Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC (“FTWA”, “we”, “our”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fifth Third
Bank, National Association (the “Bank”), which is ultimately owned by Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:
FITB). FTWA registered as an investment adviser with the SEC in 2021 with the strategic vision of
providing high touch investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and
institutional investors with complex investment needs.
Fiduciary Duty
FTWA is offering its services to you in its capacity as a registered investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). Under the Advisers Act, FTWA has a fiduciary
responsibility to you, our client. Consequently, we are required to act in your best interests and
strive to provide you with the material information about FTWA’s advisory services, investment
practices, conflicts of interest and fees a client should understand before selecting FTWA as their
investment adviser. This Brochure is an important part of that disclosure obligation, and we
encourage you to read it carefully.
To the extent FTWA provides investment advisory services to pension and other employee
retirement benefit plans, we are subject to the requirements of the Employment Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Therefore, we reasonably expect to provide services in our capacity
as a “fiduciary” under Section 3(21) of ERISA and/or under Section 4975 of Internal Revenue Code
(“Code”) of 1986, and as an “investment manager” under section 3(38 of ERISA) with respect to
certain retirement accounts as defined by ERISA and the Code.
Advisory Services
FTWA provides asset management and personalized investment advice to our clients which typically
consist of high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit- sharing plans, charitable organizations,
governmental entities, insurance companies and other institutional investors. The range of
investment opportunities can include equities, fixed income, alternatives, derivatives, and model
portfolios.
Account Establishment and Review
Prior to becoming a client, you will meet with a FTWA Financial Adviser to review your financial
goals, risk tolerance and circumstances to determine whether FTWA’s advisory program can meet
your investment needs. To obtain our investment management services you will be required to
enter into a formal written investment management agreement (“Agreement”) with FTWA that
establishes our investment advisory relationship with you as a client and describes the scope of our
responsibilities to your account(s) as well as the fees for those services. The Agreement
will also
describe the process and circumstances under which this relationship may be terminated, ending
FTWA’s fiduciary obligations to you as your investment advisor. This Agreement is only valid upon
acceptance by FTWA.
Initially, your Financial Adviser will gather from you important financial and personal information
that they will use in determining their best advice regarding how to manage your account(s)
according to your wealth management needs. On an ongoing basis, your Financial Adviser will be
available to answer questions regarding the investment management of your account. In addition,
on at least an annual basis you will have the opportunity to meet with your FA to review your
accounts and financial goals. In the interim, it is important to promptly notify FTWA if there is any
change in your financial circumstances, investment objectives or you wish to modify any restrictions
on your account(s). This will allow FTWA the opportunity to evaluate and revise, if necessary, our
previous recommendations to ensure they are in line with your financial goals as they evolve. In
performing its services, FTWA shall not be required to verify any information received from the you
or from your other designated professional advisers and is expressly authorized to rely on the
information provided.
Periodically, FTWA will send you communications about your account or our Program. It is important
that you read and review any such communications from our Firm, which could include notices,
performance reports, trade confirmations and account statements, to ensure you are informed of
any important changes to your account or our business. We also encourage you to compare any
account statements you receive from FTWA with those you receive from your custodian. You are
encouraged to reach out to your Financial Adviser with any questions regarding the communications
you receive from FTWA.
Investment Restrictions
The client may impose reasonable security restrictions on FTWA’s investment management services.
Instructions requesting security restrictions must be delivered to FTWA in writing and be signed by
the client. However, FTWA does reserve the right to decline investment restrictions that we deem
unreasonable. Examples of unreasonable restrictions could be restrictions imposed on individual
holdings within an Exchange Trade Fund (“ETF”) or Mutual Fund. It is also important to understand
that restrictions can cause your account performance to vary from other accounts invested in a
similar strategy that do not have such investment restrictions.
Assets Under Management
As of 12/31/2023 FTWA had $571,665,625 in assets under management on a discretionary basis.