Overview

Assets Under Management: $650 million
Headquarters: NORTHFIELD, IL
High-Net-Worth Clients: 131
Average Client Assets: $4 million

Services Offered

Services: Financial Planning, Portfolio Management for Individuals

Fee Structure

Primary Fee Schedule (2025 ADV PART 2-REVISED)

MinMaxMarginal Fee Rate
$0 $1,000,000 1.00%
$1,000,001 $5,000,000 0.50%
$5,000,001 and above 0.35%

Minimum Annual Fee: $3,000

Illustrative Fee Rates
Total AssetsAnnual FeesAverage Fee Rate
$1 million $10,000 1.00%
$5 million $30,000 0.60%
$10 million $47,500 0.48%
$50 million $187,500 0.38%
$100 million $362,500 0.36%

Clients

Number of High-Net-Worth Clients: 131
Percentage of Firm Assets Belonging to High-Net-Worth Clients: 89.08
Average High-Net-Worth Client Assets: $4 million
Total Client Accounts: 1,284
Discretionary Accounts: 1,283
Non-Discretionary Accounts: 1

Regulatory Filings

CRD Number: 110493
Last Filing Date: 2025-02-13 00:00:00
Website: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MOLLERWEALTHPARTNERS/

Form ADV Documents

Primary Brochure: 2025 ADV PART 2-REVISED (2025-03-31)

