Overview

Assets Under Management: $392 million
Headquarters: MAPLEWOOD, NJ
High-Net-Worth Clients: 119
Average Client Assets: $3 million

Services Offered

Services: Financial Planning, Portfolio Management for Individuals, Educational Seminars

Fee Structure

Primary Fee Schedule (THE GENWEALTH GROUP, INC. ADV 2A)

MinMaxMarginal Fee Rate
$0 $500,000 1.25%
$500,001 $1,000,000 1.00%
$1,000,001 $3,000,000 0.75%
$3,000,001 $10,000,000 0.50%
$10,000,001 and above 0.25%

Minimum Annual Fee: $6,250

Illustrative Fee Rates
Total AssetsAnnual FeesAverage Fee Rate
$1 million $11,250 1.12%
$5 million $36,250 0.72%
$10 million $61,250 0.61%
$50 million $161,250 0.32%
$100 million $286,250 0.29%

Clients

Number of High-Net-Worth Clients: 119
Percentage of Firm Assets Belonging to High-Net-Worth Clients: 82.70
Average High-Net-Worth Client Assets: $3 million
Total Client Accounts: 248
Discretionary Accounts: 248

Regulatory Filings

CRD Number: 154569
Last Filing Date: 2024-10-08 00:00:00
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thegenwealthgroup

Form ADV Documents

Primary Brochure: THE GENWEALTH GROUP, INC. ADV 2A (2025-03-20)

