Classic Asset Management, LLC d/b/a Financial Strategies Group is a registered investment adviser
primarily based in Fargo, ND. Our firm is organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the
State of North Dakota. We have been providing investment advisory services since 2006. Our firm is
100% owned by Classic Holdings, LLC. The owners of Classic Holdings, LLC are: Michael Victor
Young and Craig Alan Rottman, Managing Members; and Douglas Gene Schmitz, Member
Our advisory services include: discretionary, and occasionally non-discretionary, portfolio management
services on a continuous basis, financial planning, recommendation of independent advisers, and
retirement plan advisory services. The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to
the description of each investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our
advisory services to your individual needs.
As used in this brochure, the words "we", "our" and "us" refer to Classic Asset Management, LLC and
the words "you", "your" and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm. Also,
you may see the term Associated Person throughout this Brochure. As used in this Brochure, our
associated persons are our firm's officers, employees, and all individuals providing investment advice
on behalf of our firm.
Portfolio Management Services
We provide discretionary, and occasionally non-discretionary, portfolio management services on a
continuous basis. The investment advice provided will vary from client to client based upon your
individual desires, financial circumstances, objectives and other preferences. Such advice will typically
involve providing a variety of services, including an initial evaluation, custodial service
recommendations, asset allocation recommendations, monitoring of the investments in the account,
purchases and sales of investments (if a discretionary account) and may include investment buy/sell
recommendations (if a non-discretionary account). Recommendations and investment selections for
your account are based upon an analysis of your individualized needs, goals and objectives.
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. You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be
purchased for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing. 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.
As part of our portfolio management services, we may invest your assets according to one or more
model portfolios developed by our firm. These models are designed for investors with varying degrees
of risk tolerance ranging from a more aggressive investment strategy to a more conservative
investment approach. Clients whose assets are invested in model portfolios may not set restrictions on
the specific holdings or allocations within the model, nor the types of securities that can be purchased
in the model. Nonetheless, clients may impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of
securities in their account. In such cases, this may prevent a client from investing in certain models
that are managed by our firm.
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Financial Planning Services
We provide broad-based and structured financial planning services. 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. The process typically begins with a
complimentary introduction meeting during which the various services we provide are explained.
During or after the initial meeting, if you decide to engage us for financial planning services, we will
collect pertinent information about your personal and financial circumstances and objectives.
Dependent upon the scope of the services to be performed by our firm, the preparation of each plan
involves fact gathering, compiling, and analyzing of your present and anticipated assets and liabilities,
including insurance, savings, investments and anticipated retirement or other employee benefits. Once
we have reviewed and analyzed your information, we will deliver a written financial plan to you
designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
We also provide targeted advice that focuses on a single aspect of the management of your financial
resources. Under these arrangements, we offer financial plans in a modular format and/or general
consulting services that address only those specific areas of interest or concern.
The
financial planning process will involve the collection, organization and assessment by one of our
associated persons of your relevant data as well as identification of your financial concerns, goals and
objectives. The primary objective of this process is to allow our firm through our Associated Person to
assist you in developing a strategy for the successful management of income, assets and liabilities in
meeting your financial goals and objectives. The written financial plan that is developed, whether broad
based or modular, usually includes general recommendations for specific actions to be taken by you as
part of the implementation of the plan. For example, we may recommend that you obtain insurance or
revise existing coverage, establish an individual retirement account, increase or decrease funds in
savings accounts or invest funds in securities. Our Associate Person may also develop general tax or
estate plans for you or refer you to an accountant or attorney for their services. Neither our firm nor our
Associate Persons provide specific accounting or legal advice.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on
financial information you provide to our firm. Past performance is in no way an indication of future
performance. We cannot offer any guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will
be met. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation, goals, objectives, or needs change.
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 any
of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing
securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
We have entered into agreements with various Third Party Advisers for the provision of retirement plan
advisory services. Under this program, we may enter into agreements with employers that provide
qualified retirement plans ("Plan") for the purpose of providing various advisory services.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
For purposes of complying with the 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
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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.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in
your best interest.
Types of Investments
We primarily offer advice on Mutual Funds, and ETFs. Refer to the Methods of Analysis, Investment
Strategies and Risk of Loss below for additional disclosures on this topic. We may also provide advice
on any type of investment held in your portfolio, e.g. equity securities, at the inception of our advisory
relationship. Each type of security has its own unique set of risks associated with it and it would not be
possible to list here all of the specific risks of every type of investment. Even within the same type of
investment, risks can vary widely. However, in very general terms, the higher the anticipated return of
an investment, the higher the risk of loss associated with it.
Since our investment strategies and advice are based on each client's specific financial situation, the
investment advice we provide to you may be different or conflicting with the advice we give to other
clients regarding the same security or investment.
You may request that we refrain from investing in particular securities or certain types of securities.
You must provide these restrictions to our firm in writing.
Assets Under Management
As of January 19, 2024, we provide continuous management services for $180,203,000 in client assets
on a discretionary basis, and $1,917,000 in client assets on a non-discretionary basis.