Company History & Principals
Beacon Financial Advisors, Inc. (“Beacon”) is a New York corporation formed in 2000. Beacon was a
Registered Investment Adviser in New York from May 2000 through April 2013. Beacon has been registered
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) since April 2013. As founder of Beacon, Ronald
M. Robins served as President and sole owner of Beacon since its inception. Effective June 2021, Benjamin
(Jamie) Robins, Ron’s son and partner since 2015, acquired sole ownership of Beacon and now serves as
President and Chief Compliance Officer. Jamie has been engaged in the financial services industry since 2009.
Ron will continue to serve Beacon’s clients as Financial Advisor.
Overview
Beacon Financial Advisors is an independent wealth advisory firm offering financial planning and asset
management services customized to the needs of individuals and their families, pension and profit-sharing
plans, charitable organizations, trusts, and businesses. We focus on providing personalized financial advice and
superior service to a limited number of clients.
As fiduciaries, we have a fundamental obligation to always act in the best interest of our clients and to always
place our client’s interests ahead of our own.
We specialize in:
▪ Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation ▪ Retirement/Income Planning
▪ Asset Management ▪ Multigenerational Financial Planning
▪ Stock Option Planning ▪ Non-Citizen Investment Issues
▪ Business Succession Planning ▪ Qualified Retirement Plans
We tailor our advisory services to our clients’ individual needs. We offer an initial, no obligation consultation
to discuss what potential clients hope to achieve from the financial planning process and assess if we can help
with their specific needs. Clients may ask us to restrict and/or limit certain securities or types of securities when
we invest for them. Should they wish to engage our services, new clients will be required to sign our advisory
agreement outlining the relationship and specifying our fee.
New clients typically pay an initial fee for the creation of their financial plan as well as an ongoing wrap fee that
includes our asset management services, associated transaction costs, and the maintenance and monitoring of
their financial plan. This ongoing wrap fee is based on the value of a client’s assets under management.
Financial Planning Services
Our financial planning service is a multi-step process which reviews a client’s entire financial profile, identifies
potential qualitative and quantitative issues, develops an outline of steps to address the assorted and often
interrelated issues, and begins to work through those issues. The solutions to the various issues identified often
involve other professionals, most frequently estate attorneys and accountants. Beacon can “quarterback” the
interactions with these professionals so that a client is not left to implement recommendations requiring
professional assistance on their own. The initial development of a financial plan will typically take six months.
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The process involves various steps including a data gathering session wherein Beacon collects the financial and
personal information about the client. This includes a review of any previous estate planning, investments,
insurance, and assorted executive, company, or institutional benefits.
A client’s financial plan may include advice on asset allocation, tax
planning analysis, estate planning analysis, business succession
planning, retirement planning, budgeting, cash flow, and/or fringe
benefit analysis. Beacon will schedule a meeting with the client to
present our analysis of the situation and discuss our recommendations
to assist the client towards their financial goals.
Plans are based on a client’s financial situation at that time and on
financial information disclosed by the client to Beacon. Certain
assumptions may be made with respect to interest rates, inflation rates,
and use of past trends and performance of the market and economy.
However, past performance is no indication of future performance.
Beacon cannot offer any guarantees or promises that a client’s financial goals and objectives will be met. Further,
the client must continue to review and update the plan based on changes in financial situation, goals, objectives,
or changes in the economy, tax code, or law. If a client’s financial situation, investment goals, or objectives
change the client must notify Beacon promptly of the changes. The advice offered by Beacon may be limited
and is not meant to be comprehensive. The client is not obligated to implement advice through Beacon or its
Investment Advisor Representatives.
Asset Management Services
Beacon provides asset management services on a discretionary basis to our clients. Once we complete our
analysis of a client’s financial situation, we work with them to determine an appropriate portfolio allocation. All
investments made on a client’s behalf will take into consideration a client’s limitations or restrictions as well as
their financial situation, investment objectives, and risk tolerance.