View Document Text
Moller Wealth Partners One Northfield Plaza, Suite 200 Northfield, Illinois 60093 847-441-7575 www.mollerwealthpartners.com March 2025 This Brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Moller Wealth Partners. If you have any questions about the contents of this Brochure, please contact us at 847-441-7575 or info@mollerwealth.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. Moller Wealth Partners is a registered investment adviser. Registration of an Investment Adviser does not imply any level of skill or training. The oral and written communications of an Adviser provide you with information about which you determine to hire or retain an Adviser. Additional information about Moller Wealth Partners also is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Click on the “Investment Adviser Search” link and then search for “Investment Adviser Firm” using the firm’s IARD number, which is 110493. Moller Wealth Partners Material Changes Types of Advisory Services There have been the following material changes since the last annual update to the firm’s brochure (January 2024): John Moller has retired from Moller Wealth Partners as of August 1, 2024. Also, as of June 5, 2024, John Moller no longer holds any ownership in the company. Moller Wealth Partners Table of Contents Moller Wealth Partners ............................................................................................................................. i Material Changes ........................................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... iii Advisory Business ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Fees and Compensation .......................................................................................................................... 3 Performance-Based Fees ........................................................................................................................ 4 Types of Clients .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss ................................................ 5 Disciplinary Information ........................................................................................................................ 5 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations ................................................................... 6 Code of Ethics .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Brokerage Practices .................................................................................................................................. 6 Review of Accounts ................................................................................................................................... 9 Client Referrals and Other Compensation .................................................................................... 10 Custody ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Investment Discretion ........................................................................................................................... 11 Voting Client Securities ......................................................................................................................... 12 Financial Information ............................................................................................................................ 12 iii Moller Wealth Partners Advisory Business Firm Description Moller Wealth Partners fka Moller Financial Services was founded in 1991 by John (Jack) Moller. The company employs six people including two CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals – Nate Eads, CFP®, and Brian Fritzsche, CFP®, CFA. The firm is owned by Nate Eads, Faith Charles, and Brian Fritzsche. The firm is federally registered with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) as a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Moller Wealth Partners offers personal financial planning and investment management services to individuals, families, and trusts. We work with clients to define financial objectives and to develop strategies for reaching those objectives. Areas of focus may include: • Investment management • Tax planning • Charitable giving • Estate planning • Education funding • Retirement planning • Insurance risk review • Special needs planning • Other issues important to the client Types of Advisory Services Our services begin with a personalized financial plan including strategies and recommendations to achieve the client’s objectives. Financial Plan • Identify and quantify important financial objectives • Recommend investment strategy to achieve objectives • Suggest actions to reduce income and estate taxes 1 Moller Wealth Partners • Review estate documents and net worth for changes or updates to consider • Determine need for life, disability, and long-term care insurance • Address additional items identified by the client After reviewing and discussing the financial plan, the client and Moller Wealth Partners may begin a client – advisor relationship. Moller Wealth Partners will work in partnership with the client to implement the recommendations, manage the investments, and monitor the plan. Moller Wealth Partners offers two types of advisor services. Comprehensive Wealth Management • Investment management • Quarterly reports • Quarterly review of financial plan Asset Management • Investment management • Quarterly reports • Biennial review of financial goals (every other year) See the Review of Accounts section for more details on our management process. 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 interests 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; 2 Moller Wealth Partners • 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. Managed Assets Moller Wealth Partners manages $649,551,643 of client assets on a discretionary basis and $938,870 on a non-discretionary basis as of December 31, 2024. Discretion refers to an investment manager’s ability to decide which securities to purchase and sell for their client. Fees and Compensation Compensation Schedule Moller Wealth Partners is a fee-only advisory firm. Clients pay the company directly for financial advice and services. Moller Wealth Partners does not accept commissions or compensation from third parties. Below is a schedule of fees for our services. All fees are billed quarterly, in arrears. The annual fee for investment management services provided are based upon a percentage (%) of the market value of the Assets under management in accordance with the fee schedule in the Agreement signed by the Client. Moller Wealth Partners considers cash to be an asset class and part of Assets under management and subject to the same fee calculation as the Client’s non-cash investments. Financial Plan • $2,000 Investment Management • 1.00% per annum of first $1,000,000 of assets; • 0.50% per annum of next $4,000,000 of assets; • 0.35% per annum on all assets above $5,000,000 Minimum Fee (Quarterly) • Comprehensive Wealth Management: $2,000 • Asset Management: $750 Moller Wealth Partners may make other service and fee arrangements at our discretion. 3 Moller Wealth Partners Billing Clients may pay by check or authorize Moller Wealth Partners to directly debit their Schwab account. The invoice amount is based on the account value at the end of each calendar quarter. If you begin or end management services during a calendar quarter, we will charge a prorated fee. Billing Other Costs The client may incur expenses in addition to Moller Wealth Partners’ fees including: • mutual fund and exchange traded fund expenses • brokerage commissions • transaction fees • custodial fees • wire transfer and electronic fund fees • taxes Moller Wealth Partners does not receive any portion of these expenses. The Brokerage Practices section describes the factors that Moller Wealth Partners considers in selecting broker-dealers, such as Charles Schwab, for client transactions and determining the reasonableness of their expenses. Clients are also responsible for compensation paid to attorneys, accountants, agents, and brokers whom they choose to implement legal, tax, or insurance parts of their plan. Performance-Based Fees Moller Wealth Partners does not charge performance-based fees (fees based on a share of capital gains or on capital appreciation). Types of Clients Moller Wealth Partners generally provides investment advice to individuals, families, and trusts. Client relationships vary in scope and length of service. We do not impose a minimum dollar value of assets or other conditions for opening or maintaining an account, but do have a minimum quarterly fee (see Fees and Compensation section). 