Overview

Assets Under Management: $443 million
Headquarters: SACRAMENTO, CA
High-Net-Worth Clients: 15
Average Client Assets: $29 million

Services Offered

Services: Financial Planning, Portfolio Management for Individuals, Portfolio Management for Institutional Clients, Pension Consulting

Clients

Number of High-Net-Worth Clients: 15
Percentage of Firm Assets Belonging to High-Net-Worth Clients: 98.60
Average High-Net-Worth Client Assets: $29 million
Total Client Accounts: 106
Discretionary Accounts: 104
Non-Discretionary Accounts: 2

Regulatory Filings

CRD Number: 149683
Last Filing Date: 2024-03-21 00:00:00
Website: HTTP://WWW.ADAMSASHBY.COM

Form ADV Documents

Primary Brochure: AF - ADV PART 2A: FIRM BROCHURE (2025-03-11)

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Item 1: Cover Page Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure March 2025 3508 CODY WAY, SUITE 100 SACRAMENTO, CA 95864 FIRM CONTACT: JEFFREY ADAMS CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER FIRM WEBSITE ADDRESS WWW.ADAMSASHBY.COM This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of AF Advisors, Inc. dba Adams Ashby Financial Advisors. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us by telephone at (916) 333-5989 or by email at jeff@adamsashby.com. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any State Securities Authority. Additional information about Adams Ashby Financial Advisors also is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Please note that the use of the term “registered investment adviser” and description of Adams Ashby Financial Advisors and/or our associates as “registered” does not imply a certain level of skill or training. You are encouraged to review this Brochure and Brochure Supplements for our firm’s associates who advise you for more information on the qualifications of our firm and our employees. 1 Item 2: Material Changes Adams Ashby Financial Advisors is required to advise you of any material changes to our Firm Brochure (“Brochure”) from our last annual update. We must state clearly that we are discussing only material changes since the last annual update of our Brochure, and we must provide the date of the last annual update. Since the last annual amendment filed on 03/21/2024, we have the following material changes to disclose: Please note that our firm no longer utilizes the fax number 916-333-5223. 2 Item 3: Table of Contents Section: Page(s): Item 1: Cover Page .................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Item 2: Material Changes ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Item 3: Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Item 4: Advisory Business.................................................................................................................................................... 4 Item 5: Fees & Compensation ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Item 6: Performance-Based Fees & Side-By-Side Management ........................................................................... 6 Item 7: Types of Clients & Account Requirements .................................................................................................... 7 Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss ................................................................... 7 Item 9: Disciplinary Information..................................................................................................................................... 13 Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations .................................................................................. 13 Item 11: Code of Ethics, Participation, or Interest in .............................................................................................. 13 Item 12: Brokerage Practices ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Item 13: Review of Accounts or Financial Plans ....................................................................................................... 17 Item 14: Client Referrals & Other Compensation ..................................................................................................... 17 Item 15: Custody .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Item 16: Investment Discretion ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Item 17: Voting Client Securities ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Item 18: Financial Information ........................................................................................................................................ 20 3 Item 4: Advisory Business We are dedicated to providing individuals and other types of clients with a wide array of investment advisory services. Our firm is a corporation formed in the State of California and has been in business as an investment adviser since 2009. Our firm is owned by Jeffery Adams and Nina Adams. Description of the Types of Advisory Services We Offer Comprehensive Portfolio Management: Our comprehensive portfolio management service encompasses asset management as well as providing financial planning/financial consulting to clients. It is designed to assist clients in meeting their financial goals through the use of financial investments. We conduct at least one, but sometimes more than one meeting (in person if possible, otherwise via telephone conference) with clients in order to understand their current financial situation, existing resources, financial goals, and tolerance for risk. Based on what we learn, we propose an investment approach to the client. We may propose an investment portfolio, consisting of exchange traded funds, mutual funds, individual stocks or bonds, or other securities. Upon the client’s agreement to the proposed investment plan, we work with the client to establish or transfer investment accounts so that we can manage the client’s portfolio. Once the relevant accounts are under our management, we review such accounts on a regular basis and at least quarterly. We may periodically rebalance or adjust client accounts under our management. If the client experiences any significant changes to his/her financial or personal circumstances, the client must notify us so that we can consider such information in managing the client’s investments. Pension Consulting We provide pension consulting services to employer plan sponsors on an ongoing basis. Generally, such pension consulting services consist of assisting employer plan sponsors in establishing, monitoring and reviewing their company's participant-directed retirement plan. As the needs of the plan sponsor dictate, areas of advising could include: investment options, plan structure and participant education. All pension consulting services shall be in compliance with the applicable state law(s) regulating pension consulting services. This applies to client accounts that are pension or other employee benefit plans (“Plan”) governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). If the client accounts are part of a Plan, and we accept appointments to provide our services to such accounts, we acknowledge that we are a fiduciary within the meaning of Section 3(21) of ERISA (but only with respect to the provision of services described in section 1 of the Pension Consulting Agreement). Tailoring of Advisory Services We offer individualized investment advice to all of our clients. We usually do not allow clients to impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities due to