Fiduciary Advisor Advocates, LLC (“FAA” or the “Firm”) was formed in 2013 to provide
investment advisory and related support services through a proprietary, co-operative alliance
platform. FAA is currently wholly-owned by Mr. T. Patrick Mulvey who is the Firm’s Founding-
Managing Partner and CEO. FAA seeks to utilize its strategic alliances with its partners to assist
and support middle-market investment advisors in the discharge of their fiduciary
responsibilities. FAA also offers such independent registered investment advisors the
operational and investment advisory and research support tools necessary to succeed in
obtaining, managing and retaining middle-market institutional clients and family/individual
wealth and high net worth (“HNW”) sophisticated clients.
FAA operates co-operative alliance platform. After a due diligence process, it uses a selective
process to admit investment advisors as members that it believes share its guiding principles of
fiduciary focus, clarity, transparency and investment excellence. Membership is subject to
initial and ongoing due diligence and subject to approval of existing members.
As a member of the FAA cooperative platform, each admitted investment advisory member firm
is supported by FAA’s strategic partners, including:
Callan LLC (“Callan”), an independent institutional consultant and investment advisor
with over US$22 Billion in assets under management, provides institutional quality asset
allocation, manager research and monitoring, along with education for members;
Natixis Global Asset Management (“Natixis”) provides overlay manager and investment
advisory services to the FAA platform through a unified managed account (“UMA”)
program and platform structure to handle investment implementation that is consistent
with a client’s strategic investment policy in serving as a managed portfolio advisor;
Managed Portfolio Advisors (MPA) is a division of NGAM Advisors, L.P., a subsidiary of
Natixis Global Asset Management, L.P., an investment advisor that provides a
customizable open architecture implementation solution that can combine different
types of investments (e.g., mutual funds, ETFs, etc.) and separately managed account
overlays in one unified managed account; and
FAA is a co-coordinator of the FAA/Callan/MPA UMA structure, and we provide advisory
related services to and support other independent advisors who act in a discretionary manner
with this service. FAA primarily supports investment advisors wishing to develop and enhance
a scalable fiduciary practice by providing such advisors with investment research capabilities
and create a process-driven firm. FAA assists its advisor-clients with business development
tools such as advisor and client education, request for proposal or “RFP” support, investment
policy statement (IPS) generation and point of sale support. In addition, FAA provides
institutional quality research regarding asset allocation, investment portfolio structuring and
investment monitoring. FAA also provides investment allocation recommendations to the
registered investment advisor members in relation to their clients.
Independent investment advisors receive this Form ADV based upon their decision to contract
with FAA for advisory services for their firms. Investors may also receive this ADV based upon
their decision to engage their independent registered investment advisor to manage a portfolio
consisting of cash and securities and their advisor's decision to use FAA for services.
Additionally, FAA operates as a cooperative structure whereby a portion of net profits are
rebated in the form of a dividend, a reduction in client fees and/or charitable contribution. FAA
also may offer a “put option” for certain members as independent advisor firms to sell their
businesses to FAA platform in the future. (See below Attachment 1 FAA Integrated Fiduciary
Program Overview.)
Investment Advisory Services & Related Investment Support Services
FAA assists independent investment advisors who provide portfolio management and
employee benefit retirement services to their advisory clients. FAA may provide investment
advisors with model investment portfolios they may use as starting points to manage
investment accounts and which demonstrate the historical risk and return results of multiple
asset class allocations to their investors.
On an ongoing basis, FAA will recommend to investment advisors suitable asset classes and
investments for the investment advisor's consideration based on its market research and
analysis. FAA's advisory services are reasonably designed to educate investment advisors on
how to offer long-term investment solutions through appropriate asset allocations and
management.
Formal reviews are provided on a quarterly basis including general performance, current asset
allocation, policy variance, quantitative and qualitative assessment of each underlying
investment strategy. Additionally,
FAA will consult with the Advisor and/or client when and if
changes to the investment objective, asset allocation and/or line up are warranted. This may
include for example- investment manager search activities should a change to an investment
manager be needed. In conjunction with FAA’s investment research, analysis, and advisory
support services, FAA provides research, implementation and/or operational support to
investment advisors, which may include, but is not necessarily limited to:
1. Supporting understanding and documentation of “intention of assets”.
2. Supporting establishment, implementation, and maintenance of written Investment Policy
Statement (IPS). Provide model Investment Policy Statement Questionnaires and templates
with updates as necessary or appropriate.
3. Support establishing prospective capital market expectations over appropriate time horizon
and also return, risk and correlation expectations, which specifically address a key fiduciary
responsibility of diversifying the assets to the needs of the beneficiary.
4. Supporting establishment and implementation of strategic asset allocation based on sound
principles and underlying support rationale(s).
5. Support ensuring adequate diversification within asset classes via style, capitalization,
geographic region, etc.
6. Support development and implementation of rigorous investment research and well- defined
manager search and selection process.
7. Support evaluation of implementation terms and process used for implementation, including
related costs. Assist in ensuring appropriate investment vehicles are employed.
8. Support, advise, and assist in maintaining a client’s investment and risk control and
monitoring process.
9. Assist in reviewing investment policies and guidelines annually or as fund requirements or
market conditions warrant, and review and document investment returns, sources of return,
causes for concern. Support rebalancing portfolio as warranted and in line with investment
guidelines.
10. Provide investment advisors with simulated strategies to assist investment advisors in
demonstrating to their clients’ historical risk and return results of multiple asset class
allocations. Investment advisors will determine with its clients what allocation is appropriate
for each client and what investment vehicles are most suitable.
11. Assist in periodic and annual review of all fees, vendor and manager relationships and
related evaluations.
12. Provide investment advisors with marketing support in the form of presentation materials
templates, quarterly client newsletters and other materials available in multiple formats.
Provide investment advisors with quarterly newsletter templates for distribution to their
clients, which investment advisors may further customize and reproduce at their election.
13. Provide consultation to investment advisors, including portfolio analysis for both fixed
income, equity and alternative investment portfolios. Provide investment advisors with online
access to various portfolio management and performance reports to assist in management of
investment advisor’s client accounts
14. Seek to identify outside service providers of key strategic services and make such providers
known to investment advisors members.
HNW/Sophisticated Client and Investors – Wealth Management & Advisory Services
In addition to its cooperative platform advisory support business, FAA also accepts direct
advisory clients from time to time which may or may not qualify for the existing platform
program. This will primarily involve HNW and other sophisticated investors with smaller
account values, including a relationship with an unaffiliated custodian, and for which FAA will
charge an advisory fee as described below under Item 5.
FAA provides wealth management capabilities to the HNW and sophisticated investor
marketplaces. Keeping with the fundamental tenant of fiduciary standards, FAA evaluates each
client’s risk reward profile while reviewing and evaluating best in class investment program
considerations such as investment research, tax considerations and costs. Most notably FAA
seeks to couple these considerations to establish an investment program which is solely in the
best interest of the client. Similarly, FAA provides each client with a quarterly summary report
(via the custodian platform) as well narratives updates reviewing the global investment
landscape. FAA is also available for client counsel upon request
AUM & Assets Managed/Advised Disclosure
As of 12/31/2023, FAA and its FAA platform advises and manages/supervises approximately
$111.9 million of total assets, of which approximately $111.9 million of assets are managed-
supervised and advised on a discretionary basis (AUM or assets under management) and
approximately $0 of assets are advised on a non-discretionary basis (AUA or assets under
advisement).