A. Lighthouse Financial Advisors, Inc. (“Lighthouse”) is a New Jersey corporation formed in May 1999, which
became a registered investment adviser in June 1999. Robert B. Walsh, President, is Lighthouse’s principal
owner.
B. Lighthouse offers to provide comprehensive financial planning and investment advisory services, tax, estate
planning, risk management, retirement planning, and business development services to its clients. Lighthouse’s
clients generally include individuals, high net worth individuals (along with affiliated trusts and estates), and
charitable organizations.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Clients can engage Lighthouse to provide holistic comprehensive financial planning and implementation
services on a fixed, fee only basis (collectively, “Wealth Management Services”) subject to the terms and
conditions of a written agreement. This program is designed for clients seeking ongoing advice, education, and
implementation assistance, which also includes four to eight scheduled meetings during the initial year, and
two to four scheduled meetings during future years. It also includes additional in-person, email, and phone
consultations for no additional charge.
Wealth Management Services may include discretionary or non-discretionary investment advisory services, tax
preparation, tax planning, insurance review, budgeting & cash flow, inventory of assets and liabilities, analysis
of financial goals, portfolio analysis, development of an asset allocation strategy and recommended
investments, retirement planning and estate plan reviews.
Lighthouse’s Wealth Management Services are specifically tailored to the needs of each client. To begin the
engagement, an investment adviser representative will collaborate with the client to develop investment
objectives, which are based upon an assessment of factors that typically include capital preservation, risk
tolerance, income production, liquidity requirements, client preferences, asset and liability levels, and
investment preferences and restrictions. After developing and typically documenting the client’s investment
objectives, Lighthouse will execute its customized investment strategy. Generally, Lighthouse allocates client
investment assets among mutual funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), and to a lesser extent individual
equities, individual bonds, cash, and cash equivalents. Once allocated, Lighthouse provides ongoing monitoring
and review of account performance and asset allocation as compared to client investment objectives and may
periodically execute or recommend account transactions based upon those reviews or other triggering events.
Clients may impose written restrictions at any time about investing in certain securities or types of securities.
FINANCIAL REVIEW SERVICES
For clients without complex financial objectives and on a limited basis, Lighthouse may offer to provide a
financial review session held over the course of a three-hour meeting in exchange for a single payment.
RETIREMENT PLAN CONSULTING SERVICES
Lighthouse also offers to provide retirement plan consulting services to sponsors of self-directed retirement
plans and defined benefit plans organized under the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).
Lighthouse performs these services in an ERISA Section 3(21) capacity, by assisting with the development of
investment policy statements, and then the selection and monitoring of investment alternatives from which plan
participants may choose in self-directing the investments for their individual plan retirement accounts. Upon
request by the plan sponsor, Lighthouse may also provide participant education designed to assist participants
in identifying the appropriate investment strategy for their retirement plan accounts. The terms and conditions
of the engagement will be set forth in a written agreement between Lighthouse and the plan sponsor.
TAX PREPARATION SERVICES
Upon client request, Lighthouse may agree to provide tax preparation services on a stand-alone separate fee
basis.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting/Implementation Services. Lighthouse may
provide financial planning and related consulting services generally as part of its Wealth Management Services
or in limited cases or according to the terms and conditions of a stand-alone financial planning agreement.
While Lighthouse’s representative, Brennan Guli, is a licensed attorney, he does not provide legal services to
Lighthouse’s clients. Therefore, there is no attorney / client relationship established between Mr. Guli and any
Lighthouse client by virtue of the investment advisory engagement. Without limiting the above, Lighthouse
does not serve as a law firm, accounting firm, or insurance agency, and no portion of Lighthouse’s services
should be construed as legal, accounting, or insurance implementation services. Lighthouse does not prepare
estate planning documents or sell insurance products. Unless specifically agreed in writing, neither Lighthouse
nor its representatives are responsible to implement any financial plans or financial planning advice; provide
ongoing financial planning services; or provide ongoing monitoring of financial plans or financial planning
advice. The client is solely responsible to revisit the financial plan or financial planning advice with Lighthouse,
if desired. The client retains absolute discretion over all financial planning and related implementation decisions
and is free to accept or reject any recommendation from Lighthouse and its representatives in that respect.
Lighthouse’s financial planning and consulting services are completed upon communicating its
recommendations to the client, upon delivery of the written financial plan, or upon termination of the applicable
agreement. To the extent requested by a client, Lighthouse may recommend the services of other professionals
for certain non-investment implementation purposes (i.e., attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, etc.). Clients
are under no obligation to engage the services of any recommended professional who is responsible for the
quality and competency of the services they provide.