4 Moller Wealth Partners Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss Investment Strategy Moller Wealth Partners considers a client’s financial resources, objectives, and tax situation when developing and managing an investment strategy. We discuss the recommended strategy with the client during the Financial Plan meeting and provide updates with our quarterly reports. We generally use low-cost mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The investments we select may be limited to available choices within a client’s retirement plan. We use these funds to invest in stock, bond and commodity asset classes, domestic and international regions, and business sectors. Moller Wealth Partners uses the following investment strategy. We may manage a client’s portfolio with a single approach or a combination of multiple strategies. 1. Strategic Asset Allocation allocates a targeted percentage to asset classes such as stocks, bonds, and cash. We regularly monitor the portfolio for opportunities to rebalance. When an asset class declines in price relative to the portfolio, we purchase more shares. When an asset class increases in value, we sell some shares. By maintaining a fully invested asset allocation, we are able to diversify and keep transaction costs low. However, the portfolio may experience declines similar to that of the stock market. Method of Analysis Moller Wealth Partners analyzes different characteristics when selecting investments including: asset class, cost, performance, strategy, and size. The main sources of information include Morningstar, investment companies, fund prospectuses, financial publications, websites, and research materials prepared by others. Employees of Moller Wealth Partners also attend conferences and visit with investment company personnel. Certain investments apply fundamental analysis. These mutual funds and ETFs use financial information such as sales, cash flow, dividends, and buybacks to determine how much to invest in a company. Risk of Loss Investing in securities involves risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear. Disciplinary Information Registered investment advisers are required to disclose all material facts regarding any legal or disciplinary events that would be material to your evaluation of the firm or the integrity of management. Moller Wealth Partners has no applicable events to report. 5 Moller Wealth Partners Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations Activities Moller Wealth Partners does not participate in any other industry business activities. Affiliations Registered investment advisers are required to disclose material affiliations or arrangements that may create a conflict of interest for clients. Moller Wealth Partners has no relationships to report. Code of Ethics Policy The employees of Moller Wealth Partners have committed to a Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics includes provisions relating to: • Confidentiality of client information • Personal security transactions • Insider trading • Gifts and entertainment • Whistleblower protection The firm will provide a copy of the Code of Ethics to any client or prospective client upon request. Participation or Interest in Client Transactions Moller Wealth Partners’ employees may at times buy or sell securities that are also owned by clients. Employees may not prioritize their own trades ahead of client trades. The Chief Compliance Officer is Faith Charles. Faith reviews all employee trades each quarter. Her personal trades are reviewed by Nate Eads, President. The personal trading reviews ensure that the personal trading of employees was not based on inside information and not to the detriment of clients. The employee trades are not of a significant enough value to affect the securities markets. Brokerage Practices The Custodian and Brokers We Use Moller Wealth Partners does not maintain custody of your assets that we manage, although we may be deemed to have custody of your assets if you give us authority to withdraw assets from your account (see Custody, below). Your assets must be maintained in an 6 Moller Wealth Partners account at a “qualified custodian”. We recommend that clients use Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, as the qualified custodian. Moller Wealth Partners is independently owned and operated and is not affiliated with Schwab. Schwab holds your assets in a brokerage account and buys and sells securities when we instruct them to. While we recommend that you use Schwab as custodian, you will decide whether to do so and will open your account with Schwab by entering into an account agreement directly with them. We do not open the account for you, although, we may assist you in doing so. Even though Schwab maintains your account, we can still use other brokers to execute trades for your account. How We Select Brokers/Custodians We seek to use a custodian/broker that will hold your assets and execute transactions on terms that are, overall, most advantageous when compared with other available providers and their services. We consider a wide range of factors, including: • Capability to buy and sell securities for your account • Capability to facilitate transfers and payments • Breadth of available investment products • Quality of services • Competitiveness of the price of those services • Reputation, financial strength, and stability • Prior service to us and our clients • Availability of other products and services Your Brokerage and Custody Costs For our clients’ accounts that Schwab maintains, Schwab generally does not charge you separately for custody services but is compensated by charging you commissions or other fees on trades that it executes or that settle into your Schwab account. In addition to commissions, Schwab charges you a flat dollar amount as a “prime broker” or “trade away” fee for each trade that we have executed by a different broker-dealer but where the securities bought or the funds from the securities sold are deposited (settled) into your Schwab account. These fees are in addition to the commissions or other compensation you pay the executing broker-dealer. Because of this, in order to minimize your trading costs, we have Schwab execute most trades for your account. We have determined that having Schwab execute most trades is consistent with our duty to seek “best execution” of your trades. Best execution means the most favorable terms for a transaction based on all relevant factors, including those listed above (see “How we select brokers/custodians”). 7 Moller Wealth Partners Products and Services Available to Us from Schwab Schwab Advisor Services™ serves independent investment advisory firms like Moller Wealth Partners. Schwab Advisor Services provides us and our clients with access to its institutional brokerage services— trading, custody, reporting, and related services—many of which are not typically available to Schwab retail customers. Schwab also makes available various support services. Some of those services help us manage or administer our clients’ accounts, while others help us manage and grow our business. Schwab’s support services described below are generally available on an unsolicited basis (we don’t have to request them) and at no charge to us. The availability to us of Schwab’s products and services is not based on us giving particular investment advice, such as buying particular securities for our clients. Following is a more detailed description of Schwab’s support services: Services That Benefit You Schwab’s institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products available through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients. Schwab’s services described in this paragraph generally benefit you and your account. Services That May Not Directly Benefit You Schwab also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but may not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services assist us in managing and administering our clients’ accounts. They include investment research, both Schwab’s own and that of third parties. We may use this research to service all or a substantial number of our clients’ accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab. In addition to investment research, Schwab also makes available software and other technology that: • Provide access to