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Item 1 – Cover Page
Brochure
Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC
17605 Wright St
Omaha, NE 68130
(859) 426- 2000
www.orion.com/wealth-management
www.brinkercapitalinvestments.com
This Brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Orion Portfolio Solutions,
LLC (“OPS,” “BCI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). If you have any questions about the contents of this Brochure, please
contact us at (800) 379-2513.
The information in this Brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") or by any state securities authority.
information about those
individuals who are registered as
Orion is a registered investment advisor. Investment advisor registration does not imply a certain level of skill or
training. Additional information about OPS is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. The SEC’s
website also provides
investment advisor
representatives of OPS.
Updated: March 31, 2025
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Item 2 – Material Changes
This Brochure is dated March 31, 2025. Our last annual update was on March 28, 2024.
Since our last update, we have made the following changes:
• We have updated Item 8 to provide additional details of the Methods of Analysis we may use, Investment
Strategies we may recommend, and the Risk that may exist in our advisory offerings.
• We have added our new affiliate, Summit Walth Systems, Inc., to Item 10.
• We have added information relating to our affiliate’s integration with Flourish Financial, LLC to Item 10.
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Item 3 – Table of Contents
Item 1 – Cover Page
1
Item 2 – Material Changes
2
Item 3 – Table of Contents
3
Item 4 – Advisory Business
4
Item 5 – Fees and Compensation
20
Item 6 – Performance-Based Fees and Side-by-Side Management
28
Item 7 – Types of Clients
29
Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
30
Item 9 – Disciplinary Information
38
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
39
Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading
45
Item 12 – Brokerage Practices
47
Item 13 – Review of Accounts
52
Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation
53
Item 15 – Custody
55
Item 16 – Investment Discretion
56
Item 17 – Voting Client Securities
57
Item 18 – Financial Information
59
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Item 4 – Advisory Business
advisors
and
Background and Principal Owners
Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC is a subsidiary of Orion
Advisor Solutions, Inc. (“Orion”). Investment entities
controlled and managed by Genstar Capital Partners
LLC and TA Associates, LLC and its affiliates own a
majority interest of Orion and each of its subsidiaries,
including us.
Investment Advisors to utilize
Prior to December 31, 2022, Orion Portfolio
Solutions, LLC (formerly known as “FTJ FundChoice”)
and Brinker Capital Investments, LLC (successor to
CLS
Investments, LLC) were separate affiliated
subsidiaries of Orion. On December 31, 2022, Orion
Portfolio Solutions, LLC was merged with and into its
affiliate, Brinker Capital Investments, LLC and Brinker
Capital Investments, LLC was legally renamed to
Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC (the “Reorganization”).
About Our Investment Advisory Programs
We offer our advisory services under two primary
offerings (each a “Platform”): (1) Orion Portfolio
Solutions (“OPS”), which offers reporting and
administrative services to unaffiliated third-party
investment
broker-dealer
representatives (collectively “Investment Advisors”),
and (2) Brinker Capital Investments (“BCI”), which
offers advisory and investment management services
previously offered by Brinker Capital Investments
and CLS Investments. Each Platform features various
in
services for
connection with their advisory clients (“Clients”) as
further explained below. The following table outlines
the available types of relationships we have with
Investment Advisors and a description of our
discretion for each service offering.
Level of our Discretion
Platform
OPS
Relationship Type
Co-Advisory
•
•
Limited Trading Discretion - implementing trading
instructions provided by Client or Investment Advisor
based on selected investment strategy
Limited Billing Discretion – implementing billing
instructions provided by Client
BCI
Solicitor
•
Co-Advisory
•
•
• Full discretion – selecting investment strategies and
trading the securities as needed to implement the
strategies
Limited Billing Discretion – implementing billing
instructions provided by Client
Limited Trading Discretion - implementing trading
instructions provided by Client or Investment Advisor
based on selected investment strategy
Limited Billing Discretion – implementing billing
instructions provided by Client
that
sets
forth
the
Relationship Type
We offer our services to Investment Advisors and
Clients on our platform through two methods: a “co-
advisory” relationship and a “solicitor” relationship.
Co-Advisory Relationship
Investment Advisors that engage us in a co-advisory
relationship enter into a Joint Advisory Services
Agreement
roles and
responsibilities of the Investment Advisor and us.
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consent to these Terms and Conditions when
opening an account with us.
services.
In
co-advisor
is
responsible
Under the co-advisory relationship offering, Clients
and their Investment Advisor select to engage our
investment management
this
arrangement, we are responsible for 1) making
investments available on our platforms, 2) trading
the Client’s account, and 3) billing the Client for the
services. The
for
maintaining the customer relationship and selecting
investments which are suitable for the Client.
Clients are encouraged to read their investment
advisory agreement, Application Addendum, and / or
Terms and Conditions, as appliable, as these
documents contain important information on how
their accounts will be managed. Clients agree to
notify us of any changes in their address. Clients may
also be subject to a separate agreement with their
Investment Advisor or their Investment Advisor’s
investment advisory firm; we are not part of this
agreement.
receives a
fee
for
Discretion
For certain programs, Clients will grant us with
discretion on their accounts. Such discretion is
granted to us by Clients in writing. By granting us
trading discretion, Clients agree that we may submit
transactions on their behalf to their custodians
without first obtaining Client authorization for each
transaction. The level of discretion we have for
Clients depends on their Relationship Type with us.
Full Discretion
This discretion allows for us to execute ongoing
security selection and management of a Client’s
account in accordance with the Client’s investing
preferences and needs as communicated to us by the
Client’s Investment Advisor.
Solicitor Relationship
In a solicitor arrangement, the Client is introduced to
us by an Investment Advisor that has entered into a
written solicitation agreement with us. The solicitor
this
Investment Advisor
introduction, but we are responsible for the
suitability of the investment(s) selected for the Client
based on information provided to us by the solicitor
Investment Advisor. The solicitor Investment Advisor
is expected to meet with the Client at least annually
and provide us with any updates to the Client’s
financial situation, risk tolerance, and needs so that
we may continue to ensure the
investment(s)
selected for the Client are suitable. As of January 1,
2023, we no longer offer Investment Advisors to
engage us through a solicitor arrangement, however,
existing solicitors and Clients of solicitors continue to
be supported and solicitors may continue to refer
new Clients to us under their existing solicitor
arrangement.
When opening an account, a Client will be informed
of the type of relationship under which their
accounts with us will be managed.
(herein
referred
Limited Trading Discretion
This discretion consists of purchasing or selling
securities in a Client’s account to implement the
strategy or strategies selected by the Client and the
Client’s Investment Advisor. We also retain discretion
to make certain unaffiliated third-party model
portfolio managers
to as
“Strategists”) available or to remove Strategists from
the platform as set forth in the BCI investment
advisory agreement and OPS’s Terms and Conditions.
Relationship Agreements
All Clients receiving our services in our BCI Platform
enter into a written investment advisory agreement
with us. All Clients receiving our services in our OPS
Platform are subject to an account application
(“Application Addendum”) and OPS’s terms and
conditions (“Terms and Conditions”). The current
version of the Terms and Conditions can be found at
orion.com/wealth-management/orion-portfolio-
solutions-forms-library, and Clients are required to
Billing Discretion
This discretion permits us to bill a Client’s account
fees related to the services discussed
in this
Brochure. Generally, we require a certain proportion
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of a Client’s account be held in cash or money market
from which we will collect fees. If there is insufficient
cash or money market holdings in the account, this
discretion allows us to liquidate securities necessary
to withdraw the fees owed by Clients.
Investment Management Programs
We offer a wide variety of proprietary and non-
proprietary investment management programs. A
summary of the programs we offer is included in the
following chart, with additional details about each
program below.
Program Name
Investment Manager
Eligible Investments1
Strategy Name
Minimum
Account Size
Varies
$100,000
BCI
BCI
Programs available on the OPS and BCI Platforms
Disciplined Equity
Orion Custom Indexing
$1,000,000
Wealth Advisory
BCI (with ability to
engage sub-advisors and
other Strategists)
Equities, ETFs
Mutual Funds, Equities, and
ETPs
Mutual Funds, ETPs1, Private
Funds, REITs, or other pooled
investment vehicles
Programs available on the OPS Platform
Varies
Strategist Program
Varies
Strategist funds or
Models, including BCI
Strategist Models
SMA Program
$0
Investment Advisor
Advisor Directed
$0
Mutual Funds, Equities, and
ETPs
Mutual Funds, Equities, and
ETPs
Mutual Funds, Equities, and
ETPs
Affiliated and unaffiliated
Mutual Funds
Market Cycle Advised
Mandates Portfolios
OPS and composed of
Strategist funds or
Models
Programs available on the BCI Platform
Core Asset Manager
Core Guided Portfolios
$500,000
BCI
Core Select
$0
Strategist funds or
Models, including BCI
Mutual Funds, Equities, ETPs, or
other pooled investment
vehicles
Mutual Funds, Equities, ETPs, or
other pooled investment
vehicles
Destinations
Destinations Funds
Destinations ETFh
$10,000
$25,000
BCI
BCI
Destinations Hybrid Portfolio
$10,000
BCI
Personal Benchmark
American Hybrid Strategy
$100,000
$25,000
BCI
BCI
Affiliated Mutual Funds
Unaffiliated Mutual Funds and
ETPs
Affiliated Mutual Funds and
ETPs
Affiliated Mutual Funds
Affiliated and Unaffiliated
Mutual Funds
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ETF and Mutual Fund Strategies
American Funds Strategy
$25,000
Capital Group ETF Strategies
$5,000
Focused Strategies
$0
Core Plus ETF Strategy
$10,000
Brinker Capital ESG Portfolios $25,000
Active Income Strategy
$25,000
BCI
BCI
BCI
BCI
BCI
BCI
Mutual Funds
ETPs
Mutual Funds and ETPs
ETPs
Mutual Funds and ETPs
ETPs, stocks, bonds, master
limited partnerships, real estate,
convertibles, senior bank loans,
and international debt
ETPs
ETPs
$25,000
$25,000
BCI
BCI
Managed Income Strategy
Digital Assets Portfolio
Program
1As used in this chart, Exchange Traded Products (“ETPs”) include Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), Exchange Traded Notes (“ETNs”),
Closed-End Funds (“CEFs”), Unit Investment Trusts (“UITs”), or any other investment traded on an exchange, excluding individual
equities.
program
to Custom
into the Client portfolio. If Clients transition from our
Destinations
Indexing,
Destinations Funds may be held in the Custom
Indexing product as Client tax preferences are being
implemented. When Destinations Funds are held in a
Custom Indexing product, we will continue to collect
our fee as advisor to the Destinations Funds.
Indexing
to provide
We offer Orion Custom Indexing through our OPS
Platform, our BCI Platform’s solicitor and co-advisor
relationships, and as sub-advisory service.
Disciplined Equity Program
Disciplined Equity strategies are proprietary, model-
driven solutions that are constructed to provide
exposure to targeted equity market segments. The
strategies are managed by a team of portfolio
managers. The strategies are managed to target the
risk and return characteristics of a particular equity
index or a specific segment of the market. For many
of the Disciplined Equity strategies, Clients may elect
Orion Custom
further
customization to their tax preferences such as capital
gains budgets and tax transition services.
Clients may invest in the Disciplined Equity strategies
using our BCI Platform, our OPS Platform, or through
the Communities model marketplace.
Solicitor and Co-Advisor Orion Custom Indexing
Through OPS and BCI’s solicitor and co-advisor
relationships, Clients enter into an agreement with
us and their Investment Advisor to implement Orion
Custom Indexing. In such a situation, Clients delegate
trading and billing authority to us to implement the
Orion Custom Indexing.
Sub-Advisor Custom Indexing
In a sub-advisory relationship, a Client’s Investment
Advisor enters into a sub-advisory relationship with
us where we are providing advice to such Investment
Advisor on how to implement an Orion Custom
Indexing strategy on a Client’s account. Orion Custom
Indexing sub-advisory relationships are only available
to investment advisors who use the technology
Orion Custom Indexing Program
Indexing utilizes optimization
Orion Custom
technology to provide Investment Advisors with the
ability to personalize portfolios, tax transition legacy
assets, and tax loss harvest Client portfolios. In
addition to managing against passive indexes, the
program also offers the ability to overlay on top of
proprietary and third-party portfolios. Portfolios are
typically constructed of individual stocks but may
also include ETFs and mutual funds depending on the
specific mandate and any legacy assets incorporated
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offered by our affiliate, Orion Advisor Technology, LLC
(“Orion Tech”), including our affiliate, TownSquare
Capital, LLC.
investment vehicles,
Investment Advisor, and
Client’s objectives, assets, risk tolerance, and
investment experience as well as to obtain greater
asset and style diversification, we may recommend
that a portion of a Client’s portfolio be invested in
one or more other investments in lieu of allocating
assets separately to a Strategist or a strategy
managed by us. These other
investments may
include an investment in REITs, Private Funds, ETNs,
or other pooled
including
alternative investments made available by Capital
Integration Systems discussed in Item 10 – Other
Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations of this
brochure. Special fee arrangements may apply with
respect to alternative investments.
We will either directly trade in a Client’s account or
communicate trades to the Client’s Investment
Advisor for the Client’s Investment Advisor to submit
trades for execution. If we are directly trading in a
Client’s account, the Client will be required to
authorize us to trade on their account and may
authorize us to bill their account. If the Client’s
Investment Advisor is responsible for the trading in
the account, we communicate a list of trades to the
Client’s
the Client’s
Investment Advisor is responsible for ensuring trades
are submitted for execution based on the Client’s
Investment Advisor’s trading practices. In such
instances, we do not have any authority to trade on
the Client’s account.
In the Wealth Advisory program, we offer both
discretionary and non-discretionary
investment
management services. When granted discretionary
authority, a Client authorizes us to hire and fire
Strategists and to rebalance account(s) without a
Client’s prior approval.
services
and
Regardless of the method of trading, the Client’s
Investment Advisor is responsible for monitoring for
best execution and reviewing and determining
whether
investment
our
recommendations remain
in the Client’s best
interest.
investment
needs,
tax
including asset and
Wealth Advisory services include (but are not limited
to) comprehensive portfolio analysis of a Client’s
existing assets to help identify inefficiencies and
transition
address
management to assist the Client in transferring
highly-appreciated stocks and move toward a more
diversified portfolio over time, development of a
personalized investment solution based upon the
Client’s goals, tax preferences, risk tolerance, and
financial plan, and access to a dedicated portfolio
manager employed by us to assist with portfolio
reviews, reallocations,
investment updates and
educational needs.
Wealth Advisory
Our Wealth Advisory program offers customized
service and dedicated support to meet the needs of
high-net worth and ultra-high net worth investors,
family offices, institutions, and endowments with $1
million or more in investable assets. Wealth Advisory
is designed for us to manage the overall investment
process,
investment style
allocation decisions, Strategist selection and review,
and comprehensive monitoring of a Client’s
portfolio. A dedicated portfolio manager employed
by us is assigned to the Client relationship and is
available for regular communications concerning the
activity and status of a Client’s account.
Strategist Program
Through OPS’s “Strategist Program,” Investment
Advisors have the ability to invest Client accounts in
a manner intended to follow a Strategist’s developed
model asset allocation portfolio. We refer to such
asset allocation models as “Strategist Models”. The
Strategists regularly monitor the Strategist Models
and are responsible for managing the model
portfolios on behalf of OPS.
In the Wealth Advisory program, portfolios are
generally allocated among different Strategists,
Separately Managed Accounts, mutual funds, and/or
ETFs. Where deemed appropriate, based on a
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with such Strategists in this Brochure. Furthermore,
Investment Advisors, which are not affiliated with
OPS, are responsible for working with Clients to
select the most appropriate Strategist. Investment
Advisors are able to utilize any Strategist made
available as part of the Strategist Program.
impose
investing
in any Strategist Model, OPS
We make available Strategist Models of various risk
and return characteristics and investment goals
through our platform. These Strategist Models are
not tailored to accommodate the needs or objectives
of specific
investors, but rather to enable an
Investment Advisor to select the most appropriate
Strategist Model offered by our Strategist Program
for use with Clients. Clients can work with their
reasonable
Investment Advisors
to
investment restrictions on
in certain
securities or types of securities within each model.
Clients can invest in multiple Strategist Models within
a single custodial account, where each Strategist
Model allocation is assigned to a unique subaccount
or “sleeve”. This structure is known as a unified
managed account (“UMA”).
Client account assets will be invested in accordance
with the Strategist Model selected. Once a Strategist
Model
is selected, OPS will provide trading,
reporting, and administrative services. We have
Limited Trading Discretion and Limited Billing
Discretion, as defined above, for accounts in the
Strategist Program. When a Strategist suggests a
is
transaction
authorized to submit trades to the Client’s custodian
to execute the resulting transactions in the Client’s
account, as outlined in the Terms and Conditions.
reject
If a Strategist or Strategist Model is removed from
the Strategist Program, OPS will notify a Client’s
Investment Advisor of the change and request that
action be taken to reassign the account by a specified
date. In such case, OPS will recommend a similar
replacement Strategist to a Client’s Investment
such
Advisor who may accept or
recommendation at their discretion.
Our BCI portfolio management team also develops
and maintains Strategist Models on the OPS
platform. Mutual funds that are part of the
Destinations Funds Trust, a mutual fund trust we
advise, may be included in these models. When the
Destinations Funds are included, the Strategist Fee is
waived or reduced along with any platform fees OPS
would otherwise collect with respect to assets
allocated to Destinations Funds portfolios, as further
explained in Item 5 – Fees and Compensation of this
Brochure.
The Strategists are not acting as the Client’s
investment advisor, do not possess knowledge of a
Client’s individual information or investment goals
and objectives, and do not provide personalized
investment advice to Clients. Clients remain the
owner of all securities held in their account and have
all ownership rights associated with these securities.
Visit
orion.com/wealth-management/third-party-
strategists to review the investment managers we
have engaged as Strategists.
With the exception of our proprietary Strategies, we
are not affiliated with any other Strategists within the
Strategist Program. However, in some instances, we
receive all or part of certain Strategists’ Strategist
Fees as an administration fee charged to the
Strategist as discussed
in Item 5 – Fees and
Compensation of this brochure. These fees are
negotiated between us and the Strategist. Given this
arrangement we have an incentive to continue to
make available Strategists that share fees with us.