View Document Text
The GenWealth Group, Inc. 6 Inwood Place Maplewood, NJ 07040 Telephone: 973-761-0400 Facsimile: 973-761-1558 www.thegenwealthgroup.com March 20, 2025 FORM ADV PART 2A BROCHURE This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of The GenWealth Group, Inc. If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, contact us at 973-761-0400 or by email at michael@thegenwealthgroup.com. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority. Additional information about The GenWealth Group, Inc. is available on the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. The GenWealth Group, Inc. is a registered investment adviser. Registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. 1 Item 2 Summary of Material Changes Form ADV Part 2 requires registered investment advisers to amend their brochure when information becomes materially inaccurate. If there are any material changes to an adviser's disclosure brochure, the adviser is required to notify you and provide you with a description of the material changes. Since our last annual updating amendment, dated February 29, 2024, we have no material changes to report. 2 Item 3 Table of Contents Item 1 Cover Page Item 2 Summary of Material Changes Item 3 Table of Contents Item 4 Advisory Business Item 5 Fees and Compensation Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management Item 7 Types of Clients Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss Item 9 Disciplinary Information Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading Item 12 Brokerage Practices Item 13 Review of Accounts Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation Item 15 Custody Item 16 Investment Discretion Item 17 Voting Client Securities Item 18 Financial Information Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers Item 20 Additional Information Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 Page 9 Page 9 Page 9 Page 14 Page 14 Page 14 Page 15 Page 19 Page 19 Page 20 Page 20 Page 21 Page 21 Page 21 Page 21 3 Item 4 Advisory Business Description of Firm The GenWealth Group, Inc. is a registered investment adviser based in Maplewood, NJ. We are organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of New Jersey. We have been providing investment advisory services since February 2008. The firm is owned 50% by Michael P. Leanza and 50% Cherie Leanza. The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Refer to the description of each investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your individual needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," and "us" refer to The GenWealth Group, Inc. and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client of our firm. Portfolio Management Services We offer discretionary portfolio management services. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant us discretionary authority to manage your account. Subject to a grant of discretionary authorization, we have the authority and responsibility to formulate investment strategies on your behalf. Discretionary authorization will allow us to determine the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your account without obtaining your approval prior to each transaction. We will also have discretion over the broker or dealer to be used for securities transactions in your account. Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm, a power of attorney, or trading authorization forms. You may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased or sold for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing. Financial Planning Services We offer financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their individual needs. These services can range from broad-based financial planning to consultative or single subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will meet with you to gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also use financial planning software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify your long-term goals and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and non-financial), we will develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze the information you provide to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we will deliver a written plan to you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives. Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation, goals, objectives, or needs change. You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing securities transactions with any brokerage firm. 4 Automated Investment Program Institutional Intelligent Portfolios® ("IIP") is a technology and service platform made available by Schwab Performance Technologies® ("SPT") to independent investment advisors ("Advisors") who maintain a business relationship with Schwab Advisor Services™, a division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. We offer this automated investment program (the "Program") through which clients are invested in a range of investment strategies we have constructed and manage, each consisting of a portfolio of exchange-traded funds ("Funds") and a cash allocation. The client's portfolio is held in a brokerage account opened by the client at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("CS&Co;"). We are independent of and not owned by, affiliated with, or sponsored or supervised by SPT, CS&Co.;, or their affiliates (together, "Schwab"). We, and not Schwab, are the client's investment advisor and primary point of contact with respect to the Program. We are solely responsible, and Schwab is not responsible, for determining the appropriateness of the Program for the client, choosing a suitable investment strategy and portfolio for the client's investment needs and goals, and managing that portfolio on an ongoing basis. We have contracted with SPT to provide us with the Platform, which consists of technology and related trading and account management services for the Program. The Platform enables us to make the Program available to clients online and includes a system that automates certain key parts of our investment process (the "System"). The System includes an online questionnaire that can help us determine the client's investment objectives and risk tolerance and select an appropriate investment strategy and portfolio. Clients should note that, if we use the online questionnaire, we will recommend a portfolio via the System in response to the client's answers to the online questionnaire. We charge clients a fee for our services as described below under Item 5 Fees and Compensation. Our fees are not set or supervised by Schwab. Clients do not pay brokerage commissions or any other fees to CS&Co.; as part of the Program. Schwab does receive other revenues in connection with the Program. We do not pay SPT fees for the Platform so long as we maintain $100 million in client assets in accounts at CS&Co.; that are not enrolled in the Program. If we do not meet this condition, then we pay SPT an annual licensing fee of 0.10% (10 basis points) on the value of our clients' assets in the Program. This fee arrangement gives us an incentive to recommend or require that our clients with accounts not enrolled in the Program be maintained with CS&Co. We use a third-party technology to facilitate management of assets held away from the custodians that we recommend (e.g., defined contribution plan participant accounts). We are not affiliated with the company that provides the technology and do not receive compensation from them for using their technology. A link is provided to clients allowing them to connect an account(s) to the technology. Once a client account(s) is connected with the platform, we review the current account allocations and investment choices on the specific investment platform. When deemed necessary, we rebalance the account considering the client's investment goals, risk tolerance, and financial situation. Assets held away limit our ability to select the investments we feel are best and are purchased for other accounts. Assets held away are limited to the investment choices of the investment platform for which they are held. Client account(s) are reviewed at least quarterly and allocation changes are made as deemed necessary. Types of Investments We primarily offer advice on ETFs. Refer to the Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss below for additional disclosures on this topic. We also use insurance products for certain client where we believe that it is our clients best interest. 