the level of difficulty this would entail in managing their account. In the rare instance 4 that we would allow restrictions, it would be limited to the Comprehensive Portfolio Management service. Participation in Wrap Fee Programs Our firm does not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program. Regulatory Assets Under Management As of 12/31/2024, we manage $736,750,476 on a discretionary basis and $345,903 on a non- discretionary basis, totaling $737,096,379 in aggregate Assets Under Management. Item 5: Fees & Compensation We are required to describe our brokerage, custody, fees, and fund expenses so you will know how much you are charged and by whom for our advisory services provided to you. Our fees are generally not negotiable. How We Are Compensated for Our Advisory Services Comprehensive Portfolio Management: Assets Under Management Annual Percentage of Assets Charge Any Assets 1.25% st st through March 31 st st Fees to be assessed will be outlined in the advisory agreement to be signed by the client. Our firm’s fees are billed three months at a time on the first day of each calendar three-month period. The billing is based on the client’s annual billing rate divided by four times the account balance as of the month end that immediately proceeds the client’s billing period. (e.g. if the client’s billing period runs from , the client’s billing would be based on the account value as of January 1 December 31 and would cover services provided for the client for the period of January 1 through ). Each successive three-month period is billed in a similar fashion. Clients are billed four March 31 times per year depending on their monthly cycle with the first billing period for new clients starting on the first day of the month immediately after the client contracts for services with our firm. Fees will generally be automatically deducted from the clients managed account through a qualified custodian. Our firm does not offer direct invoicing. Our firm bills on cash unless otherwise noted in writing. As part of this process, the client understands and acknowledges the following: a) b) c) The client’s independent custodian sends statements at least quarterly showing the market values for each security included in the Assets and all account disbursements, including the amount of the advisory fees paid to our firm; Clients will provide authorization permitting our firm to be directly paid by these terms. Our firm will send an invoice directly to the custodian; and If our firm sends a copy of our invoice to the client, a legend urging the comparison of information provided in our statement with those from the qualified custodian will be included. 5 Pension Consulting: Assets Under Management Annual Percentage of Assets Charge Any Assets 1.25% st st through March 31 st st Our firm’s fees are billed three months at a time on the first day of each calendar three-month period. The billing is based on the client’s annual billing rate divided by four times the account balance as of the month end that immediately proceeds the client’s billing period. (e.g. if the client’s billing period runs from January 1 , the client’s billing would be based on the account value as and would cover services provided for the client for the period of January 1 through of December 31 March 31 ). Each successive three-month period is billed in a similar fashion. Clients are billed four times per year depending on their monthly cycle with the first billing period for new clients starting on the first day of the month immediately after the client contracts for services with our firm. The fee-paying arrangements will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will be detailed in the signed consulting agreement. Other Types of Fees & Expenses Clients will incur transaction fees for trades executed by their chosen custodian or via individual transaction charges. These transaction fees are separate from our firm’s advisory fees and will be disclosed by the chosen custodian. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. does not charge transaction fees for U.S. listed equities and exchange traded funds. Clients may also pay holdings charges imposed by the chosen custodian for certain investments, charges imposed directly by a mutual fund, index fund, or exchange traded fund, which shall be disclosed in the fund’s prospectus (i.e., fund management fees, initial or deferred sales charges, mutual fund sales loads, 12b-1 fees, surrender charges, variable annuity fees, IRA and qualified retirement plan fees, and other fund expenses), mark-ups and mark-downs, spreads paid to market makers, fees for trades executed away from custodian, wire transfer fees and other fees and taxes on brokerage accounts and securities transactions. Our firm does not receive a portion of these fees. Termination & Refunds We charge our advisory fees quarterly in advance. In the event that you wish to terminate our services, we will refund the unearned portion of our advisory fee to you. You need to contact us in writing and state that you wish to terminate our services. Upon receipt of your letter of termination, we will proceed to close out your account and process a pro-rata refund of unearned advisory fees. Commissionable Securities Sales We do not sell securities for a commission. In order to sell securities for a commission, we would need to have our associated persons registered with a broker-dealer. We have chosen not to do so. Item 6: Performance-Based Fees & Side-By-Side Management We do not charge Performance-Based fees and Side-By-Side Management fees to our clients. 6 Item 7: Types of Clients & Account Requirements We have the following types of clients: • • • • Individuals and High Net Worth Individuals; Trusts, Estates or Charitable Organizations; Pension and Profit Sharing Plans; Corporations, limited liability companies and/or other business types. We do not require a minimum account balance for our comprehensive portfolio management service. Item 8: Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies & Risk of Loss Methods of Analysis Securities analysis methods rely on the assumption that the companies whose securities are purchased and/or sold, the rating agencies that review these securities, and other publicly-available sources of information about these securities, are providing accurate and unbiased data. While our firm is alert to indications that data may be incorrect, there is always a risk that our firm’s analysis may be compromised by inaccurate or misleading information. Charting: In this type of technical analysis, our firm reviews charts of market and security activity in an attempt to identify when the market is moving up or down and to predict when how long the trend may last and when that trend might reverse. Fundamental Analysis: The analysis of a business's financial statements (usually to analyze the business's assets, liabilities, and earnings), health, and its competitors and markets. When analyzing a stock, futures contract, or currency using fundamental analysis there are two basic approaches one can use: bottom up analysis and top down analysis. The terms are used to distinguish such analysis from other types of investment analysis, such as quantitative and technical. Fundamental analysis is performed on historical and present data, but with the goal of making financial forecasts. There are several possible objectives: (a) to conduct a company stock valuation and predict its probable price