Consistent with our policies and procedures, the
Investment Committee does not consider revenue
sharing payment arrangements in the selection and
oversight of Strategists to address these conflicts. In
addition, we address these conflicts of interest by
disclosing receipt of such fees and our arrangement
We are not engaged by Clients to provide investment
recommendations in the Strategist Program. OPS
relies on the Client’s Investment Advisor to analyze
the Client’s current financial situation, risk tolerance,
investment objectives, and other
time horizon,
factors the Client and the Client’s Investment Advisor
in determining whether a
deem appropriate
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ongoing security selection and management of a
Client’s account in accordance with the Client’s
investing preferences and needs. The SMA Program
Manager is granted the authority to buy, sell, or
otherwise affect transactions in Client accounts as
further set forth in our Terms and Conditions and any
Additional Agreements, if applicable.
its underlying
particular Strategist Model (and
investment holdings, including Destinations Funds,
as applicable)
is suitable for the Client. The
Investment Advisor can use tools made available by
OPS or its affiliates, including OPS’s proprietary
proposal tool, to assist the Investment Advisor in
developing an appropriate asset allocation strategy
for the Client and recommending model portfolios to
the Investment Advisor for consideration for use with
the Client.
Advisor-Directed Program
The OPS Platform permits a Client’s Investment
Advisor to act as a portfolio manager and implement
an investment strategy developed by the Investment
Advisor outside of our Strategist and SMA Programs
described above. In such situations, we have Limited
Trading Discretion and Limited Billing Discretion, as
described above. We do not conduct any due
diligence on the securities or strategies included in
Advisor-Directed sleeves within a Client’s account.
investment managers,
Separately Managed Account Program
The Separately Managed Account Program (“SMA
Program”) is managed by OPS or by third-party
investment managers we have selected (each, an
“SMA Program Manager”). A separately managed
account is a portfolio of individually owned securities
that can be tailored to fit the Client’s investing
We select both unaffiliated and
preferences.
affiliated
including our
affiliate, TownSquare Capital, LLC, to serve as SMA
Program Managers.
Market Cycle Advised Mandate Portfolios
Market Cycle Advised Mandate Portfolios (“MCAM
Portfolios”) are portfolios managed by OPS and
composed of Strategist funds or Models, including
our proprietary Destinations Funds. MCAM Portfolios
are risk-budgeted, actively managed
investment
portfolios that follow a proprietary three-mandate
investment process across multiple risk profiles. The
three mandates are:
1. Beta – Investment options that are designed
invested through market
fully
to stay
movement.
2. Active – Investment options that are actively
adjusted for changing market conditions.
3. Diversifier – Highly active investment options
that may disengage from market movement
and provide new sources of potential return
and risk.
Clients and their Investment Advisors will choose an
SMA Program Manager based on the Client’s risk
profile and investment objective(s), and the SMA
Program Manager (including, when applicable, OPS)
will manage the Client’s account accordingly using
various investment options and strategies. Clients
remain the owner of all securities held in their
account with all associated ownership rights. In
instances where affiliated investment managers,
such as TownSquare Capital, LLC, serve as SMA
Program Managers, our affiliate is compensated for
managing the account, which creates a potential
conflict of interest whereby we, or our affiliates, earn
additional compensation. Clients
in the SMA
Program are subject to the OPS Terms and Conditions
and depending on the SMA Program Manager
selected, may be subject to additional terms and
conditions that are required by such SMA Program
Manager (“Additional Agreement”).
The portfolios are designed and managed by our OPS
Investment Strategist team, each featuring funds
that are blended for various
levels of market
participation, active management, and uncorrelated
performance. We have Full Discretion to select the
Strategist and Models, including proprietary models
and Destinations funds, trade the accounts based on
For Clients in the SMA Program, the SMA Program
Manager (which can be OPS)
is granted Full
Discretion (as that term is defined above) for the
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our selections, and bill the accounts the fees agreed
to by the Client.
funds, including our Destinations Funds (described
below), and/or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to
implement a variety of investment strategies with
different risk and reward characteristics. In our
Destinations program, we offer a variety of asset
allocation strategies, each targeting a specific
investment objective, for both taxable and tax-
exempt accounts. The strategies provide different
balances of risk and reward and the appropriate
strategy may be chosen based on the Client’s risk
tolerance and time horizon. The strategies are
designed to offer competitive performance while
seeking to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns
over the long term.
our
and
Core Asset Manager Program
BCI’s Core Asset Manager program represents a
managed account platform that features privately
placed or publicly traded pooled investment vehicles
(such as hedge funds, mutual funds, ETFs, real estate
investment trusts and master limited partnerships).
In this program, we provide both discretionary
management and non-discretionary management
services. Discretionary Clients authorize us to hire
and fire investment managers and make asset
allocation changes. Nondiscretionary Clients must
product
Strategist
approve
recommendations. The discretionary offerings within
the Core Asset Manager Program include:
select
from
to
asset
funds
Core Guided Portfolios
Investment Advisors and their Clients have
the
various
ability
allocation models
discretionary
managed by us for both taxable and
nontaxable accounts that utilize separate
funds, and
account managers, mutual
implement
to
traded
exchange
different risk tolerance-based portfolios.
We monitor the performance of each underlying
investment manager (either a sub-advisor within the
Destinations Funds or a third-party fund) and replace
or reallocate assets among the funds or underlying
managers used to implement these strategies based
on factors we deem appropriate. These factors can
include our evaluation of historical performance,
market conditions, and our investment outlook. Our
Destinations program is offered through different
suites of asset allocation models, the primary
difference in each suite being the type of investment
vehicles utilized.
allocated
Destinations Funds Program
The “Destinations Funds” program offers risk-based
mutual fund asset allocation models, which are
exclusively
across our proprietary
Destinations Funds (“Affiliated Funds”).
Destinations ETFh Program
The “Destinations ETFh” program offers risk-based
asset allocation models comprised of ETFs and
unaffiliated third-party mutual funds.
accounts, Clients
and
Core Select
Investment Advisors and their Clients have
the ability to select from a list of risk-
tolerance based strategies, separate account
managers, mutual funds, and ETFs for both
taxable and nontaxable accounts. For
solicitor accounts, we determine what
strategies are available for Clients and their
Investment Advisors to choose from based
on the Client’s specific risk tolerance. For co-
advisor
their
Investment Advisor are not restricted and
have discretion to choose suitable strategies
from the list of all available strategies.
The Destinations Funds and the Destinations ETFh
programs are both available directly from us through
both our BCI and OPS programs and at third party
platforms.
Destinations Program
BCI’s Destinations program is a discretionary asset
allocation program managed by us that uses mutual
Destinations Hybrid Portfolios Program
Our Destinations Hybrid Portfolio Program is a
discretionary account program managed by us that is
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ETF and Mutual Fund Portfolios
American Funds Strategy Program
We offer discretionary portfolios comprised solely of
American Funds class F mutual fund shares in a
diversified, risk budgeted framework, according to
the Client’s investment objectives.
Capital Group ETF Strategies Program
We offer discretionary portfolios comprised solely of
Capital Group Exchange Traded Funds in a diversified,
multi-asset framework, according to the Client’s
investment objectives.
offered utilizing a combination of Destinations Funds
and other investment options. Under this strategy,
the Client’s Investment Advisor consults with the
Client to select an initial allocation of thirty percent
(30%), fifty percent (50%), or seventy-five percent
(70%) of the assets in the Client’s account to be
invested in Destinations Funds with the remaining
balance invested among other investment options.
The Client’s account will be rebalanced if the
allocation to Destinations Funds exceeds the target
by 5% (i.e., 35%, 55% and 75%, respectively). Clients
may at any time instruct us in writing not to place any
of the Client’s managed assets in Destinations Funds;
however, in such an event the Client will be required
to select a different strategy we offer.
Focused Strategies Program
We offer “Focused Strategies” consisting of model
portfolios managed by us and targeting specific asset
classes – domestic equity, international equity, fixed
income, global credit, real assets, and alternative
investments – available to Clients as a component of
their overall asset allocation or as a complementary
investment allocation.
For more information about the Affiliated Funds and
any management fees received by us from the
Destinations Funds, please see Item 5 – Fees and
Compensation of this brochure and the applicable
Affiliated Funds prospectus.
is
Core Plus ETF Strategy Program
Our discretionary “Core Plus ETF Strategy Program”
invests a Client’s assets primarily among ETFs in a
diversified, risk budgeted framework, according to
the Client’s investment objectives.
The strategy is focused on total return and seeks
allocation to core asset class ETFs, as well as some
targeted satellite ETF positions.
strategies
Personal Benchmark Program
Our
a
“Personal Benchmark Program”
discretionary account program managed by us that
allocates across multiple Destinations Funds model
investment strategies based upon Client risk
tolerance. Personal Benchmark segregates assets
into “buckets” to align with a Client’s unique goals
(e.g., accumulation, safety) to make clearer how
is occurring. The
progress toward these goals
underlying
in Personal
investment
Benchmark use our Destinations Funds.
securities
that are deemed
social, and governance
invests
American Hybrid Strategy Program
We offer discretionary portfolios utilizing a
combination of Destinations Funds and American
Funds class F shares. An initial allocation of thirty
percent (30%) of the assets in this strategy will be
invested in Destinations Funds with the remaining
balance
invested among American Funds. The
account will be rebalanced if the Client’s allocation to
Destinations Funds exceeds the target by 5%.
Brinker Capital ESG Portfolios
We offer ESG Portfolios that use, in accordance with
the Client’s objectives, mutual funds, ETFs, and/or
to be
other
(ESG)
environmental,
companies. The strategy generally
in
exchange traded products within Category Four or
Five of the Morningstar Sustainability Rating scale
(referred to as “globes,”) though Category Three may
be included. If a holding is re-assigned to Category
Two or One, it will be reviewed by the strategy
managers for removal from the strategy. The
portfolios are built in a diversified, risk budgeted
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framework, according to the Client’s investment
objectives.
portfolio invested primarily in income or interest-
generating investments. The long-term portfolio will
be invested primarily in ETFs. Assets designated for
this portfolio will seek to provide long-term growth
and a steady stream of income.
Digital Assets Portfolio Program
We offer a Digital Assets Strategy that invests in
exchange traded products to provide flexible and
balanced exposure to the digital assets ecosystem.
The portfolio will be allocated to 1) companies
involved with cryptocurrency or digitalization of the
economy and 2) cryptocurrencies, with the allocation
between these two categories varying based on the
managers’ view of the risks and potential rewards.
Companies must derive at least 50% of revenue from
digital asset projects, partner or invest in such firms,
or have a crypto segment that is an important
segment of the company.
Active Income Strategy Program
Our Active Income Strategy is designed for Clients
who prefer an active strategy that seeks a specific
percentage yield by investing in income producing
asset classes. When selecting the strategy, the Client
will select the percentage yield to be targeted for the
Client’s account. The strategy invests in ETFs and
Closed-End Funds (“CEFs”) that specialize in income-
producing assets. In addition to traditional dividend-
oriented equities and investment grade bonds, the
strategy generates
income using non-traditional
asset classes, such as master limited partnerships,
real estate, convertibles, senior bank loans, high-
yield bonds, and international debt. The portfolios
are built in a diversified, risk budgeted framework,
according to the Client’s investment objectives.
Other Advisory Offerings
Orion Communities
Orion Communities is an investment management
platform sponsored by OPS and available to
investment advisory firms and their representatives
that are utilizing the portfolio accounting and other
technology tools offered through our affiliate, Orion
Tech. Orion Communities is designed to supplement
the technology and administrative services received
by Orion Tech customers with access to third party
strategist models and other investment solutions,
including our Orion Custom Indexing. Orion Tech
customers can access investment options spanning
brand, boutique, and emerging strategists, as well as
model portfolios reflecting various risk and return
investment objectives. Orion
characteristics and
Communities allows advisors utilizing the Orion Tech
platform to take advantage of the
investment
research and due diligence OPS already performs on
strategists to help create models for their clients
using Orion Tech’s
technology. Orion
trading
Communities gives advisors full trading authority
when using models or creating blended models using
a combination of third-party and in-house strategies.
Managed Income Strategy Program
Our ETF Managed
Income Strategy uses Risk
Budgeting to manage an account for Clients seeking
income from a diversified portfolio of income-
producing assets. See Item 8 – Methods of Analysis,
Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss of this
brochure for more information on Risk Budgeting.
The strategy seeks to help Clients with a desire for
regular income meet their short and long-term
income needs by dividing the account into up to
three separate investment portfolios: immediate,
short-term, and long-term. If the Client enrolls in this
strategy, the Client can designate a specific amount
of assets needed to satisfy short-term income needs.
These assets will be invested in a low-risk reserve
portfolio that will seek to generate returns in excess
of the average money market fund with risk less than
or equal to low duration investment bonds. We
recommend one to two years' worth of withdrawals;
however, the strategy allows for the Client to specify
a desired amount. If the Client elects systematic
withdrawals on their account, assets will also be set
aside in a low-risk cash account for those immediate,
systematic withdrawals. The remainder of the
Client’s account will be set aside in a long-term
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clearing firm and custodian for the MMLIS Brinker co-
advisory program. The fees charged, the minimum
account size and each firm’s roles and responsibilities
are described in the MMLIS Brochure for the MMLIS
Brinker co-advisory program.
Banking and Lending Services
Orion Cash and Credit is an integration which offers
third-party advisors who utilize the OPS and BCI
platforms access to an array of banking and lending
solutions and related services. These services are
offered by Uptiq, Inc.
Outsourced Trading
Third party investment advisory firms can engage
OPS as sub-advisor or outsourced agent to submit
trades on their behalf leveraging the technology
platform offered through our affiliate, Orion Tech.
OPS is granted limited Trading Discretion by the third
party investment advisory firm at a custodian of their
choosing (which is limited to custodians that have
integrated with Orion Tech). Under this service
offering, OPS does not provide investment advice or
investment recommendations. Our services are
limited to submitting the trades to the custodian as
requested by the third party investment advisory
firm.
More information on Orion Cash and Credit can be
found in Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities
and Affiliations of this brochure.
to provide
Additional Wealth Advisory Services
As part of the services offered to Clients in our
Wealth Advisory program, we have approved certain
third-party companies
specialized
services. Currently, these providers and services are:
to
individual clients
Philanthropic Services
Fidelity Charitable and UI Charitable Advisors are
independent, section 501(c)(3) public charities that
administer donor-advised funds. Through their
Charitable Investment Advisor Programs, we will
actively manage the charitable assets contributed by
Clients. Fidelity Charitable and UI Charitable Advisors
charge a fee for their services, and we do not receive
any direct or indirect revenue from them.
Third Party Platform Model Manager
We offer certain of our investment strategies and
programs (primarily as a model manager) on
platforms of unaffiliated and affiliated managers or
sponsors. We also provide manager due diligence
and other operational related services to third-party
platforms, including our affiliate TownSquare Capital,
LLC. Certain model portfolios and strategies are
available through a wrap fee program sponsored by
the investment platform provider. We also provide
recommendations and investment advice regarding
investment strategies to educational savings plans
and
through brokerage
platforms, model portfolio holdings, and/or
weighting and other
information regarding the
construction and maintenance of portfolios, and
advice concerning the submission of trades on behalf
of certain client portfolios pursuant to written
agreements with other investment management
firms, clients, or others.
Securities backed lines of credit
We use Orion Cash and Credit or TriState Capital to
provide loans secured by eligible securities. Using
these
loan facilities, Clients can pledge their
investment account(s) as collateral to meet many of
their financing needs, with the exception of
purchasing securities. TriState Capital charges a fee
for these services and we do not receive any direct or
indirect revenue from TriState Capital.
MMLIS Brinker Co-Advisory Program
We have entered into an agreement with MML
Investor Services, LLC (“MMLIS”), to provide our
Wealth Advisory, Core Asset Manager and
Destinations programs to MMLIS advisory clients,
pursuant to a tri-party agreement among Brinker,
MMLIS, and the Client (the “MMLIS Brinker co-
advisory program”). MMLIS is the introducing broker
and National Financial Services, LLC serves as the
Additional information on Orion Cash and Credit on
its affiliation with us can be found in Item 10 – Other
Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations of this
brochure.
14 of 59
Trust Services
First State Trust Company and Comerica Bank and
Trust N.A. (“Comerica”) offer trust services, including
but not limited to Personal, Revocable, Irrevocable,
Charitable, & Special Needs Trusts. Both First State
Trust Company and Comerica charge a fee for these
services and we do not receive any direct or indirect
revenue from either firm.
investment manager
Business Valuation
BizEquity LLC provides business valuation analysis for
our business owner Clients. BizEquity charges us a
licensing fee for use of its online business valuation
application and we include the cost of this service
within the fee we charge Clients. We do not receive
any direct or indirect revenue from BizEquity.
Application,
Investment
Customized Wealth Advisory Services
From time to time, we develop a customized
investment strategy for Clients
in our Wealth
Advisory Program. Fees for such services are
negotiated on a case-by-case basis. We also develop
new investment management strategies on a test
basis with funds provided by us, our employees, their
family members, and a limited number of Clients
before such management strategies are made
available generally.
Investment Advisor may
Account Management
Trading
When we are granted Full Discretion or Limited
Trading Discretion for Client accounts, trading will
occur through the brokerage account(s) Clients
establish with a custodian. Strategists will provide us
with instructions to rebalance or reallocate the
Strategist Models depending on their asset allocation
philosophy or
selection
process. These adjustments to the asset allocations
will result in transactions in a Client’s account. For
OPS Platform Clients, a minimum amount of five
dollars per security is required on contributions and
rebalance trades. There is no such limitation for BCI
Platform Clients). All Strategist Model allocations
contain a minimum allocation
to cash. For
distributions, positions are redeemed pro-rata unless
otherwise specified. The last trade file will be sent to
the custodian at or around 3 pm Eastern time. The
Client or their Investment Advisor instruct OPS that a
Client’s account will be invested in accordance with
the Strategist Model as indicated on the New
Account
Direction
Addendum, or other relevant OPS form and/or
If the Strategist Model
reassignment process.
changes, OPS will rebalance a Client’s account to
align it with the selected Strategist Model. Clients or
instruct OPS to
their
terminate the use of the Strategist Models at any
time. Clients will
receive notification of all
transactions in their account(a) in the form of an
account statement provided by the custodian.
Practice Management and Portfolio Construction
Assistance.
Upon request of an eligible Investment Advisor, we
may provide the Investment Advisor with portfolio
construction assistance advice. We will have a
consultation with the Investment Advisor to review
the proposed or current allocation, review the
investment and due diligence process performed by
us, and discuss how it may integrate with a Client’s
overall portfolio. In such instances, the Investment
Advisor will retain investment discretion over any
Client assets allocated to the portfolio we’ve
reviewed with the Investment Advisor. We will have
no investment discretion in this situation.
