Firm Information
We are an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser that acts in a fiduciary capacity when
providing services to our clients. We provide wealth management, portfolio management, investment
consulting/investment monitoring services, retirement plan consulting/management services and financial
planning and consulting services. In delivering these services We derive all compensation from our clients and
do not accept any commissions, referral fees or other fees from the sale of financial products.
In April of 2023 Modera completed an asset purchase agreement with Parsec Financial Management, Inc,
(Parsec) and in June of 2023 Modera completed an asset purchase agreement with Baldrige Asset
Management, LLC (BAM). BAM ceased providing advisory services and now conducts all advisory services
through Modera.
The principal owner of Modera Wealth Management, LLC, is Modera Capital, Inc. We maintain offices in
Boston, Massachusetts, Westwood and Morristown, New Jersey, Rye Brook and New York, New York,
Atlanta, Georgia, Inverness, Florida, Wayne and Allentown, Pennsylvania, McLean, Virginia and Charlotte,
Asheville, Tryon, Winston Salem, and Southern Pines in North Carolina.
Fiduciary Statement
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
make money, as described above, 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.
Types of Advisory Services
When providing advisory services, we shall not be required to verify any information received from the client
or from the client’s other professionals (e.g., attorney, accountant) and are expressly authorized to rely on
such information provided. We may endorse our services and/or other professionals to implement the
recommendations. A conflict of interest exists if we recommend our own services. The client is under no
obligation to act upon any of our recommendations under a stand-alone financial planning/consulting
engagement or to engage the services of any recommended professional, including us. The client retains
absolute discretion over all such implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject any of our
recommendations. Moreover, it is each client’s responsibility to notify us promptly in writing if there are any
changes to their financial situation or investment objectives so that we may review, evaluate, or revise our
previous recommendations and/or services.
Wealth Management and Portfolio Management Services
We primarily offer two ongoing forms of asset management services: wealth management and portfolio
management. A client may engage us to provide a broad range of financial planning and consulting services
along with management of all or a portion of a client’s assets on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis
("wealth management"). Depending on the engagement, for some legacy clients, such wealth management
services can include business coaching and/or real estate coaching services. We offer clients discretionary or
non-discretionary management of investment portfolios ("portfolio management"). Our portfolio
management services do not include financial planning services. As discussed below, a portfolio management
client can engage us for financial planning under a separate engagement (for which we may receive additional
compensation).
When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account(s) or individual
retirement account(s), 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 make money, as described above, 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.
We intend to allocate each client’s investment management assets on a discretionary or non-discretionary
basis primarily among mutual funds, exchange traded funds and individual debt securities and to a lesser
extent individual stocks as well as among certain "Independent Managers" in accordance with the client’s
investment objectives and risk tolerance. We may provide advice about any type of investment held in a
client’s portfolio.
In addition, we may recommend that clients who are "accredited investors" as defined under Rule 501 of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, invest in investments offered in a private offering ("private placement
investments"), which can include securities of pooled investment vehicles which invest, among other things,
in debt securities and/or equity securities when consistent with the client’s investment objectives and risk
tolerance and at the client’s discretion. Certain private placement investments may be limited to clients who
are "qualified purchasers" under Section 2(a)(51) of the Investment Company Act.
We can render wealth management and portfolio management services to clients relative to variable
life/annuity products that they may own; their individual employer-sponsored retirement plans; and 529
plans or other products that may not be held by the client’s primary custodian. In so doing, we allocate or
recommend the allocation of client assets among the various investment options that are available. These
client assets will be maintained at the specific insurance company or custodian designated by the product or
plan; however, if we are not granted appropriate access and authority to trade, we will provide instruction
regarding the trades to be made in the account(s) and the client will be responsible for completing those
transactions.
Investment Monitoring Services
For certain legacy clients we also provide investment monitoring services, which include consulting on or
monitoring of the clients outside investments. We do not provide wealth management or portfolio
management services with respect to such outside investments and do not have authority over such outside
investments.
Retirement Plan Management and Consulting Services
We offer services to retirement plans ("Plan[s]") and plan sponsors ("Sponsor[s]"). Our services may include
(1) Discretionary Investment Management Services, (2) Non-Discretionary Investment Advisory Services
and/or (3) Retirement Plan Consulting Services. Depending on the type of the Plan and the specific
arrangement with the Sponsor, we may provide one or more of these services. Prior to being engaged by the
Sponsor, we will provide a retirement plan agreement ("Agreement") that contains the information required
under Sec. 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") as applicable.
We may deliver one or more of the following discretionary fiduciary services:
Selection, monitoring & replacement of designated investment alternatives ("DIAs"): We will review with the
Sponsor the investment objectives, risk tolerance and goals of the Plan and provide to the Sponsor an
Investment Policy Statement ("IPS") that contains criteria from which we will select, monitor, and replace the
Plan's DIAs. Once approved by the Sponsor, we will review the investment options available to the Plan and
will select the Plan's DIAs in accordance with the criteria set forth in the IPS. On a periodic basis, we will
monitor and evaluate the DIAs and replace any DIA(s) that no longer meet the IPS criteria.
Selection, monitoring & replacement of qualified default investment alternative ("QDIAs"): Based upon the
options available to the Plan, we will select, monitor, and replace the Plan's QDIA(s) in accordance with the
IPS.
Creation & maintenance of model allocation portfolios ("Models"): We will create a series of risk-based
Models comprised solely among the Plan's DIAs; and, on a periodic basis and/or upon reasonable request,
we
will reallocate and rebalance the Models in accordance with the IPS or other guidelines approved by the
Sponsor.