evolution; (b) to make a projection on its business performance; (c) to evaluate its management and make internal business decisions; (d) and/or to calculate its credit risk.; and (e) to find out the intrinsic value of the share. When the objective of the analysis is to determine what stock to buy and at what price, there are two basic methodologies investors rely upon: (a) Fundamental analysis maintains that markets may misprice a security in the short run but that the "correct" price will eventually be reached. Profits can be made by purchasing the mispriced security and then waiting for the market to recognize its "mistake" and reprice the security.; and (b) Technical analysis maintains that all information is reflected already in the price of a security. Technical analysts analyze trends and believe that sentiment changes predate and predict trend changes. Investors' emotional responses to price movements lead to recognizable price chart patterns. Technical analysts also analyze historical trends to predict future price movement. Investors can use one or both of these different but complementary methods for stock picking. This presents a potential risk, as the price of a security 7 can move up or down along with the overall market regardless of the economic and financial factors considered in evaluating the stock. Technical Analysis: A security analysis methodology for forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. A fundamental principle of technical analysis is that a market's price reflects all relevant information, so their analysis looks at the history of a security's trading pattern rather than external drivers such as economic, fundamental and news events. Therefore, price action tends to repeat itself due to investors collectively tending toward patterned behavior – hence technical analysis focuses on identifiable trends and conditions. Technical analysts also widely use market indicators of many sorts, some of which are mathematical transformations of price, often including up and down volume, advance/decline data and other inputs. These indicators are used to help assess whether an asset is trending, and if it is, the probability of its direction and of continuation. Technicians also look for relationships between price/volume indices and market indicators. Technical analysis employs models and trading rules based on price and volume transformations, such as the relative strength index, moving averages, regressions, inter-market and intra-market price correlations, business cycles, stock market cycles or, classically, through recognition of chart patterns. Technical analysis is widely used among traders and financial professionals and is very often used by active day traders, market makers and pit traders. The risk associated with this type of analysis is that analysts use subjective judgment to decide which pattern(s) a particular instrument reflects at a given time and what the interpretation of that pattern should be. Cyclical Analysis: Statistical analysis of specific events occurring at a sufficient number of relatively predictable intervals that they can be forecasted into the future. Cyclical analysis asserts that cyclical forces drive price movements in the financial markets. Risks include that cycles may invert or disappear and there is no expectation that this type of analysis will pinpoint turning points, instead be used in conjunction with other methods of analysis. Investment Strategies We Use We use the following strategies in managing client accounts, provided that such strategies are appropriate to the needs of the client and consistent with the client's investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizons, among other considerations: Long-Term Purchases: Our firm may buy securities for your account and hold them for a relatively long time (more than a year) in anticipation that the security’s value will appreciate over a long horizon. The risk of this strategy is that our firm could miss out on potential short-term gains that could have been profitable to your account, or it’s possible that the security’s value may decline sharply before our firm make a decision to sell. Short-Term Purchases: When utilizing this strategy, our firm may also purchase securities with the idea of selling them within a relatively short time (typically a year or less). Our firm do this in an attempt to take advantage of conditions that our firm believe will soon result in a price swing in the securities our firm purchase. The potential risk associated with this investment strategy is associated with the currency or exchange rate. Currency or exchange rate risk is a form of risk that arises from the change in price of one currency against another. The constant fluctuations in the foreign currency in which an investment is denominated vis-à-vis one's home currency may add risk to the value of a security. Currency risk is greater for shorter term investments, which do not have time to level off like longer term foreign investments. 8 Trading: Our firm purchase securities with the idea of selling them very quickly (typically within 30 days or less). Our firm do this in an attempt to take advantage of our predictions of brief price swings. Trading involves risk that may not be suitable for every investor and may involve a high volume of trading activity. Each trade generates a commission and the total daily commission on such a high volume of trading can be considerable. Active trading accounts should be considered speculative in nature with the objective being to generate short-term profits. This activity may result in the loss of more than 100% of an investment. Short Sales: A short sale is a transaction in which an investor sells borrowed securities in anticipation of a price decline and is required to return an equal number of shares at some point in the future. These transactions have a number of risks that make it highly unsuitable for the novice investor. This strategy has a slanted payoff ratio in that the maximum gain (which would occur if the shorted stock was to plunge to zero) is limited, but the maximum loss is theoretically infinite (since stocks can in theory go up infinitely in price). The following risks should be considered: (1) In addition to trading commissions, other costs with short selling include that of borrowing the security to short it, as well as interest payable on the margin account that holds the shorted security. (2) The short seller is responsible for making dividend payments on the shorted stock to the entity from whom the stock has been borrowed. (3) Stocks with very high short interest may occasionally surge in price. This usually happens when there is a positive development in the stock, which forces short sellers to buy the shares back to close their short positions. Heavily shorted stocks are also susceptible to “buy-ins,” which occur when a broker closes out short positions in a difficult-to-borrow stock whose lenders are demanding it back. (4) Regulators may impose bans on short sales in a specific sector or even in the broad market to avoid panic and unwarranted selling pressure. Such actions can cause a spike in stock prices, forcing the short seller to cover short positions at huge losses. (5) Unlike the “buy-and-hold” investor who can afford to wait for an investment to work out, the short seller does not have the luxury of time because of the many costs and risks associated with short selling. Timing is everything when it comes to