We will schedule a meeting with the client to present how the client’s account will be managed and the
recommended portfolio allocation. A client does not have to engage us to develop a full financial plan. In its
place, we will develop an asset allocation recommendation that is customized to the client’s financial situation,
investment objectives, and risk tolerance.
When Beacon provides continuous and ongoing asset management services, we will manage a client’s account
on a discretionary basis, making changes to the allocation as deemed appropriate by Beacon and in accordance
with the client’s financial situation, investment objectives, and risk tolerance. We will determine the securities
to be purchased and sold in the account and will alter the securities holdings from time to time, without prior
consultation with the client.
Beacon’s Wrap Fee Program
Beacon serves as a program sponsor and portfolio manager for its own wrap fee program, the Beacon Private
Wealth Program (the “Program”). If a client participates in the Program, they will pay a single fee which includes
asset management, portfolio monitoring, the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of their financial plan, as
well as custodial and administrative costs incurred within their account(s). An appropriate wrap fee program
brochure has been created and will be presented to the client by us prior to investing in the Program. When
managing the assets in the Program, we do not manage these assets any differently than non-wrap fee program
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accounts. When managing a client’s account on a wrap fee basis, Beacon shall receive as payment for its services
the balance of the wrap fee after transaction costs have been deducted. A client may pay more or less than if
they participated in other wrap fee programs or if they paid separately for these services.
Retirement Plan Consulting
Beacon offers retirement plan advisory services to defined contribution retirement plans (the “Plan(s)”) and to
the Plan’s named fiduciary (the “Plan Sponsor”). These services may include either discretionary or non-
discretionary investment advice concerning the retirement plan's investment options that are available to
participants in the plan.
Investment Adviser 3(21) Fiduciary Services: The Firm shall serve as an “Investment Adviser” and a “fiduciary”
within the meaning of Section 3(21) of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), as
amended, with respect to accounts in the Plan. (Although 3(21) fiduciaries provide advice, they do not take
control of plan assets,
so the Plan Sponsor retains the final say regarding implementation of the recommended
investment options.)
If we are engaged as an Investment Adviser, we will provide recommendations concerning the selection of the
investment options for the Plan, as well as the replacement, addition, or removal of such options on an ongoing
basis. In general, these services may include an existing plan review and analysis, investment performance
monitoring, and/or ongoing consulting. In providing these services, we will have the ongoing responsibility to
select or make recommendations based upon the needs of the Plan. While the ultimate decision to act on behalf
of the Plan shall remain with the Plan Sponsor, we will generally aid with the implementation of our
recommendations after approval by said Plan Sponsor.
Investment Manager 3(38) Fiduciary Services: The Adviser shall serve as an “Investment Manager” and a
“fiduciary” within the meaning of Section 3(38) of ERISA with respect to accounts in the Plan. (As a Section
3(38) fiduciary, an “Investment Manager” has discretion, authority, and control of a plan’s assets. Under ERISA,
a Plan Sponsor can delegate the job of selecting, monitoring, and replacing plan investments to the Investment
Manager, but the Plan Sponsor retains liability for the selection, monitoring and benchmarking of the
Investment Manager.)
If we are engaged as an Investment Manager, we will select the investment options that are to be offered to the
Plan's participants. We will also monitor the selected investment options and make changes to them, as
necessary. In addition, we may aid with respect to the establishment and maintenance of an investment policy
statement for the Plan.
We shall be responsible for selecting the Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (“QDIA”) for the Plan as
permitted under Section 404(c) of ERISA in the form of an investment fund or model portfolios that seek both
long-term appreciation and capital preservation through a mix of equity and fixed income investments.
Participant Services: In addition to providing plan-level advisory services, we may offer participant-level
education services and may also assist with participant enrollment meetings and provide investment- related
educational seminars to plan participants on such topics as diversification, risk tolerance and time horizon. Our
educational seminars may include other investment-related topics specific to the plan.