5 Additionally, we may advise you on various types of investments based on your stated goals and objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in your portfolio at the inception of our advisory relationship. IRA Rollover Recommendations Effective December 20, 2021 (or such later date as the US Department of Labor ("DOL") Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02 ceases to be in effect), for purposes of complying with the DOL's Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 ("PTE 2020-02") where applicable, we are providing the following acknowledgment to you. When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. We operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. Under this special rule's provisions, we must: • Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent advice); • Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal advice); • Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments; • Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best interest; • Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and • Give you basic information about conflicts of interest. We benefit financially from the rollover of your assets from a retirement account to an account that we manage or provide investment advice, because the assets increase our assets under management and, in turn, our advisory fees. As a fiduciary, we only recommend a rollover when we believe it is in your best interest. Assets Under Management. As of December 31, 2024, we provide continuous management services for $483,883,490 in client assets on a discretionary basis. Item 5 Fees and Compensation Portfolio Management Services Our fee for portfolio management services is based on a percentage of the assets in your account and is set forth in the following annual fee schedule: Annual Fee Schedule Assets Under Management Up to the first $500,000 Up to the next $500,000 Up to the next $2,000,000 Up to the next $7,000,000 In Excess of $10,000,000 Annnual Fee 1.25% 1.00% 0.75% 0.50% 0.25% 6 For existing accounts, the advisory fee shall be calculated as a percentage of the fair market value of all billable assets in the Account on the last trading day of the previous calendar quarter. The advisory fee shall be paid quarterly in advance. For all new accounts, the advisory fee shall be billed in arrears. This initial fee is calculated based on the average value of billable assets in the account on the last day of each month in that calendar quarter. Fees on non-cash assets deposited after the beginning of a billing period will be prorated based on the remaining number of days in the billing period and billed in arrears in the quarter following the deposit of the assets. Fees for non-cash assets withdrawn after the beginning of a billing period will be prorated based on the remaining number of days in the billing period and credited in arrears in the quarter following the withdrawal of assets. In the event the value of the portfolio is less than $500,000 we reserve the right to charge a minimum annual fee. However, we reserve the right to waive or reduce the minimum fee at our discretion. At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee based on the fee schedule stated above. We will deduct our fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds and securities. We will deduct our advisory fee only when you have given our firm written authorization permitting the fees to be paid directly from your account. Further, the qualified custodian will deliver an account statement to you at least quarterly. These account statements will show all disbursements from your account. You should review all statements for accuracy. You may terminate the portfolio management agreement upon written notice. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated refund of those fees. Seton Hall Alumni who engage with the Company for investment advisory services with assets of $500,000 or more receive a 10% discount on their first year advisory fee. Automated Investment Program As described in Item 4 - Advisory Business, clients receiving Portfolio Management Services within the Program do not pay fees to SPT or brokerage commissions or other fees to Charles Schwab as part of the Program. Schwab does receive other revenues in connection with the Program. The fees charged for this service follow the standard fee schedule noted above, with the exception that clients on this platform are not subject to our minimum fee requirement ($6250 minimum). Brokerage arrangements are further described below in Item 12 Brokerage Practices. Financial Planning Services At our discretion, we may offset our financial planning fees to the extent you implement the financial plan through our Portfolio Management Service. We will not require prepayment of a fee more than six months in advance and in excess of $1,200. Financial planning services are typically provided as part of the our investment management services. However, financial planning services may be provided separately when a client has a specific need or does not contract with the Company for the management of the client's account(s). Fees for financial services are negaotiated on a case-by-case basis depending on the complexity of the client's situation when they are not provided as part of investment management services. 7 Financial Planning fees are billed in advance. You may terminate the financial planning agreement upon written notice to our firm. Financial planning fees are non-refundable. Educational Seminars We provide educational seminars for a fixed fee. Seminar registrants may bring a guest at no additional charge. Seminar proceeds are donated to Seton Hall University as a charitable contribution when held at the University. The cost of other educational seminars are negotiated on a case-by-case basis and may cost more or less than the Seton Hall seminars, and the proceeds may not be donated to charity. Additional Fees and Expenses As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may invest, or recommend that you invest, in mutual funds and exchange traded funds. The fees that you pay to our firm for investment advisory services are separate and distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange traded funds (described in each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally include a management fee and other fund expenses. You will also incur transaction charges and/or brokerage fees when purchasing or selling securities. These charges and fees are typically imposed by the broker-dealer or custodian through whom your account transactions are executed. We do not share in any portion of the brokerage fees/transaction charges imposed by the broker-dealer or custodian. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you should review all the fees charged by mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others. For information on our brokerage practices, refer to the Brokerage Practices section of this brochure. Compensation for the Sale of Securities or Other Investment Products Persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed as independent insurance agents. These persons will earn commission-based compensation for selling insurance products, including insurance products they sell to you. Insurance commissions earned by these persons are separate and in addition to our advisory fees. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm who are insurance agents have an incentive to recommend insurance products to you for the purpose of generating commissions rather than solely based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to purchase insurance products through any person affiliated with our firm. For insurance based products held as part of an advised account and included in the asset management fee, we do not receive a commission nor other deferred fees from the insurance company. Cash Balances We do not charge advisory fees for cash balances. This presents a conflict of interest since this creates an incentive to keep clients fully invested. However, we believe this practice to be in the client's overall best interest. Loans Upon request The GenWealth Group may help assist clients in obtaining loans (typically short term bridge loans) with third party banks. The GenWealth Group does not receive direct compensation for assisting with the facilitation of these loans. While The GenWealth Group does not actively solicit such borrowings from clients, The GenWealth Group has a conflict of interest since the account retains a higher value than would otherwise if the client were to sell securities to finance their personal needs. 8 Item 6 Performance-Based Fees and Side-By-Side Management We do not accept performance-based fees or participate in side-by-side management. Performance- based fees are fees that are based on a share of a capital gains or capital appreciation of a client's account. Side-by-side management refers to the practice of managing accounts that are charged performance-based fees while at the same time managing accounts that are not charged performance- based fees. Our fees are calculated as described in the Fees and Compensation section above, and are not charged on the basis of a share of capital gains upon, or capital appreciation of, the funds in your advisory account. Item 7 Types of Clients We offer investment advisory services to individuals (other than high net worth individuals) and high net worth individuals. Our investment management and comprehensive planning services are best suited for clients who have between $1,000,000 and $3,000,000 in investable assets. In general, we require a minimum of $500,000 to open and maintain an advisory account. At our discretion, we may waive this minimum account size. For example, we may waive the minimum if you appear to have significant potential for increasing your assets under our management. The minimum investment required to open an account in our Automated Investment Program is $5,000. The minimum account balance to enroll in the tax-loss harvesting feature is $50,000. We charge a minimum fee in the amount of $6,250 per household per year to open and maintain an advisory account receiving our Portfolio Management services. For Schwab Intelligent Portfolios the minimum fee will be waived. At our discretion we may waive the minimum fee. We may also combine account values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts to meet the stated minimum. Item 8 Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss Our Methods of Analysis and Investment Strategies We may use one or more of the following methods of analysis or investment strategies when providing investment advice to you: 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: 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. 