Elevate Wealth Advisory, Inc. (“Elevate,” we, us, ours) is a corporation organized
under the laws of the State of Georgia. Elevate provides investment management
and wealth planning services and is registered as an investment adviser with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Charles J. Vickery founded the Athens-based investment advisory firm in 1982 and
was its principal owner until July 16, 2018. On the same date, Deanne S. Rosso
assumed 100% ownership of the firm and currently serves as its President, CEO, and
Chief Compliance Officer. Please see Brochure Supplement(s) for more information
on these owners and other individuals who formulate investment advice and have
direct contact with clients, or have discretionary authority over client accounts. In
2021, the firm’s name was changed from Vickery Financial Services, Inc. to Elevate
Wealth Advisory, Inc.
As of December 31, 2023, Elevate managed $314,072,325 of assets on a non-
discretionary basis and no assets on a discretionary basis.
Investment Management Services
At the outset of each client relationship, Elevate spends time with the client, asking
questions, discussing the client’s investment experience and financial circumstances,
and reviewing investment options for the client. In designing your investment
portfolio, Elevate considers the following factors, without limitation:
• financial situation,
• risk tolerance,
• investment horizon,
• liquidity needs,
• tax considerations,
• investment objectives, and
• any other issues important to your state of affairs.
We recommend securities based on your goals and risk tolerance level. Once
these are identified, we will customize a portfolio for you. In creating the portfolio,
we seek to combine multiple asset classes that have historically experienced
dissimilar return patterns across various financial and economic environments.
Potential assets for the portfolio are evaluated not by individual characteristics but
by their effect on the overall portfolio. Portfolios are generally comprised of
mutual funds and exchange traded funds that invest in domestic and foreign
equities as well as fixed income securities.
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Your account should reflect your unique situation. Individual, customized portfolios
vary in terms of composition and asset class weighting, but they all share the goal of
capturing market returns while minimizing volatility for the selected level of risk.
We will also provide investment management and retirement plan consulting
services to you for retirement plan accounts such as 401(k), 403(b) and 457
accounts. Within these accounts, we will review available investment options to help
you determine a suitable investment mix designed to achieve stated goals and
investment objectives. These accounts are generally maintained at a custodian
selected by the plan sponsor.
You should notify us promptly if there are any changes in your financial situation or
investment objectives or if you wish to impose any reasonable restrictions upon the
management of your account.
Elevate generally recommends the services of Buckingham Strategic Partners (formerly
named “Loring Ward”) to assist us in managing your account. Buckingham Strategic
Partners is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC. Buckingham Strategic
Partners is an independent third-party account administrator and investment adviser.
Though Buckingham Strategic Partners and Elevate maintain a contractual relationship,
we are not affiliated.
We typically recommend Buckingham Strategic Partners’s Structured Investing Program to
our advisory clients, in which Buckingham Strategic Partners provides investment
advisory, administrative, and other back-office services for the benefit of Elevate and
its clients.
Investment management services are offered to you on a nondiscretionary basis.
You may provide standing orders to have your account rebalanced in accordance with
pre- determined asset allocations. Restrictions and guidelines imposed by you may
adversely affect the composition and performance of portfolios. For this reason,
performance of portfolios within the same investment objective may differ.
Wealth Planning Services
Elevate offers
separate wealth planning services under a Financial Planning
Agreement. This service may be provided as a stand-alone service, or may be coupled
with ongoing investment management. The preparation of such a plan may
necessitate that you provide us with personal data such as family records, budgeting,
personal liability, estate information and additional financial goals. The wealth
management plan may include, but is not limited to:
• Wealth Preservation,
• Wealth Enhancement (Tax Mitigation),
• Wealth Transfer,
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• Wealth Protection, and
• Charitable Gifting.
Once wealth planning advice is given, you may choose to have Elevate implement
your wealth plan and manage your investment portfolio on an ongoing basis.
However, you are under no obligation to act upon any of the recommendations made
by us under a wealth planning engagement and/or to engage the services of any
recommended professional.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
Establishing a sound fiduciary governance process is vital to good decision-making and
to ensuring that prudent procedural steps are followed in making investment decisions.
Elevate will provide Retirement Plan consulting services to Plans and Plan Fiduciaries as
described below. The particular services provided will be detailed in the consulting
agreement. The appropriate Plan Fiduciary(ies) designated in the Plan documents (e.g.,
the Plan sponsor or named fiduciary) will (i) make the decision to retain our firm; (ii)
agree to the scope of the services that we will provide; and (iii) make the ultimate
decision as to accepting any of the recommendations that we may provide. The Plan
Fiduciaries are free to seek independent advice about the appropriateness of any
recommended services for the Plan. Retirement Plan consulting services may be
offered individually or as part of a comprehensive suite of services.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) sets forth rules
under which Plan Fiduciaries may retain investment advisers for various types of
services with respect to Plan assets. For certain services, Elevate will be considered a
fiduciary under ERISA. For example, Elevate will act as an ERISA § 3(21) fiduciary
when providing non-discretionary investment advice to the Plan Fiduciaries by
recommending a suite of investments as choices among which Plan Participants may
select. Also, to the extent that the Plan Fiduciaries retain Elevate to act as an
investment manager within the meaning of ERISA § 3(38), Buckingham Strategic
Partners will provide discretionary investment management services to the Plan.
With respect to any account for which Elevate meets the definition of a fiduciary under
Department of Labor rules, Elevate acknowledges that both Elevate and its Related
Persons are acting as fiduciaries. Additional disclosure may be found elsewhere in this
Brochure or in the written agreement between Elevate and Client.
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Fiduciary Consulting Services
• Investment Selection Services
Elevate will provide Plan Fiduciaries with recommendations of investment
options consistent with ERISA section 404(c). Plan Fiduciaries retain
responsibility for the final determination of investment options and for
compliance with ERISA section 404(c).
• Non-Discretionary Investment Advice
Elevate provides Plan Fiduciaries and Plan Participants general, non-discretionary
investment advice regarding asset classes and investments.
• Investment Monitoring
Elevate will assist in monitoring the plan’s investment options by preparing
periodic investment reports that document investment performance, consistency
of fund management and conformation to the guidelines set forth in the
investment policy statement and Elevate will make recommendations to maintain
or remove and replace investment options. The details of this aspect of service
will be enumerated in the engagement agreement between the parties.
Educational Seminars
Elevate provides educational seminars on financial topics from time to time.
Participants pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of the materials provided.
Wrap Fee Programs
Elevate does not currently participate in wrap programs.