We may also provide additional types of retirement plan advisory and consulting services to Plans on an
individually negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed above or customized based upon a Plan Sponsor’s
requirements, shall be detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the
plan documents.
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Selection of Third-Party Investment Advisers
Beacon's services do not typically include recommending a Third-Party Investment Adviser. However, if the
service is requested by a client, a registered third-party investment adviser whose investment styles and strategies
suit the client’s individual needs and financial objectives will be recommended. The investments in these
accounts are managed by investment advisers who specialize in the types of securities or strategies. Beacon will
be responsible for monitoring these investments for compliance with the client’s financial situation, investment
objectives, and risk tolerance. The selected Third-Party Investment Manager will be responsible for securities
selection according to the strategy selected. The client will be provided with the disclosure documents for any
Third-Party Investment Manager recommended for investment in the client’s accounts.
General Information
The investment recommendations and advice offered by Beacon are not legal advice or accounting advice. The
client should coordinate and discuss the impact of financial advice with their attorney and/or accountant. If a
client’s financial situation, investment goals, and/or objectives should change, please inform Beacon promptly.
The change may trigger a need for adjustments in the client’s plan or portfolio. Failure to notify Beacon of any
such changes could result in investment recommendations not meeting the client’s needs.
A client electing a wrap fee program will pay a single fee asset-based fee for bundled services which includes
asset management, portfolio monitoring, the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of their financial plan, as
well as trade execution, custody, and other standard brokerage services. If the client determines to engage
Beacon on a non‐wrap fee basis, the client will pay separately for investment advisory services and will be
responsible for paying for paying transaction fees for transactions conducted in the client’s account. When
managing a client’s account on a wrap fee basis, Beacon shall receive as payment for its investment advisory
services the balance of the total wrap fee after custodial, trading, and other costs (including execution and
transaction fees) have been deducted.
Beacon has a conflict of interest to use no‐transaction fee funds and securities to reduce Beacon’s costs resulting
in Beacon retaining a higher portion of the advisory fee. In addition, it should be noted that since 2019, the
preferred custodian recommended by Beacon does not charge a transaction fee for equity or ETF trades. Many
of the leading custodians who compete with our preferred custodian have also implemented a zero-transaction
fee policy. As such, it poses a potential conflict of interest should Beacon choose to purchase equity securities,
over other securities, to reduce trading costs resulting in Beacon retaining a higher portion of the advisory fee.
As we do not have control over when or if the custodian will begin charging a transaction fee for equities, we
continue to believe that the remaining transaction costs warrant continuation of Beacon’s Wrap Fee Program.
Beacon generally recommends clients participate in the wrap fee program, however we encourage you to review
the custodian’s pricing to compare the total costs of entering into a wrap fee arrangement versus a non-wrap
fee arrangement. If you choose to enter into a wrap fee arrangement, your total cost to invest could exceed the
cost of paying for brokerage and advisory services separately (non-wrap). To see what you would pay for
transactions in a non-wrap account with Schwab, please refer to their most recent pricing schedules available
at schwab.com/aspricingguide.
IRA Rollover Considerations
As part of Beacon’s consulting and advisory services, we may provide a client with recommendations and advice
concerning their employer retirement plan or other qualified retirement account. We may recommend that the
client withdraw the assets from their employer's retirement plan or other qualified retirement account and roll
the assets over to an individual retirement account ("IRA") that we will manage. If the client elects to roll the
assets to an IRA under our management, we will charge the client an asset-based fee as described in Item 5.
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This practice presents a conflict of interest because our Investment Adviser Representatives have an incentive
to recommend a rollover to the client for the purpose of generating fee-based compensation rather than solely
based on the client’s needs.
A client is under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the rollover. Furthermore, if a client
does complete the rollover, they are under no obligation to have their IRA assets managed by us.
Assets Under Management
Beacon has discretionary assets under management of $166,739,598 and non‐discretionary assets under
management of $14,462,594 as of December 31, 2023.