For Strategist Program and Core Select strategies that
invest in mutual funds, the custodians utilized by us
charge us an asset-based fee when Clients invest in
certain share classes. These share classes are known
as transaction fee (“TF”) mutual funds. Absent the
asset-based fee paid by us, Clients would be charged
a transaction fee typically ranging from $25 to $75 for
each purchase of shares of a TF mutual fund. Because
we are charged a fee for using certain share classes,
we have a conflict when determining which share
class to utilize in Core Asset Manager or the Strategist
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Any restrictions a Client imposes on individual
securities that may be purchased for the account
shall apply only to individual stocks within separately
managed portfolios.
fees
or minimum
Program. To mitigate this conflict, it is our policy is to
use the lowest cost share class that is available at all
custodians where the strategy is available (regardless
of whether we have to pay an asset-based fee to the
custodian). When selecting mutual funds and mutual
fund share classes, we will not utilize mutual funds or
mutual fund share classes that have short term
investment
redemption
requirements. For any mutual fund used in a strategy,
it is possible that certain custodians may make
available lowest cost share classes than the share
classes used by us because we use the lowest cost
share class available at all custodians that we use. If
a Client invested in the same mutual fund directly at
their custodian or used an advisory program from
another advisor, such Client may be eligible for a
lower cost share class. However, because some of the
lower cost share classes are TF mutual funds, it is
possible that the Client would incur transaction fees.
Wrap Fee Program, Transaction Fees, and Other
Expenses
We offer some of our services as a “wrap fee
program”, with options to allocate investments to
stocks, exchange traded funds, model portfolios, or
separately managed accounts. The wrap fee program
is managed similarly to what is described in this
document. Please refer to Appendix 1 of our Form
ADV Part 2A for additional information on our wrap
fee program. Under the wrap fee programs,
investment advice and costs of trade executions are
provided to Clients for an all-inclusive wrap fee. This
means that under wrap fee programs, we pay the
trading costs out of the advisory fee that we receive
from Clients. Clients can consult their investment
advisory agreement to determine whether the
strategies selected are part of our wrap fee program.
Qualified custodian Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
(“Schwab”) has agreed to waive execution fees for
our Platform Clients’ transactions executed by
Schwab. “Trade-away” fees for transactions executed
away from Schwab will still be assessed. Clients in our
wrap fee program do not pay these “Trade-away”
fees on a transaction-by-transaction basis as they are
included in the wrap fee program fee. We took this
into consideration when pricing our wrap fee
program at such custodian.
Strategist would otherwise make
is
not
reasonable
given
Client Exclusions and Restrictions
impose
For all of our programs, Clients may
reasonable restrictions on the management of their
account,
including the designation of specific
securities or a specific category of securities that
should not be purchased for their account or that
should be sold if held in the account, and may
reasonably modify such restrictions from time to
time. Any restrictions placed on the management of
the Client’s account or particular requirements of an
account may cause us or a third-party Strategist to
deviate from investment decisions we or the third-
party
in
recommending an investment strategy or managing
the account. We or the Strategist may, at our sole
discretion, determine that a Client’s Exclusion or
Restriction
the
circumstances. In such instances the Client will not
be able to invest in the identified model or Strategy
and must select an alternative.
ETF shares incur transaction expenses, which are
paid to the custodian either as a separate transaction
charge or through an asset-based fee (i.e., a
percentage of assets in the account). With respect to
any mutual funds included in the Destinations ETFh
strategies, we purchase the available mutual fund
share class with the lowest internal expense ratio
(generally the “Institutional” class), which share class
impose transaction fees. Our fee for the
may
Destinations ETFh program includes an asset-based
fee paid to the custodian to cover transaction costs
When a Client restricts a category of securities that
may be purchased for the account, we or the third-
party Strategist will determine, in our respective sole
discretion, the specific securities in that category.
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(see “Destination Program Fees” under Item 5 – Fees
and Compensation of this Brochure). This enables us
to make investment decisions for Destinations ETFh
accounts without regard to transaction costs.
Recordkeeping Services
OPS provides recordkeeping services for retirement
plans who wish to make OPS’s Strategist Program
available to their plan’s participants.
investment strategies
for
Trading activity is influenced by the frequency of
rebalances, contributions, and withdrawals. The
more infrequent the trading activity (determined by
fund changes and rebalances and Client additions
and withdrawals) and the larger the size of the
account, the more likely that an asset-based fee will
be more costly than a separate transaction charge.
Since trading activity is dictated by multiple factors,
including changes in funds in a Client’s Destinations
ETFh portfolio (e.g., because of our performance
evaluations, changes in managers, funds closing to
new investment, etc.), and the frequency of deposits
and distributions (which are driven by Clients), it may
be difficult to predict the level of trading activity in
any year (and thus, whether the asset-based fee
would be more or less costly than a separate
transaction charge).
Retirement Plan Services
We offer retirement plan advisory services through
our BCI Platform utilizing both our proprietary and
non-proprietary
tax-
exempt accounts, as well as mutual fund and ETF
evaluation and selection to sponsors of retirement
plans (“Plans”) covered by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”)
and other qualified and non-qualified deferred
compensation plans (“Retirement Plan Services”).
Our Retirement Plan Services are available to plans
with at least $250,000 of investable assets, though
this
we may at our sole discretion waive
requirement. The Retirement Plan Services Program
is provided in conjunction with a recordkeeping
service provider, who may also provide Plan
administration (the “Recordkeeper”) and generally a
broker-dealer or investment advisory firm.
fund’s
investment management
then makes available
Our fee is in addition to the operating expenses of
the funds included in Client accounts, which are
expressed as the fund’s “expense ratio”. A fund
expense ratio represents the percentage of the
fund’s assets used to operate the fund and reflects
fee,
the
administrative costs, brokerage costs, distribution
fees, and other operating expenses. Although these
expenses are paid by the fund, Clients indirectly bear
their pro rata share of such costs. Clients should
consider both our fee and the internal expense ratios
of the funds included in the program (which are set
forth in the prospectus for each fund) when deciding
whether the Destinations program may be more or
less costly than another investment program.
In the Retirement Plan Services Program, the Plan
sponsor enters into both (i) an investment advisory
agreement with us, and (ii) a separate administrative
and recordkeeping services agreement with the
Recordkeeper. The Investment Advisor may also be a
party to the
investment advisory agreement.
Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, we
provide to the Plan sponsor, and assists the Plan
sponsor in selecting a group of investment strategies,
which may include the Destinations Funds, which the
Plan sponsor
to Plan
participants as investment options under the Plan.
We also provide the Plan sponsor with a participant
questionnaire, which the Plan sponsor makes
available to Plan participants to assist each Plan
participant in determining his or her investment
goals and objectives and risk tolerance and in
selecting a suitable investment strategy for the
participant's Plan account.
Technology
We offer our services through a technology platform
known as “Advisor Portal.” Advisor Portal is a
technology platform that was developed by our
for proposal
affiliate, Orion Tech and allows
generation, account opening, trading, reporting, and
billing from one dashboard.
17 of 59
implement certain
investment
We are responsible for monitoring the relevant data
on the performance of each mutual fund, ETF and
Destinations model and provide periodic reporting
on the performance of each fund and Destinations
model.
strategies
We
selected by the Plan sponsor and made available to
Plan participants. We also may develop additional
models or customized investment strategies for a
Plan sponsor.
When a party to the BCI investment advisory
agreement with the Plan sponsor, the Investment
Advisor has a number of responsibilities. Such
responsibilities vary and are specifically detailed in
each Plan’s investment advisory agreement.
factors we deem
appropriate,
We have Full Discretion in selecting the funds to be
included in the asset allocation models used to
implement the investment strategies. We review the
models on a periodic basis and update and rebalance
the models from time to time in accordance with the
related investment strategy, taking into account the
performance of the funds, market conditions and
other
and
electronically transmit changes to the models to the
Recordkeeper. The Recordkeeper is responsible for
executing trades in the Plan participants' accounts to
reflect changes in the models provided by us.
Individualized Account Management
The Individualized Account Management Strategy is
available to Clients of our Retirement Plan Services
and uses Risk Budgeting to diversify Client portfolios
among several different asset classes utilizing the
mutual fund families available on the Client’s
platform or through the Client’s custodian, according
to Client objectives. This program has a $20,000
minimum.
Destinations Funds
We serve as the investment advisor for each series of
the Brinker Capital Destinations Trust, a registered
investment company (each, a “Destinations Fund”
and collectively, the “Destinations Funds”). A current
list of the Destinations Funds can be found at
destinationsfunds.com.
includes
risks,
Each Destinations Fund employs a manager-of-
managers structure, whereby we select and oversee
professional third-party investment managers (each,
a “sub-advisor”), who are responsible for investing
the assets allocated to them. We may also allocate a
portion of a Destinations Fund’s assets to one or
more ETF and mutual funds. Each Destinations Fund
is offered by its prospectus only. The prospectus for
each Destinations Fund
investment
fees, expenses, and other
objectives,
information that prospective investors should read
and consider carefully before investing.
We also offer evaluation and selection services to
identify a limited number of unaffiliated mutual
funds and/or ETFs in which Plan participants may
invest their Plan accounts. Plan sponsors who elect
this additional service authorize us to select
additional funds. If a Plan sponsor elects the
additional fund evaluation service, we are authorized
to select, add, remove and/or replace funds available
for purchase by Plan participants consistent with any
written investment policy approved by the Plan
sponsor and provided
to us and with any
requirements under ERISA, based upon our
evaluation of each fund's performance, market
conditions and other factors we deem appropriate.
Plan sponsors can, however, specify securities which
cannot be purchased. If we add a new fund or replace
a fund on the additional fund list, we will notify the
Plan sponsor sufficiently in advance of such action to
enable the Plan sponsor to provide any notice to Plan
participants required under ERISA. The Plan sponsor
is responsible for delivering to Plan participants any
change notice required under ERISA informing such
Plan participants how their accounts will be invested
as of the change if the Plan participant fails to
provide affirmative investment directions.
We offer our Destinations Funds on the OPS and BCI
Platforms as part of our advisory services. In
addition, the Destinations Funds are offered on the
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fees charged by
be more or less than the 15 basis points sub-transfer
agency fee charged by the Destinations Funds’
custodian with respect to the Class I shares. Each
broker-dealer or financial advisor who holds
accounts outside of the OPS or BCI Platforms will
determine the appropriate share class for its Clients
based on an analysis of costs to both the Client and
their firm and the services provided to each share
class.
platforms of unaffiliated broker-dealers and
sponsors. The custodians for such third-party
platforms often impose certain custody and clearing
fees for administrative services provided to Client
accounts (“sub-transfer agent fees”) separate from
the sub-transfer agent
the
Destinations Funds’ custodian. The Destinations
Funds offer two classes of shares: Class I and Class Z.
Class Z shares are offered to Clients that invest
through a third-party platform that may charge an
external sub-transfer agent fee.
Additionally, we use only our Destinations Funds in
our Destinations Fund program. Destinations Funds
may have higher ongoing operating expenses (and
thus higher expense ratios) than unaffiliated funds
available in other investment programs. Accordingly,
the Destinations program, which uses Destinations
Funds exclusively, may be more costly than other
mutual fund allocation programs that utilize funds
with lower expense ratios.
The expense ratio for Class I shares is approximately
15 basis points (0.15%) higher than the expense ratio
for Class Z shares. The 15 basis point difference
represents sub-transfer agent fees a Destinations
Fund pays to its custodian with respect to Class I
shares for administrative services provided to Client
accounts. Clients invested in the Class Z shares do not
pay this sub-transfer agent fee to the fund custodian,
as the broker-dealer or financial advisor for the
Client’s account assumes responsibility for these
services and their related expenses, often charging
its own sub-transfer agent fee.
Shares of the Destinations Funds available to
participants
in our advisory programs are
Institutional share classes that do not pay Rule 12b-1
fees or other similar distribution or transaction
expenses. With respect to proprietary models that
invest in third-party funds and the Destinations
Funds, Brinker purchases the available third-party
fund share class with the lowest internal expense
ratio (generally the “Institutional” class). However,
these third-party funds may impose transaction fees
in connection with the purchase or sale of shares.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2024, we managed
$50,658,372,101 of client assets on a discretionary
basis and $6,999,779,084 of client assets on a non-
discretionary basis.
If we invest Client accounts in Class Z shares as
opposed to Class I shares, our custodian would
charge the Client a separate custody and clearing fee.
Generally, that fee would be more than the 15 basis
points sub-transfer agent fee that the Class I shares
pay to the Destinations Funds’ custodian. The fee
would depend on account size and would include a
minimum fee, which would significantly increase the
effective rate for smaller accounts. Consequently, we
determined that the overall cost Clients on the OPS
and BCI Platforms would be greater than the cost
associated with an investment in Class I shares. For
these reasons, we invests asset on the OPS and BCI
Platforms in Class I shares of the Destinations Funds,
which are the overall lower cost alternative for those
OPS and BCI Platform Clients.
For the remaining assets on our platform, we provide
services, but do not provide
administrative
investment advice regarding these assets or have
investment discretion over these assets.
The sub-transfer agent fees that may be charged to
Clients invested through a third-party platform may
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Item 5 – Fees and Compensation
Our fee structure varies between the OPS and BCI
Platforms. The primary fee is split in the following
manner:
General
We will assess Clients fees for the services provided
to them. We collect fees for the services we provide,
the services the Strategists provide, and the services
the Client’s Investment Advisor provides.
OPS Platform
Administrative Fee
BCI Platform
Brinker Fee Component
Strategist Fee
Strategy Fee Component
Advisory Fees
Financial Advisor Fee
Component
Definition
The fee we charge for the advisory services we offer to
clients. This can sometimes be referred to as a “Platform
Fee.”
This is the fee for each strategy or model selected by a
Client or their Investment Advisor for their account. For
models or strategies selected for which we are the
Strategist, we retain this fee, in addition to the
Administrative Fee or Brinker Fee Component. For models
or strategies where we are NOT the strategist, this fee is
paid to the Strategist.1
The fee paid to the Client’s Investment Advisor for their
advisory services, or for soliciting accounts on our behalf.
1For Strategist Models where we are not the Strategist, we retain up to 0.05% of the Strategist Fee/Strategy Fee Component.
The Strategist may also elect to pay us these fees directly from their own funds and not from the Strategist Fee/Strategy
Fee Component. If a Strategist elects to pay us the fees directly, we will not retain any portion of such Strategist’s Strategist
Fee/Strategy Fee Component. We do not retain the Strategist Fee/Strategy Fee Component for certain Strategies available
on the BCI Platform that are also available on the OPS Platform for the portion of assets of such strategies on the BCI
Platform.
Monthly Billing
Generally, for offerings on our OPS Platform, we bill
monthly in arrears based on the average daily
balance of the account for the previous month.
Billing Methods
Advisory fees are paid by Clients monthly or
quarterly, either in advance or in arrears, depending
on the service selected by the Client and their
Investment Advisor. Unless otherwise agreed to by
us, we will instruct the custodians to deduct the fees
directly from the Client’s account.
in each Client’s household are
All accounts
aggregated and we apply that aggregate balance of
accounts when assessing our fees, as well as any
Investment Advisor breakpoint or tiered schedule. A
household is defined as all custodian accounts at the
same residential address.
Quarterly Billing
Generally, for offerings on our BCI Platform, we bill
quarterly in advance. When billing in advance, the
initial fee is based on the market value of a Client’s
Account when it is opened and prorated for the
number of days remaining in the calendar quarter.
Thereafter, the quarterly fee is due on the first
business day of each quarter and is based on the
market value of the Client’s account on the last
business day of the immediately preceding quarter. If
Client advisory fees are billed in advance, Clients may
also be billed for additional monies added to their
fee period. No
account during the advisory
20 of 59
Clients can select to have one account from which all
fees for their household are deducted. If such a
situation is selected, Clients cannot designate an
account subject to ERISA as the paying account for
fees associated with non-ERISA accounts.
adjustments to the Client advisory fee will be made
for monies withdrawn during the advisory fee period.
Upon termination, we will issue Clients a prorated
refund of all unearned advisory fees that were paid
in advance.
See "Retirement Plan Services Program Fees" below
for a discussion of fees for the RPS program.
Fee Summary
The following tables outline the fees for services we
offer under our various programs as outlined in Item
4 – Advisory Business of this brochure:
Method of Payment
Generally, our fee is either paid through redemption
of mutual fund shares or deducted from the Client's
separately managed accounts, based on
the
weighted average of the managed account market
values. However, upon request of the Client, we will
bill the Client separately instead of deducting the
fees.
Brinker Capital Investments Programs
Fees
Program
Minimum1
Wrap Fee
Eligible
Brinker Fee Component
Wealth Advisory
Yes
$1 million
0.65%
Strategist Fee Component
Varies
Disciplined Equity
Yes
$50,000
0.10% - 0.15%
Orion Custom Indexing
$100,000
0.15%
Core Guided Portfolios
Yes
Yes2
Varies
First $100,000
$100,000 to $250,000.00
$250,000.01 to $1 million
Over $1 million
0.35%
0.30%
0.20%
0.10%
Core Select
Yes
$500,000
$03
No
Destinations Funds
$10,000
None4
None4
No
$100,000
Personal Benchmark
Destinations Hybrid Portfolios5
No
$10,000
Destinations ETFh
Yes
$25,000
None4
0.10%6
Focused Strategies
Yes
$0
0.25%
American Funds Strategy
No
$25,000
0.25%
Capital Group ETF Strategies
Yes
$5,000
0.10%
American Hybrid Portfolios5
No
$25,000
0.10%
Core Plus ETF Strategy
Yes
$10,000
0.25%
First $100,000
$100,000 to $250,000.00
$250,000.01 to $1 million
Over $1 million
0.35%
0.30%
0.20%
0.10%
Brinker Capital ESG Portfolios
Yes
$25,000
0.10%
Active Income Strategy
Yes
$25,000
0.25%
Managed Income Strategy
Yes
$25,000
0.20%
Yes
$25,000
0.25%
Digital Assets Portfolio
1 An annual $75 fee will be charged for each account or sleeve used in a Client’s household for households with assets on our platform
valued at less than $100,000.
2 At any given time, Core Guided Completion Strategies portfolios may be allocated only among mutual funds and ETFs and, in that
instance, would not be considered to be “wrap fee” accounts.
3 While we do not set a minimum for this program, each Strategist within the program may set a minimum for their portion of the
account they will manage.
4 We receive a management fee directly from the Destinations Funds as the investment advisor to the funds. Clients indirectly pay these
fees through their proportional ownership of the Destinations Funds used in this program.
5 The Brinker Fee Component does not apply to the portion of the portfolio allocated to the Destinations Funds, as we receive a
management fee from the funds in our role as advisor to the funds. Clients indirectly pay these fees through their proportional ownership
of the Destinations Funds used in this program.
