planning Services being provided by ACG do not include investment management
services, nor do they include the regular review of client’s investment assets. If client wants to
have ACG manage their investment assets, a separate Investment Management Program
agreement must be entered into with ACG for separate and additional fees.
If a Financial Planning Service client chooses to implement the advice of an ACG IAR, the client
may do so through the IAR in their separate capacity as an ACG IAR, and/or an independent
insurance agent. Financial Planning Services are generally provided along with our Investment
Management Services and without an additional fee. ACG reserves the right to charge separately
for its Financial Planning services when the plan is complex and/or provided as a standalone
service.
If a Financial Planning Service client chooses to purchase insurance recommended through a
financial plan, any earned commission will be paid to ACG. This represents a conflict of interest
and clients are advised that they are under no obligation to purchase any insurance products.
Retirement Plan Advisory and Review Program
ACG provides a Retirement Plan Advisory and Review Program which may include a Second
Opinion Survey for Plan Sponsors and their Qualified Retirement Plans. The covered qualified
retirement plans include 401(k) Plans, Defined Contribution Plans, Profit Sharing Plans, and
Defined Benefit Plans and other qualified retirement plans (collectively referred to as Qualified
Retirement Plans). Depending on the agreement with the Retirement Plan, ACG may act as an
ERISA Section 3(38) Investment Manager Fiduciary that makes investment management
decisions and has discretionary authority for Qualified Retirement Plan assets, or an ERISA
Section 3(21) Limited Services Fiduciary that only makes recommendations to Qualified
Retirement Plans.
Qualified Retirement Plans may receive position/performance reports from ACG describing
Qualified Retirement Plans performance and holdings. Qualified Retirement Plans will receive a
monthly Plan statement from the Custodian showing the Plan activity as well as Plan holdings.
Estate Planning Services
ACG offers Estate Planning services in conjunction with EncorEstate Plans. EncorEstate Plans
provides access to software and tools designed to develop estate plans for clients. Depending
on the needs of the client, Estate Plans may include a Trust, Power of Attorney, Medical Power
of Attorney or Advance Health Care Directive, or Will. Additional documents will be produced by
EncorEstate Plans. ACG will guide the client through the necessary questions and responses
to assist in the creation of the documents. ACG will coordinate with local attorneys in certain
circumstances.
Trust Services
ACG can provide trust services to its clients through an affiliation with National Advisors Trust
Company, FSB (“NATC”). NATC is a federally chartered trust company regulated by the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (“FDIC”). ACG offers trust services through a private label trade name, “Allen Capital
Trust,” a Trust Representative Office of NATC. By law, ACG’s client assets are segregated from
the capital assets of NATC and are not subject to potential NATC creditor claims. ACG and NATC
are not related entities. The terms and conditions of a client’s engagement of NATC, including
the fee payable by the client to NATC, are outlined in a separate agreement between the client
and NATC. ACG may recommend the services of other trust companies, chartered in different
states. The client is under no obligation to engage the services of any recommended trust
company. The client retains absolute discretion over all implementation decisions and is free to
accept or reject any recommendation from ACG and its representatives. ACG does not receive
any compensation (direct or indirect) from any trust company for these referrals. The terms and
conditions of a client’s engagement with the trust company, including the fee payable by the client,
are outlined in a separate agreement between the client and the trust company.
Assets Under Management and Advisement
ACG has $998,471,163 of assets under discretionary management in its Investment Management
Program as of December 31, 2023. ACG does not manage assets on a non-discretionary basis
in our Investment Management Program. ACG has $76,939,197 of assets under non-
discretionary advisement in its Retirement Plan Advisory and Review Program as of December
31, 2023.