9 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. There are many factors that can affect financial market performance in the short-term (such as short-term interest rate changes, cyclical earnings announcements, etc.) but may have a smaller impact over longer periods of times. 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 trading 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. Risk: When a frequent trading policy is in effect, there is a risk that investment performance within your account may be negatively affected, for example through potentially increased taxes. Our investment strategies and advice may vary depending upon each client's specific financial situation. As such, we determine investments and allocations based upon your predefined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs and other various suitability factors. Your restrictions and guidelines may affect the composition of your portfolio. It is important that you notify us immediately with respect to any material changes to your financial circumstances, including for example, a change in your current or expected income level, tax circumstances, or employment status. ESG Criteria: An additional level of scrutiny is added to The Genwealth Socially Responsibility Investing strategy which includes Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") criteria. All investments are screened using ESG criteria as vetted by the issuing ETF companies. The purpose is to provide an additional level of risk management and long-term value by investing in companies that provide a positive impact in the world and avoid companies that don't take responsibility and care of all stakeholders including shareholders, communities, environment, and the supply chain. ESG screening has risks including that it may not encompass all environmental, social or governance issues and that such an approach may not lead to greater portfolio performance. Tax Considerations Our strategies and investments may have unique and significant tax implications. However, unless we specifically agree otherwise, and in writing, tax efficiency is not our primary consideration in the management of your assets. Regardless of your account size or any other factors, we strongly recommend that you consult with a tax professional regarding the investing of your assets. Moreover, custodians and broker-dealers must report the cost basis of equities acquired in client accounts on or after January 1, 2011. Your custodian will default to the First-In First-Out ("FIFO") accounting method for calculating the cost basis of your investments. You are responsible for contacting your tax advisor to determine if this accounting method is the right choice for you. If your tax advisor believes another accounting method is more advantageous, provide written notice to our firm immediately and we will alert your account custodian of your individually selected accounting method. Decisions about cost basis accounting methods will need to be made before trades settle, as the cost basis method cannot be changed after settlement. 10 Risk of Loss Investing in securities involves risk of loss that you should be prepared to bear. We do not represent or guarantee that our services or methods of analysis can or will predict future results, successfully identify market tops or bottoms, or insulate clients from losses due to market corrections or declines. We cannot offer any guarantees or promises that your financial goals and objectives will be met. Past performance is in no way an indication of future performance. Other Risk Considerations When evaluating risk, financial loss may be viewed differently by each client and may depend on many different risks, each of which may affect the probability and magnitude of any potential loses. The following risks may not be all-inclusive, but should be considered carefully by a prospective client before retaining our services. Liquidity Risk: The risk of being unable to sell your investment at a fair price at a given time due to high volatility or lack of active liquid markets. You may receive a lower price or it may not be possible to sell the investment at all. Credit Risk: Credit risk typically applies to debt investments such as corporate, municipal, and sovereign fixed income or bonds. A bond issuing entity can experience a credit event that could impair or erase the value of an issuer's securities held by a client. Inflation and Interest Rate Risk: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to changes in inflation and interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and may reduce the purchasing power of a client's future interest payments and principal. Inflation also generally leads to higher interest rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income investments to decline. Horizon and Longevity Risk: The risk that your investment horizon is shortened because of an unforeseen event, for example, the loss of your job. This may force you to sell investments that you were expecting to hold for the long term. If you must sell at a time that the markets are down, you may lose money. Longevity Risk is the risk of outliving your savings. This risk is particularly relevant for people who are retired, or are nearing retirement. Recommendation of Particular Types of Securities We primarily recommend ETFs. However, we may advise on other types of investments as appropriate for you since each client has different needs and different tolerance for risk. Each type of security has its own unique set of risks associated with it and it would not be possible to list here all of the specific risks of every type of investment. Even within the same type of investment, risks can vary widely. However, in very general terms, the higher the anticipated return of an investment, the higher the risk of loss associated with the investment. Money Market Funds: A money market fund is technically a security. The fund managers attempt to keep the share price constant at $1/share. However, there is no guarantee that the share price will stay at $1/share. If the share price goes down, you can lose some or all of your principal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") notes that "While investor losses in money market funds have been rare, they are possible." In return for this risk, you should earn a greater return on your cash than you would expect from a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") insured savings account (money market funds are not FDIC insured). Next, money market fund rates are variable. In other words, you do not know how much you will earn on your investment next month. The rate could go up or go down. If it goes up, that may result in a positive outcome. However, if it goes down and you earn less than you expected to earn, you may end up needing more cash. A final risk 11 you are taking with money market funds has to do with inflation. Because money market funds are considered to be safer than other investments like stocks, long-term average returns on money market funds tends to be less than long term average returns on riskier investments. Over long periods of time, inflation can diminish your purchasing power. Bonds: Corporate debt securities (or "bonds") are typically safer investments than equity securities, but their risk can also vary widely based on: the financial health of the issuer; the risk that the issuer might default; when the bond is set to mature; and, whether or not the bond can be "called" prior to maturity. When a bond is called, it may not be possible to replace it with a bond of equal character paying the same rate of return. Inflation and Interest Rate: Security prices and portfolio returns will likely vary in response to changes in inflation and interest rates. Inflation causes the value of future dollars to be worth less and may reduce the purchasing power of a client's future interest payments and principal. Inflation also generally leads to higher interest rates which may cause the value of many types of fixed income investments to decline. Stocks: There are numerous ways of measuring the risk of equity securities (also known simply as "equities" or "stock"). In very broad terms, the value of a stock depends on the financial health of the company issuing it. However, stock prices can be affected by many other factors including, but not limited to the class of stock (for example, preferred or common); the health of the market sector of the issuing company; and, the overall health of the economy. In general, larger, better established companies ("large cap") tend to be safer than smaller start-up companies ("small cap") are but the mere size of an issuer is not, by itself, an indicator of the safety of the investment. Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds: Mutual funds and exchange traded funds ("ETF") are professionally managed collective investment systems that pool money from many investors and invest in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, or any combination thereof. The fund will have a manager that trades the fund's investments in accordance with the fund's investment objective. While mutual funds and ETFs generally provide diversification, risks can be significantly increased if the fund is concentrated in a particular sector of the market, primarily invests in small cap or speculative companies, uses leverage (i.e., borrows money) to a significant degree, or concentrates in a particular type of security (i.e., equities) rather than balancing the fund with different types of securities. ETFs differ from mutual funds since they can be bought and sold throughout the day like stock and their price can fluctuate throughout the day. The returns on mutual funds and ETFs can be reduced by the costs to manage the funds. Also, while some mutual funds are "no load" and charge no fee to buy into, or sell out of, the fund, other types of mutual funds do charge such fees which can also reduce returns. Mutual funds can also be "closed end" or "open end". "Open end" mutual funds continue to allow in new investors indefinitely whereas "closed end" funds have a fixed number of shares to sell which can limit their availability to new investors. ETFs may have tracking error risks. For example, the ETF investment adviser may not be able to cause the ETF's performance to match that of the its Underlying Index or other benchmark, which may negatively affect the ETF's performance. In addition, for leveraged and inverse ETFs that seek to track the performance of their Underlying Indices or benchmarks on a daily basis, mathematical compounding may prevent the ETF from correlating with performance of its benchmark. In addition, an ETF may not have investment exposure to all of the securities included in its Underlying Index, or its weighting of investment exposure to such securities may vary from that of the Underlying Index. Some ETFs may invest in securities or financial instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, but which are expected to yield similar performance. 12 Leveraged Exchange Traded Funds ("Leveraged ETFs" or "L-ETF"): seeks investment results for a single day only, not for longer periods. A "single day" is measured from the time the L-ETF calculates its net asset value ("NAV") to the time of the L-ETF's next NAV calculation. The return of the L-ETF for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day's returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from multiplying the return by the stated leverage for that period. For periods longer than a single day, the L-ETF will lose money when the level of the Index is flat, and it is possible that the L-ETF will lose money even if the level of the Index rises. Longer holding periods, higher index volatility and greater leverage both exacerbate the impact of compounding on an investor's returns. During periods of higher Index volatility, the volatility of the Index may affect the L-ETF's return as much as or more than the return of the Index. Leveraged ETFs are different from most exchange- traded funds in that they seek leveraged returns relative to the applicable index and only on a daily basis. The L-ETF also is riskier than similarly benchmarked exchange-traded funds that do not use leverage. Accordingly, the L-ETF may not be suitable for all investors and should be used only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results. GenWealth group may purchase an initial allocation for longer term positions of no more than 20-25% for more aggressive accounts. GenWealth monitors such positions continuously. Leveraged ETF Leveraged Risk - The L-ETF obtains investment exposure in excess of its assets in seeking to achieve its investment objective — a form of leverage — and will lose more money in market environments adverse to its daily objective than a similar fund that does not employ such leverage. The use of such leverage could result in the total loss of an investor's investment. For example: a 2X fund will have a multiplier of two times (2x) the Index. A single day movement in the Index approaching 50% at any point in the day could result in the total loss of a shareholder's investment if that movement is contrary to the investment objective of the L-ETF, even if the Index subsequently moves in an opposite direction, eliminating all or a portion of the earlier movement. This would be the case with any such single day movements in the Index, even if the Index maintains a level greater than zero at all times. Leveraged ETF Compounding Risk - Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on a leveraged fund. Particularly during periods of higher Index volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a single day to vary from the stated multiplier of the return of the Index. This effect becomes more pronounced as volatility increases. Leveraged ETF Use of Derivatives - The L-ETF obtains investment exposure through derivatives. Investing in derivatives may be considered aggressive and may expose the L-ETF to greater risks than investing directly in the reference asset(s) underlying those derivatives. These risks include counterparty risk, liquidity risk and increased correlation risk (each as discussed below). When the L- ETF uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset(s) and the derivative, which may prevent the L-ETF from achieving its investment objective. The L-ETF may use a combination of swaps on the Index and swaps on an ETF that is designed to track the performance of the Index. The performance of an ETF may not track the performance of the Index due to embedded costs and other factors. Thus, to the extent the L-ETF invests in swaps that use an ETF as the reference asset, the L-ETF may be subject to greater correlation risk and may not achieve as high a degree of correlation with the Index as it would if the L-ETF only used swaps on the Index. Moreover, with respect to the use of swap agreements, if the Index has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in the L-ETF's net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the L- ETF and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the transaction with the L-ETF. In that event, the L-ETF may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the L-ETF's investment objective. This, in 13 turn, may prevent the L-ETF from achieving its investment objective, even if the Index reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. Any costs associated with using derivatives will also have the effect of lowering the L-ETF's return. Item 9 Disciplinary Information We are required to disclose the facts of any legal or disciplinary events that are material to a client's evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management. We do not have any required disclosures under this item. Item 10 Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations Licensed Insurance Agents Certain persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm, in their individual capacities, are licensed insurance agents. See the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure for more information on the compensation received by registered representatives and/or licensed insurance agents who are affiliated with our firm. Insurance Agency The GenWealth Group is licensed as an insurance agency and provides analysis of and recommends the purchase and sale of certain insurance products to both advisory clients and non-advisory clients. The GenWealth Group may receive commissions or other forms of compensation in connection with such sales to our advisory clients. Advisory clients are not obligated to use us as their insurance agency or agent or to use any recommended insurance company for any recommended insurance transaction. To the extent insurance products are offered to advisory clients of the GenWealth Group, IARs will be paid a commission by the insurance company who issues the policy. This creates a conflict of interest as there is an incentive for them to recommend insurance products based on the compensation received, rather than on the client's needs. Notwithstanding such conflict of interest, the GenWealth Group addresses its fiduciary duty by utilizing insurance products only where it is the best interest of clients, after consultation with the client, and no advisory fees are charged on insurance products. See Item 12 - Brokerage Practices and Item 14 - Client Referrals and Other Compensation for a discussion of the conflicts of interest and compensation related to these relationships. Item 11 Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading Description of Our Code of Ethics We strive to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing our practices. Therefore, our Code of Ethics includes guidelines for professional standards of conduct for persons associated with our firm. Our goal is to protect your interests at all times and to demonstrate our commitment to our fiduciary duties of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing with you. All persons associated with our firm are expected to adhere strictly to these guidelines. Persons associated with our firm are also required to report any violations of our Code of Ethics. Additionally, we maintain and enforce written policies reasonably designed to prevent the misuse or dissemination of material, non-public information about you or your account holdings by persons associated with our firm. 14 Clients or prospective clients may obtain a copy of our Code of Ethics by contacting us at the telephone number on the cover page of this brochure. Participation or Interest in Client Transactions Neither our firm nor any persons associated with our firm has any material financial interest in client transactions beyond the provision of investment advisory services as disclosed in this brochure. Personal Trading Practices Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell the same securities that we recommend to you or securities in which you are already invested. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will receive. To mitigate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities. Aggregated Trading Our firm or persons associated with our firm may buy or sell securities for you at the same time we or persons associated with our firm buy or sell such securities for our own account. We may also combine our orders to purchase securities with your orders to purchase securities ("aggregated trading"). Refer to the Brokerage Practices section in this brochure for information on our aggregated trading practices. A conflict of interest exists in such cases because we have the ability to trade ahead of you and potentially receive more favorable prices than you will receive. To eliminate this conflict of interest, it is our policy that neither our firm nor persons associated with our firm shall have priority over your account in the purchase or sale of securities. Item 12 Brokerage Practices We recommend the brokerage and custodial services of Charles Schwab & Co. ("Schwab"). Your assets must be maintained in an account at a "qualified custodian," generally a broker-dealer or bank. We seek to recommend a custodian/broker that will hold your assets and execute transactions on terms that are, overall, the most favorable compared to other available providers and their services. We consider various factors, including: • Capability to buy and sell securities for your account itself or to facilitate such services. • The likelihood that your trades will be executed. • Availability of investment research and tools. • Overall quality of services. • Competitiveness of price. • Reputation, financial strength, and stability. • Existing relationship with our firm and our other clients. Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits We do not have any soft dollar arrangements. Economic Benefits As a registered investment adviser, we have access to the institutional platform of your account custodian. As such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account custodian and/or other brokerage firm. These products may include financial publications, information about particular companies and industries, research software, and other products or services that provide lawful and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our investment decision- making responsibilities. Such research products and services are provided to all investment advisers 15 that utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and are not considered to be paid for with soft dollars. Please see the below for more information regarding the Charles Schwab & Co. custody and brokerage costs. Brokerage for Client Referrals We do not receive client referrals from broker-dealers in exchange for cash or other compensation, such as brokerage services or research. Directed Brokerage We routinely require that you direct our firm to execute transactions through Schwab. As such, we may be unable to achieve the most favorable execution of your transactions. You may utilize the broker-dealer of your choice and have no obligation to purchase or sell securities through such broker as we recommend. However, if you do not use the recommended broker we may not be able to accept your account. Aggregation of Orders We aggregate multiple orders for shares of the same securities purchased for discretionary advisory accounts we manage when we have the opportunity to do so. We will then distribute a portion of the shares to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner. Each participating account pays an average price per share for all transactions. In the event an order is only partially filled, the shares will be allocated to participating accounts in a fair and equitable manner, typically in proportion to the size of each client's order. Accounts owned by our firm or persons associated with our firm may participate in aggregated orders with your accounts; however, they will not be given preferential treatment. Non-Aggregated Orders From time to time, we change investment allocations after we have reviewed the client's portfolio and financial situation during our annual meeting with specific clients. We typically meet with different clients at different time of the year. When this occurs we may not aggregate orders, or only aggregate the orders for clients who we met with on or about the same time. The cost of not agregating orders does not cost more for our clients. Schwab Advisor Services Schwab Advisor Services (formerly called Schwab Institutional) is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like us. They provide us and our clients with access to its 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 our clients' accounts while others help us manage and grow our business. Schwab's support services are generally are available on an unsolicited basis (we don't have to request them) and at no charge to us. Services that Benefit You Schwab's institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products available through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients. Schwab's services described in this paragraph generally benefit you and your account. Services that May Not Directly Benefit You Schwab also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but may not directly benefit you or your account. These products and services assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts. They include investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We 16 may use this research to service all or some substantial number of our clients' accounts, including accounts not maintained at Schwab. In addition to investment research, Schwab also makes available software and other technology that: • provide access to client account data (such as duplicate trade confirmations and account statements); facilitate trade execution and allocate aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts; • • provide pricing and other market data; o facilitate payment of our fees from our clients' accounts; and • assist with back-office functions, recordkeeping and client reporting. Services that Generally Benefit Only Us Schwab also offers other services intended to help us manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include: technology, compliance, legal, and business consulting; • educational conferences and events; • • publications and conferences on practice management and business succession; • access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants and insurance providers; • discount on PortfolioCenter® Reporting Software. Schwab may provide some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to us. Schwab may also discount or waive its fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party's fees. Schwab may also provide us with other benefits such as occasional business entertainment of our personnel. Our Interest in Schwab's Services The availability of these services from Schwab benefits us because we do not have to produce or purchase them. These services may give us an incentive to recommend that you maintain your account with Schwab based on our interest in receiving Schwab's services that benefit our business rather than based on your interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of your transactions. This is a potential conflict of interest. We believe, however, that our selection of Schwab as custodian and broker is in the best interests of our clients. It is primarily supported by the scope, quality and price of Schwab's services (based on the factors discussed above – see "The Custodian and Broker We Use") and not Schwab's services that benefit only us. We do not believe that maintaining our client's assets at Schwab for services presents a material conflict of interest. Automated Investment Program Client accounts enrolled in the Automated Investment Program ("Program") are maintained at, and receive the brokerage services of, CS&Co.;, a broker/dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of FINRA and SIPC. While clients are required to use CS&Co.; as custodian/broker to enroll in the Program, the client decides whether to do so and opens its account with CS&Co.; by entering into a brokerage account agreement directly with CS&Co. If the client does not wish to place his or her assets with CS&Co., then we cannot manage the client's account through the Program. CS&Co.; may aggregate purchase and sale orders for Funds across accounts enrolled in the Program, including both accounts for our clients and accounts for clients of other independent investment advisory firms using the Platform. Schwab Advisor Services™ (formerly called Schwab Institutional) is Schwab's business serving independent investment advisory firms like us. Through Schwab Advisor Services, CS&Co.; provides us and our clients, both those enrolled in the Program and our clients not enrolled in the Program, with 17 access to its