.............................................................................................................................. 19
Item 20. Brochure Supplement (Part 2B of Form ADV) .................................................. 21
Education and Business Standards .............................................................................................. 21
Kennon Grose, Founder, Chairman of the Board, & Chief Compliance Officer ............................. 21
Bruce Griffith, President & Chief Operating Officer ....................................................................... 22
Adam Morse, Director of Advising, Senior Advisor ........................................................................ 23
v
Janet Griffith, CFP® , Senior Advisor ............................................................................................... 24
Hannah Vickery, Director of Operations ........................................................................................ 25
Joey Badinger, Lead Advisor ........................................................................................................ 26
Item 3. Advisory Business
Firm Description
AssetBuilder, Inc. (AssetBuilder), founded in 2006, is an investment and
asset management advisory service registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
AssetBuilder offers risk-managed portfolios comprised of mutual funds, ETFs
and cash investments. These portfolios are designed to provide growth or
income based on clients’ objectives using asset allocation. Asset allocation is
the division of a portfolio’s investments among asset classes to balance
expected risk and expected reward. These asset classes include small and
large stocks, value and growth stocks, domestic and international securities,
emerging market securities, real estate, government bonds and corporate
bonds.
AssetBuilder’s approach to asset allocation is influenced by the work of
Nobel Prize laureates William Sharpe and Harry Markowitz, who shaped the
role of financial science in investing through their development of Modern
Portfolio Theory. Modern Portfolio Theory states that a portfolio diversified
across asset classes offers the best opportunity for an investor to achieve
the highest possible return for a given level of risk.
AssetBuilder employs a “buy and hold” approach to asset management. The
practice of this style of asset management is based on the belief that market
timing is not proven as successful. The focus for the investor should be how
much the investor can risk losing (conservative, moderate and aggressive)
and how long they are willing to stay invested in the market. Clients who are
interested in market timing are discouraged from opening an account at
AssetBuilder.
AssetBuilder is strictly a fee-only registered investment advisory firm. The firm
does not sell annuities, insurance, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, limited
partnerships, or other commissioned products. No commissions in any form
are accepted. In addition, no finder’s fees are accepted.
Investment advice is provided, with the client making the final decision on
investment selection. The client may engage other professionals (e.g.,
lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc.) at their discretion to help them
with their investment decision. Conflicts of interest will be disclosed to the
client in the unlikely event they should occur.
The initial meeting, which may be by telephone, is free of charge and is
considered an exploratory interview to determine the extent to which
investment management may be beneficial to the client.
Under government regulations, we are deemed to have custody of your
assets if, for example, you authorize us to instruct a custodian to deduct our
advisory fees directly from your account. The custodian maintains actual
custody of your assets. You will receive account statements directly from the
custodian at least quarterly.
They will be sent to the email or postal mailing address you provided to the
custodian. You should carefully review those statements promptly when you
receive them. We also urge you to compare the custodian’s account
statements with the periodic account statements and portfolio reports you will
receive from us. The client always maintains asset control. AssetBuilder
places trades for clients under a limited power of attorney.
Principal Owners
Kennon S. Grose is a principal owner.
Types of Advisory Services
The AssetBuilder advisory service includes:
a) Consultation with Client to help Client decide upon a reasonable set of
investment goals.
b) Review of Client's current investment goals using expected risk and expected
return.
c) Assist the Client with preparation of an Investment Policy Statement.
d) Assist the Client with portfolio allocation strategy and implementation of the
Client’s investment policy statement. This will include consolidating portfolios,
selecting new investments, transferring assets to discount broker.
e) Provide the Client with ongoing periodic investment reports (i.e. market
values, rates of return, interest and dividends, asset allocation, maturity and
expiration alert, contributions, withdrawals and expenses, commissions,
capital gains and losses)
AssetBuilder encourages our clients to seek an investment policy review when major
changes occur in our client’s life, or simply when the investment policy needs to be
changed based on changes in expected risk or expected return.
As of December 31, 2023, AssetBuilder manages approximately $686,998,579 in
assets. 100% of assets under management are managed on a discretionary basis.