shorting. (5) Short selling should only be undertaken by experienced traders who have the discipline to cut a losing short position, rather than add to it hoping that it will eventually work out. Margin Transactions: Our firm may purchase stocks, mutual funds, and/or other securities for your portfolio with money borrowed from your brokerage account. This allows you to purchase more stock than you would be able to with your available cash and allows us to purchase stock without selling other holdings. Margin accounts and transactions are risky and not necessarily appropriate for every client. The potential risks associated with these transactions are (1) You can lose more funds than are deposited into the margin account; (2) the forced sale of securities or other assets in your account; (3) the sale of securities or other assets without contacting you; and (4) you may not be entitled to choose which securities or other assets in your account(s) are liquidated or sold to meet a margin call. Options : An option is a financial derivative that represents a contract sold by one party (the option writer) to another party (the option holder). The contract offers the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) a security or other financial asset at an agreed-upon price (the strike price) during a certain period of time or on a specific date (exercise date). Options are extremely versatile securities. Traders use options to speculate, which is a relatively risky practice, while hedgers use options to reduce the risk of holding an asset. In terms of speculation, option buyers and writers have conflicting views regarding the outlook on the performance of an 9 Call Option : Call options give the option to buy at certain price, so the buyer would want the stock to go up. Conversely, the option writer needs to provide the underlying shares in the event that the stock's market price exceeds the strike due to the contractual obligation. An option writer who sells a call option believes that the underlying stock's price will drop relative to the option's strike price during the life of the option, as that is how he will reap maximum profit. This is exactly the opposite outlook of the option buyer. The buyer believes that the underlying stock will rise; if this happens, the buyer will be able to acquire the stock for a lower price and then sell it for a profit. However, if the underlying stock does not close above the strike price on the expiration date, the option buyer would lose the premium paid for the call option. Put Option : Put options give the option to sell at a certain price, so the buyer would want the stock to go down. The opposite is true for put option writers. For example, a put option buyer is bearish on the underlying stock and believes its market price will fall below the specified strike price on or before a specified date. On the other hand, an option writer who shorts a put option believes the underlying stock's price will increase about a specified price on or before the expiration date. If the underlying stock's price closes above the specified strike price on the expiration date, the put option writer's maximum profit is achieved. Conversely, a put option holder would only benefit from a fall in the underlying stock's price below the strike price. If the underlying stock's price falls below the strike price, the put option writer is obligated to purchase shares of the underlying stock at the strike price. The potential risks associated with these transactions are that (1) all options expire. The closer the option gets to expiration, the quicker the premium in the option deteriorates; and (2) Prices can move very quickly. Depending on factors such as time until expiration and the relationship of the stock price to the option’s strike price, small movements in a stock can translate into big movements in the underlying options. Please Note : Investing in securities involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear. While the stock market may increase and your account(s) could enjoy a gain, it is also possible that the stock market may decrease, and your account(s) could suffer a loss. It is important that you understand the risks associated with investing in the stock market, are appropriately diversified in your investments, and ask us any questions you may have. Description of Material, Significant or Unusual Risks We generally invest client’s cash balances in money market funds, FDIC Insured Certificates of Deposit, high-grade commercial paper and/or government backed debt instruments. Ultimately, we try to achieve the highest return on our client’s cash balances through relatively low-risk conservative investments. In most cases, at least a partial cash balance will be maintained in a money market account so that our firm may debit advisory fees for our services related to comprehensive portfolio management service. Capital Risk: Capital risk is one of the most basic, fundamental risks of investing; it is the risk that you may lose 100% of your money. All investments carry some form of risk and the loss of capital is generally a risk for any investment instrument. Company Risk: When investing in stock positions, there is always a certain level of company or industry specific risk that is inherent in each investment. This is also referred to as unsystematic risk and can be reduced through appropriate diversification. There is the risk that the company will 10 perform poorly or have its value reduced based on factors specific to the company or its industry. For example, if a company’s employees go on strike or the company receives unfavorable media attention for its actions, the value of the company may be reduced. Economic Risk: The prevailing economic environment is important to the health of all businesses. Some companies, however, are more sensitive to changes in the domestic or global economy than others. These types of companies are often referred to as cyclical businesses. Countries in which a large portion of businesses are in cyclical industries are thus also very economically sensitive and carry a higher amount of economic risk. If an investment is issued by a party located in a country that experiences wide swings from an economic standpoint or in situations where certain elements of an investment instrument are hinged on dealings in such countries, the investment instrument will generally be subject to a higher level of economic risk. Equity (Stock) Market Risk: Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and, volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. If you held common stock, or common stock equivalents, of any given issuer, you would generally be exposed to greater risk than if you held preferred stocks and debt obligations of the issuer. ETF & Mutual Fund Risk : When investing in an ETF or mutual fund, you will bear additional expenses based on your pro rata share of the ETF’s or mutual fund’s operating expenses, including the potential duplication of management fees. The risk of owning an ETF or mutual fund generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying securities, the ETF, or mutual fund holds. Clients will also incur brokerage costs when purchasing ETFs. Financial Risk: Financial risk is represented by internal disruptions within an investment or the issuer of an investment that can lead to unfavorable performance of the investment. Examples of financial risk can be found in cases like Enron or many of the dot com companies