21 of 59
Brinker Capital Investments Programs
Fees
Program
Minimum1
Wrap Fee
Eligible
Brinker Fee Component
Strategist Fee Component
6 The Strategist Fee Component for Destinations ETFh when used in our Wealth Advisory program is 0.00%.
Orion Portfolio Solutions Programs
Program
Administration Fees1,2
Wealth Advisory
Wrap Fee Eligible Minimum
$1 million
Yes
0.65%
Strategist Fees
Varies
Disciplined Equity
Yes
$50,000
0.10% - 0.15%
Orion Custom Indexing
Yes
$100,000
0.15%
Strategist Program3
Varies
Yes
First $100,000
$100,000 to $250,000.00
$250,000.01 to $1 million
Over $1 million
0.35%
0.30%
0.20%
0.10%
SMA Program
Yes
$0
Varies4
Varies
Market Cycle Advised Madate Portfolios
Yes
$0.00
None5
1 An annual $75 fee (billed at $6.25 each month) will be charged for each account or sleeve used in a Client’s household for households
with assets on our platform valued at less than $100,000.
2 There is no Administration Fee for the portion of accounts within the Wealth Advisory or Strategist Programs assigned to Affiliated
Funds (including Destinations Funds) strategies. The Client will still pay for advisory services in such strategies based on their proportional
ownership of the Affiliated Funds within such strategies. We will still earn compensation as the investment advisor to the Affiliated Funds
within such strategies.
3 The Strategist Program includes strategies listed in our proprietary Brinker Capital Investments Programs listed below.
4 Minimums vary and are set by the SMA Program Strategist.
5 The unaffiliated Strategists whose funds or models are utilized within the Market Cycle Advised Mandate Portfolios pay us a fee in
exchange for inclusion in such portfolios. In addition, we receive advisory fees as the investment advisor to the Destinations Funds which
may be included in the Market Cycle Advised Mandate Portfolios.
Fees are negotiable between us and the Client. In
addition to the fees in this chart, Clients will be
assessed a Strategist/Strategy fee and an Investment
Advisor fee.
The Strategist/Strategy generally ranges from 0.00%
to 0.50%. For Strategies where we are the Strategist,
we may receive a Strategist/Strategy fee. The exact
amount of the fee, and whether the fee will be paid
to us, will be included in the Client’s new account
paperwork.
fees that are paid. It is the Client’s responsibility to
verify the accuracy of the fee we charge to their
account. The fee we collect will appear on the Client’s
custodial statement, though the custodian does not
determine whether the fee has been properly
calculated. In addition, a fee summary is available to
Clients through our website. Fees charged by us are
separate and distinct from fees and expenses
charged by a Client’s Investment Advisor, mutual
funds or ETFs traded within the Strategist Models, or
a Strategist providing a Strategist Model. A
description of mutual fund or ETF fees and expenses
are available in each fund’s prospectus.
The Investment Advisor fee is negotiated between a
Client and their
Investment Advisor and may
represent either an advisory fee or a solicitor fee,
depending on the Investment Advisor’s relationship
with us.
As explained in Item 4 – Advisory Business of this
brochure, we use the lowest cost share class that is
available at all custodians where the strategy is
available. Therefore, it is possible that a particular
custodian may offer a lower cost share class, but it
will not be used in the strategy because not all of the
Fee Review
Clients should carefully review all fees charged by us,
their Investment Advisor, and any funds Clients are
invested in to fully understand the total amount of
22 of 59
other available custodians offer that share class for
the strategy.
Other Fee Information
The following sections outline important additional
information relating to our fees.
The current Termination Fee is $75 per account for
full outgoing distributions or non-ACAT transfers. The
Termination Fee may be discounted for Clients of
Investment Advisors who have a significant amount
of assets invested on our Platforms. Any discount is
individually negotiated with each Investment Advisor
at our discretion. Additional account termination
fees may be charged by the custodian.
Upon termination, Clients should
immediately
contact their custodian to ensure the Client Account
is allocated according to Client wishes. Clients are
responsible for paying for services rendered until the
termination of the agreement.
Fee Distribution
We distribute a portion of the Brinker Fee
Component to certain Investment Advisors who have
significant assets invested in our Platforms or for
other reasons, at our discretion. The amount of any
distribution is individually negotiated with each
Investment Advisor. Any Brinker Fee Component
distributed to an Investment Advisor is retained by
that Investment Advisor and does not constitute a
reduction in the Brinker Fee Component for Clients.
Legacy Fee Schedules
The fees outlined in this Brochure are current as of
the date of the Brochure. Clients may be assessed
fees based on Legacy Fee Schedules, which would be
included in the paperwork completed at the time
such Clients engaged us for advisory services, and
any subsequent amendments thereto.
Custodian Services
Custodian services will be provided by a qualified
custodian, including our affiliate, Constellation Trust
Company (“CTC”). Please refer to Item 10 – Other
Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations of this
brochure for more information on our affiliates,
including CTC.
time
Fee Changes
We may amend our fee schedule upon at least 30
days’ prior written notice. Because the other costs
associated with a Client’s account will be passed
through to the Client, their total fee will vary based
upon the allocation of an account among Strategists,
specific Strategist selection, and the number of
Strategists rather than based upon the funds
included in an account. We post fee schedules for
Strategists (which determine the Strategy Fee
Component) and, if appliable, for the Custody and
Clearing Fee Component, as they may be amended
from
our website
on
time,
to
(orion.com/wealth-management).
The investments in each Strategist Model for non-
qualified accounts may be held in either a separate
brokerage account or a UMA brokerage account with
sleeves at the Client’s custodian. The custodian
typically receives a shareholder servicing fee from
the load-waived mutual funds held by the Client
Accounts.
Orion Communities
We receive compensation directly from Strategists
whose models are made available on our
Communities Platform.
Termination of Services and Termination Fees
We can terminate our advisory services with a Client
at any time by providing written notice. Likewise, a
Client can terminate our services at any time by
providing us with written notice. If a Client’s use of
our services is terminated within (5) five business
days from the date of inception, all fees paid by the
Client in advance will be promptly refunded and no
termination fee will be charged. Should a Client’s
agreement be terminated at any other time, the
Client will receive a pro-rata refund of any prepaid
fees.
Our proprietary strategies are available within the
Orion Communities platform. Pricing for such
Strategies may vary compared to the pricing on the
23 of 59
Orion Portfolio Solutions Platform and Brinker Capital
Investments Platform listed above.
For more information about the Orion Communities
platform, please refer to Item 4 – Advisory Business
of this Brochure.
allocation of the models to the Destinations Funds to
no more than 12%. Further, Clients and their
Investment Advisor, not us, are responsible for
selecting the most suitable portfolio for Clients. We
do not provide advice or recommendations regarding
portfolio selections.
Municipal Securities Portfolios & Individual ETF
or Mutual Fund Holdings
We offer two Custody and Clearing fee structures for
actively managed municipal securities portfolios.
Clients may elect to be charged a separate ticket
charge on each trade in the account or an asset-
based fee. The current ticket charge is $30.00 per
trade for fixed income and mutual funds and $8 per
trade for equities and ETF’s, which may be changed
from time to time. No separate ticket charge is
imposed on transactions when Clients have selected
the asset-based fee, which utilizes the Core Fixed
Income custody and clearing fee schedule.
Destinations Funds Program
in our
We use Affiliated Funds exclusively
Destinations Funds program. The Affiliated Funds
may have higher ongoing expenses than unaffiliated
mutual funds. In evaluating the overall cost of the
Destinations program as compared
to other
investment programs, Clients should note that we
receive advisory fees as the investment advisor in
Destinations Funds. Because we receive advisory
fees as the Investment Advisor to the Destination
Funds, we do not charge the Administrative Fee or
Brinker Fee Component for the portion of any
Destinations portfolio account allocated to the
Destinations Funds. However, because we receive
advisory fees in connection with the Destinations
program, we have an incentive to recommend the
Destinations program to the extent that we receive a
greater portion of the Total Fee charged than we do
in other programs. The fee for our Destinations ETFh
program
includes an asset-based fee to cover
transaction costs, which may be more costly for
larger accounts with relatively low trading activity
than a program that imposes a separate charge on
each share transaction.
We offer two Custody and Clearing fee structures for
individual ETF or mutual fund holdings in Core Asset
Manager accounts. Clients may elect to be charged a
separate ticket charge on each trade in the account
or an asset-based fee. The current ticket charge is $8
per trade for ETFs and $30 per trade for mutual fund
holdings (other than trades of non-transaction fee
(NTF) mutual fund shares). The ETF and mutual fund
per trade ticket charge may be changed from time to
time. No separate ticket charge is imposed on
transactions when Clients have elected the asset-
based custody and clearing schedule, which utilizes
the Core Equity custody and clearing fee schedule.
invested
for
larger accounts without
Whether the per trade or the asset-based option is
in actively
more suitable for Clients
managed municipal securities portfolios or individual
ETFs or mutual funds will depend on the size of the
account and the level of actual trading in the
account. The per ticket charge will generally be more
suitable
regular
distribution programs, where the added ticket charge
will usually be less than the additional management
fee, while the asset-based fee will generally be more
Market Cycle Advised Mandates Portfolios
The unaffiliated Strategists whose funds or models
are utilized within the MCAM Portfolios pay us a fee
in exchange for inclusion in the MCAM Portfolios.
Additionally, we utilize the Destinations Funds in the
MCAM Portfolios. We have a conflict because the
fees received by us vary based upon the funds
utilized within the portfolios. Further, each Strategist
may expect that a portion of the total assets in the
portfolios be allocated to their funds or models. To
mitigate the conflicts, we manage the MCAM
Portfolios based upon their investment objectives,
limit the
our
long-term capital forecasts and
24 of 59
suitable for smaller accounts or accounts that have
above average transaction volume due to frequent
additions or liquidations.
Strategists select mutual funds for which they or
their affiliate act as advisor when developing their
Strategist Model. Certain of these Strategists share a
portion of the fees they collect from mutual funds
they manage with us. Below are the Strategists who
share these fees with us:
The Clearing and Custody Fee Schedule in effect from
time to time is available to Clients on our website
(www.brinkercapitalinvestments.com).
to deposit cash or other
in
iMGP
• Advanced Asset Management Advisors
• Buckingham Strategic Partners
• Horizon Investments
• Meeder Investment Management
• Toews Corporation
• Ocean Park Asset Management
• Clark Capital
•
fee, payable
in
Unsupervised Asset Fee
As an accommodation to a Client, we may permit a
Client
securities
their account or,
(“Unsupervised Assets”)
alternatively, at the Client’s discretion, in a separate
account established with the custodian, for which we
do not provide
allocation, portfolio
asset
management, or performance monitoring services.
For custody of Unsupervised Assets, we charge an
additional annual
four equal
installments with the quarterly fee payments. The
current fee for custody and administration of
Unsupervised Assets is $275, which may be changed
upon thirty (30) day’s prior written notice to the
Client. Clients will also be charged any clearing fees
or transaction charges imposed by the custodian or
brokerage firm in accordance with its fee schedule in
effect from time to time, which fees and charges will
be deducted from the Clients account at the time of
the transaction giving rise to the charge, or at such
other time as determined by the custodian.
All Strategists on our platform have the opportunity
to pay us a fee for, among other services, marketing
and support with respect to the Strategist Program.
Some, but not all Strategist, pay us such a fee. These
fee sharing arrangements vary and create a conflict
of interest since we have an incentive to continue to
recommend the Strategists who pay us such a fee for
the Strategist Program. Additionally, Strategists may
refer or recommend their clients to invest via our
platform. This arrangement creates an incentive for
us to keep these Strategists over others that we may
be considering. To mitigate these conflicts, our
Investment Due Diligence Committee does not take
revenue sharing payments
into account when
determining whether to retain Strategists.
Strategist Fee Retention
We retain the following amounts from the Strategist
Fee (for OPS) or Strategy Fee (for BCI) referenced
above, regardless of Strategist Model type:
Strategist
is
The Strategist Fee may be discounted for Investment
Advisors who have a significant amount of assets
invested on our platform. The amount of the
individually negotiated with each
discount
Investment Advisor at our discretion.
American Funds
Fidelity Investments
Meeder
Portion we
retain
0.10%
0.05%
0.05%
We offer a program where Strategists on our
Platforms can purchase from us data containing
aggregate information regarding the Investment
Advisors who are researching or recommending their
information
strategies or models. Additional
regarding this can be found in Item 10 – Other
The entire Strategist Fee charged by certain
Strategists is retained by us. If this applies to the
strategy Clients select, it will be disclosed in the
Client’s Application Addendum or
Investment
Advisory Agreement, as applicable. In addition, some
25 of 59
Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations of this
brochure.
Promotional Fee Discounts
From time to time, we may offer promotional fee
discounts to the Client’s Investment Advisor (either
individually or in a group of similar investment
advisors). This can include discounts for technology
services offered by our affiliates, Orion Tech and / or
Redtail Technologies, LLC.
This creates a conflict for the Investment Advisor or
Investment Advisors as they are encouraged to
recommend our
investment advisory services
relative to the investment advisory services of other
advisors with similar programs to ours. Please review
the Investment Advisor’s Form ADV Part2A for more
information regarding their participation in such
promotions.
Retirement Plan Services Program Fees
Clients participating in our RPS program typically pay
a fee equal to the sum of the Brinker Fee Component
and the Investment Advisor’s Fee. For solicitor
accounts, the solicitor's fee is equal to a percentage
of the net asset value of the Plan account, as
determined by the solicitor and set forth in the
investment advisory agreement. For co-advisor
accounts, the fee paid to the Investment Advisor is in
addition to the Brinker Fee Component. The
Investment Advisor’s fee
is established by the
Investment Advisor, not us. The Investment Advisor’s
role and its fees are described in that firm’s Form
ADV, Part 2A. Both solicitor and co-advisor Clients
also pay a separate fee to the Recordkeeper and
administrative services. Mutual funds and ETFs incur
management fees and other operating fees and
expenses, which are in addition to the fees paid by
the Client to us, the Investment Advisor, and the
Recordkeeper.
Non-Standard Fees
The advisory fee schedules listed above are our
standard rates. Actual fees, and/or the portion of the
advisory fee retained by us and the Client’s
Investment Advisor, may vary. Please refer to the
Client investment advisory agreement, including
attached addendums and schedules, to determine
the Client’s advisory fee. The standard fee schedules
listed above and minimum account sizes for our
strategies are described in more detail in Item 4 –
Advisory Business of this Brochure. Fees may be
discounted or negotiated at our discretion and fees
for customized investment strategies developed for a
Client are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
Furthermore, from time-to-time we offer program-
wide fee discounts and reduced account minimums
as part of marketing and promotional programs. Such
programs may be initiated or discontinued at our
discretion. Based on this, we offer some or all Clients
of certain Investment Advisors discounted fees based
on the amount of assets an individual Client or the
Investment Advisor has with us, the efficiencies
gained by managing multiple Clients for the same
Investment Advisor, and our relationship with the
Investment Advisor. As a result, Clients with similar
assets may have differing fee schedules and pay
different fees. Clients can request that related
accounts be combined in order to meet fee break
points and reduce the advisory fee charged. We
reserve the right to waive or reduce the advisory fee
for certain accounts such as employee accounts and
personal accounts of Investment Advisors who refer
business to us. Clients who negotiate a flat fee
schedule may or may not pay a higher fee than those
who pay under a tiered schedule, depending on asset
levels.
The same or similar investment advisory services
may be available from other investment advisors for
a lower fee.
Fees for our RPS program can be paid in advance or
in arrears. When paid in arrears the fee is based on
the Plan’s account value, as of the last business day
of each calendar quarter and are due the following
business day. Fees are prorated for the balance of the
calendar quarter in which the Plan’s account is
initially opened. In the event of termination of the
26 of 59
account, the fees will be adjusted, on a pro rata basis,
to reflect the portion of the final quarter in which
termination occurs.
Accounts above $10 million are priced separately. We
also may negotiate a lower fee on a case-by-case
basis.
the
Investment Advisor's
in accordance with the
The Brinker Fee Component for the RPS program
(excluding
is
fee)
determined
following
schedule:
Total Plan Account Value*
Brinker Fee
Component
0.35%
Up to $2,500,000
0.30%
>$2,500,000 to $5,000,000
0.25%
>$5,000,000 to $7,000,000
0.20%
Over $7,000,000
Brinker Fund Fee Offset
Advisory fees paid to us or our affiliates by any fund
including any
advised by us or our affiliates,
to a Plan’s
Destinations Fund, with respect
investment in such fund are credited to, or offset and
reduce, dollar-for-dollar the Brinker Fee Component
otherwise payable to us. The Brinker Fee Component
in the above table is gross of such offset. If the
Brinker Fund Fee Offset exceeds the Brinker Fee
Component calculated under the foregoing fee
schedule, we will reduce the Plan’s total fee by such
excess amount. If the fee offset exceeds the total fee
payable to us (including the Investment Advisor’s
fee), such excess will be paid to the Plan. The amount
of the Brinker Fund Fee Offset may change based on
changes to the advisory fees paid to us or our affiliate
by fund(s) advised by us or our affiliate.
* Note: Total Plan Account Value represents
the portion of the Plan assets managed by or
through our RPS program. The fee schedule is
is
not tiered. The applicable percentage
based on the Plan’s total account value as of
the
last business day of each calendar
quarter. We may amend the fee schedule
upon at least 90 days prior written notice to
Plan Sponsor.
27 of 59
Item 6 – Performance-Based Fees and Side-by-Side Management
performance fee accounts is that we could devote
more time and attention to performance fee
accounts than to accounts under an asset-based fee
arrangement. Additionally, performance-based fees
create an incentive for an advisor such as to
recommend investments that may be riskier or more
speculative than those that would be recommended
under a different fee arrangement.
Since we endeavor at all times to put the interests of
Clients first as part of our fiduciary duty as a
registered investment advisor, we take the following
steps to address these conflicts:
employees
to
1. We disclose to investors and prospective
Clients the existence of material conflicts of
interest, including the potential for our firm
and
earn more
its
compensation
from some Clients than
others.
2. We have implemented written policies and
procedures for fair and consistent allocation
of
investment opportunities among all
Clients.
We charge certain institutional endowment Clients a
performance fee, which is based upon a share of
capital gains or capital appreciation of the assets of
such Client. Performance-based fees will only be
charged in accordance with the provisions of Rule
205-3 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
(“Advisers Act”) and/or applicable state regulations.
In addition, it is our policy not to retain any
fees charged and to pass
performance-based
through any collected performance-based fees to
third parties that provide
investment research
and/or advisory services to us in connection with our
management of a Client’s account, as directed by the
Client.
In order for us to be eligible for a
performance-based fee, the account’s performance
must exceed a designated benchmark. If the account
outperforms the designated benchmark, we receive
a performance fee of up to 20% of the return in
excess of the benchmark. The complete terms of our
advisory fee are disclosed in the Investment Advisory
Agreement between the Client and us. The
performance fees charged by us may be higher than
the performance fees charged by other investment
advisors for the same or similar services.
