LRIA is a registered investment adviser that provides financial planning, consulting, and investment
management services. Prior to engaging LRIA to provide any of the foregoing investment advisory
services, the client is required to enter into one or more written agreements with LRIA setting forth the
terms and conditions under which LRIA renders its services (collectively the “Agreement”).
LRIA (and its predecessor entities) have been in business since July 27, 1992. Benjamin Rickey and Joy
Stenehjem are the principal owners of LRIA. As of December 31, 2023, LRIA has $711,739,408 in assets
under management, of which $699,267,037 were managed on a discretionary basis and $12,472,371
were managed on a non-discretionary basis.
This Disclosure Brochure describes the business of LRIA. Certain sections will also describe the activities
of Supervised Persons. Supervised Persons are any of LRIA’s officers, partners, directors (or other
persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), or employees, or any other person
who provides investment advice on LRIA’s behalf and is subject to LRIA’s supervision or control.
Financial Planning Services
LRIA provides its clients with a broad range of comprehensive financial planning services. These services
include retirement, investment, insurance, estate, tax, and education planning.
In performing its services, LRIA is not required to verify any information received from the client or from the
client’s other professionals (e.g., attorney, accountant, etc.) and is expressly authorized to rely on such
information. LRIA recommends the services of professionals (e.g. attorneys, tax preparers, insurance
agents, etc) to implement its recommendations, including LRIA itself and Pathway Tax Group, PLLC, which
is owned by two principals of LRIA. In addition, certain professionals recommended by LRIA may be clients
of LRIA. Clients are advised that a conflict of interest exists if LRIA recommends its own services or those
of Pathway Tax Group, PLLC as LRIA or its principals will receive additional compensation as a result. A
conflict of interest also exists if LRIA recommends the services of a client as that client may be more likely
to continue to receive investment advisory services from LRIA as a result. Clients are under no obligation to
act upon any of the recommendations made by LRIA under a financial planning engagement or to engage
the services of any such recommended professional, including LRIA itself or Pathway Tax Group, PLLC.
The client retains absolute discretion over all such implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject
any of LRIA’s recommendations. Clients are advised that it remains their responsibility to promptly notify
LRIA if there is ever any change in their financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of
reviewing, evaluating, or revising LRIA’s previous recommendations and/or services.
Investment Management Services
Clients can engage LRIA to manage all or a portion of their assets on a discretionary or non-discretionary
basis.
LRIA primarily allocates clients’ investment management assets among mutual funds, exchange-traded
funds (“ETFs”), and individual debt and equity securities. Where appropriate, in more limited
circumstances, the Firm allocates clients’ investment management assets to independent investment
managers (“Independent Managers”). LRIA also provides advice about any type of investment held in
clients' portfolios.
LRIA also renders investment management services to clients relative to variable life/annuity products
that they may own, their individual employer-sponsored retirement plans, and/or 529 plans or other
products that may not be held by the client’s primary custodian. In so doing, LRIA either directs or
recommends the allocation of client assets among the various investment options that are available with
the product. For certain retirement accounts, including 401(k) accounts and HSAs, we are able to provide
investment management services on a discretionary basis through the use of an order management
system.(Pontera). In all cases, client assets are maintained at the specific insurance company or custodian.
LRIA tailors its advisory services to the individual needs of clients. LRIA consults with clients initially and
on an ongoing basis to determine risk tolerance, time horizon and other factors that may impact the
clients’ investment needs. LRIA ensures that clients’ investments are suitable for their investment needs,
goals, objectives and risk tolerance.
Clients are advised to promptly notify LRIA if there are changes in their financial situation or investment
objectives or if they wish to impose any reasonable restrictions upon LRIA’s management services.
Clients may impose reasonable restrictions or mandates on the management of their account (e.g.,
require that a portion of their assets be invested in socially responsible funds) if, in LRIA’s sole discretion,
the conditions will not materially impact the performance of a portfolio strategy or prove
overly
burdensome to its management efforts.
Use of Independent Managers
As mentioned above, in limited circumstances where appropriate, LRIA recommends that certain clients
authorize the active discretionary management of a portion of their assets by and/or among Independent
Managers, based upon the stated investment objectives of the client. The terms and conditions under
which the client engages the Independent Managers are set forth in a separate written agreement
between LRIA or the client and the designated Independent Managers. LRIA renders services to the
client relative to the discretionary and/or non-discretionary selection or recommendation of Independent
Managers. LRIA also monitors and reviews the account performance and the client’s investment
objectives. LRIA receives an annual advisory fee which is based upon a percentage of the market value
of the assets being managed by the designated Independent Managers.
When recommending or selecting an Independent Manager for a client, LRIA reviews information about
the Independent Manager such as its disclosure brochure 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 that LRIA considers in
recommending an Independent Manager include the client’s stated investment objectives, management
style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting, pricing, and research. The investment
management fees charged by the designated Independent Managers, together with the fees charged by
the corresponding designated broker-dealer/custodian of the client’s assets, are exclusive of, and in
addition to, LRIA’s investment advisory fee set forth above. Clients also incur fees in addition to those
charged by LRIA, the designated Independent Managers, and corresponding broker-dealer and
custodian.
In addition to LRIA’s written disclosure brochure, the client also receives the written disclosure brochure
of the designated Independent Managers. Certain Independent Managers may impose more restrictive
account requirements and varying billing practices than LRIA. In such instances, LRIA may alter its
corresponding account requirements and/or billing practices to accommodate those of the Independent
Managers.
Retirement Rollovers
A client leaving an employer typically has four options (and may engage in a combination of these options):
I. Leave the money in their former employer’s plan, if permitted,
II. Roll over the assets to their new employer’s plan, if one is available and rollovers are permitted,
III. Rollover to an IRA, or
IV. Cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the client’s age, result in adverse tax
consequences).
LRIA may recommend an investor roll over retirement plan assets to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
managed by LRIA. As a result, LRIA and its advisors may earn an asset-based fee on those assets. 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 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. Specifically, if LRIA recommends a
client roll over its retirement assets to a LRIA managed account, such a recommendation creates a conflict
of interest if LRIA will earn new (or increase its current) compensation as a result of the rollover. Depending
on the options available to the individual, rolling over assets to a LRIA managed account could incur higher
fees than leaving it in a current plan or moving to another employer-sponsored plan. In contrast, a
recommendation that a client or prospective client leave their plan assets with their old employer or roll the
assets to a plan sponsored by a new employer will generally result in no compensation to LRIA. LRIA has
an economic incentive to encourage an investor to roll plan assets into an IRA that LRIA will manage.
There are various factors that LRIA may consider before recommending a rollover, including but not limited
to:
I. The investment options available in the plan versus the investment options available in an IRA,
II. Fees and expenses in the plan versus the fees and expenses in an IRA,
III. The services and responsiveness of the plan’s investment professionals versus LRIA’s,
IV. Protection of assets from creditors and legal judgments,
V. Required minimum distributions and age considerations,
VI. Employer stock tax consequences, if any,
VII. Plan’s withdrawal options or limitations, before and/or after retirement
No client is under any obligation to rollover retirement plan assets to an account managed by LRIA.