that were caught up in a period of extraordinary market valuations that were not based on solid financial footings of the companies. Fixed Income Securities Risk: Typically, the values of fixed-income securities change inversely with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed-income securities is interest rate risk, which is the risk that their value will generally decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause your account value to likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed income securities may react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. Fixed-income securities are also subject to credit risk, prepayment risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk. Credit risk is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of a bond to decline. Inflation Risk : Inflation risk involves the concern that in the future, your investment or proceeds from your investment will not be worth what they are today. Throughout time, the prices of resources and end-user products generally increase and thus, the same general goods and products today will likely be more expensive in the future. The longer an investment is held, the greater the chance that the proceeds from that investment will be worth less in the future than they are today. Said another way, a dollar tomorrow will likely get you less than what it can today. Interest Rate Risk: Certain investments involve the payment of a fixed or variable rate of interest to the investment holder. Once an investor has acquired or has acquired the rights to an investment that 11 pays a particular rate (fixed or variable) of interest, changes in overall interest rates in the market will affect the value of the interest-paying investment(s) they hold. In general, changes in prevailing interest rates in the market will have an inverse relationship to the value of existing, interest paying investments. In other words, as interest rates move up, the value of an instrument paying a particular rate (fixed or variable) of interest will go down. The reverse is generally true as well. Legal/Regulatory Risk: Certain investments or the issuers of investments may be affected by changes in state or federal laws or in the prevailing regulatory framework under which the investment instrument or its issuer is regulated. Changes in the regulatory environment or tax laws can affect the performance of certain investments or issuers of those investments and thus, can have a negative impact on the overall performance of such investments. Manager Risk: There is always the possibility that poor security selection will cause your investments to underperform relative to benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Market Risk: The value of your portfolio may decrease if the value of an individual company or multiple companies in the portfolio decreases or if our belief about a company’s intrinsic worth is incorrect. Further, regardless of how well individual companies perform, the value of your portfolio could also decrease if there are deteriorating economic or market conditions. It is important to understand that the value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply, in response to changes in the market, and you could lose money. Investment risks include price risk as may be observed by a drop in a security’s price due to company specific events (e.g. earnings disappointment or downgrade in the rating of a bond) or general market risk (e.g. such as a “bear” market when stock values fall in general). For fixed-income securities, a period of rising interest rates could erode the value of a bond since bond values generally fall as bond yields go up. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Market Timing Risk: Market timing can include high risk of loss since it looks at an aggregate market versus a specific security. Timing risk explains the potential for missing out on beneficial movements in price due to an error in timing. This could cause harm to the value of an investor's portfolio because of purchasing too high or selling too low. Options Risk : Options on securities may be subject to greater fluctuations in value than an investment in the underlying securities. Additionally, options have an expiration date, which makes them “decay” in value over the amount of time they are held and can expire worthless. Purchasing and writing put and call options are highly specialized activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks. Strategy Risk: There is no guarantee that the investment strategies discussed herein will work under all market conditions and each investor should evaluate his/her ability to maintain any investment he/she is considering in light of his/her own investment time horizon. Investments are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. 12 Item 9: Disciplinary Information We have no legal or disciplinary events that are material to a client’s or prospective client’s evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management. Item 10: Other Financial Industry Activities & Affiliations Mr. Adams is a Certified Public Accountant but is not actively engaged in the business of accounting. He does not offer or provide accounting services to our clients. Item 11: Code of Ethics, Participation, or Interest in Client Transactions & Personal Trading We recognize that the personal investment transactions of members and employees of our firm demand the application of a high Code of Ethics and require that all such transactions be carried out in a way that does not endanger the interest of any client. At the same time, we believe that if investment goals are similar for clients and for members and employees of our firm, it is logical and even desirable that there be common ownership of some securities. Therefore, in order to prevent conflicts of interest, we have in place a set of procedures (including a pre-clearing procedure) with respect to transactions effected by our members, officers and 1 . In order to monitor compliance with our personal trading employees for their personal accounts policy, we have a quarterly securities transaction reporting system for all of our associates. Furthermore, our firm has established a Code of Ethics which applies to all of our associated persons. An investment adviser is considered a fiduciary. As a fiduciary, it is an investment adviser’s responsibility to provide fair and full disclosure of all material facts and to act solely in the best interest of each of our clients at all times. We have a fiduciary duty to all clients. Our fiduciary duty is considered the core underlying principle for our Code of Ethics which also includes Insider Trading and Personal Securities Transactions Policies and Procedures. We require all of our supervised persons to conduct business with the highest level of ethical standards and to comply with all federal and state securities laws at all times. Upon employment or affiliation and at least annually thereafter, all supervised persons will sign an acknowledgement that they have read, understand, and agree to comply with our Code of Ethics. Our firm and supervised persons must conduct business in an honest, ethical, and fair manner and avoid all circumstances that might negatively affect or appear to affect our duty of complete loyalty to all clients. This disclosure is provided to give all clients a summary of our Code of Ethics. However, if a client or a potential client wishes to review our Code of Ethics in its entirety, a copy will be provided promptly upon request. 