3. We periodically compare holdings and
performance of all accounts with similar
strategies to identify significant performance
disparities indicative of possible favorable
treatment.
interest we
4. We educate our employees regarding the
responsibilities of a fiduciary, including the
equitable treatment of all Clients, regardless
of the fee arrangement.
5. Only Clients that are able to assume
additional risk are solicited to engage in a
performance fee arrangement.
Our Strategists are responsible
for managing
performance-based fee accounts and accounts that
are charged another type of fee. There are potential
conflicts of
face by managing
performance-based accounts at the same time as
managing asset based, non-performance based
accounts. For example, the nature of a performance
fee poses an opportunity for us to earn more
compensation than under a stand-alone asset-based
fee. Consequently, we may favor performance fee
accounts over those accounts where we receive only
an asset-based fee. One way we may favor
28 of 59
Item 7 – Types of Clients
municipal government entities. All Programs (other
than RPS) are available to these different types of
investors, subject to certain minimum investment
amounts.
Secondarily, we provide investment advice directly to
the types of Clients identified above through an
arrangement where Investment Advisors refer such
Clients to us. This is referred to herein as a “solicitor”
relationship.
We primarily provide investment management and
recordkeeping services to Investment Advisors and
their Clients. These Investment Advisors use our OPS
Platform and BCI Platform to service their Clients.
Such Clients may include individuals, banks or thrift
institutions, pension, retirement, 529 educational
savings and profit-sharing plans (other than plan
participants), endowments, other pooled investment
institutions,
vehicles, trusts, estates, charitable
corporations and other business entities, and state or
29 of 59
Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
In addition to the information below, see the
response to Item 4 – Advisory Business of this
Brochure for the methods of analysis, investment
strategies, and risk involved in each of the services
offered by us. Investing in securities involves risk of
loss that Clients should be prepared to bear.
Quantitative Analysis
Using mathematical models, statistical techniques,
and computational algorithms to analyze financial
data. It involves examining data to identify patterns,
trends, and correlations, building models to assess
and mitigate risks, and selecting a mix of assets for
portfolio management.
Our Methods of Analysis and Their Risks
We may use one or more of the following methods
of analysis or investment strategies when providing
our services described in this brochure:
Risk: The risk of Quantitative Analysis arises from
inaccurate assumptions or poor-quality data, leading
to unreliable predictions. Additionally, overfitting
occurs when models are too closely tailored to
historical data, reducing their effectiveness for future
predictions. Market changes can render models
based on past data obsolete, as they may not account
for sudden or unprecedented events
Charting Analysis
Gathering and processing of price and volume
pattern information for a particular security, sector,
broad index or commodity. This price and volume
pattern information is analyzed. The resulting pattern
and correlation data is used to detect departures
from expected performance and diversification and
predict future price movements and trends.
Fundamental Analysis
Analyzing individual companies and their industry
groups, such as a company's financial statements,
details regarding the company's product line, the
experience and expertise of
the company's
management, and the outlook for the company and
its industry. The resulting data is used to measure the
true value of the company's stock compared to the
current market value.
Risk: Our charting analysis may not accurately detect
anomalies or predict future price movements.
reflect all
Current prices of securities may
information known about the security and day-to-
day changes in market prices of securities may follow
random patterns and may not be predictable with
any reliable degree of accuracy.
trends
Technical Analysis
and
Studying past price patterns,
interrelationships in the financial markets to assess
risk-adjusted performance and predict the direction
of both the overall market and specific securities.
Risk: The risk of fundamental analysis
is that
information obtained may be incorrect and the
analysis may not provide an accurate estimate of
earnings, which may be the basis for a stock's value.
If securities prices adjust rapidly to new information,
utilizing fundamental analysis may not result in
favorable performance.
price
patterns
and
Cyclical Analysis
A type of technical analysis that involves evaluating
trends.
recurring
Economic/business cycles may not be predictable
and may have many fluctuations between long-term
expansions and contractions.
Risk: The risk of market timing based on technical
analysis is that our analysis may not accurately detect
anomalies or predict future price movements.
Current prices of securities may
reflect all
information known about the security and day-to-
day changes in market prices of securities may follow
random patterns and may not be predictable with
any reliable degree of accuracy.
Risk: The lengths of economic cycles may be difficult
to predict with accuracy and therefore the risk of
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is the difficulty
announcements, etc.) but may have a smaller impact
over longer periods of times.
in predicting
cyclical analysis
economic trends and consequently the changing
value of securities that would be affected by these
changing trends.
Modern Portfolio Theory
A theory of investment which attempts to maximize
portfolio expected return for a given amount of
portfolio risk, or equivalently minimize risk for a
given
level of expected return, by carefully
diversifying the proportions of various assets.
Short Sales
Unlike a straightforward investment in stocks where
you buy shares with the expectation that their price
will increase so you can sell at a profit, in a "short
sale" you borrow stocks from your brokerage firm
and sell them immediately, hoping to buy them later
at a lower price. Thus, a short seller hopes that the
price of a stock will go down in the near future. A
short seller thus uses declines in the market to his
advantage. The short seller makes money when the
stock prices fall and loses when prices go up. The SEC
has strict regulations in place regarding short selling.
Risk: Market risk is that part of a security's risk that is
common to all securities of the same general class
(stocks and bonds) and thus cannot be eliminated by
diversification.
Long-Term Purchases
Securities purchased with the expectation that the
value of those securities will grow over a relatively
long period of time, generally greater than one year.
Risk: Short selling is very risky. Investors should
exercise extreme caution before short selling is
implemented. A short seller will profit if the stock
goes down in price, but if the price of the shares
increase, the potential losses are unlimited because
the stock can keep rising forever. There is no ceiling
on how much a short seller can lose in a trade. The
share price may keep going up and the short seller
will have to pay whatever the prevailing stock price is
to buy back the shares. However, gains have a ceiling
level because the stock price cannot fall below zero.
Risk: Using a long-term purchase strategy generally
assumes the financial markets will go up in the long-
term which may not be the case. There is also the risk
that the segment of the market that you are invested
in or perhaps just your particular investment will go
down over time even if the overall financial markets
advance. Purchasing investments long-term may
create an opportunity cost - "locking-up" assets that
may be better utilized in the short-term in other
investments.
Short-Term Purchases
Securities purchased with the expectation that they
will be sold within a relatively short period of time,
generally less than one year, to take advantage of the
securities' short-term price fluctuations.
Risk: A short seller has to undertake to pay the
earnings on the borrowed securities as long as the
short seller chooses to keep the short position open.
If the company declares huge dividends or issues
bonus shares, the short seller will have to pay that
amount to the lender. Any such occurrence can skew
the entire short investment and make it unprofitable.
The broker can use the funds in the short seller's
margin account to buy back the loaned shares or
issue a "call away" to get the short seller to return
the borrowed securities. If the broker makes this call
when the stock price is much higher than the price at
the time of the short sale, then the investor can end
up taking huge losses.
Risk: Margin interest can be a significant expense.
Since short sales can only be undertaken in margin
accounts, the interest payable on short trades can be
Risk: Using a short-term purchase strategy generally
assumes that we can predict how financial markets
will perform in the short-term which may be very
difficult and will incur a disproportionately higher
amount of transaction costs compared to long-term
trading. There are many factors that can affect
financial market performance in the short-term (such
as short-term interest rate changes, cyclical earnings
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substantial, especially if short positions are kept
open over an extended period.
trading
Risk: Shares that are difficult to borrow – because of
high short interest, limited float, or any other reason
– have “hard-to-borrow” fees. These fees are based
on an annualized rate that can range from a small
fraction of a percent to more than 100% of the value
of the short trade. The hard-to-borrow rate can
fluctuate substantially on a daily basis; therefore, the
exact dollar amount of the fee may not be known in
advance, and may be substantial.
Trading
We may use frequent trading (in general, selling
securities within 30 days of purchasing the same
securities) as an investment strategy when managing
your account(s). Frequent
is not a
fundamental part of our overall investment strategy,
but we may use this strategy occasionally when we
determine that it is suitable given your stated
investment objectives and tolerance for risk. This
may include buying and selling securities frequently
in an effort to capture significant market gains and
avoid significant losses.
Margin Transactions
A securities transaction in which an investor borrows
money to purchase a security, in which case the
security serves as collateral on the loan.
Risk: When a frequent trading policy is in effect, there
is a risk that investment performance within your
account may be negatively affected, particularly
through increased brokerage and other transactional
costs and taxes.
Risk: If the value of the shares drops sufficiently, the
investor will be required to either deposit more cash
into the account or sell a portion of the stock in order
to maintain the margin requirements of the account.
This is known as a "margin call." An investor's overall
risk includes the amount of money invested plus the
amount that was loaned to them.
Investment Managers,
stability,
Option Writing
A securities transaction that involves selling an
option. An option is a contract that gives the buyer
the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a
particular security at a specified price on or before
the expiration date of the option. When an investor
sells a call option, he or she must deliver to the buyer
a specified number of shares if the buyer exercises
the option. When an investor sells a put option, he or
she must pay the strike price per share if the buyer
exercises the option, and will receive the specified
number of shares. The option writer/seller receives a
premium (the market price of the option at a
particular time) in exchange for writing the option.
Investment Strategy Due Diligence
We utilize specific qualitative and quantitative
assessment to identify appropriate strategies made
available on our Platforms. The quantitative analysis
focuses on the performance, risk metrics, and track
record of the strategies managed by each investment
manager (including Strategists and SMA Managers,
each, an “Investment Manager”) as compared
against benchmarks, as well as Investment Manager
firms and personnel metrics. Our qualitative analysis
reviews information surrounding the operations of
the
including history,
experience, firm size and structure, investment
analysis and decision-making process, and portfolio
risk review. Qualitative assessment includes a review
of each Investment Manager’s organizational history
including depth/experience of
and
investment team and research group, investment
process and strategy, internal resource allocation,
legitimacy of track record, experience with taxable
Clients, client servicing capabilities, relationship with
us, and other characteristics.
Risk: Options are complex investments and can be
very risky, especially if the investor does not own the
underlying stock. In certain situations, an investor's
risk can be unlimited.
Our Investment Due Diligence Committee oversees
the Investment Manager due diligence, selection and
monitoring processes. The Investment Due Diligence
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includes but
limited
“Select List” and a “Watch List.” The Select List
contains Strategies that have a Curated research
status on OPS Global which exceed certain
thresholds relating to both quantitative metrics and
qualitative assessments. The “Watch List” contains
Strategies identified by our Due Diligence team as
having attributes that warrant concern, but have not
yet been determined as Strategies that should be
removed from our Platform. The Select List and
Watch List are each updated on a semi-annual basis.
respect
Orion Communities
All of the Strategists and Strategist Models available
on our OPS Platform are available to the investment
advisory firms and their representatives that are
utilizing
the portfolio accounting and other
technology tools offered through our affiliate, Orion
Tech.
Committee reviews manager performance and
addresses potential concerns, collaborates on new
manager searches, and discusses recommended
manager terminations. New investment strategies,
including, but not limited to, separate accounts
managed by unaffiliated Strategists, and funds, may
be evaluated and selected based upon several
to such
factors, which
considerations as style analysis, performance,
information obtained through a meeting with
investment
appropriate manager personnel and
strategy due diligence questionnaire responses. The
Investment Due Diligence Committee makes
recommendations with
to any new
their professional
investment strategies using
judgment and experience while taking these factors
into consideration as well as any recommendations
as to manager terminations.
To monitor Investment Managers and manage the
strategies on the platform, we utilize a proprietary
risk scoring methodology. This tool assists Advisors in
developing and selecting
Investment Manager
strategies by assigning a risk score to each strategy
on our Platforms. The tool also defines each strategy
according to their investment style or mandate.
We make additional Strategists and Strategist Models
available for use by these unaffiliated investment
advisors through our Communities Platform. Our
Due Diligence team conducts a less thorough review
of the Strategist Models available only through the
Communities platform. We also conduct less rigorous
Due Diligence for such Strategists who only have
Strategist Models available through Communities.
As a Client’s Investment Advisor determines the
investment strategy to utilize based on the Client’s
investment needs, Clients should consult their
Advisor’s Form ADV Part 2A for a full description of
their investment analysis to determine how the
strategy selected best suits the Clients investment
needs and risk tolerance.
Such limited due diligence consists of a quantitative
if applicable, the
review of the Strategy and,
Strategist, which includes historical risk and return
performance against peers and benchmarks, assets
under management for the Strategy and Strategist,
and other factors. If the due diligence team has no
concerns, the Strategy is added to the Communities
platform. Such Strategist Models are not subject to
review by our Due Diligence Committee.
are
responsible
The
Investment Managers are not provided
individual information about the Client or their
investment goals and objectives and do not have an
advisory relationship with the Client. Any questions
investment
regarding the management of the
strategies or the Client’s Account should be directed
to the Client’s Investment Advisor.
To assist Investment Advisors in identifying Strategies
and understanding our ongoing views on the
Strategists and Strategies, we make available a
Individual Securities
We do not review investment decisions regarding
individual securities made by unaffiliated Investment
Managers. While we
for
implementing an Investment Manager’s instructions
with respect to Client accounts invested in a model,
we do not review or make any
independent
determination with respect to the merits of such
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instructions.
described in Item 4 – Advisory Business of this
Brochure.
strategy
that accounts
for
style, geography,
diversification
benefit
and/or
Investment Strategy Development
Critical to the success of any investment plan is a
well-defined
risk
tolerance, risk capacity, risk composure, time
horizons, rate of return targets, and liquidity needs.
We use an investment strategy questionnaire (also
called a Risk Tolerance Questionnaire or Risk
Tolerance Assessment) to assist in developing a
recommended or suggested investment strategy for
each Client.
Investment decisions
investment
relating to fund shares for strategies managed
directly by us are made by our investment team. The
selection process can generally be defined as eclectic
in nature, with no specific constraints based on size,
liquidity,
sector or other
predetermined criteria. Our investment team may
consider a broad array of factors in determining the
purchase or sale of a security, including but not
limited to, the upside potential, downside risk,
valuation metrics, technical outlook, future catalyst
event,
other
information.
to analyze
Custom Indexing
We make available certain Custom Indexing and tax
managed strategies, which replicate broad market
indices or strategist models through the direct
purchase of individual securities. These strategies
seek to replicate the risk/return profile of the index
or strategy being targeted and can create tax alpha
by harvesting tax losses to offset taxes on capital
gains as well as provide comprehensive tax
transitions.
Investment Strategy Questionnaire
BCI Clients introduced to us through a solicitor
Investment Advisor will complete an investment
strategy questionnaire developed by us or a third-
party advisor which identifies the Client objectives,
assets, risk tolerance, risk capacity, risk composure,
personal situation, and investment experience. We
utilize our proprietary computerized software
program
investment strategy
the
questionnaire to ensure the selected strategy or
strategies are suitable for the Client. Our investment
team is responsible for maintaining the logic, which
includes maintaining
investment strategy
the
questionnaire.
tolerance,
When creating an investment strategy profile for a
client in our Wealth Advisory Program introduced to
us by a solicitor Investment Advisor, we consider
various factors, including, but not limited to, Client
risk
risk composure,
risk capacity,
investment time horizon, liquidity needs, tax bracket,
and account type. We also consider a Client’s level of
investable assets and desired level of investment
discretion in recommending programs.
Discretionary Programs
As mentioned above, in addition to third-party
Investment Manager strategies, we make available
certain strategies that are managed internally. The
platform provides portfolios managed by our
discretionary portfolio management team using
mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, and other exchange-
traded products. In addition, the OPS Platform offers
the MCAM
(Market Cycle Advised Mandate)
Portfolios which are also managed by us and are
composed of third-party and proprietary Investment
Manager funds. Our investment due diligence team
and Investment Due Diligence Committee do not
review our proprietary strategies.
recommendations
to
the
Investment Analysis for Solicitor Clients
The following information relates to the Method of
investment strategies for Clients
Analysis and
introduced to us under a solicitor arrangement, as
In the RPS program, we provide an investment
strategy questionnaire which the Plan sponsor can
make available to Plan participants to assist them in
selecting an investment strategy. We do not provide
Plan
investment
participants.
34 of 59
and/or
investment
compensation
Investment
investment team member, Investment Committee
member,
Investment Due Diligence
Committee member will (i) ensure the nature and
extent of his or her interest is fully disclosed prior to
the transaction, including disclosure of any direct or
the
indirect
team
member,
Committee member,
Investment Due Diligence Committee member,
and/or we receive in connection with the transaction
and (ii) make the recommendation only if he or she
has a reasonable belief that the transaction is in the
Client’s best interest.
Asset Allocation Process
For solicitor Clients, once we have created an
investment strategy profile, the solicitor creates an
asset allocation that aligns Client objectives with
investment strategies using investment disciplines
that are suitable for achieving the Client’s stated
goals, which we then review. For discretionary
portfolios, each program will be managed within the
stated ranges for each major asset class. With
respect to any investment recommendation, neither
the Asset Allocation Committee or
we nor
Investment Committee members favor one Client or
group of Clients at the expense of other Clients.
Our parent company, Orion Advisor Solutions, Inc.
(“Orion”) maintains a Conflicts Committee charged
with identifying and addressing conflicts of interest
that exist in our business and the business of our
affiliates. The Conflicts Committee is chaired by our
Chief Compliance Officer.
seek
to
Under our current fee schedules, the amount of fees
we receive does not change based upon the
allocation of assets in a Client’s account among
Strategists and/or funds, which we believe eliminates
any
incentive or conflict with respect to the
allocation of assets in a Client’s account. We utilize
only our Destinations Funds in our Destinations
Funds models, for which we serve as the advisor and
receive an advisory fee from the Destinations Funds.
This creates a potential conflict of interest, which we
seek to mitigate by excluding the Destinations Funds
when calculating the Brinker Fee Component and
Administration Fees, as applicable, for accounts in
the Destinations models. See also Item 10 – Other
Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations of this
brochure.
Risk Budgeting
We also utilize Risk Budgeting for certain investment
strategies. Risk Budgeting is the spending allowance
with regard to risk that we allow for a Client’s
portfolio. The risk associated with each investment is
carefully considered before it is added to a Client’s
portfolio. Under Risk Budgeting, Clients are assigned
a Risk Budget and each security is assigned a risk
value primarily based on volatility. The Risk Budget is
expressed as a percentage of the risk relative to a
diversified equity portfolio benchmark. For example,
a Risk Budget of 100 would represent a portfolio with
a risk similar to 100% of the risk of a diversified equity
portfolio and a portfolio with a Risk Budget of 60
would represent a portfolio with a risk similar to 60%
of the risk of a diversified equity portfolio. Within the
constraints of the Risk Budget that Clients select, we
identify attractive market
actively
opportunities. Our Risk Budgeting Methodology is
flexible enough to be applied to a broad variety of
Client risk comfort
levels, from aggressive to
conservative.
