Description of Services and Fees
We are a registered investment adviser based in Louisville, Kentucky. We are organized as a limited
liability company under the laws of the State of Indiana. We are a fee-only independent adviser and
have been providing investment advisory services since 2003. Brian Breidenbach is the sole owner.
Currently, we offer the following services to clients and prospective clients:
•Institutional Services, which may include:
•Pension and Retirement Plan Consulting
•Foundation & Endowment Consulting
•Specialized Project Consulting
•Expert Witness Services
•Performance Reporting Services
•Wealth Management Services, which may include:
•Financial Planning and Consulting
•Asset Allocation Services
•Portfolio Management
•Selection of Other Advisers
The combination of industry experience and comprehensive research allows our firm to provide quality
advisory services to our clients.
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Please refer to the description of each
investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your
individual needs. Also, you may see the term Associated Person throughout this Brochure. As used in
this Brochure, our Associated Persons are our firm's officers, employees, and all individuals providing
investment advice on behalf of our firm.
Institutional Services
Pension and Retirement Plan Consulting
We offer pension and retirement plan consulting services to employee benefit plans and their
fiduciaries based upon the needs of the plan and the services requested by the plan sponsor or named
fiduciary. In general, these services may include an existing plan review and analysis, plan-level advice
regarding fund selection and investment options, education services to plan participants, investment
performance monitoring, and/or ongoing consulting. These pension consulting services will generally
be non-discretionary and advisory in nature. The ultimate decision to act on behalf of the plan shall
remain with the plan sponsor or other named fiduciary.
We may also assist with participant enrollment meetings and provide investment-related educational
seminars to plan participants on such topics as:
•Diversification
•Asset allocation
•Risk tolerance
•Time horizon
Our educational seminars may include other investment-related topics specific to the particular plan.
We may also provide additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually
negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed above or customized for the plan based upon
requirements from the plan fiduciaries (which may included additional plan-level or participant-level
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services) shall be detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the
plan documents. Our specific advisory fees for these customized services will be negotiated with the
plan sponsor or named fiduciary on a case-by-case basis.
Retainer clients are billed quarterly in advance. For non-retainer clients, such as project based
consulting services, the fee can vary depending upon the scope and type of project. Non-retainer
clients will have an engagement letter outlining the fee structure. Fees in general can be based on a
flat fee, percentage of assets under management, or hourly.
Either party to the pension consulting agreement may terminate the agreement upon written notice to
the other party. The pension consulting fees will be prorated for the quarter in which the termination
notice is given and any unearned fees will be refunded to the client.
If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of
those fees.
Plan participants who wish to engage us for individualized financial planning or consulting services
outside the scope of the employee benefit plan may do so by executing a separate agreement,
including separate fees and fee payment arrangements, with our firm.
Generally, for project consulting services we require an initial payment of at least 50% of the estimated
fee in advance, with the balance due upon completion of the contracted services. In limited
circumstances, other fee payment arrangements may be negotiated; for example, interim/installment
payments may be agreed upon for lengthy engagements.
An estimate of the total time/cost will be determined at the start of the advisory relationship and
disclosed to you at that time. A applicable fees, fee payment arrangements, and the terms of the
engagement will be clearly set forth in the advisory agreement executed between you and our firm
prior to services being rendered. In no circumstance will we require or accept prepayment of a fee six
months or more in advance and in excess of $500. Services will commence promptly after executing
an agreement for services.
Wealth Management Services
Financial Planning and Consulting Services
We offer financial planning services to our clients and prospective clients. Financial planning will
typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to clients regarding the management of their
financial resources based upon an analysis of their individual needs. If you retain our firm for financial
planning services, we will meet with you to gather information about your financial circumstances and
objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide to our firm we will offer to help
you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the
financial information you provide to our firm. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial
situation, goals, objectives, or needs change.
You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to
act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any
of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing
securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
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We charge a fixed or hourly fee for financial planning services, which is negotiable depending on the
scope and complexity of the plan, your situation, and your financial objectives. An estimate of the total
time/cost will be determined at the start of the advisory relationship. In limited circumstances, the
cost/time could potentially exceed the initial estimate. In such cases, we will notify you and request that
you approve the additional fee.
We require that you pay at least 50% of the quoted fee in advance and the remaining portion upon the
completion of the services rendered. We will not require prepayment of a fee more than six months in
advance and in excess of $500.
You may terminate the financial planning agreement by providing written notice to our firm. You will
incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the agreement. If you have pre-
paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees.
Asset Allocation Services
We offer asset allocation services on a discretionary and non-discretionary basis to you and
prospective clients. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require
you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your account. Discretionary authorization will
allow our firm to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or
sold for your account without your approval prior to each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically
granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm, a power of attorney, or trading
authorization forms. You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of
securities that can be purchased for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and
guidelines in writing. If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain
your approval prior to executing any transactions on behalf of your account.
