A. Firm Information
Aspen Wealth Strategies, LLC (“Aspen” 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
Colorado. Aspen was founded in April 2013 and became a registered investment advisor in October 2020. Aspen is
owned and operated by Andy McClafin (Chairman), and Amber K. Anderson (Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Compliance Officer. This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices,
and the advisory services provided by Aspen.
B. Advisory Services Offered
Aspen offers wealth management and related services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates,
businesses and charitable organizations (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. The Advisor’s fiduciary commitment is further described in the 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.
Aspen Integrated Wealth Services
Aspen Integrated Wealth services generally includes a combination of discretionary or non-discretionary investment
management services in connection with a broad range of financial planning services. These services are
described below.
Investment Management Services
Aspen provides customized investment management solutions for its Clients. This is achieved through continuous
personal Client contact and interaction while providing discretionary and non-discretionary investment management
services. Aspen 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. Aspen 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. The Advisor may also utilize individual stocks, individual bonds, options contracts, and
alternative investments to meet the needs of its Clients. The Advisor may retain certain legacy investments based
on portfolio fit and/or tax considerations.
Aspen’s investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re-allocate positions
that have been held less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market conditions. Aspen 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.
Aspen evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal due
diligence process. Aspen may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to diversify the
portfolio. Aspen 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. Aspen 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.
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
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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.
Participant Account Management (Pontera)
As part of the Advisor’s Investment Management Services, when appropriate, the Advisor will use a third-party
platform, Pontera Solutions, Inc. (“Pontera”), to facilitate management of held away assets such as defined
contribution plan participant accounts, with investment discretion. The platform enables the Advisor to gain
access to Client account without having access through the Client’s credentials. This independent advisor access
ensures that the Advisor will not have custody of Client funds or securities when implementing trades for the
Client. The Advisor is not affiliated with the platform in any way and receives no compensation from the platform.
A link will be provided to the Client allowing them to connect their account[s] to the platform for the Advisor’s
secure access.
At no time
will Aspen 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.
Financial Planning Services
Aspen will provide a variety of financial planning and consulting services to Clients. Services are offered in several
areas of a Client’s financial situation, depending on their goals and objectives. 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 planning, insurance needs,
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 contribute to charitable giving programs.
Aspen 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 may pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and
the interests of the Client. For example, a recommendation to engage the Advisor for investment management
services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor would pose a conflict, as it would increase
the 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.
Aspen Private Client Services
Aspen Private Client services is in addition to the investment advisory services described above. Aspen’s Private
Client services is a comprehensive approach that includes a combination of investment management, financial
planning, tax planning, insurance reviews, education planning, cash flow, money management and estate planning.
This service is a high-touch solution that incorporates a coordinated review and management of the Client’s entire
financial life.
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Financial Institution Consulting Services
Aspen provides investment consulting services to brokerage customers (“Brokerage Customers”) of
Mutual Securities, Inc. (herein “MSI”) who provide written consent requesting to receive the firm’s consulting
services. Brokerage Customers have entered into a written advisory agreement with Aspen. Consulting services
are strictly on products where MSI serves as the broker-dealer. Please see Item 10 – Other Financial Industry
Activities and Affiliations for additional details.
Non-Purpose Loans and Lines of Credit
The Advisor may introduce certain Clients to US Bank Select, a non-purpose loan program made available through
US Bank (“Lending Program”). In such instances, the Client’s assets in their account[s] at the Custodian will be
utilized as collateral for a non-purpose loan. The recommendation of a Lending Program presents a conflict of
interest as the Advisor will continue to receive investment advisory fees for managing the collateralized assets in
the Client’s account[s]. Clients are not obligated to engage the Advisor for the Lending Program. For additional
information related to the risks involved non-purpose loans and lines of credit, please see Item 8 - Methods of
Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging Aspen 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 – Aspen, in connection with the Client, will develop a strategy that
seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
● Asset Allocation – Aspen will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the investment
objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance of risk for each Client.
● Portfolio Construction – Aspen will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet the stated goals
and objectives of the Client.
● Investment Management and Supervision – Aspen will provide investment management and ongoing
oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
Aspen does not manage or place Client assets into a wrap fee program. Investment management services are
provided directly by Aspen.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023 Aspen manages $248,713,413 in Client assets, $240,786,111 of which are managed on
a discretionary basis and $7,927,302 on a non-discretionary basis. Clients may request more current information at
any time by contacting the Advisor.