Conflicts of Interest
From time to time, our investment team, Investment
Committee, and/or the Investment Due Diligence
Committee members may have a conflict of interest
when making an
investment recommendation,
including any benefits we or such individuals receives
from a third party. When a particular investment
recommendation creates a conflict of interest, the
As discussed in Item 5 – Fees and Compensation of
this brochure, we may retain a portion of the
Strategist Fee / Strategy Fee Component of a
strategy, or otherwise receive compensation from a
Strategist. In addition, as discussed in Item 10 –
Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations,
Strategists may provide support payments for
marketing and / or events created by or hosted by us
and our affiliates. This creates a conflict of interest
35 of 59
Loss of Capital
All of our programs are subject to general market
risk. Any investment in the securities is subject to risk
of loss of capital. The value of the portfolio will
fluctuate based upon changes in value of the
underlying securities. Investments are not insured by
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
when determining to include a Strategist or Strategy
on the “Select List” or “Watch List” discussed above.
We mitigate this conflict by ensuring the criteria used
to add or remove a Strategy to the Select List” or
“Watch List” is based solely on the investment due
diligence team’s independent assessment of the
Strategy. Compensation we receive from Strategists,
either directly or indirectly, is not taken into account
by our investment due diligence team when adding
or removing Strategies from the “Select List” and
“Watch List.”
Interest Rate Risk
Portfolios may change in response to the movement
of interest rates. The price of a fixed income security
will generally fall when interest rates rise, and vice
versa.
Risk of Loss
The description contained herein is an overview of
the risks entailed in the various advisory programs
we offer and is not intended to be complete. All
investing involves a risk of loss, our programs could
lose money over short or long periods.
Manager Risk
Performance may deviate from overall market
returns if we or any unaffiliated Strategist is either
more defensive or more aggressive when the market
is rising or falling, respectively.
in securities
Credit Risk
The value of a Client’s investment in the portfolio
may change in response to changes in the credit
ratings of the portfolio’s securities. Generally,
investment risk and price volatility increase as a
security’s credit rating declines.
Investing
inherently risky. An
is
investment in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds,
or stocks could lose money. We and the Strategists
cannot give any guarantee that they will achieve their
investment objectives or that Clients will receive a
return on or return of their investment. Although
money market funds are considered low risk, they
are affected by other types of risk, mainly interest-
rate risk and inflation risk. The underlying value of
the instruments within the money market fund may
change depending on the direction of interest rates.
Derivatives Risk
Derivatives, such as options, futures and swaps, can
be volatile, and a small investment in a derivative can
have a large impact on the performance of the
portfolio. Other risks of investments in derivatives
include imperfect correlation between the value of
these instruments and the underlying assets; risks of
default by the other party to the derivative
transactions; risks that the transactions may result in
losses that partially or completely offset gains in
portfolio positions; and risks that the derivative
transactions may not be liquid.
No Guarantee
The value of a Client investment could decline and be
worth less than the principal initially invested. And
while a money market fund seeks a stable share
price, its yield fluctuates. In addition, mutual funds
are not insured or guaranteed by an agency of the
U.S. government. Bond funds, unlike purchasing a
bond directly, will not re-pay the principal at a set
point in time.
Risks
Performance could be impacted by a number of
different market risks including but not limited to:
Foreign Risk
Foreign investments are subject to the same risks as
domestic investments and additional risks, including
international trade, currency, political, regulatory
and diplomatic risks, which may affect their value.
Also, foreign securities are subject to the risk that
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custodian. Any such delay could be significant and
could adversely affect the investment performance
of the participant’s account.
their market price may not reflect the issuer’s
condition because there is not sufficient publicly
available information about the issuer.
The level of exposure to any of the foregoing risks will
depend on the extent to which BCI or any third-party
or fund manager invests in specific securities or
utilizes specific investment strategies that pose such
risks.
Leverage Risk
Certain transactions, such as reverse repurchase
agreements, dollar rolls, loans of portfolio securities,
and the use of when-issued, delayed delivery or
forward commitment transactions, may give rise to
leverage, causing a portfolio to be more volatile than
if it had not been leveraged.
that Clients are considering
Liquidity Risk
Certain securities eligible for investment by the
portfolio may be deemed to be illiquid under
applicable law. During periods of market turbulence
or unusually low trading activity, in order to meet
redemptions, it may be necessary for the portfolio to
sell such securities at prices that could impact
portfolio value.
Alternative Investments
investments, such as Private Equity
Alternative
Funds, non-traded Real Estate Investment Funds,
Hedge Funds, and
typically any security or
investment that is not traded and priced on a daily
basis, are speculative and involve substantial risks. It
is possible that investors may lose some or all of their
investment. Please review the offering documents
for the risks associated with each alternative
investment
for
investment.
is responsible
Alternative Investment Mutual Funds
Alternative investment mutual funds are speculative
and involve substantial risks. It is possible that
investors may lose some or all of their investment.
Please review the mutual fund prospectus for the
risks associated with each alternative mutual fund
that Clients are considering for investment in a
Strategist Model.
Execution Delay Risk
In our Retirement Plan Services program, we provide
instructions regarding mutual funds and ETFs
included in the asset allocation models for the RPS
program and the weightings thereof. Changes to
those models result in the purchase and sale of
mutual funds and ETFs for participant accounts.
However, the recordkeeper
for
implementing mutual fund and ETF sales and
purchases and there may be a delay in the execution
of BCI’s instructions by the Recordkeeper and/or the
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Item 9 – Disciplinary Information
Neither we nor any of our employees have been
involved in any legal or disciplinary events in the past
10 years that would be material to a Client’s
evaluation of us or our personnel.
38 of 59
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
As discussed above, we are a subsidiary of Orion
Advisor Solutions, Inc (“Orion”). The following direct
and indirect subsidiaries of Orion are affiliates of
OPS:
Other Affiliates and Affiliations
We use the products and services of our affiliates to
assist us in providing the advisory services to Clients.
In addition, the Client’s Investment Advisor may use
the services of our affiliates. Below is a list of these
affiliates and their activities.
• Advizr, Inc dba Orion Planning
• BasisCode Compliance LLC dba Orion
Compliance
• Constellation Trust Company (“CTC”)
• Destinations Funds Trust
• GxWorks, LLC dba Orion Risk Intelligence
(formerly HiddenLevers)
• Orion Advisor Technology, LLC (“Orion Tech”)
• Redtail Technology, Inc.
• Summit Wealth Systems, Inc.
• Townsquare Capital LLC (“TownSquare”).
Orion Advisor Technology, LLC (“Orion Tech”),
Orion Planning, and Orion Risk Intelligence
We utilize the back-office system provided by Orion
Tech for trade processing, account management, and
performance reporting for certain Programs. We also
make available to Clients and Investment Advisors
planning tools from Orion Planning and risk analytics
tools from Orion Risk Intelligence. We believe that
the utilization of Orion Tech, Orion Planning, and
Orion Risk Intelligence do not create a conflict of
interest.
Our executive officers also serve as officers and
directors of the other Orion affiliates.
information about
Destinations Funds
We are the investment advisor for the Destinations
Mutual Funds and we receive an investment advisory
fee for this service, which presents a potential
conflict of interest. The Destinations Mutual Funds
are included in the Destinations strategies offered
through our Strategist Program and Communities
such
platform. Additional
potential conflict of interest can be found in the
Material Conflicts of Interest section below.
Broker-Dealer Registrations
Brinker Capital Securities, LLC (“BCS”), a registered
broker-dealer, is our affiliate. BCS acts as introducing
broker-dealer under a clearing agreement with
National Financial Services, LLC (“NFS”) for all
accounts in our programs offered under the BCI
name that are custodied at NFS, excluding those
accounts introduced by Fidelity Brokerage Services,
LLC, an NFS affiliated broker-dealer, or Clients in the
MMLIS Brinker co-advisory program for whom
MMLIS serves as the introducing broker-dealer. BCS
receives no commissions
in connection with
securities transactions in wrap fee accounts for
which it acts as introducing broker.
Other Registrations
Neither we nor any of our management persons are
registered or have applications pending to register, as
a futures commission merchant, commodity pool
operator, a commodity trading advisor or an
associated person of the foregoing entities.
Constellation Trust Company ("CTC")
CTC is a Nebraska chartered trust company and our
subsidiary. Some of our executive officers also serve
as officers and directors of CTC. CTC's custodial
services facilitate certain BCI Clients who desire a
third-party investment advisor such as us to manage
their account(s). We and our affiliates may
recommend CTC, among other custodians, to Clients.
CTC has established electronic
interfaces and
capabilities necessary to maintain and aggregate
custodial records and reporting for Clients invested
across various
investment platforms. We have
entered into an arrangement with CTC to waive the
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Compliance,
LLC
dba Orion
BasisCode
Compliance
Orion Compliance is a compliance management
system owned and sold by our parent company. The
cloud-based software platform provides core
compliance functions
including management of
policies and procedures, employee trade monitoring,
testing, and certifications. We utilize Orion
Compliance as a technology solution for our
compliance program.
annual custodial fee for these BCI Clients. All other
custodial fees and charges of CTC are set forth in the
CTC custodial agreement. Trades for BCI Client
accounts custodied at CTC are effected via the
National Securities Clearing Corporation through
arrangements with third parties, including Matrix
Settlement and Clearance Services, LLC ("Matrix")
and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The Destinations
Funds (for which we serve as investment advisor) and
other mutual funds held by BCI Clients with assets
custodied at CTC pay shareholder servicing or sub-
transfer agent fees to CTC for distribution and/or
shareholder servicing related assistance associated
with making a Client's investments in such funds. Our
policies and practices with respect to selecting share
classes for accounts invested in programs that are
held at CTC or any other custodian, are described in
Item 4 – Advisory Business of this brochure.
Material Conflicts of Interest
Our parent company, Orion, maintains a Conflicts
Committee charged with identifying and addressing
materials conflicts of interest that exist in our
business and the business of our affiliates. The
Conflicts Committee
is chaired by our Chief
Compliance Officer and includes senior employees
across the technology and wealth management
offerings of Orion.
CTC receives 12b-1 fees from mutual funds held in
some Client accounts. It is CTC’s practice to convert
share classes of funds which pay 12b-1 fees to share
classes of the same funds which do not pay 12b-1
fees. During this transition, CTC will earn, and
subsequently be paid, the 12b-1 fees while the 12b-
1 fee paying share classes are in its custody. CTC’s
policy is to rebate to Clients such 12b-1 fees.
Therefore, any 12b-1 fee payments CTC does receive
for eligible mutual funds are credited back to the
Client.
Mutual Fund Transaction Fees
In the Core Asset Manager, Destinations ETFh, and
Wealth Advisory programs, we have the choice of
using either non-transaction fee (“NTF”) funds or
transaction fee funds. While transaction fee funds
generally have a lower expense ratio to the Client
than an NTF fund, the clearing and custody costs paid
by us are higher for transaction fee funds than for
NTF funds. For Clients with fee schedules in effect
prior to April 1, 2017, this may create a conflict by
giving us the incentive to select NTF funds in order to
reduce the clearing and custody fees for Client
accounts, instead of selecting transaction fee funds
that may have a lower expense ratio to the Client. In
order to address this potential conflict, we pay the
custodian an asset-based fee for clearing and
custody, which we
into account when
took
its prior fee schedule(s) for these
establishing
programs.
TownSquare Capital, LLC
TownSquare is an investment advisor registered with
the SEC. TownSquare provides a
fee-based
investment platform that allows unaffiliated third-
party investment advisors the ability to enhance
their current investment program or utilize models
provided by
institutional portfolio strategists.
TownSquare markets this program under the name
Orion OCIO, which stands for Outsourced Chief
Investment Officer. We have a sub-advisory
agreement in place with TownSquare to manage
some products available on our platform. Due to the
fact that TownSquare is an affiliate, we have an
incentive to utilize TownSquare as a sub-advisor.
Destinations Funds
in the Destinations Funds
invest accounts
We
program in Destinations Funds, for which we serve as
the investment advisor. As investment advisor to the
40 of 59
through
the
Destinations Funds we receive an advisory fee, which
presents a potential conflict of interest. We do not
employ the same due diligence procedures that we
apply to other fund managers and Strategists in
evaluating the Destinations Funds. However, our
decisions with respect to the selection, allocation of
assets, and termination of a sub-advisors of the
Destinations Funds are subject to the oversight and
approval of the Board of Trustees of the Destinations
Funds (a majority of which are unaffiliated with us).
In addition, we do not assess the Brinker Fee
Component or Administrative Fee, as applicable, for
the portion of the Client’s Destinations portfolio
invested in the Destinations Funds.
Investment Advisors
through the EAN Program vary by tier, but may
include, but are not limited to: enhanced training for
the representative and his or her staff, access to our
staff, enhanced client application processing and
handling, business transition services, marketing
support,
increased discounts on value-added
technology services, expense reimbursement for
travel to and attendance at events we approve, and
access to other functions we sponsor and approve.
Even though qualifying representatives do not
receive additional cash compensation directly from
us
Program, qualifying
EAN
representatives may have an incentive to refer
Clients to invest with us so that they may qualify or
requalify for the EAN Program. This creates a conflict
for the representatives when recommending our
services to Clients. Clients should ask their financial
adviser about the benefits he or she receives from
the EAN Program.
in the program
Financial Professional Seminars
We organize educational seminars for solicitor and
co-advisor
that may be
sponsored or co-sponsored by various Strategists
that participate in our advisory programs. Strategists
who participate in this program pay a fee which is
used to defray expenses associated with such events.
A Strategist’s participation
is
voluntary. We do not consider an Strategist’s
participation in this program when making Strategist
or Strategy recommendations to Clients, approving
or removing a Strategist or Strategy through our
Investment Due Diligence Committee, or adding or
removing a Strategy from our “Select List” or “Watch
List.”
Affiliate Offerings
Inc. dba Orion Planning,
Our affiliates Advizr,
BasisCode Compliance LLC dba Orion Compliance,
Orion Tech, GxWorks, LLC dba Orion Risk Intelligence
(formerly HiddenLevers), and Redtail Technology, Inc.
(collectively our “Technology Affiliates”) offer
technology solutions to investment advisors, which
may include the co-advisor Investment Advisor on
Client accounts with us, or the solicitor Investment
Advisor who introduced the Client to us.
in our
that
the
in “qualifying
factors”
Our Technology Affiliates have collectively created a
program for third party investment advisors in which
eligible Investment Advisors receive a reduction in
fees owed to our Technology Affiliates when they
provide additional advisory services. The total
amount of assets managed
investment
advisory programs is also a factor in determining the
amount of the fee reduction in certain instances. As
such, an Investment Advisor may have a reduction in
their costs to utilize our Technology Affiliates’
services based on their Clients’ collective assets
under management within our advisory programs.
This creates a conflict for these Investment Advisors
because the more assets that they recommend be
Elite Advisor Network
We offer an Elite Advisor Network program (the “EAN
Program”) in which qualifying representatives of
Investment Advisor firms that utilize OPS receive
non-cash benefits from us designed to help better
serve their clients and enhance their business
practices. These non-cash benefits are generally
based on two factors:1) the amount of client assets
qualifying
under management
representative recommends be managed by or
through us and 2) participation by the qualifying
including
representative
attending marketing events hosted or sponsored by
us. Benefits that qualifying representatives receive
41 of 59
invested in our advisory programs, the lower their
cost is to receive the services of our Technology
Affiliates. We do not receive any portion of the fees
the Investment Advisors pay to our Technology
Affiliates, nor do these fee reductions apply to the
fees paid by the Client for the advisory services we
offer.
technology providers, Orion Tech receives revenue
based on the usage of the third-party service through
its platform. While such third-party services are
typically integrated into the Orion Tech technology
experience for ease of use, users of Orion Tech’s
technology services are not prevented from choosing
alternative providers. Nevertheless, the inclusion of
certain third-party service providers on Orion Tech’s
platform for which Orion Tech receives revenue for
the services it provides to support the integration
creates a conflict as we are encouraged to refer or
recommend those services which would generate
more revenue for Orion Tech. Such services are
discussed in detail below.
arrangement with
Strategist Data
We offer a program where Strategists on our
platform can purchase from us data containing
aggregate information regarding the Investment
Advisors who are researching or recommending their
strategies or models. This program is voluntary for
Strategists. This program creates a conflict of interest
for us as we are encouraged to prefer and retain
Strategists who agree to purchase such data. We
mitigate this conflict by subjecting all Strategists to
the same Due Diligence process regardless of their
business
us. Additional
information regarding our Due Diligence process can
be found in Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment
Strategies and Risk of Loss of this Brochure.
DPL Financial Partners
DPL Financial Partners (“DPL”) is a financial service
provider that coordinates the provision, either
directly or through its associated and licensed
broker-dealer, of certain
insurance products,
including annuities. DPL supports such activities
through the use of a web-based platform and certain
associated Product Tools (collectively, the “DPL
Platform”), as well as through relationships that DPL
has established with certain insurance carriers that
offer Insurance Products. DPL offers the use of its
insurance services through a membership program.
DPL is unaffiliated with us or any of our affiliates.
Custodian Conflicts
For a discussion of the potential conflict of interest
that could arise from the economic benefits we
receive from NFS and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
(“Schwab”) in the form of the support products and
services these firms make available to us, see Item 12
– Brokerage Practices of this Brochure.
We have adopted and implemented policies and
procedures we believe are reasonably designed to
manage these conflicts of interest and to prevent
violations of applicable law.
Our affiliate, Orion Tech, has entered
into an
arrangement where DPL will share a portion of the
membership fee paid to it by any investment advisor
referred to DPL by Orion Tech. DPL will also pay a
technology support fee to Orion Tech for its efforts in
supporting the integration with the DPL Platform. We
do not receive any portion of these fees. There is a
conflict as the Client’s third party investment advisor
which uses our advisory services described in this
brochure may also use the technology services of
Orion Tech, and Orion Tech may receive revenue
from DPL if the Client’s investment advisor was
referred to DPL by Orion Tech and became a member
of DPL.
Third Party Technology Services Arrangements
We utilize the
investment advisor technology
platform created by our affiliate, Orion Tech. This
platform is available to other, unaffiliated investment
advisors and features integrated third-party services
available through unaffiliated financial technology
providers, creating integrated services available to
users of Orion Tech (including us). Through Orion
third party
Tech’s arrangements with
such
42 of 59
Neither we nor Orion Tech, nor any of our affiliates,
is involved in the solicitation or sales of the insurance
products through the DPL Platform.
Integration Systems (“CAIS”),
to an array of banking and lending solutions and
related services. These services are offered to our
Clients by Uptiq, Inc. (“Uptiq”) through an integration
with the platform of our affiliate, Orion Tech. Orion
Tech, will receive a fee for Orion Tech clients who are
referred to Uptiq’s platform, including our Clients.