client account information • Facilitate trades and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts • Provide pricing and other market data • Facilitate payment of our fees from our clients’ accounts • Assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping, and client reporting Services That Generally Benefit Only Us Schwab also offers other services intended to help us manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include: • Educational conferences and events 8 Moller Wealth Partners • Consulting on technology, compliance, legal, and business needs • Publications on practice management and business succession Schwab may provide some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third- party vendors to provide the services to us. Schwab may also discount or waive its fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party’s fees. Schwab may also provide us with other benefits, such as occasional business entertainment of our personnel. How We Use These Services We use most of the previously mentioned services from Schwab. These services allow us to focus on what is most important to our clients: providing financial planning advice and managing their investments. Our Interest in Schwab’s Services The availability of these services from Schwab benefits us because we do not have to produce or purchase them. We don’t have to pay for Schwab’s services. These services are not contingent upon us committing any specific amount of business to Schwab in trading commissions or assets in custody. We may have an incentive to recommend that you maintain your account with Schwab, based on our interest in receiving Schwab’s services that benefit our business rather than based on your interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of your transactions. This is a potential conflict of interest. We believe, however, that our selection of Schwab as custodian and broker is in the best interests of our clients. Our selection is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of Schwab’s services (see “How we select brokers/custodians”) and not Schwab’s services that benefit only us. Aggregate Orders Moller Wealth Partners generally places trade orders individually for each client account. If we have a similar trade order for many clients, we will aggregate the order and allocate shares to each client account. Aggregate trades result in an average price for each client. The execution price may be lower or higher than an individually placed trade. Aggregate orders do not apply to mutual fund orders because prices are determined at the end of day. Review of Accounts Investment Review Clients may have several accounts that we manage as one household portfolio. A Financial Planner reviews the portfolio periodically to determine if trades are necessary. For the Strategic Asset Allocation investment strategy, we monitor the client’s portfolio approximately every two weeks. 9 Moller Wealth Partners Regular Reports We provide written reports to clients on a quarterly basis. Contents • Investing narrative • Portfolio recommendations • Comprehensive Wealth Management (if applicable) o Quarter 1 – Goal Planning o Quarter 2 – Estate Planning o Quarter 3 – Insurance Planning o Quarter 4 – Tax Planning • Portfolio holdings • Portfolio performance • Trades since last report Client Referrals and Other Compensation Incoming Referrals We have been fortunate to receive many client referrals over the years. The referrals have come from clients, attorneys, accountants, insurance agents and brokers, employees, and other sources. We do not engage any independent solicitors to provide client referrals. Referrals to Other Professionals We do not accept referral fees or any form of remuneration from other professionals when a client is referred to them. Schwab Benefits We receive an economic benefit from Schwab in the form of the support products and services it makes available to us and other independent investment advisors whose clients maintain their accounts at Schwab. These products and services, how they benefit us, and the related conflicts of interest are described above (see Brokerage Practices). The availability to us of Schwab’s products and services is not based on us giving particular investment advice, such as buying particular securities for our clients. 10 Moller Wealth Partners Custody Under government regulations, Moller Wealth Partners is deemed to have custody of assets if you authorize us to instruct Schwab to deduct advisory fees directly from your account or if you grant us authority to move your money to another person’s account. Schwab maintains physical custody of your assets. You will receive account statements directly from Schwab at least quarterly. They will be sent to the email or postal mailing address you provided to Schwab. You should carefully review those statements promptly when you receive them. We also urge you to compare Schwab’s account statements to the periodic portfolio reports you will receive from us. Moller Wealth Partners may also have custody if we can access your account using your personal online username and password and are able to withdraw funds. This situation most frequently happens with accounts such as company retirement plans and qualified education plans. The plan/custodian should send you statements at least quarterly. We urge you to compare your plan/custodian’s account statements to the periodic portfolio reports you will receive from us. Government regulations require an annual surprise audit of deemed custody accounts by an independent CPA firm. Moller Wealth Partners complies with this requirement. Investment Discretion Discretionary Authority for Trading Moller Wealth Partners accepts discretionary authority to manage investment accounts on behalf of clients. Discretionary trading authority facilitates placing trades in clients’ accounts to promptly implement and follow the investment plan. In most cases, we provide clients with an opportunity for review and discussion before implementing our recommendations. Clients may place trading restrictions on the account such as: • Exclude a security from management • Hold a minimum amount of a security • Sell or purchase a particular security over time Limited Power of Attorney Clients must sign a limited power of attorney before Moller Wealth Partners is given discretionary authority. The limited power of attorney is included in Schwab’s account application. For accounts not held at Schwab, clients may sign a separate limited power of attorney document. 11 Moller Wealth Partners Voting Client Securities Guidelines In the absence of specific voting guidelines from the client, Moller Wealth Partners will vote all proxies from a specific issuer the same way for each client. Clients may place reasonable restrictions on Moller Wealth Partners' voting authority. Moller Wealth Partners will generally vote in favor of routine corporate housekeeping proposals such as the election of directors and selection of auditors absent conflicts of interest raised by an auditor’s non-audit services and poor director attendance. Moller Wealth Partners will generally vote against proposals that cause board members to become entrenched or cause unequal voting rights. In reviewing proposals, Moller Wealth Partners will further consider the opinion of management, the effect on shareholder value, and the issuer’s business practices. Conflicts of Interest Moller Wealth Partners will identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of the adviser and the client by reviewing the relationship of Moller Wealth Partners with the issuer of each security to determine if Moller Wealth Partners or any of its employees has any financial, business or personal relationship with the issuer. If a material conflict of interest exists, Faith Charles, Chief Compliance Officer, will disclose the conflict to the affected clients. Clients may have the opportunity to vote the proxies themselves, or have their proxies voted according to Moller Wealth Partners’ policy. Recordkeeping Moller Wealth Partners maintains a separate file recording the history of all proxy votes. Clients may obtain a record of how the company voted proxy issues on their behalf by submitting a written request or calling us. Financial Information Moller Wealth Partners does not have any financial impairment that will preclude the firm from serving its clients and has not been the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding. 12 Moller Wealth Partners