Non-Discretionary Service
Limitations. Clients that determine to engage Lighthouse on a non-discretionary
basis acknowledge that Lighthouse cannot execute any account transactions without obtaining the client’s prior
consent to the transactions. Therefore, if Lighthouse would like to make a transaction for a client’s account
(including removing a security that Lighthouse no longer believes is appropriate or adding a security that
Lighthouse believes is appropriate), and the client is unavailable, Lighthouse will be unable to execute the
account transactions (as it would for its discretionary clients) without first obtaining the client’s consent.
Affected clients may suffer investment losses or miss potential investment gains as a result.
Portfolio Trading Activity / Inactivity. As part of its investment advisory services, Lighthouse will review client
portfolios on an ongoing basis to determine if any trades are necessary based upon various factors, including
but not limited to investment performance, market conditions, fund manager tenure, style drift, account
additions/withdrawals, the client’s financial circumstances, and changes in the client’s investment objectives.
Based upon these and other factors, there may be extended periods when Lighthouse determines that upon
review, trades within a client’s portfolio are not prudent. Clients nonetheless remain subject to the fees described
in Item 5 during periods of portfolio trading inactivity.
ERISA / IRC Fiduciary Acknowledgment. When Lighthouse provides investment advice to a client about the
client’s retirement plan account or individual retirement account, it does so as a fiduciary within the meaning
of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code
(“IRC”), as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. Because the way Lighthouse makes
money creates certain conflicts with client interests, Lighthouse operates under a special rule that requires it to
act in the client’s best interest and not put its interests ahead of the client’s. Under this special rule’s provisions,
Lighthouse must: meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give
prudent advice); never put its financial interests ahead of the client’s when making recommendations (give loyal
advice); avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments; follow policies and
procedures designed to ensure that Lighthouse gives advice that is in the client’s best interest; charge no more
than is reasonable for Lighthouse’s services; and give the client basic information about conflicts of interest.
Retirement Plan Rollovers – No Obligation / Potential for Conflict of Interest. A client or prospective client
leaving an employer typically has four options regarding an existing retirement plan (and may engage in a
combination of these options): (i) leave the money in the former employer’s plan, if permitted, (ii) roll over the
assets to the new employer’s plan, if one is available and rollovers are permitted, (iii) roll over to an Individual
Retirement Account (“IRA”), or (iv) cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the client’s age,
result in adverse tax consequences). If Lighthouse recommends that a client roll over their retirement plan assets
into an account to be managed by Lighthouse, such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if Lighthouse
will earn a new (or increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the rollover. No client is under any obligation
to roll over retirement plan assets to an account managed by Lighthouse.
Client Obligations. When performing its services, Lighthouse is not required to verify any information received
from the client or from the client’s designated professionals and is expressly authorized to rely on that
information. Clients are responsible to promptly notify Lighthouse if there is ever any change in their financial
situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing or amending Lighthouse’s services or previous
recommendations.
Asset Aggregation / Reporting Services. Lighthouse may provide access to reporting services through one or
more third-party aggregation / reporting platforms that can reflect all of the client’s investment assets, including
those investment assets that the client has not engaged Lighthouse to manage (the “Excluded Assets”).
Lighthouse’s service for the Excluded Assets is strictly limited to reporting, and specifically excludes
investment management or implementation. Because Lighthouse does not have trading authority for the
Excluded Assets, the client (and/or a designated investment professional), and not Lighthouse, will be
exclusively responsible for implementing any recommendations for the Excluded Assets and the resulting
performance or related activity (such as timing and trade errors) pertaining to the Excluded Assets. The third-
party aggregation / reporting platforms may also provide access to financial planning information and
applications, which should not be construed as services, advice, or recommendations provided by Lighthouse.
Accordingly, Lighthouse will not agree to be responsible for any adverse results a client may experience if the
client engages in financial planning or other functions available on the third-party reporting platforms without
Lighthouse’s participation or oversight.
C. Lighthouse tailors its investment advisory services specifically to the needs of each client. To begin the
investment advisory process, an investment adviser representative will coordinate with each client to develop
their investment objectives. Then, Lighthouse allocates or recommends that the client allocate investment assets
consistent with the designated investment objectives. The client may, at any time, impose reasonable
restrictions, in writing, on Lighthouse’s services.
D. Lighthouse does not participate in a wrap fee program.
E. As of December 31, 2023, Lighthouse managed $713,848,786, of which, Lighthouse managed $203,410,611
on a discretionary basis and $510,438,175 on a non-discretionary basis.