Investment Advisors that utilize the integration to the
Uptiq platform, including advisors who use the OPS
or BCI Platforms, will have access to Uptiq’s financial
institution partners that offer the lending- and
deposit-related products listed below (collectively,
the “Financial Products”). In each case, access to the
Financial Products is made available to a financial
advisor so that the financial advisor may identify one
or more selected banking institutions that can offer
to the Client certain Financial Products desired by the
Client. Such Financial Products currently consist of
the following:
• Mortgage Loans — Loans relating
to
residential purchases, refinancing, HELOC,
and construction loans;
Capital Integration Systems
Capital
itself and
through its subsidiaries, offers a platform for the
purchase of private placements and other non-
traded assets. CAIS is unaffiliated with us or any of
our affiliates. Our affiliate, Orion Tech, has entered
into an arrangement where CAIS will pay Orion Tech
a fee based on the value of the assets held by Clients
of investment advisors who utilize Orion Tech’s
technology, including OPS or BCI Platform Clients.
Orion Tech will receive no fee until the value of such
assets exceeds $100 million, and the size of the fee
will increase until the value of such assets exceeds
$500 million, at which time the fee will not increase.
However, as the fee is based on the value of the
assets on the platform, the amount of revenue
received by Orion Tech will increase as the value of
such assets (either by market gain or additional sales)
will increase. We do not receive any portion of this
fee.
• Working Capital — Corporate, commercial,
and business working capital, expansion and
acquisition lines of credit and loans;
• Commercial Real Estate — Commercial real
estate, multifamily and other owned
occupied properties;
• Securities Backed Lines of Credit (SBLOC) —
Automated and highly competitively priced
non-purpose securities backed lines along
with lines secured by selective private and
alternative investments;
• Specialty Lending — Premium financing,
fund call and operating lines of credit, along
with others;
• Watercraft and Aircraft Lending — New and
used watercraft and/or aircraft purchases
and refinancing; and
Investment Advisor which uses our
A Client’s
advisory services described in this brochure may also
use the technology services of Orion Tech, and may
recommend that Clients allocate a portion of their
assets to one or more offerings available on the CAIS
platform. In addition, if Clients engage our Wealth
Advisory service, we may recommend that Clients
allocate a portion of Client assets to one or more
offerings available on the CAIS platform. This creates
a conflict for us as Orion Tech may receive revenue
from CAIS if Clients invest in any offering on the CAIS
platform through their investment advisor or our
Wealth Advisory platform. This revenue to Orion
Tech is in addition to the advisory fee we receive for
the Wealth Advisory services provided to the Client
described in Item 4 – Advisory Business and Item 5 –
Fees and Compensation of this Brochure.
• FDIC Insured Deposit Program — In-portfolio
cash balances, held away debit/transactional
cash and outside client cash savings with $2
to $100 million of insurance per tax ID.
Orion Cash and Credit
Orion Cash and Credit offers third-party financial
advisors who utilize the OPS and BCI Platforms access
43 of 59
in outside activities,
Flourish Financial, LLC
Flourish Financial, LLC (“Flourish”) offers a platform
for Investment Advisors to assist in managing their
client’s cash held in checking, savings, or similar
banking products. Flourish is unaffiliated with us or
any of our affiliates. Our affiliate, Orion Tech, has
entered into an arrangement where Flourish will pay
Orion Tech a fee based on the value of the balances
held by clients of investment advisors who utilize
Orion Tech’s technology,
including OPS or BCI
Platform Clients.
Board Member Activities
The Board Members of our parent company may be
engaged
including being
employed by or serving as a board member of the
parent company or affiliate of one of our third-party
Strategists.. This creates a conflict for us as we may
be encouraged to approve for our platform a
Strategist based on this relationship. We mitigate this
conflict by requiring that all third party be subject to
our Due Diligence process, including review and
Investment Due Diligence
approval by our
Committee, prior to being placed on our platform.
See Item 8 – Methods of Analysis, Investment
Strategies and Risk of Loss of this brochure for
additional information regarding our Due Diligence
process.
A Client’s
Investment Advisor which uses our
advisory services described in this brochure may also
use the technology services of Orion Tech, and may
recommend that Clients utilize the services of
Flourish.
44 of 59
Item 11 – Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and
Personal Trading
• disclose the holdings in a Client’s portfolios
(except, in the case of any employee of us or
any of our affiliates, as required to carry out
his or her employment-related duties to
Clients or as required by applicable securities
laws).
In addition, each employee must:
•
•
conduct all of his or her business activities in
accordance with the requirements of the
Code and consistent with our fiduciary duties
to its our Clients;
comply with all applicable federal securities
laws;
• promptly report any violations of the Code to
our Chief Compliance Officer or Compliance
Department; and
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics (the “Code”)
which meets the requirements of Rule 204A-1
promulgated under the Investment Advisers Act of
1940. The Code sets forth a standard of business
conduct required of all of our employees (which
includes all of our officers, directors, and employees
as well as any other person who provides advice on
our behalf and is subject to our supervision and
control). We effectively treat each employee as an
“access person” as defined in Rule 204A-1. Our
employees do not include employees of unaffiliated
Strategist or Investment Advisors who refer Clients to
us (in a solicitor arrangement) or who recommend
our services (in a co-advisory relationship), each of
whom is required to adopt its own code of ethics
applicable to these individuals.
• annually certify that he or she has received,
read and understands the Code, has
complied with all requirements of the Code
securities
and disclosed all personal
transactions required pursuant to the Code.
The Code is based, in part, upon the principle that we
and our employees owe a fiduciary duty to Clients.
Each employee must act in a manner as to avoid (1)
placing his or her own personal interests ahead of
Clients; (ii) taking inappropriate advantage of his or
her position with us; and (iii) any actual or potential
conflicts of interest or any abuse of his or her position
of trust and responsibility.
The Code provides that employees and members of
their households may not:
•
material
•
Each employee has already furnished to our
list of all securities
Compliance Department a
required to be reported under the Rule in which
either such employee or members of his or her
household own a beneficial interest (“Reportable
Securities”), which list must be updated annually. In
addition, by the thirtieth day following each calendar
quarter, each employee must provide our
reports of all
Compliance Department with
Reportable Securities transactions during such
quarter.
trade in any security while in possession of
material nonpublic information about the
issuer of a security;
communicate
nonpublic
information about any publicly traded issuer
of any securities to anyone else except in the
ordinary course of his or her employment-
related duties;
• disclose to other persons the securities
activities engaged in or contemplated for
Client portfolios; or
We have no direct or indirect control over the
investment decision-making process of unaffiliated
Strategists. Accordingly, since our employees are
generally not aware of investment decisions of
unaffiliated Strategists, our employees may buy or
sell for their personal accounts securities which are
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Employees are also subject to restrictions on giving
gifts to, or receiving gifts from, certain persons and in
dollar amounts that exceed a certain de minimis
amount.
A copy of the Code is available, upon request, by
contacting us at (800) 379-2513.
recommended by Strategists for Client accounts.
However, if we receive confidential information
regarding an issuer from a Strategist, we may
for such securities.
list
establish a restricted
Employees are prohibited from personally, or on
behalf of a household member, purchasing any
securities on a restricted list. In the event that an
employee owns a security that was purchased prior
to being placed on the restricted list, the employee
must obtain approval (pre-clearance) from the Chief
Compliance Officer prior to entering any securities
transaction in their personal accounts for the sale of
that security.
In addition, each employee must receive prior
approval from our Chief Compliance Officer or their
designee for (i) any purchase of securities in an initial
public offering or a limited offering for the benefit of
such employee or member of his/her household or
(ii) serving on the boards of directors of any public
corporation.
Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
If Clients select a Destinations Funds strategy, we will
utilize Destinations Funds, which are our affiliated
mutual funds, in the management of the Client’s
account. Clients are advised of the use of
Destinations Funds in their agreement with us and in
the applicable strategy descriptions, and have the
right, at any time, to prohibit us from investing any
Client managed assets in Destinations Funds. We and
our employees occasionally buy or sell securities
identical to those recommended to the Client. It is
our express policy that any person employed by us is
prohibited from profiting at the expense of Clients
and from competing with Clients.
46 of 59
Item 12 – Brokerage Practices
brokers. Nevertheless, as more fully detailed below,
we do realize certain benefits and services in
connection with custodial partners that we work
with to service Client accounts.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
Neither we nor any of our related persons receive
Client referrals from broker-dealers or third parties in
exchange for selecting or recommending a broker-
dealer.
Directed Brokerage
Generally, our Core Asset Manager and Wealth
Advisory programs require Clients to designate
either National Financial Services, LLC (“NFS”) or
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), each of which
is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, as
their
custodian and clearing broker, and authorize us to
effect all equity trades through the designated
custodian unless we or the Strategist (as applicable)
determine that better execution may be obtained
through an alternative broker. All fixed income
transactions are executed through brokers other
than the designated custodian (unless we or a
Strategist determines the custodian can provide best
execution) and we and other managers have
authority to select brokers to effect such trades.
To participate in our Strategist Program, Separately
Managed Account Program, High Net Worth
Programs, Core Asset Manager Program, and ETF and
Mutual Fund Portfolios described
in Item 4 –
Advisory Business of this Brochure, we require that
Client Accounts be held with a qualified custodian.
We submit trades directly to the Client’s custodian. If
Clients direct us to manage assets with a specific
broker-dealer or custodian, including broker-dealers
and custodians that have been pre-approved by us,
Clients have the sole responsibility for negotiating
commission rates and other transaction costs. If
Clients select a specific broker, we will not be
required to affect any transaction through the
specified broker if we reasonably believe that to do
so would result in a breach of our fiduciary duties.
Clients are advised that by instructing us to execute
all transactions on behalf of a Client’s Account
through the specified broker, a disparity may exist
between the commissions borne by the Client and
the commissions borne by our other Clients that do
not direct us to use a specified broker. Clients may
also not necessarily obtain commission rates and
execution as favorable as those that would be
obtained if we were able to place transactions with
forego
other broker-dealers. Clients also may
benefits that we may be able to obtain for them
through negotiating volume discounts or block
trades.
As discussed in Item 10 – Other Financial Industry
Activities and Affiliations of
this Brochure,
Constellation Trust Company (“CTC”) is our affiliate.
Clients are under no obligation to select CTC as their
custodian, and Clients are free to select any of the
custodians we are able to work with.
In evaluating which broker or dealer other than the
designated custodian will provide best execution, we
or the Strategist (as applicable) will consider the full
range and quality of a broker’s or dealer’s services
including, among other things, the value of research
provided, execution capability, commission rate,
financial responsibility, market making capabilities
and responsiveness. Although we currently do not
receive any soft dollar benefits, we may in the future
select broker-dealers that provide research or other
transaction-related services and may cause the
account to pay such broker-dealer commissions for
effecting transactions in excess of commissions other
broker-dealers may have charged. In such event, we
will revise this Brochure to discuss any soft dollar
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
We, as a matter of policy and practice, do not utilize
research or other products or services other than
execution from broker-dealers or third parties in
connection with Client securities transactions and do
not receive so-called "soft dollar" benefits from
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brokerage commissions or fees arising in connection
with trades that are not affected through the
designated custodian for their account.
benefits it receives. Such research and other services
may be used for our own accounts and for other
Client and affiliated Client accounts to the extent
permitted by law.
Both NFS’ and Schwab’s execution procedures are
designed to make every attempt to obtain the best
execution possible, although there can be no
assurance that it can be obtained. Clients should
consider whether or not the appointment of NFS or
Schwab, as applicable, as the sole broker for equity
trades may or may not result in certain costs or
disadvantages to the Client as a possible result of less
favorable executions. Execution through a broker
other than the designated custodian will increase
costs to the Client because our fee does not include
brokerage fees or commissions associated with
trades executed through a broker-dealer other than
the designated custodian and does not include
markups and markdowns. Because of this, in order to
minimize Client trading costs, most trades for Client
accounts are executed through the designated
custodian.
While we require Clients to use NFS or Schwab as
their custodian and broker for any account in the
Core Asset Manager and Wealth Advisory programs,
Clients will decide whether to do so and open an
account with NFS or Schwab (as applicable) by
entering into an account agreement directly with
such firm. We do not open the account for the Client.
Generally, if Clients do not wish to place their assets
with NFS or Schwab, then we cannot manage the
Client’s Account. (From time to time, and at our sole
discretion, very large accounts participating in the
Core Asset Manager program may use a firm other
than NFS or Schwab as their custodian.) Not all
advisors require their Clients to use a particular
broker-dealer or other custodian selected by the
advisor. Even though Client Accounts are maintained
at NFS or Schwab, we and Strategists retained by us
to manage Client Accounts can still use other brokers
to execute trades for their account, as described in
the preceding paragraphs.
How We Select Brokers/Custodians
In selecting a custodian and clearing broker, we seek
to obtain custody and brokerage services on terms
that are overall most advantageous when compared
to other available providers and their services. We
consider a wide range of factors, including, among
others:
transaction execution
•
•
to
•
• breadth of
combination of
services and asset custody services;
capability to execute, clear and settle trades
(buy and sell securities for Client accounts);
capability
transfers and
facilitate
payments to and from accounts (wire
transfers, check requests, bill payment, etc.);
investment products made
available (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs,
etc.);
• overall quality of services;
Inasmuch as the investment advisory agreement for
the Core Asset Manager and Wealth Advisory
programs designates NFS or Schwab as the Client's
custodian and clearing broker, Strategists generally
lack authority to select broker-dealers to execute
trades in equity securities in the Client's account.
Accordingly, Strategists are not authorized to
negotiate commissions and their account may not be
able to participate in block trades effected by a
Strategist for its other accounts. As a result, from
time to time Client accounts may not obtain best
execution on a particular trade. However, on a case-
by-case basis, we will authorize a Strategist for a
Wealth Advisory or Core Asset Manager account to
effect trades of equity securities through another
broker-dealer, if we determine that the designated
custodian cannot provide best execution for the
account. Similarly, we may effect trades for accounts
through another broker-dealer if it determines that
the designated custodian cannot provide best
execution. However, Clients will be charged any
48 of 59
•
the custodian is often the most favorable trading
option for a Client.
(which
•
competitiveness of the price of those
services
impacts what Brinker
charges its Clients);
reputation, financial strength and stability of
the provider; and
• availability of other products and services
that benefit BCI, its Clients and solicitor
firms.
For the SMA Program, we expect that most
transactions will be traded through the custodian.
However, certain SMA Program Managers will direct
most, if not all, of their trades to outside broker-
dealers, including broker-dealers who are affiliates of
the SMA Program Managers. Since the fees paid to
the custodian for their clearing and custody services
only cover transactions effected through the
custodian, transactions through any other broker-
dealer would normally include an add-on cost of the
commission or the dealer mark-up or mark-down
and these additional trading costs may increase a
Client’s overall costs.
capabilities,
speed,
We take into account the fact that transaction costs
on trades effected through brokers other than the
designated custodian are not included in the SMA
Program fee in evaluating whether the designated
custodian is providing best execution. The fees
charged through the SMA Program will not
necessarily be as favorable as those which might be
obtained through another investment advisor that
authorizes a SMA Program Manager to select
brokerage firms and that bills the Client separately
for execution, clearing and custody services, and
investment advisory services.
Inc.
institutional brokerage
Products and Services Available to Us from
NFS and Schwab
National Financial Services, LLC (“NFS”) and Charles
Schwab & Co.,
(“Schwab”) provide us,
Investment Advisors, and their Clients with access to
trading, custody,
their
reporting and related services, many of which are not
typically available to their retail customers. These
firms also make available various support services to
us, Clients, and the Client’s advisor. Some of those
services help us manage or administer the Client’s
accounts at such custodians while others help us
manage and grow our business. These support
services generally are available on an unsolicited
Custody and Brokerage Costs
SMA Program Managers have the authority to effect
transactions through broker-dealers other than the
custodian for the Client account, including a broker-
dealer which is an affiliate of such SMA Program
the SMA Program Manager
Manager, when
reasonably believes that another broker-dealer may
effect such transactions at a price, including any
commissions or dealer mark-up or mark-down, that
is more favorable to the account than would be the
case if transacted through the custodian. In addition,
even if the price is not more favorable, for the
selection of such broker-dealer, the SMA Program
Manager may consider all relevant factors, including
execution
efficiency,
confidentiality, familiarity with potential purchasers
or sellers, or any other relevant matters. We refer to
trades in which the custodian is not the executing
broker as “step-out trade(s).” If the Client’s SMA
Program Manager trades with another firm, the
account may be assessed other trading related costs
(mark-ups, mark-downs and commissions) by the
In addition, the custodian
other broker-dealer.
charges the Client a flat dollar amount as a “prime
broker” or “trade away” fee for each trade that the
SMA Program Manager has executed by a different
broker-dealer but where the securities bought or the
funds from the securities sold are deposited (settled)
into the Client’s account. These fees are in addition
to the commissions or other compensation Clients
pay the executing broker-dealer. The costs of the
executing broker and any trade away fees imposed by
the custodian are in addition to our and the SMA
Program Manager fees. For this reason, an SMA
Program Manager may find that placing trades with
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the most
basis (i.e., we do not have to request them) and at no
additional charge to us.
favorable execution of
receiving
transactions, which is a potential conflict of interest.
We believe, however, that the selection of these
firms as custodian and broker is in the Client's best
interest. It is primarily supported by the scope,
quality, and price of their services (based upon the
factors discussed above) and not on those services
that benefit only us.
The NFS and Schwab 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 these firms include some to which
we might not otherwise have access or that would
require a significantly higher minimum
initial
investment by Clients. The services generally benefit
Clients.
Aggregation
With respect to those Client accounts which we
directly select and / or manage investments, most
trade orders will be aggregated when we are
purchasing or selling the same security for multiple
in our various advisory programs. The
clients
portfolio specialist or other authorized person will
determine when orders should be aggregated.
NFS and Schwab also make available to us other
products and services that benefit us but may not
directly benefit the Client. These products and
services assist us in managing and administering
Client accounts and include software and other
technology that:
•
investment criteria,
•
• provide access to Client account data (such
as duplicate trade confirmations and account
statements);
facilitate
trade execution and allocate
aggregated trade orders for multiple Client
accounts;
facilitate payment of our fees from Client
accounts; and
with
back-office
functions,
• assist
recordkeeping, and client reporting.
NFS and Schwab also offer other services intended to
help us manage and further develop our business.
