Fragasso Financial Advisors, Inc. (“FFA”, we” or “our”) provides clients with various asset management
programs and financial planning services as described below. The Fragasso Group, Inc. doing
business under the name of FFA, became registered as an investment advisor in 1996. Robert
Fragasso started as a sole practitioner in 1972, forming the Fragasso Group in 1979, and moved to an
independent broker/dealer and investment advisor in 1996. The Fragasso Group, Inc. began operating
under the name FFA in 2007, and changed its legal name to Fragasso Financial Advisors, Inc. in 2016.
The primary owner of FFA is Fragasso Financial Advisors, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
FFA also uses the following additional names when conducting its advisory business; Fragasso
Investment Advisors, Fragasso Retirement Plan Advisors, and Fragasso Non-Profit Investment
Advisors.
Asset Management Services
FFA offers discretionary asset management services through a program account (the “Program”) based
on the individual needs of clients (“client”, “you” or “your”). Understanding your personal situation is
very important to the services we provide. We will determine your financial goals and objectives, as
well as your family responsibilities and tolerance for risk, through discussions with you. The investment
objective you select, which could range from income with capital preservation to aggressive growth, will
guide us in managing your account. In the Program we provide management services using a variety
of investment types, including but not limited to, institutional no-load and load-waived mutual funds,
exchange traded funds (“ETF”), variable annuity subaccounts, alternative investments, structured
notes, real estate investment trusts, individual stocks and options.
In order for FFA to manage your assets, you will be required to establish a Program account in your
name at an approved and qualified custodian. The custodian provides clearing, custody and other
services for accounts established through the Program. You will retain all rights of ownership on your
account, including the right to withdraw securities or cash, vote proxies, receive transaction
confirmations and receive periodic account statements. In addition, you will also have the ability to
impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities at the time you open the
account.
In order to hire us to provide management services, you will be required to enter into a written
investment advisory agreement with us. This agreement will set forth the terms and conditions of our
relationship, including the amount of your investment advisory fee. You will also be required to complete
an account application with the custodian.
When appropriate, we may also recommend a third-party portfolio manager, who will provide individual
management to your Program account on a discretionary basis. In this situation, we will assist you in
selecting an investment strategy and third-party portfolio manager. We also provide ongoing advice
and monitoring of the portfolio manager services and act as a point of contact between you and the
portfolio managers. In order to hire a third-party portfolio manager, you will be required to enter into an
agreement with the third-party portfolio manager for such services, and we will also be a party to the
agreement. We also encourage you to review the third-party portfolio manager’s Form ADV Part 2A for
additional information.
On an accommodation basis, FFA may also agree to handle certain accounts on a non-managed basis.
In such cases, FFA will not be responsible for providing management on either a discretionary or non-
discretionary basis.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services
FFA offers consulting services to retirement plan sponsors in some or all of the following areas as
agreed upon between the plan sponsor and FFA in the written consulting services agreement.
• Investment Policy Statement – assist the plan sponsor in developing or revising the plan’s
investment policy statement based upon its objectives and constraints.
• Service Provider Liaison – act as a liaison between the plan and its service providers, product
sponsors and vendors based solely on instructions from the plan on investment or administrative
matters. FFA will not exercise judgment or discretion with regard to these matters.
• Investment Monitoring – perform ongoing monitoring of investments and/or investment
managers based on written guidance provided by the plan.
• Performance Reports – prepare reports, based on statements provided by the plan, reflecting
performance of investments and/or investment managers and comparing the performance to
benchmarks.
• Investment Recommendations – recommend specific investments for plan sponsor to consider
within the plan or to make available to plan participants (if applicable), and/or recommend
replacement investments if an existing investment is deemed no longer suitable by the plan
sponsor. All decisions regarding investment options to be made available to plan participants
for purchase are the responsibility of the plan sponsor.
• 404(c) Assistance – assist plan in identifying investment options under the “broad range”
requirement of ERISA 404(c).
• Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) Assistance – assist client in identifying an
investment alternative within the definition of QDIA under ERISA.
• Education Services to Plan Sponsor – provide training for members of the plan sponsor or any
plan committee with regard to their services, including education with respect to their fiduciary
responsibilities.
