A. Firm Information
Minerva Planning Group, Inc. (“MPG” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Advisor is organized as a Corporation under the laws of the State of
Georgia. MPG was founded in November 1987 and became a registered investment advisor in July 2003. MPG
is owned and operated by Micah S. Porter (Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Office). This
Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices, and the advisory
services provided by MPG.
B. Advisory Services Offered
MPG offers investment advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates and other
investment advisors (each referred to as a “Client”).
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and regulations. As a fiduciary,
the Advisor upholds a duty of loyalty, fairness and good faith towards each Client and seeks to mitigate potential
conflicts of interest. MPG’s fiduciary commitment is further described in the Advisor’s Code of Ethics. For more
information regarding the Code of Ethics, please see Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client
Transactions and Personal Trading.
Investment Management Services
MPG provides customized investment advisory solutions for its Clients. This is achieved through continuous
personal Client contact and interaction while providing discretionary investment management and related
advisory services. MPG works closely with each Client to identify their investment goals and objectives as well as
risk tolerance and financial situation in order to create a portfolio strategy. MPG will then construct an investment
portfolio, consisting of low-cost, diversified mutual funds and/or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) to achieve the
Client’s investment goals. MPG generally utilizes Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (“DFA”) funds. DFA mutual
funds follow a passive asset class investment philosophy with low holdings turnover. The DFA fund fees are
generally lower than fees and expenses charged by other fund providers. The Advisor is under no obligation to
recommend DFA funds to Clients and will only do so only when it is believed to be in the Client’s best interest.
DFA funds are exclusively made available through a registered investment advisor, therefore a Client may not
invest in these funds in their independent capacity. The Advisor may also utilize individual stocks, bonds or
options contracts to meet the needs of its Clients. The Advisor may retain certain types of investments based on
a Client’s legacy investments based on portfolio fit and/or tax considerations.
Due to specific custodial and/or mutual fund company constraints, material tax consideration, and/or systematic
investment plans, MPG will recommend and/or retain a mutual fund share class that does not have trading costs,
but do have higher internal expense ratios than institutional share classes. MPG will seek to select the lowest
cost share class available that is in the best interest of each Client and will ensure the selection aligns with the
Client’s financial objectives and stated investment guidelines.
MPG’s investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re-allocate positions
that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market conditions. MPG
will construct, implement and monitor the portfolio to ensure it meets the goals, objectives, circumstances, and
risk tolerance agreed to by the Client. Each Client will have the opportunity to place reasonable restrictions on
the types of investments to be held in their respective portfolio, subject to acceptance by the Advisor.
MPG evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal due
diligence process. MPG may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to diversify the
portfolio. MPG may recommend specific positions to increase sector or asset class weightings. The Advisor may
recommend employing cash positions as a possible hedge against market movement. MPG may recommend
selling positions for reasons that include, but are not limited to, harvesting capital gains or losses, business or
sector risk exposure to a specific security or class of securities, overvaluation or overweighting of the position[s]
in the portfolio, change in risk tolerance of the Client, generating cash to meet Client needs, or any risk deemed
unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
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At no time will MPG accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the limited authority as
outlined in Item 15 – Custody. All Client assets will be managed within the designated account[s] at the
Custodian, pursuant to the terms of the advisory agreement.
Please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Retirement Accounts – When the Advisor provides investment advice to Clients regarding ERISA retirement
accounts or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), the Advisor is 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. When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will
provide investment advice to a Client regarding a distribution from an ERISA retirement account or to roll over
the assets to an IRA, or recommend a similar transaction including rollovers from one ERISA sponsored Plan to
another, one IRA to another IRA, or from one type of account to another account (e.g. commission-based
account to fee-based account). Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if the Advisor will earn a
new (or increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the transaction. No client is under any obligation to roll
over a retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor.
Financial Planning Services
MPG will typically provide a variety of financial planning and consulting services to Clients, either as a
component of investment management services or pursuant to a written financial planning agreement. Services
are offered in several areas of a Client’s financial situation, depending on their goals, objectives and financial
circumstance.
Generally, such financial planning services involve preparing a formal financial plan or rendering a specific
financial consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives. This planning or consulting may
encompass one or more areas of need, including but not limited to, investment planning, retirement planning,
personal savings, education savings, and other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
A financial plan developed for, or financial consultation rendered to the Client will usually include general
recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For example,
recommendations may be made that the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or alter
retirement savings, establish education savings and/or charitable giving programs.
MPG may also refer Clients to an accountant, attorney or other specialists, as appropriate for their unique
situation. For certain financial planning engagements, the Advisor will provide a written summary of the Client’s
financial situation, observations, and recommendations. For consulting or ad-hoc engagements, the Advisor may
not provide a written summary. Plans or consultations are typically completed within six (6) months of contract
date, assuming all information and documents requested are provided promptly.
Financial planning and consulting recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the
interests of the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor
for investment management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any
recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects
to act on any of the recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the
transaction through the Advisor.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging MPG to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter into one or more
agreements with the Advisor that define the terms, conditions, authority and responsibilities of the Advisor and
the Client. These services may include:
• Establishing an Investment Strategy – MPG, in connection with the Client, will develop a strategy that
seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
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• Asset Allocation – MPG will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the investment
objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk of each Client.
• Portfolio Construction – MPG will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet the stated
goals and objectives of the Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – MPG will provide investment management and ongoing
oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
MPG does not manage or place Client assets into a wrap fee program. Investment management services are
provided directly by MPG.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2022, MPG manages $135,620,719 in Client assets, all of which are managed on a
discretionary basis. Clients may request more current information at any time by contacting the Advisor.