1 For purposes of the policy, our associate’s personal account generally includes any account (a) in the name of our associate, his/her spouse, his/her minor children or other dependents residing in the same household, (b) for which our associate is a trustee or executor, or (c) which our associate controls, including our client accounts which our associate controls and/or a member of his/her household has a direct or indirect beneficial interest in. 13 Related persons of our firm may buy or sell securities and other investments that are also recommended to clients. In order to minimize this conflict of interest, our related persons will place client interests ahead of their own interests and adhere to our firm’s Code of Ethics, a copy of which is available upon request. Related persons of our firm may buy or sell securities for themselves at or about the same time they buy or sell the same securities for client accounts. Our firm will operate this on a first-come, first serve basis. In order to minimize this conflict of interest, our related persons will place client interests ahead of their own interests and adhere to our firm’s Code of Ethics, a copy of which is available upon request. Further, our related persons will refrain from buying or selling the same securities within 48 hours of buying or selling for our clients. Item 12: Brokerage Practices Our firm participates in the Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC. Schwab offers to independent investment Advisers services which include custody of securities, trade execution, clearance and settlement of transactions. We receive some benefits from Schwab through our participation in the program. (Please see the disclosure under Item 14 of this Brochure.) As part of this arrangement, Schwab also makes certain research and brokerage services available at no additional cost to our firm. These services include certain research and brokerage services, including research services obtained by Schwab directly from independent research companies, as selected by our firm (within specific parameters). Research products and services provided by Schwab to our firm include research reports on recommendations or other information about, particular companies or industries; economic surveys, data and analyses; financial publications; portfolio evaluation services; financial database software and services; computerized news and pricing services; quotation equipment for use in running software used in investment decision- making; and other products or services that provide lawful and appropriate assistance by Schwab to our firm in the performance of our investment decision-making responsibilities. The aforementioned research and brokerage services are used by our firm to manage accounts for which we have investment discretion. Without this arrangement, our firm might be compelled to purchase the same or similar services at our own expense. As a result of receiving the services discussed above for no additional cost, we have an incentive to continue to use or expand the use of Schwab’s services. Our firm examined this potential conflict of interest when we chose to enter into the relationship with Schwab and we have determined that the relationship is in the best interest of our firm’s clients and satisfies our client obligations, including our duty to seek best execution. Schwab charges fees for effecting certain securities transactions (i.e., transaction fees are charged for certain no-load mutual funds). Schwab enables us to obtain many no-load mutual funds without transaction charges and other no-load funds at nominal transaction charges. Schwab’s rates are generally discounted from customary retail rates. However, the fees charged by Schwab may be higher or lower than those charged by other custodians and broker-dealers. 14 Our clients may pay a fee to Schwab that is higher than another qualified broker dealer might charge to effect the same transaction where we determine in good faith that the fee is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services received. In seeking best execution, the determinative factor is not the lowest possible cost, but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution, taking into consideration the full range of a broker-dealer’s services, including the value of research provided, execution capability, fees, and responsiveness. Accordingly, although we will seek competitive rates, to the benefit of all clients, we may not necessarily obtain the lowest possible fee rates for specific client account transactions. The investment research products and services that may be obtained by our firm will generally be used to service all of our clients. We are required to specifically describe to our clients the types of products or services that we are acquiring and to permit them to evaluate possible conflicts of interest. Our description must be more detailed for products or services that do not qualify for the safe harbor in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, such as those services that do not aid in investment decision-making or trade execution. Merely disclosing that we obtain various research reports and products is not specific enough. In addition to receiving these benefits, Schwab also makes available to our firm other products and services that benefit us but may not benefit our clients’ accounts. These benefits may include national, regional or investment adviser specific educational events organized and/or sponsored by Schwab. Other potential benefits may include occasional business entertainment of personnel of our firm by Schwab personnel, including meals, invitations to sporting events, including golf tournaments, and other forms of entertainment, some of which may accompany educational opportunities. Some of these products and services assist our firm in managing and administering clients’ accounts. These include software and other technology (and related technological training) that provide access to client account data (such as trade confirmations and account statements), facilitate trade execution (and allocation of aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts), provide research, pricing information and other market data, facilitate payment of our fees from clients’ accounts, and assist with back-office training and support functions, recordkeeping and client reporting. Many of these services generally may be used to service all or some substantial number of our accounts. Schwab also makes available to our firm other services intended to help our firm manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services may include professional compliance, legal and business consulting, publications and conferences on practice management, information technology, business succession, regulatory compliance, employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, insurance, and marketing. In addition, Schwab may make available, arrange and/or pay vendors for these types of services rendered to our firm by independent third parties. Schwab may discount or waive fees it would otherwise charge for some of these services or pay all or a part of the fees of a third-party providing these services to our firm. While, as a fiduciary, our firm endeavors to act in our clients’ best interests, Adviser’s recommendation/requirement that clients maintain their assets in accounts at Schwab may be based in