Firm Description
North Berkeley Wealth Management, LLC (“North Berkeley”) was founded in 2005. Previous to the founding of the
firm, Kate King managed a sole proprietorship providing financial planning and asset management since 1994. As
of 2021, North Berkeley is wholly owned by Kate King, Brian Kozel, and Sam Wood-Bednarz.
North Berkeley provides comprehensive financial planning services and investment management services
to individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and business entities. We work with
clients in comprehensive and ongoing collaborative relationships, and most commonly charge a fee based on a
percentage of assets under management as compensation for our services.
Clients grant the firm investment discretion on matters of specific investment selection, and we place trades
on behalf of our Clients under a limited power of attorney. North Berkeley does not act as a custodian of Client
assets; Clients always retain asset control with the one exception where a partner of the firm acts as a trustee.
Should Clients have need for services from other professionals (e.g. lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc.);
such services are engaged directly by the Client when needed although a referral may be provided by North
Berkeley. Any conflicts of interest of North Berkeley’s or its associated persons are disclosed in this brochure.
The purpose of this Brochure is to disclose the conflicts of interest associated with the investment transactions,
compensation and any other matters related to investment decisions made by our firm or its representatives.
As a fiduciary, it is our duty to always act in the client’s best interest. This is accomplished in part by knowing
our client. Our firm has established a service-oriented advisory practice with open lines of communication for
many different types of clients to help meet their financial goals while remaining sensitive to risk tolerance and
time horizons. Working with clients to understand their investment objectives while educating them about our
process, facilitates the kind of working relationship we value.
Types of Advisory Services
North Berkeley provides investment management services and personal financial planning for a fee to a variety of
Clients including individuals, families, business owners, professionals, inheritors, and retirees.
As of December 31, 2023, North Berkeley manages a total of approximately $606.5 million in assets. Of that,
approximately $595.3 million is managed on a discretionary basis, and approximately $11.2 million is managed on
a non-discretionary basis.
Investment Services
Our investment management services include:
• Analyzing client’s broad financial situation, so that an appropriate set of investments incorporating time
horizon, high-level long-term goals for the investments, and risk tolerance, can be documented in writing
by North Berkeley with the Client to guide ongoing portfolio management
• Design of an asset allocation appropriate to the Client’s specific circumstances, informed by ongoing
financial planning considerations including need for liquidity and appropriate time horizon
• Development and periodic review of an Investment Policy Statement
• Determination of specific investment changes to be made to implement the recommended plan
• Trading
• Monitoring of investments as needed on an ongoing basis
• Ongoing portfolio review and adjustments made using discretion granted to North Berkeley by the client
• Provision of trading related data for tax, estate, or other purposes
As part of this service, North Berkeley may utilize the services of a third party investment firm (“Sub—Adviser”)
or separately managed accounts (“SMA”) to aid in the implementation of an investment portfolio designed by our
firm. Before selecting a Sub-Adviser or SMA, our firm will ensure that the chosen party is properly licensed or
registered. We also provide service for accounts not held directly by the custodian
our firm uses, but where we
do have discretion and may leverage an Order Management System called Pontera to implement asset allocation
or rebalancing strategies on your behalf.
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North Berkeley will offer investment advice on mutual fund shares, exchange traded funds, equity securities,
corporate debt securities, U.S. government securities, municipal securities, CDs, money market funds, variable
annuities, options contracts on securities, and interests in partnerships in real estate, oil and gas interests, and,
if requested or agreed to by Client, other types of investments.
Financial Planning Services
North Berkeley’s planning work aims to help the Client identify their most relevant life and financial concerns,
and within the context of those concerns, help assess how the Client’s resources can be used to meet the Client’s
objectives for retirement, education, estate planning, tax planning, and other personal objectives. The planning
may also include, if requested and appropriate, an insurance needs analysis. North Berkeley will not provide legal
advice or tax advice.
Planning services are provided on an ongoing and long-term basis. Initial planning proceeds when a Client first
begins working with the firm, and typically lasts 3-12 months depending on Client’s needs, and usually follows a
process including the following steps:
• Establishing preliminary relationship terms
• Gathering needed Client data, including personal and financial data, goals, objectives, and risk tolerance
• Analysis and evaluation of Client’s existing financial status and assumptions
• Evaluation of alternatives and feasibility of changes
• Development and presentation of planning recommendations
• Assistance with implementation as appropriate
• Ongoing review and monitoring of all financial planning areas
• Fielding questions from Client on issues and decisions with financial impact in their lives
• Uncovering areas of opportunity for further analysis to help the client on an ongoing basis
Topics that are addressed during the planning process differ based on specific Client needs, but commonly include:
• Risk management/insurance (review of life, disability, medical, long-term care, property & casualty,
liability, professional, directors & officers coverages as appropriate)
• Benefits review (including employer provided benefits such as insurance, stock options, deferred
compensation, executive benefits as well as government provided benefits such as Social Security,
Medicare, SSDI, etc.)
• Tax planning in coordination with Client’s tax advisor(s)
• Investment analysis and planning
• Lifetime cash flow planning, including considerations related to retirement decisions
• Estate and philanthropic planning in coordination with Client’s attorney(s)
• Savings, budgeting, debt management
• Planning for college funding
• Career and business planning
Presentation of comprehensive financial planning does not include preparation of legal documents or tax returns,
as North Berkeley and its partners are not licensed to provide legal or tax advice.
Tailored Relationships
The goals and objectives for each Client are documented in North Berkeley’s files, as well as in suitability
documents prepared to open Client brokerage accounts and in Investment Policy Statements prepared for each
Client. All planning and investment management is customized to each specific Client’s goals and objectives and
reflects their risk tolerance, time horizon for investments, and need for liquidity.
Investment Policy Statements document any specific circumstances or restrictions for trading agreed to by North
Berkeley and the Client, and also specify general investment strategy and reporting process.
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Participation in Wrap Fee Programs
Our firm does not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program.