• Participant Enrollment – assist and/or provide resources to assist the plan in enrolling plan
participants in the plan, including facilitating agreed upon enrollment
meetings and providing
participants with information about the plan such as terms and operation of the plan, benefits of
plan participation, benefits of increasing plan contributions, and impact of preretirement
withdrawals on retirement income.
• Participant Education – facilitate individual or group investment education meetings for plan
participants providing information about investment options under the plan such as investment
objectives and historical performance, explaining investment concepts such as diversification
and risk and return, and providing guidance as to how to determine investment time horizon and
risk tolerance. This will not include individualized investment advice for a particular participant.
• Changes in Investment Options – assist in making changes to investment options under the plan
upon the plan sponsor’s direction. FFA will have no discretion over the changes made or be
involved in trade execution.
• Vendor Analysis – assist plan with the preparation, distribution and evaluation of Requests for
Proposals, finalist interviews and conversion support.
• Benchmarking Services – provide plan with comparisons of plan data such as fees, services,
participant enrollment and participant contributions levels to data from the plan’s prior years
and/or similar plans.
• Fee Assessment – assist plan in identifying fees and other costs incurred by the plan for
investment management, recordkeeping, participant education, participant communication
and/or other services provided.
The plan sponsor is responsible for determining whether to implement any recommendations provided
by FFA. FFA does not take discretion with respect to plan assets and FFA does not provide
individualized advice to participants in the plan.
In some situations, where agreed to in writing by FFA and the client, certain specified investment
management services may be provided to plan sponsors. These services include making investment
selections and developing custom model portfolios. Clients will be required to enter into a retirement
plan consulting investment manager agreement with FFA to engage us for these investment
management services.
In certain situations, where requested by the plan sponsor and agreed to by FFA, FFA may provide
individualized investment advice for a particular participant.
Retirement Asset Advisory Services
We offer assessment, recommendations and monitoring of a client's choice of investments for
retirement plans held by a current or former employer. It is understood that the client will be solely
responsible for making the changes to their retirement account(s) and to process any resulting
transactions. FFA does not provide ongoing management as a part of this service. We will periodically
monitor and advise of changes needed, based upon the changing nature of the investments available
through the retirement plan.
At least once a quarter, having received the retirement account statements and/or account values as
furnished by the retirement plan or duly authorized representative, we provide a performance calculation
for the retirement account and review the account for compliance with the original asset allocation
recommendations. We then advise the client if certain changes in asset allocation or in specific
investment choices are recommended.
Retirement Asset Modeling Services
We provide the client with a one-time, non-fiduciary, service of investment and asset allocation advice
in regard to their current or former employer sponsored retirement plan, based on the client’s goals and
risk tolerance. We provide asset allocation and investment recommendations to help the client meet
the investment objectives as set forth in their Investment Policy Statement and Guidelines. FFA only
advises the client of the recommendation based on the fact finding accomplished between us and the
client. The client is responsible for making the decision to reallocate any changes within their retirement
account and to process any resulting transactions. FFA does not provide ongoing management as part
of this service. This one-time service may be requested by a client on more than one occasion;
however, this service does not hold itself out to be a regular or primary source for the client’s investment
decisions.
Investment Account Advisory Services
We offer assessment, recommendations and monitoring of a client's choice of investments for non-
retirement investment accounts that must be held outside of our purview. It is understood that the client
will be solely responsible for making the changes to their non-retirement account(s). Further, we will
periodically monitor and advise of changes needed, based upon the changing nature of the client’s
investment objectives and risk tolerance.
At least once a quarter, having received the investment account statement and/or account values as
furnished by the client, we provide a performance calculation and review of the account for compliance
with the original asset allocation model. We then advise the client if certain changes in asset allocation
or in specific investment choices are recommended.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2022, FFA provides advice to client accounts with a total market value of
$1,880,042,253 broken down as follows:
• $ 1,787,815,842 Management on a discretionary basis
• $ 65,531,029 Retirement plan assets, non-managed advice
• $ 26,695,382 Advice on assets managed by third-party portfolio managers
Certain FFA advisory representatives also act as registered representatives of a securities
broker/dealer in the sale of securities. In this role, FFA advisory representatives have provided
guidance with respect to approximately $ 99,357,110 worth of client investments.