part on the benefit to our firm of the availability of some of the foregoing products and services and other arrangements and not solely on the nature, cost, or quality of custody and brokerage services provided by Schwab, which may create a potential conflict of interest. We would have to obtain the aforementioned services and products for cash if we did not have soft dollars available to pay for them. As a result of receiving such products and services for no cost, we may have an incentive to continue to place client trades through broker-dealers that offer soft dollar arrangements. This interest conflicts with the clients' interest of obtaining the lowest rate 15 available. Therefore, we must determine in good faith, based on the best execution policy stated above that such fees are reasonable in relation to the value of the services provided by such executing broker-dealers. Brokerage for Client Referrals Our firm does not receive brokerage for client referrals. Directed Brokerage Neither our firm nor any of our firm’s representatives have discretionary authority in making the determination of the custodians with whom orders for the purchase or sale of securities are placed for execution. Our firm routinely requires that clients direct us to execute through a specified custodian. Our firm recommends the use of Charles Schwab. Each client will be required to establish their account(s) with Charles Schwab if not already done. Please note that not all advisers have this requirement. Special Considerations for ERISA Clients A retirement or ERISA plan client may direct all or part of portfolio transactions for its account through a specific broker or dealer in order to obtain goods or services on behalf of the plan. Such direction is permitted provided that the goods and services provided are reasonable expenses of the plan incurred in the ordinary course of its business for which it otherwise would be obligated and empowered to pay. ERISA prohibits directed brokerage arrangements when the goods or services purchased are not for the exclusive benefit of the plan. Consequently, we will request that plan sponsors who direct plan brokerage provide us with a letter documenting that this arrangement will be for the exclusive benefit of the plan. Aggregation of Purchase or Sale We perform investment management services for various clients. Our firm’s policy is to refrain from purchasing or selling the same securities as clients in our own personal accounts, the before, the day during, and the day after the security is purchased for the client. There are rare occasions on which portfolio transactions must be executed as part of concurrent authorizations to purchase or sell the same security for numerous accounts served by our firm, which involve accounts with similar investment objectives. Although such concurrent authorizations potentially could be either advantageous or disadvantageous to any one or more particular accounts, they are affected only when we believe that to do so will be in the best interest of the effected accounts. When such concurrent authorizations occur, the objective is to allocate the executions in a manner which is deemed equitable to the accounts involved. In any given situation, we attempt to allocate trade executions in the most equitable manner possible. We do individualized trading on a first-come first-serve basis. This takes into consideration that not a single individual is given preferential treatment nor is being traded ahead due to asset size. 16 Item 13: Review of Accounts or Financial Plans We review accounts on at least a quarterly basis for our clients subscribing to our Comprehensive Portfolio Management service. The nature of these reviews is to learn whether clients’ accounts are in line with their investment objectives, appropriately positioned based on market conditions, and investment policies, if applicable. Only our Financial Advisors or Portfolio Managers will conduct reviews. Pension consulting clients receive reviews of their pension plans for the duration of the pension consulting service. We also provide ongoing services to pension consulting clients where we meet with such clients upon their request to discuss updates to their plans, changes in their circumstances, etc. We may review client accounts more frequently than described above. Among the factors which may trigger an off-cycle review are major market or economic events, the client’s life events, requests by the client, etc. We do not provide written reports to clients, unless asked to do so. Verbal reports to clients take place on at least an annual basis when we meet with clients who subscribe to our Comprehensive Portfolio Management service. As mentioned above, pension clients do not receive written or verbal updated reports regarding their pension plans unless they choose to contract with us for ongoing Pension Consulting services. Item 14: Client Referrals & Other Compensation Schwab: Our firm recommend that clients establish brokerage accounts with Schwab Institutional division of Schwab, registered broker-dealers, Members SIPC, to maintain custody of Clients’ assets and to effect trades for their accounts. Our firm is independently owned and operated and not affiliated with Schwab. Our firm may also recommend that Clients establish accounts with firms other than Schwab. Our firm places trades for its Clients' accounts subject to its duty to seek best execution and its other fiduciary duties. Our firm may use broker-dealers other than Schwab to execute trades for client accounts maintained at Schwab, but this practice may result in additional costs to clients so that we are more likely to place trades through Schwab rather than other broker-dealers. Schwab's execution quality may be different than other broker-dealers. For our client accounts maintained in its custody, Schwab generally does not charge separately for custody services but is compensated by account holders through asset-based fees for securities trades that are executed through Schwab or that settle into Schwab accounts. Some of the products, services and other benefits provided by Schwab benefit us and may not benefit our firm's client accounts. Our recommendation/requirement that a client place asset in Schwab's 17 custody may be based in part on benefits Schwab provides to us, and not solely on the nature, cost or quality of custody and execution services provided by Schwab. Schwab also makes available to our firm other products and services that benefit us but may not benefit clients’ accounts. These benefits may include national, regional or specific to our firm, educational events organized and/or sponsored by Schwab Institutional. Other potential benefits may include occasional business entertainment of personnel of our firm by Schwab Institutional personnel, including meals, invitations to sporting events, including golf tournaments, and other forms of entertainment, some of which may accompany educational opportunities. Other of these products and services assist us in managing and administering clients’ accounts. These include software and other technology (and related technological training) that provide access to client account data (such as trade confirmations and account statements), facilitate trade execution (and allocation of aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts), provide research, pricing information and other market data, facilitate payment of our fees from its clients’ accounts, and assist