Tailored Relationships
Each investor has unique financial situations, investment time horizon,
funding strategy, investment experience, tax status, risk tolerances, goals,
and other life circumstances that dictate the constructed weightings of asset
classes in their portfolio. AssetBuilder will endeavor to survey each
prospective client to determine their investment goal. This investment goal
will be expressed in the Client’s Investment Policy Statement (or similar
document).
Types of Agreements
The following agreements define the typical client relationships.
Asset Management Agreement
AssetBuilder executes an Asset Management Agreement with each client.
This agreement allows AssetBuilder to provide the aforementioned
professional Advisory Services. A copy of the Asset Management Agreement
can be obtained by request from AssetBuilder.
Termination of Agreement
The Asset Management Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by
either party upon delivery of thirty (30) day written notice to the other party.
Description
At the beginning of each month, clients pay to AssetBuilder a fee calculated
at an annual rate as indicated in the fee table below. The standard billing
calculation is:
Billed Market Value x Fee Rate x (Days in Cycle/365) = Fee Amount
The fee is based upon the value of the client’s assets held during the
previous calendar month. The fee amount may be adjusted according to
cash flows in and out of the account during the fee cycle.
AssetBuilder’s fee schedule is as follows:
Value of Assets Annual Fee
$ 0 - $ 350,000 .90 of one percent (90 basis points)
$ 350,000 - $ 600,000 .70 of one percent (70 basis points)
$ 600,000 - $ 1,000,000 .60 of one percent (60 basis points)
$ 1,000,000 - $ 4,000,000 .40 of one percent (40 basis points)
$ 4,000,000 – and above .35 of one percent (35 basis points)
AssetBuilder is not compensated on the basis of a share of capital gains upon
or capital appreciation of the funds or any portion of the funds of the client.
AssetBuilder reserves the right to provide its services to other types of clients
(such as participants in 401(k) plans) and in other contexts. AssetBuilder also
reserves the right to vary its fee structure for such other types of clients and
in such other contexts.
Fee Billing
All fees are billed pro rata, in arrears for the period covered, between the 1st
and 15th of the month following the end of the previous calendar month. The
advisory fee owed to AssetBuilder for any period of time less than a full
calendar month shall be prorated based upon the proportion of time the
incomplete period bears to the full-month period.
It is further agreed by and between the parties that the client bears the cost
of all securities purchased for the client as well as taxes, interest (if any),
brokerage fees and commissions and custodian charges (if any).
AssetBuilder, in its sole discretion, may charge a lesser investment advisory
fee based upon certain criteria (e.g., historical relationship, type of assets,
anticipated future earning capacity, anticipated future additional assets, dollar
amounts of assets to be managed, related accounts, account composition,
negotiations with clients, etc.).
Other Fees
The account qualified custodian/clearing agent for the investment
management accounts imposes a fee for executing transactions and other
custodial services in each client account. These charges are not retail
broker commissions, and no part of the transaction charge is paid to
AssetBuilder. The fees and charges imposed by the clearing agent are in
exchange for facilitating the execution of trades and for the custody of the
assets in the client’s account. In addition to transaction charges, the
custodian may also impose various fees for transferring securities and for
other services. These transaction fees are subject to change without
warning.
All brokerage commissions, stock transfer fees, and other similar charges
incurred in connection with transactions for the account are in addition to the
investment management fees paid to AssetBuilder. The client bears
responsibility for verifying the accuracy of fee calculations.
Expense Ratios
Mutual funds generally charge a management fee for their services as
investment managers. The management fee is called an expense ratio. For
example, an expense ratio of 0.50 means that the mutual fund company
charges 0.5% for their services. These fees are in addition to the fees paid by
you to AssetBuilder.
Performance figures quoted by mutual fund companies in various
publications are after their fees have been deducted.
Past Due Accounts and Termination of Agreement
If an AssetBuilder client account becomes delinquent with regard to
management fees. AssetBuilder will follow the account termination process
as defined in the asset management agreement.