Management of Trust Fund (with respect to pooled plans): We will review with the Sponsor the investment
objectives, risk tolerance and goals of the Plan and provide to the Sponsor an IPS that contains criteria from
which we will select, monitor, and replace the Plan's investments. Once approved by the Sponsor, we will
review the investment options available to the Plan and will select the Plan's investments in accordance with
the criteria set forth in the IPS. On a periodic basis, we will monitor and evaluate the investments and replace
any investment(s) that no longer meet the IPS criteria.
When we are acting in a non-discretionary capacity, we will review the investment options available to the
Plan and recommend investments to the Sponsor for the Plan. We will provide reports, information, and
recommendations, on a periodic basis, designed to assist Sponsor with monitoring the Plan’s Investments. If
the IPS criteria require any investment(s) to be removed, we will recommend to the Sponsor replacement
investment(s).
Selection & Management of Third-Party Managers (with respect to certain legacy client pooled plans): Based
on the Plan's IPS or other investment guidelines established by the Plan, we will review the third-party
investment managers available to the Plan and select a third-party investment manager to manage some or
all of the Plan's investments. We will provide reports, information, and recommendations, on a periodic basis,
designed to assist the Sponsor with monitoring the manager. If the IPS criteria require any manager to be
removed, we will replace the manager.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services are designed to allow assistance to the Plan Sponsors in meeting
fiduciary duties to administer the Plan in the best interests of Plan participants and their beneficiaries.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services are performed so that they would not be considered "investment
advice" under ERISA. We will also provide the following Retirement Plan Consulting Services:
• Administrative Support including the following specific services:
o Assist the Sponsor in reviewing objectives and options available through the Plan.
o Recommend Plan participant education and communication policies.
o Deliver fiduciary training and/or education periodically or upon reasonable request.
• Service Provider Support including the following services:
o Assist Sponsor with review of Covered Service Providers ("CSP") and fee benchmarking.
o Coordinate and assist with CSP replacement and conversion.
• Investment Monitoring Support including the following services:
o Periodic review of investment policy in the context of Plan objectives.
• Participant Services including the following services:
o Facilitate group enrollment meetings and coordinate investment education.
In providing Retirement Plan Services, we may establish a client relationship with one or more plan
participants or beneficiaries. Such client relationships develop in various ways, including, without limitation, a
decision by the Plan participant or beneficiary to purchase services from us not involving the use of Plan
assets; as part of an individual or family financial plan for which any specific recommendations concerning the
allocation of assets or investment recommendations relating to assets held outside of the Plan; or through a
rollover of an Individual Retirement Account ("IRA Rollover").
If we are providing Retirement Plan Services to a plan, we can, when requested by a plan participant or
beneficiary, arrange to provide services to that participant or beneficiary through a separate agreement. If a
Plan participant or beneficiary desires to affect an IRA Rollover from the Plan to an account advised or
managed by us, we will have a conflict of interest if our fees are reasonably expected to be higher than those
we would otherwise receive in connection with the Retirement Plan Services. We will disclose relevant
information about the applicable fees charged by us prior to opening an IRA account. Any decision to affect
the rollover or about what to do with the rollover assets remain that of the plan participant or beneficiary
alone.
For certain legacy clients we also provide retirement plan consulting services through a turn-key asset
management program. Such services are provided through Buckingham Strategic Partners’ ("BSP") (formerly,
BAM Advisor Services, LLC) Advisor Access™ 401(k) service, which includes access to model investment
portfolios and administrative and marketing support services.
Stand-Alone Financial Planning and Consulting Services
We separately can provide our clients with stand-alone financial planning and consulting services (which
could include non-investment related matters). These services may include one or more of: business
planning, investments, insurance planning, retirement planning, education funding, estate planning, tax
planning, and cash flow planning.
Trust Services
Modera uses a third-party corporate trustee for some legacy clients. The Trustee will collect and distribute
income, provide recordkeeping, produce required tax reporting and provide for the administration and
disposition of trust assets as directed by the governing document.
Tax Preparation Services
Modera provides tax planning and preparation services for some legacy clients who also receive wealth
management or portfolio management services as well as others who receive no such services. These clients
enter into a separate service agreement outlining the terms of the engagement each tax year.
Personal Trustee Services
We are required to disclose arrangements with clients that present a perceived conflict of interest. Certain of
our Wealth Managers serve as personal trustees for clients. These roles do not create a "Custody"
arrangement as they are positions for family members or for close personal relationships that pre-dated the
client relationship with the Firm. We do not and would not give preferential treatment to these clients with
any of the services provided or securities recommended and/or purchased.
Use of Independent Managers
As mentioned above, in certain circumstances for certain wealth management or portfolio management
clients, we can allocate a portion of their assets to be actively managed on a discretionary basis by certain
independent investment manager(s) ("Independent Manager(s)"), based upon the client’s stated investment
objectives and risk tolerance. The terms and conditions under which the client engages the Independent
Manager(s) are set forth in separate written agreements between us and/or the client and the designated
Independent Manager(s).
We will continue to render services to the client relative to the discretionary selection and retention of
Independent Manager(s) as well as monitoring and reviewing account performance and client investment
objectives, for which we will receive an annual management fee based upon a percentage of the market value
of the assets being managed by the designated Independent Manager(s) in accordance with the applicable
fee schedule in Item 5 below.
When selecting an Independent Manager for a client, we will review information about the Independent
Manager such as its disclosure statement and/or material supplied by the Independent Manager or
independent third parties for a description of the Independent Manager’s investment strategies, past
performance, and risk results, to the extent available. Factors we consider in selecting and retaining
Independent Manager(s) include the client’s stated investment objectives and risk tolerance, management
style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting, pricing, and research. The investment
management fees the designated Independent Manager charges, together with the fees charged by the
corresponding designated broker-dealer/custodian of the client’s assets, are exclusive of, and in addition to,
our wealth management fee or portfolio management fee as set forth below in Item 5. As also discussed in