institutional brokerage services— trading, custody, reporting, and related services—many of which are not typically available to CS&Co.; retail customers. CS&Co.; also makes available various support services. Some of those services help us manage or administer our clients' accounts, while others help us manage and grow our business. CS&Co.;'s support services described below are generally available on an unsolicited basis (we don't have to request them) and at no charge to us. The availability to us of CS&Co.;'s products and services is not based on us giving particular investment advice, such as buying particular securities for our clients. Here is a more detailed description of CS&Co.;'s support services: CS&Co.;'s institutional brokerage services include access to a broad range of investment products, execution of securities transactions, and custody of client assets. The investment products available through Schwab include some to which we might not otherwise have access or that would require a significantly higher minimum initial investment by our clients. CS&Co.;'s services described in this paragraph generally benefit the client and the client's account. CS&Co.; also makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but may not directly benefit the client or its account. These products and services assist us in managing and administering our clients' accounts. They include investment research, both Schwab's own and that of third parties. We may use this research to service all or some substantial number of our clients' accounts, including accounts not maintained at CS&Co.; In addition to investment research, CS&Co.; also makes available software and other technology that: • 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 our clients' accounts; and • • provide pricing and other market data; • • assist with back-office functions, record keeping, and client reporting. CS&Co.; also offers other services intended to help us manage and further develop our business enterprise. These services include: technology, compliance, legal, and business consulting; • educational conferences and events; • • publications and conferences on practice management and business succession; and • access to employee benefits providers, human capital consultants, and insurance providers. CS&Co.; may provide some of these services itself. In other cases, it will arrange for third-party vendors to provide the services to us. CS&Co.; may also discount or waive its fees for some of these services or pay all or a part of a third party's fees. CS&Co.; may also provide us with other benefits such as occasional business entertainment of our personnel. The availability of services from CS&Co.; benefits us because we do not have to produce or purchase them. We don't have to pay for these services, and they are not contingent upon us committing any specific amount of business to CS&Co.; in trading commissions or assets in custody. With respect to the Program, as described above under Item 4 Advisory Business, we do not pay SPT fees for the Platform so long as we maintain $100 Million in client assets in accounts at CS&Co.; that are not enrolled in the Program. In light of our arrangements with Schwab, we may have an incentive to require that our clients maintain their accounts with CS&Co.; based on our interest in receiving Schwab's services that benefit our business rather than based on the client's interest in receiving the best value in custody services and the most favorable execution of transactions. This is a potential conflict of interest. We believe, however, that our selection of CS&Co.; as custodian and broker is in 18 the best interests of our clients. It is primarily supported by the scope, quality, and price of CS&Co.;'s services and not Schwab's services that benefit only us. We have adopted policies and procedures designed to ensure that our use of Schwab's services is appropriate for each of our clients. Item 13 Review of Accounts The Investment Adviser Representatives of our firm, will monitor your accounts on an ongoing basis and will conduct formal account reviews at least Annually, to ensure the advisory services provided to you are consistent with your investment needs and objectives. Additional reviews may be conducted based on various circumstances, including, but not limited to: • contributions and withdrawals, • year-end tax planning, • market moving events, • security specific events, and/or • changes in your risk/return objectives. The individuals conducting reviews may vary from time to time, as personnel join or leave our firm. We will provide you with additional or regular written reports in conjunction with account reviews. Reports we provide to you will contain relevant account and/or market-related information such as an inventory of account holdings and account performance, etc. You will receive trade confirmations and monthly or quarterly statements from your account custodian(s). Item 14 Client Referrals and Other Compensation Client Referrals We have entered into arrangements with employees of our firm, under which the individual receives compensation from our firm for the establishment of new client relationships. Employees who refer clients to our firm must comply with the requirements of the jurisdictions where they operate. The compensation consists of a one-time, flat referral fee upon your signing an advisory agreement with our firm. You will not be charged additional fees based on this compensation arrangement. Incentive based compensation is contingent upon you entering into an advisory agreement with our firm. Therefore, the individual has a financial incentive to recommend our firm to you for advisory services. This creates a conflict of interest; however, you are not obligated to retain our firm for advisory services. Comparable services and/or lower fees may be available through other firms. As disclosed under the Fees and Compensation section in this brochure, persons providing investment advice on behalf of our firm are licensed insurance agents. For information on the conflicts of interest this presents, and how we address these conflicts, refer to the Fees and Compensation section. Your advisor may recommend the purchase of insurance contracts on a fee basis or on a commission basis, when acting in their separate capacities as a licensed insurance agency or agent. This may result in a conflict of interest. If you choose to implement these recommendations, the insurance would be purchased through The GenWealth Group, and we would receive compensation and/or commissions as a result of the sale of the insurance or other financial products recommended. Other Compensation We receive economic benefits from a non-client in connection with providing investment advice or other advisory services to you. Through our participation in certain programs or use of a custodian we are entitled to receive economic benefits. As part of our fiduciary duty, we endeavor at all times to put the interests of our clients first. Clients should be aware, however, that the receipt of economic benefits 19 by our firm from a non-client in and of themselves creates a potential conflict of interest and may influence our choice in providing services to your account. This arrangement does not cause our clients to pay any additional transaction fees beyond those that are traditionally charged by our firm and/or other service providers. Refer to the Brokerage Practices section above for disclosures on research and other benefits we may receive resulting from our relationship with your account custodian. Item 15 Custody Your independent custodian will directly debit your account(s) for the payment of our advisory fees. This ability to deduct our advisory fees from your accounts causes our firm to exercise limited custody over your funds or securities. We do not have physical custody of any of your funds and/or securities. Your funds and securities will be held with a bank, broker-dealer, or other qualified custodian. You will receive account statements from the qualified custodian(s) holding your funds and securities at least quarterly. The account statements from your custodian(s) will indicate the amount of our advisory fees deducted from your account(s) each billing period. You should carefully review account statements for accuracy. Wire Transfer and/or Standing Letter of Authorization Our firm, or persons associated with our firm, may effect wire transfers, journals, electronic bank transfers, or send checks from client accounts to one or more third parties designated, in writing, by the client without obtaining written client consent for each separate or individual transaction, as long as the client has provided us with written authorization to do so. Such written authorization is known as a Standing Letter of Authorization. An adviser with authority to conduct such third party money movements has access to the client's assets, and therefore has custody of the client's assets in any related accounts. However, we do not have to obtain a surprise annual audit, as we otherwise would be required to by reason of having custody, as long as we meet the following criteria: 1. You provide a written, signed instruction to the qualified custodian that includes the third party's name and address or account number at a custodian; 2. You authorize us in writing to direct transfers to the third party either on a specified schedule or from time to time; 3. Your qualified custodian verifies your authorization (e.g., signature review) and provides a transfer of funds notice to you promptly after each transfer; 4. You can terminate or change the instruction; 5. We have no authority or ability to designate or change the identity of the third party, the address, or any other information about the third party; 6. We maintain records showing that the third party is not a related party to us nor located at the same address as us; and 7. Your qualified custodian sends you, in writing, an initial notice confirming the instruction and an annual notice reconfirming the instruction. We hereby confirm that we meet the above criteria. Item 16 Investment Discretion Before we can buy or sell securities on your behalf, you must first sign our discretionary management agreement and the appropriate trading authorization forms. 