with back-office training and support functions, recordkeeping and client reporting. Many of these services generally may be used to service all or some substantial number of our firm’s accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab Institutional. Schwab Institutional also makes available to us other services intended to help our firm manage and further develop its business enterprise. These services may include professional compliance, legal and business consulting, publications and conferences on practice management, information technology, business succession, regulatory compliance, employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, insurance and marketing. In addition, Schwab may make available, arrange and/or pay vendors for these types of services rendered to our firm by independent third parties. Schwab Institutional may discount or waive fees it would otherwise charge for some of these services or pay all or a part of the fees of a third-party providing these services to us. While, as a fiduciary, our firm endeavors to act in its clients’ best interests, our recommendation or requirement that clients maintain their assets in accounts at Schwab may be based in part on the benefit to our firm of the availability of some of the foregoing products and services and other arrangements and not solely on the nature, cost or quality of custody and brokerage services provided by Schwab, which may create a potential conflict of interest. As a result of receiving such non soft dollar products and services for no cost, we may have an incentive to continue to place Client trades through broker-dealers that offer the aforementioned products and services. This interest conflicts with the Clients' interest of obtaining the lowest fee available. Therefore, our firm must determine in good faith, based on the “best execution” policy stated above that such fees are reasonable in relation to the value of the services provided by such executing broker-dealers. From time-to-time our firm may make an error in submitting a trade order on a client’s behalf. When this occurs, we may place a correcting trade with the broker-dealer which has custody of the client’s account. If an investment gain results from the correcting trade, the gain will remain in the client’s account unless the same error involved other client account(s) that should have received the gain, it is not permissible for the client to retain the gain, or our firm confers with the client and the client decides to forego the gain (e.g., due to tax reasons). If the gain does not remain in the client’s account and Schwab is the custodian, Schwab will donate the amount of any gain $100 and over to charity. If a loss occurs greater than $100, we will pay for the loss. Schwab will maintain the loss or gain (if such gain is not retained in the client’s account) if it is under $100 to minimize and offset its administrative time and expense. Generally, if related trade errors result in both gains and losses in the client’s account, they may be netted. 18 Referral Fees In accordance with Rule 206 (4)-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, our firm does not provide cash or non-cash compensation directly or indirectly to unaffiliated persons for testimonials or endorsements (which include client referrals). Item 15: Custody Deduction of Advisory Fees: While our firm does not maintain physical custody of client assets (which are maintained by a qualified custodian, as discussed above), we are deemed to have custody of certain client assets if given the authority to withdraw assets from client accounts, as further described below under “Third Party Money Movement.” All our clients receive account statements directly from their qualified custodian(s) at least quarterly upon opening of an account. We urge our clients to carefully review these statements. Additionally, if our firm decides to send its own account statements to clients, such statements will include a legend that recommends the client compare the account statements received from the qualified custodian with those received from our firm. Clients are encouraged to raise any questions with us about the custody, safety or security of their assets and our custodial recommendations. Third Party Money Movement: On February 21, 2017, the SEC issued a no-action letter (“Letter”) with respect to Rule 206(4)-2 (“Custody Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). The letter provided guidance on the Custody Rule as well as clarified that an adviser who has the power to disburse client funds to a third party under a standing letter of authorization (“SLOA”) is deemed to have custody. As such, our firm has adopted the following safeguards in conjunction with our custodian: • • • • • • • The client provides an instruction to the qualified custodian, in writing, that includes the client’s signature, the third party’s name, and either the third party’s address or the third party’s account number at a custodian to which the transfer should be directed. The client authorizes the investment adviser, in writing, either on the qualified custodian’s form or separately, to direct transfers to the third party either on a specified schedule or from time to time. The client’s qualified custodian performs appropriate verification of the instruction, such as a signature review or other method to verify the client’s authorization and provides a transfer of funds notice to the client promptly after each transfer. The client has the ability to terminate or change the instruction to the client’s qualified custodian. The investment adviser has no authority or ability to designate or change the identity of the third party, the address, or any other information about the third party contained in the client’s instruction. The investment adviser maintains records showing that the third party is not a related party of the investment adviser or located at the same address as the investment adviser. The client’s qualified custodian sends the client, in writing, an initial notice confirming the instruction and an annual notice reconfirming the instruction. 19 Item 16: Investment Discretion Our firm manages accounts on a discretionary basis. After you sign an agreement with our firm, we’re allowed to buy and sell investments in your account without asking you in advance. Any limitations will be described in the signed advisory agreement. We will have discretion until the advisory agreement is terminated by you or our firm. Item 17: Voting Client Securities We do not and will not accept the proxy authority to vote client securities. Clients will receive proxies or other solicitations directly from their custodian or a transfer agent. In the event that proxies are sent to our firm, we will forward them on to you and ask the party who sent them to mail them directly to you in the future. Clients may call, write, or email us to discuss questions they may have about particular proxy votes or other solicitations. Item 18: Financial Information We are not required to provide financial information in this Brochure because: • • • • We do not require the prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees and six or more months in advance. We do not take custody of client funds or securities. We do not have a financial condition or commitment that impairs our ability to meet contractual and fiduciary obligations to clients. We have never been the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding. 20