These services include:
• educational conferences and events;
•
While the goal of aggregation is to achieve equitable
allocation of investment opportunities and trades,
each Client cannot be treated exactly alike, and all
allocations cannot be done on the basis of a pre-
determined formula. There are differences in each
Client’s needs,
investment
objectives, and size and fee levels. To the extent
more than one Client seeks to acquire the same
security at the same time, it may not be possible to
acquire a sufficiently large quantity of the same
security, or we may have to pay a higher price or
obtain a lower yield for the security. Similarly, Clients
may not be able to obtain as high a price for, or as
large an execution of, an order to sell (including short
sales) a particular security when we are acting for
more than one Client at the same time. It also may
not be feasible to make every limited investment
opportunity available to all Clients.
technology, compliance, legal, and business
consulting; and
• publications and conferences on practice
management and business succession.
It is our standard practice to invest Client funds into
the model or strategy selected for their account the
day after the funds are received, unless the Client or
their Investment Advisor instruct us otherwise.
With respect to those Client Accounts which are
managed by an unaffiliated Strategist, aggregation of
trade orders, if any, are allocated to Client accounts
in accordance with the unaffiliated Strategist's
The availability of these services from NFS and
Schwab benefits us because we do not have to
produce or purchase them. This may create an
incentive for us to require Clients to maintain their
accounts with NFS or Schwab based on the benefits
we receive rather than the Client's best interest in
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procedures for aggregation. We require all Strategists
in the programs to have policies and procedures to
assure equitable allocation of trades among all of the
Strategist's Client accounts, including BCI and OPS
Platform Clients.
our trading practices, gathering relevant information,
periodically reviewing and evaluating the services
provided by broker-dealers,
the quality of
executions, research, commission rates, and overall
brokerage relationships, among other things. The
committee is comprised of representatives from
portfolio management, trading, and compliance.
the
broker-dealer’s
Best Execution
To the extent that we are responsible for selecting
the broker-dealer to effect transactions for the
Client’s account, we seek to achieve best execution
for Client transactions such that the net proceeds to
the Client and the overall qualitative execution are
the most favorable under the circumstances. In
selecting a broker-dealer, we consider the full range
and quality of the services offered by the broker-
dealer, including, but not limited to, execution
capabilities, the commission rate charged, the value
of research provided, the ability to obtain volume
discounts,
financial
responsibility, and their responsiveness to us and the
Client. Please see Item 14 – Client Referrals and
Other Compensation of this Brochure for information
regarding services and benefits we may receive from
other broker dealers.
Trade Error Policy
We have internal controls for the prevention of trade
or model portfolio allocation errors. However, on
occasion, errors may occur. We recommend that
Clients regularly review their custodial statements. In
the event a Client identifies an error, the Client has
45 days from their statement date to notify us of its
existence. Upon notification, we will perform an
analysis of the reported discrepancy. If we are
responsible for the error, we will seek to correct the
error in a way that returns the Client’s account to
where it would have been had the error not
occurred. In the event an error results in a gain, we
or the Client’s custodian will retain such gains. If
Clients notify us of a potential error more than 45
days after their statement date and we are
responsible for the error, we will reimburse the Client
for any damage caused to their account from the
date of the error through 45 days after the Client’s
statement date.
We maintain a record of identified errors, including
details of the original transaction and the corrective
actions.
We have an Investment Committee that meets on a
quarterly basis and handles our best execution
review through their oversight of our trade execution
practices and to evaluate the full range and quality of
broker-dealers used to execute transactions in order
to ensure our trading practices are appropriate. The
Investment Committee is responsible for monitoring
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Item 13 – Review of Accounts
between the Client and their Investment Advisor. Our
services will be limited to managing Client accounts
in the manner identified by the Client to us, which
will include trading, billing, and reporting, as those
services are identified in the agreement between the
Client and us.
investments
upon
strategy.
Solicitor Arrangements
For our BCI Platform, if a Client is introduced to us by
a solicitor Investment Advisor, we will recommend an
asset allocation involving various asset classifications
and investment styles and will identify for the Client
suitable Strategists or other
to
implement the investment disciplines included in the
agreed
Our
investment
recommendations will be based on information
provided by the Client and the Client’s Investment
Advisor to us regarding the Client’s objectives, assets,
risk tolerance, time horizon, personal situation and
investment experience.
Affiliate Technology
Reviews of Client Accounts are facilitated through an
arrangement with our affiliate, Orion Tech (see Item
10 – Other Financial
Industry Activities and
Affiliations of this Brochure). We have engaged Orion
Tech to provide a “back office” system which enables
us to gather and aggregate Client data from multiple
platforms and providers, maintain portfolio models,
review models and accounts for variances, analyze
account performance, generate quarterly and other
reports, facilitate the trading of the Clients accounts,
and make information available on-line via the
internet, in a secure manner, to the Client and their
Investment Advisor.
Thereafter, we monitor the performance of each
Strategy. The Investment Advisor who introduced the
Client to us has agreed to make periodic contact with
the Client, at least annually. Together, the Client and
their Investment Advisor determine whether a
change in the Client objectives warrants a change in
the criteria used to manage the Client’s assets. If any
information changes, Clients are responsible for
If the
promptly advising us of any changes.
information is current, no further action is required.
We provide Clients with written quarterly
performance reports on the performance of their
total account compared to standard industry indices.
Unaffiliated Advisors
We do not review specific investments made by
unaffiliated Strategists of separate accounts or funds.
We do not rebalance or change the asset allocation
in a Client’s non-discretionary Core Asset Manager or
Wealth Advisory account unless the Client requests
us to review the agreed upon investment strategy.
We do rebalance and actively change the asset
allocation of certain discretionary
investment
strategies referenced in Item 4 – Advisory Business of
this Brochure, and other discretionary accounts
within the Wealth Advisory program as warranted.
We do not change the investment strategy for an
account unless the Client requests us to review the
agreed upon investment strategy or the Client or
their Investment Advisor instruct us to do so.
Co-Advisory Arrangements
For our BCI Platform (if Clients engage us for advisory
service via a co-advisory arrangement with an
unaffiliated third-party Investment Advisor) and for
our OPS Platform, the Investment Advisor will
recommend an asset allocation involving various
asset classifications and investment styles and will
identify for the Client suitable Strategists or other
investments to implement the investment disciplines
included in the investment strategy agreed upon
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Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Referral Arrangements
Certain unaffiliated Investment Advisors refer Clients
to us through a solicitor arrangement. Details
regarding the circumstances and compensation of
these arrangements can be found in Item 4 –
Advisory Business and
Item 5 – Fees and
Compensation of this Brochure, respectively.
Education Seminars
We organize educational seminars for Investment
Advisors who recommend our investment programs
to their Clients that may be sponsored or co-
sponsored by various Strategists and mutual fund
managers that participate in our programs. Portfolio
managers who participate in this program pay a fee
which is used to defray our expenses associated with
in the
such events. A Strategist's participation
program
is voluntary. We do not consider a
Strategist’s participation in any of our programs in
making manager recommendations to Clients.
Marketing Support
We compensate Investment Advisors for certain
approved marketing
reimbursement expenses,
including but not limited to Client appreciation
events. Certain
Investment Advisors and their
investment advisory firms are paid a fee for the
administrative and due diligence expenses incurred
in offering our services to Clients of their Investment
Advisors. These fees are either a flat dollar amount
or based upon a percentage of the value of new or
existing accounts referred to us by the applicable
Investment Advisors. These fees may also be used to
sponsor conferences hosted by Investment Advisors
or their
investment advisory firms. Investment
Advisors are invited to attend seminars and meetings
hosted by us. The purpose of these meetings is to
provide general market and industry information as
well as information about our services. For certain
Investment Advisors, we bear the
full costs
associated with the Investment Advisor’s attendance
of such meetings.
Marketing Support
We may also pay certain broker-dealer or investment
advisors an administrative or marketing fee (either a
percentage of the referred Client’s assets under
management or a fixed annual fee) to compensate
the referring firm for certain administrative and
marketing services and/or to support or participate
in educational conferences and events and training
programs sponsored or co-sponsored by such firms.
Such compensation arrangements may be ongoing or
in connection with limited promotional programs
and are disclosed as required under 17 CFR Section
275.206(4)-1(b). From time to time, we may also
participate as a sponsor of conferences and
educational and promotional events organized by
Investment Advisors. Fees paid by us for such
sponsorship opportunities help defray expenses
associated with such events.
administrative or marketing
Economic Benefits
We receive economic benefits from NFS and Schwab
in the form of the support products and services
these firms make available to us and other
independent investment advisors that have their
Clients maintain accounts at these broker-dealer
firms. These products and services, how they benefit
us, and the related conflicts of interest are described
in Item 12 – Brokerage Practices of this Brochure. The
availability to us of these products and services is not
based on our giving particular investment advice,
such as buying particular securities for Clients.
Such
fees or
sponsorships are paid by us from our own assets and
do not result in any differential in the management
fee charged by us for accounts with respect to which
we pay such fees and those with respect to which we
do not pay such fees. Since the compensation paid to
the Client’s Investment Advisor, particularly during
any promotional programs, may be more than what
the Investment Advisor would receive if the Client
participated in investment programs sponsored by
other investment advisors, the Investment Advisor
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may have a financial incentive to recommend our
programs over other programs or services.
accounts not maintained at Schwab. In addition to
investment research, Schwab also makes available
software and other technology that:
/
Custodian
Related
•
• provides access to Client account data (such
as duplicate trade confirmations and account
statements);
facilitates trade execution and allocate
aggregated trade orders for multiple Client
accounts;
• provides pricing and other market data;
•
facilitates payment of our fees from Clients’
accounts; and
with
back-office
functions,
• assists
recordkeeping and Client reporting.
Schwab also offers other services intended to help us
manage and further develop our business enterprise.
These services include:
Broker-Dealer
Compensation
Schwab Advisor Services
Schwab Advisor Services (”SAS”) is Schwab’s business
serving independent investment advisory firms like
ours. SAS provide us and the Client with access to
Schwab’s institutional brokerage 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 Client accounts while others help us
manage and grow our business. Schwab’s support
services are generally available on an unsolicited
basis and at no charge to us as long as we maintain a
total of at least $10 million of Platform Clients’ assets
in accounts at Schwab.
• educational conferences and events
•
technology, compliance, legal, and business
consulting;
• publications and conferences on practice
management and business succession; and
• access to employee benefits providers,
human capital consultants and insurance
providers.
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
in this
the Client. Schwab’s services described
paragraph generally benefit the Client or Client
account(s).
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.
Irrespective of direct or indirect benefits to Clients
through Schwab, we strive to enhance the Client’s
experience, help reach their goals, and put their
interests before that of our firm or its associated
persons.
Schwab also makes available to us other products
and services that benefit us but may not directly
benefit the Client or their account(s). These products
and services assist us in managing and administering
Client accounts. They include investment research,
both Schwab’s own and that of third parties. We may
use this research to service all or some substantial
number of Platform Clients’ accounts, including
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Item 15 – Custody
In addition, Clients will
We do not maintain custody of Client assets
(although we may be deemed to have legal custody
of Client assets if Clients give us authority to
withdraw assets from their account, including the
withdrawal of fees). While we do not maintain
custody of funds or securities, Constellation Trust
Company (“CTC”), our subsidiary, does maintain
custody of Client funds and securities. As CTC is not
considered to be operationally independent of us we
are subject to an annual surprise exam conducted by
an independent, third-party public accountant that is
registered with and subject to regular inspection by
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(PCAOB).
will receive monthly statements. For conduit
accounts (i.e., accounts which hold funds awaiting
investment or dispersal and which generally do not
have monthly activity), Clients will receive quarterly
statements.
receive
confirmation of all security transactions from the
clearing firm either on a trade-by-trade basis,
quarterly by mail, or through our website. Quarterly
online access or delivery by mail is available to Clients
if a Client submits a written request (which may be
by email or through our website) in advance of such
delivery. We urge Clients to carefully review such
statements and compare such official custodial
records to the account statements that we may
provide. Our statements may vary from custodial
statements based on accounting procedures,
reporting dates, or valuation methodologies of
certain securities.
investment objectives,
important
In addition to Client’s statements, Clients have access
to their account information at all times via our
website at portfoliologin.com where Clients can view
investment policy
their
statement and other
information
regarding the management of their account. Clients
are advised to periodically review all account
information to ensure it remains accurate in our
records.
Client assets must be maintained in an account at a
“qualified custodian,” generally a broker-dealer or
bank. As discussed in Item 12 – Brokerage Practices
of this Brochure under the heading “Directed
Brokerage,” if Clients participate in the Core Asset
Manager or Wealth Advisory programs, Clients may
select either NFS (directly or through Fidelity
Brokerage Services, LLC for accounts other than
those participating in Core Asset Manager or Wealth
Advisory) or Schwab to maintain actual custody of
Client assets. If Clients participate in the Destinations
program, Clients may select Fidelity or NFS to
maintain custody of the Clients’ account. If Clients
invest in the Destinations program through third-
party platforms, Clients will generally be required to
maintain their accounts with a qualified custodian
selected by the sponsor of such program.
We will generally communicate with Clients via
letters, market updates, and other literature. Under
circumstances where a Client has expressly
consented, correspondence and notifications will be
sent via electronic means (such as e-mail) or posted
to a secure web site.
Clients will receive monthly or quarterly statements
for their accounts directly from the custodian. For
managed accounts that have monthly activity, Clients
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Item 16 – Investment Discretion
responsible
For our discretionary advisory services, by selecting
these services, Clients are authorizing us to buy or
sell securities, as well as specify the amount of
securities to invest, without first obtaining their
specific consent. Funds will be purchased and sold on
behalf of the Client based on the Strategy selected by
the Client. We, at our own discretion, may allow
Clients to invest in programs below the stated
for any
minimums. Clients are
transaction costs associated with the management
of their assets unless otherwise agreed to by us as
part of our Wrap Fee Program. In cases where we
determine the broker or dealer to be used, we will
seek to obtain the best execution possible under the
circumstances.
investment restrictions or exclusions imposed by the
Client and communicated to us in writing (See Item 4
– Advisory Business for additional
information
relating to Client exclusions and restrictions). While
we are responsible for implementing the Strategist’s
instructions with respect to Client accounts invested
in the Strategist Model, we do not review or make
any independent determination with respect to the
merits of such investment instructions. Strategists
are responsible for making decisions with respect to
the specific securities and portfolio weightings of
in the Strategist’s model
such securities held
portfolio. The Strategist
is not responsible for
determining the suitability of the model for any client
or implementing any client-specific restrictions or
limitations.
Additional information relating to our investment
discretion can be found in Item 4 – Advisory Business.
Upon termination of our investment management
services, we will have no obligation or authority to
recommend or take any action with regard to a
Client’s account.
the
instructions
Custodian Discretion
For a discussion regarding our discretion
in
connection with the selection of custodians, see Item
Industry Activities and
10 – Other Financial
Affiliations of this Brochure.
Strategists may provide management of Client
accounts by maintaining with us a model that
or
Strategist’s
contains
recommendations as to the securities to be
purchased, held, or sold for the Client’s account and
thereof, which are
the position weightings
implemented by us, subject to any reasonable
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Item 17 – Voting Client Securities
is solely for the benefit of plan participants and their
beneficiaries.
In the Destinations program, proxy ballots are sent
directly to Clients. However, if Clients indicate on the
custodial account application form (in the manner
required by the custodian) that we are to vote
proxies on their behalf, their account is included in a
rolled-up ballot which is voted by us in accordance
with recommendations from a Proxy Voter.
Our Investment Committee has the responsibility to
monitor proxy voting decisions for any conflicts of
interests, regardless of whether they are actual or
perceived. If at any time any supervised person
becomes aware of any potential, actual, or perceived
conflict of interest, the supervised person is required
to contact the Chair of the Investment Committee or
the Chief Compliance Officer immediately and prior
to the vote being cast, if possible.
The Investment Committee may cause any of the
following actions to be taken in that regard:
Summary Of Proxy Voting
We vote proxies for certain Client accounts. Please
refer to the Terms and Conditions or investment
advisor agreement for details regarding proxy
authority. If Clients grant us proxy voting authority,
Clients authorize us to appoint the various Strategists
who have discretionary trading authority, to vote
proxies for securities held in their account with such
manager. We will vote proxies in accordance with the
instructions of the Strategist(s) for securities held in
the Client's account with the manager, provided that
the instructions are timely received by us. If the
Strategist’s instructions are not timely received, we
shall vote the proxies for these securities, as well as
proxies for any other securities held in a Clients
account, in accordance with the recommendations
provided by an independent proxy voting advisory
service (a “Proxy Voter”). For Strategists that provide
a model to us in which we have discretionary trading
authority, we shall vote the proxies of the securities
in accordance with the recommendations provided
by a Proxy Voter.
• Vote the proxy in accordance with the vote
indicated by the Guidelines;
in accordance with
• Vote the relevant proxy contrary to the vote
that would be indicated by the Guidelines,
provided that the reasons behind the voting
decision are in the best interest of the Client,
reasonably documented, and are
are
approved by the Chief Compliance Officer; or
• Direct the Proxy Voter to vote in accordance
with its independent assessment of the
matter.
We retain the right to vote proxies for mutual fund
shares and ETF shares. Generally, we vote such
recommendations
proxies
provided by a Proxy Voter. However, we retain the
right to vote the proxies without a recommendation
from a Proxy Voter if a Client’s accounts own in the
aggregate one percent (1%) or more of the
outstanding shares of the issuer as of the record
date, provided that all such decisions are made in
accordance with our Proxy Voting Policy and
Procedures (the "Voting Policy"). In the event we are
voting such proxies without a recommendation from
a Proxy Voter, the guiding principle by which we vote
on all matters submitted to security holders is the
maximization of the ultimate economic value of
Clients’ holdings (the "Guidelines"). For accounts
subject to ERISA and other covered person benefit
plans, the focus on the realization of economic value
If any potential conflict is either determined not to
exist, or is resolved, the relevant Strategist will
determine the appropriate vote. The Strategist will
retain all documents prepared by him/her (or at
his/her direction) that were material to making a
decision on how to vote or that memorializes the
basis for the decision.
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We and all Strategists retained by us have adopted
and implemented written policies and procedures.
We will provide these policies and procedures to
each Client using their investment management
services in compliance with current regulations. A
copy of our Voting Policy is available, upon request,
by contacting us at (800) 379-2513.
confidentiality of the particular votes that we cast on
behalf of Clients; however, we will obtain and make
available to each Client the voting record of each
Strategist with respect to their account upon receipt
of a written request. Clients may obtain details of
how we voted the securities in their account by
contacting us at (800) 379-2513. The Proxy Voter
posts information regarding that vote on its secure
website.
Absent any legal or regulatory requirement to the
contrary, it is generally our policy to maintain the
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Item 18 – Financial Information
Audited Balance Sheet
The requirement to provide an audited balance sheet
is not applicable to us as we do not require Clients to
prepay fees six months or more in advance.
to meet
contractual
Financial Condition
We have no financial commitment that impairs our
ability
and fiduciary
commitments to Clients and have not been the
subject of a bankruptcy proceeding.
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