20 You may grant our firm discretion over the selection and amount of securities to be purchased or sold for your account(s) without obtaining your consent or approval prior to each transaction. You may specify investment objectives, guidelines, and/or impose certain conditions or investment parameters for your account(s). For example, you may specify that the investment in any particular stock or industry should not exceed specified percentages of the value of the portfolio and/or restrictions or prohibitions of transactions in the securities of a specific industry or security. Refer to the Advisory Business section in this brochure for more information on our discretionary management services. Item 17 Voting Client Securities We will not vote proxies on behalf of your advisory accounts. At your request, we may offer you advice regarding corporate actions and the exercise of your proxy voting rights. If you own shares of applicable securities, you are responsible for exercising your right to vote as a shareholder. In most cases, you will receive proxy materials directly from the account custodian. However, in the event we were to receive any written or electronic proxy materials, we would forward them directly to you by mail, unless you have authorized our firm to contact you by electronic mail, in which case, we would forward any electronic solicitations to vote proxies. Item 18 Financial Information Our firm does not have any financial condition or impairment that would prevent us from meeting our contractual commitments to you. We do not take physical custody of client funds or securities, or serve as trustee or signatory for client accounts, and, we do not require the prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees six or more months in advance. Therefore, we are not required to include a financial statement with this brochure. We have not filed a bankruptcy petition at any time in the past ten years. Item 19 Requirements for State-Registered Advisers We are a federally registered investment adviser; therefore, we are not required to respond to this item. Item 20 Additional Information Your Privacy We view protecting your private information as a top priority. Pursuant to applicable privacy requirements, we have instituted policies and procedures to ensure that we keep your personal information private and secure. We do not disclose any non-public personal information about you to any non-affiliated third parties, except as permitted by law. In the course of servicing your account, we may share some information with our service providers, such as transfer agents, custodians, broker-dealers, accountants, consultants, and attorneys. We restrict internal access to non-public personal information about you to employees, who need that information in order to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical and procedural safeguards that comply with regulatory standards to guard your non-public personal information and to 21 ensure our integrity and confidentiality. We will not sell information about you or your accounts to anyone. We do not share your information unless it is required to process a transaction, at your request, or required by law. You will receive a copy of our privacy notice prior to or at the time you sign an advisory agreement with our firm. If you decide to close your account(s) we will adhere to our privacy policies, which may be amended from time to time. If we make any substantive changes in our privacy policy that would further permit or require disclosures of your private information, we will provide written notice to you. Where the change is based on permitted disclosures, you will be given an opportunity to direct us as to whether such disclosure is acceptable. Where the change is based on required disclosures, you will only receive written notice of the change. You may not opt out of the required disclosures. If you have questions about our privacy policies contact our main office at the telephone number on the cover page of this brochure and ask to speak to the Chief Compliance Officer. Trade Errors In the event a trading error occurs in your account, our policy is to restore your account to the position it should have been in had the trading error not occurred. Class Action Lawsuits We do not determine if securities held by you are the subject of a class action lawsuit or whether you are eligible to participate in class action settlements or litigation nor do we initiate or participate in litigation to recover damages on your behalf for injuries as a result of actions, misconduct, or negligence by issuers of securities held by you. IRA Rollover Considerations As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that you withdraw the assets from your employer's retirement plan and roll the assets over to an individual retirement account ("IRA") that we will manage on your behalf. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our management, we will charge you an asset based fee as set forth in the agreement you executed with our firm. This practice presents a conflict of interest because persons providing investment advice on our behalf have an incentive to recommend a rollover to you for the purpose of generating fee based compensation rather than solely based on your needs. You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the rollover. Moreover, if you do complete the rollover, you are under no obligation to have the assets in an IRA managed by our firm. Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan. Also, current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before they retire or change jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of: 1. Leaving the funds in your employer's (former employer's) plan. 2. Moving the funds to a new employer's retirement plan. 3. Cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan. 4. Rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and before making a change we encourage you to speak with your CPA and/or tax attorney. 22 If you are considering rolling over your retirement funds to an IRA for us to manage here are a few points to consider before you do so: 1. Determine whether the investment options in your employer's retirement plan address your needs or whether you might want to consider other types of investments. a. Employer retirement plans generally have a more limited investment menu than IRAs. b. Employer retirement plans may have unique investment options not available to the public such as employer securities, or previously closed funds. 2. Your current plan may have lower fees than our fees. a. If you are interested in investing only in mutual funds, you should understand the cost structure of the share classes available in your employer's retirement plan and how the costs of those share classes compare with those available in an IRA. b. You should understand the various products and services you might take advantage of at an IRA provider and the potential costs of those products and services. 3. Our strategy may have higher risk than the option(s) provided to you in your plan. 4. Your current plan may also offer financial advice. 5. If you keep your assets titled in a 401k or retirement account, you could potentially delay your required minimum distribution beyond age 72. 6. Your 401k may offer more liability protection than a rollover IRA; each state may vary. a. Generally, federal law protects assets in qualified plans from creditors. Since 2005, IRA assets have been generally protected from creditors in bankruptcies. However, there can be some exceptions to the general rules so you should consult with an attorney if you are concerned about protecting your retirement plan assets from creditors. 7. You may be able to take out a loan on your 401k, but not from an IRA. 8. IRA assets can be accessed any time; however, distributions are subject to ordinary income tax and may also be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty unless they qualify for an exception such as disability, higher education expenses or the purchase of a home. 9. If you own company stock in your plan, you may be able to liquidate those shares at a lower capital gains tax rate. 10.Your plan may allow you to hire us as the manager and keep the assets titled in the plan name. It is important that you understand the differences between these types of accounts and to decide whether a rollover is best for you. Prior to proceeding, if you have questions contact your investment adviser representative, or call our main number as listed on the cover page of this brochure. 23