Our investment advice is tailored to meet your needs and investment objectives. Once you have
retained our firm for asset allocation services, we will gather information about your financial situation
and objectives, and assist you in determining your investment goals, objectives, risk tolerance, and
retirement plan time horizon. We will initially provide you with recommendations as to how to allocate
your investments among categories of assets. We will then review your account monthly. Where
appropriate, we may provide you with recommendations to change your asset allocation in an effort to
remain consistent with your
stated financial objectives. You are free at all times to accept or reject any
of our investment recommendations. You are solely responsible for implementing our
recommendations. Unless you separately retain our services, we will not execute any transactions or
changes in asset allocation on your behalf.
We charge either an hourly fee or a fixed fee for our asset allocation services. An estimate of the total
time/cost will be determined at the start of the advisory relationship. Our fees are negotiable and
payable quarterly in advance. Fees can vary by the scope and complexity of the services.
You may terminate the investment advisory agreement at any time by providing written notice to our
firm. The asset allocation fee will be prorated for the quarter in which the termination notice is given,
which means that you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for
which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive
a prorated refund of those fees.
At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household
to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and
your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining
account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee
based on the available breakpoints in our stated fee schedule.
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Portfolio Management
We offer discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services. Our investment advice is
tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives. If you retain our firm for portfolio
management services, we will meet with you to determine your investment objectives, risk tolerance,
and other relevant information (the "suitability information") at the beginning of our advisory
relationship. We will use the suitability information we gather to develop a strategy that enables our
firm to give you continuous and focused investment advice and/or to make investments on your behalf.
As part of our portfolio management services, we may customize an investment portfolio for you in
accordance with your risk tolerance and investing objectives. We may also invest your assets using a
predefined strategy, or we may invest your assets according to one or more model portfolios
developed by our firm. Once we construct an investment portfolio for you, or select a model portfolio,
we will monitor your portfolio's performance on an ongoing basis, and will rebalance the portfolio as
required by changes in market conditions and in your financial circumstances.
If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm
discretionary authority to manage your account. Discretionary authorization will allow our firm to
determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your
account without your approval prior to each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by
the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm, a power of attorney, or trading authorization
forms. You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be
purchased for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing. If you
enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior to
executing any transactions on behalf of your account.
Our fees are quoted on an annual basis and billed quarterly in advance pursuant to the following fee
schedule(s):
Assets Under Advisement/Management Annualized Fee
First $200,000 1.30%
Next $300,000 1.15%
Next $3.0 million 1.00%
All additional amounts 0.75%
The above stated fees do not include any custodial fees to third-party custodians, brokerage
commissions, platform fees, or fees paid to sub-advisors or mutual funds. Acceptable forms of
payment include checks, credit cards, bank drafts, direct custodial debits and other mutually agreed
upon forms of payment.
Selection of Other Advisers
As part of our investment advisory services, we may recommend that you use the services of a third
party investment adviser ("TPA") to manage your entire, or a portion of your, investment portfolio. After
gathering information about your financial situation and objectives, we will recommend that you engage
a specific TPA or investment program. Factors that we take into consideration when making our
recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: the TPA's performance, methods of
analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. We
will periodically monitor the TPA(s)' performance to ensure its management and investment style
remains aligned with your investment goals and objectives.
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Our recommendations to use third party investment advisers are included in our portfolio management
fee. We do not charge you a separate fee for the selection of other advisers nor will we share in the
advisory fee you pay directly to the TPA. Advisory fees that you pay to the TPA are established and
payable in accordance with the Form ADV Part II or other equivalent disclosure document provided by
each TPA to whom you are referred. These fees may or may not be negotiable. You should review the
recommended TPA's disclosure brochure for information on its fees and services.
You will be required to sign an agreement directly with the recommended TPA(s). You may terminate
your advisory relationship with the TPA according to the terms of your agreement with the TPA. You
should review each TPA's disclosure brochure for specific information on how you may terminate your
advisory relationship with the TPA and how you may receive a refund, if applicable. You should contact
the TPA directly for questions regarding your advisory agreement with the TPA.
IRA Rollover Recommendations
Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field
Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the
following acknowledgment to you. 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. Under this special rule's provisions, we must:
•Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent
advice);
•Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal
advice);
•Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
•Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best
interest;
•Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
•Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we
manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management
and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in
your best interest.
Types of Investments
We primarily offer advice on exchange traded funds (ETFs) and investment company securities
(Mutual Funds). We may also offer advice on separate account managers and individual securities.
Additionally, we may advise you on any type of investment that we deem appropriate based on your
stated goals and objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your
portfolio at the inception of our advisory relationship.
You may request that we refrain from investing in particular securities or certain types of securities.
You must provide these restrictions to our firm in writing.
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Assets Under Management
As of January 31, 2023, we provide continuous management services for $46,449,333 in client assets
on a non-discretionary basis.