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ITEM 1 – COVER PAGE
FORM ADV PART 2A
FIRM BROCHURE
MARCH 27, 2025
MAIN OFFICE:
7900 E. UNION AVE., SUITE 1100
DENVER, CO 80237
PHONE (352) 335-9015 | FAX (352) 376-0026
MAILING ADDRESS:
3208 E. COLONIAL DRIVE, PMB 308
ORLANDO, FL 32803-5127
WEB: WWW.TILLMANHARTLEY.COM
EMAIL: INFO@TILLMANHARTLEY.COM
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Tillman Hartley LLC (“Tillman
Hartley”). If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact us at (352) 335-9015. 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. Tillman Hartley is a Registered Investment Advisor. Registration as an Investment
Advisor with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a
certain level of skill or training.
Additional information about Tillman Hartley is available on the SEC’s website at www.advisorinfo.sec.gov. You can search
this site by a unique identifying number, known as a IARD number. The IARD number for Tillman Hartley is 109479.
ITEM 2 – MATERIAL CHANGES
SUMMARY OF MATERIAL CHANGES
This section of the Brochure will address only those “material changes” that have been incorporated since
our
last delivery or posting of this document on the SEC’s public disclosure website (IAPD)
www.advisorinfo.sec.gov.
Since our last annual amendment filed on March 29, 2024, the following material changes have been made:
• Michael G. Tillman’s ownership of the firm was purchased by the other owners listed in Item 4.
Mr. Tillman acts as a consultant to Tillman Hartley.
Whenever you would like to receive a copy of our Firm Brochure (Part 2A of Form ADV), please contact us
by telephone at: (352) 335-9015 or by email at: info@tillmanhartley.com.
We encourage you to read this document in its entirety.
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ITEM 3 – TABLE OF CONTENTS
ITEM 1 – COVER PAGE ..................................................................................................................................... 1
ITEM 2 – MATERIAL CHANGES ........................................................................................................................ 2
ITEM 4 – ADVISORY BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................ 4
ITEM 5 – FEES AND COMPENSATION .............................................................................................................. 7
ITEM 6 – PERFORMANCE-BASED FEES AND SIDE-BY-SIDE MANAGEMENT ................................................... 11
ITEM 7 – TYPES OF CLIENTS ........................................................................................................................... 11
ITEM 8 – INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISK OF LOSS ................................................................................ 12
ITEM 9 – DISCIPLINARY INFORMATION ......................................................................................................... 17
ITEM 10 – OTHER FINANCIAL INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES AND AFFILIATIONS ...................................................... 17
ITEM 11 – CODE OF ETHICS ........................................................................................................................... 17
ITEM 12 – BROKERAGE PRACTICES ............................................................................................................... 18
ITEM 13 – REVIEW OF ACCOUNTS ................................................................................................................ 19
ITEM 14 – CLIENT REFERRALS AND OTHER COMPENSATION ....................................................................... 20
ITEM 15 – CUSTODY ...................................................................................................................................... 20
ITEM 16 – INVESTMENT DISCRETION ............................................................................................................ 21
ITEM 17 – VOTING CLIENT SECURITIES ......................................................................................................... 22
ITEM 18 – FINANCIAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................... 22
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ITEM 4 – ADVISORY BUSINESS
This Disclosure document is being offered to you by Tillman Hartley LLC (“Tillman Hartley” or “Firm”). It
discloses information about our services and how those services are made available to you, the client.
We are an investment management Firm located in Denver, CO. Tillman Hartley provides personalized,
confidential financial planning, and investment management to individuals, plans, trusts, estates, charitable
organizations, and small businesses. Our Firm was founded in 1999 as a registered investment advisor and
is owned by Michael D. Lambert, Gary W. Lutes, Jr., Kevin R. Schwall, and Benjamin R. Cannon.
INVESTMENT AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION SERVICES
Our Firm manages advisory accounts on a discretionary basis. Advice is provided through consultation with
you, the client, and may include: determination of financial objectives, identification of financial problems,
cash flow management, tax planning, insurance review, investment management, education funding,
retirement planning, and estate planning. Once we have determined your profile and investment plan, we
will execute the day-to-day transactions without seeking your prior consent.
We determine your investment objectives, time horizons, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs during our
initial discussions. As appropriate, we also review your prior investment history, family composition, and
background. Based on your needs, we develop a personal profile, determine the types of investments to be
included in your portfolio, and create an Investment Policy Statement (“IPS”). We will use your customized
IPS to provide ongoing investment management services. Account supervision is guided by the written IPS
and reviewed on at least an annual basis. We primarily allocate client assets among individual stocks,
bonds, exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), US Government Treasuries, municipal bonds, corporate bonds,
futures and options, alternative investments, mutual funds, cash, and cash equivalents, all of which are
considered asset allocation categories for the client’s investment strategy.
We tailor our advisory services to meet our clients' needs and seek to ensure that your portfolio is managed
in a manner consistent with those needs and objectives. You will have the ability to leave standing
instructions to refrain from investing in limited amounts of securities. It is the client’s obligation to notify
us immediately if circumstances have changed with respect to your goals and/or changes in your personal
financial condition.
You are advised and are expected to understand that our past performance is not a guarantee of future
results. Certain capital market and economic risks exist that adversely affect an account’s performance. This
could result in capital losses in your account.
Clients may engage us to manage and/or advise on certain investment products that are not maintained at
their primary custodian, such as variable life insurance, annuity contracts, 529 Plans, and assets held in
employer-sponsored retirement plans. In these situations, Tillman Hartley directs or recommends allocating
client assets among the various investment options available with the product. These assets are generally
maintained at the underwriting insurance company or the custodian designated by the product’s provider.
FAMILY BOARD OF DIRECTORS SERVICES
Tillman Hartley provides Family Board of Directors™ services, which it pioneered and trademarked. Family
Board of Directors™ services are recommended when a family's assets and family-related entities (such as
charitable trusts and foundations) reach a complexity level where a team of professionals is helpful. Tillman
Hartley arranges a team of professionals who meet (in person or by teleconference) quarterly with the client
and invited family members.
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For families with total assets over $40,000,000, Tillman Hartley collects extensive information about the
client’s family's personal and business interests and develops a comprehensive multi-generational plan to
accomplish the client's goals and objectives within the family.
A Family Board of Directors™ is created consisting of clients, family members, other professionals, and
Tillman Hartley Partners. The purpose of the Family Board of Directors™ is to maintain and monitor the
plans and strategies developed for the client’s family. As the governing instruments are formed, Tillman
Hartley will monitor these instruments' terms and conditions, including oversight of tax and information
return filing. Tillman Hartley provides for the development of an appropriate Investment Policy Statement.
Tillman Hartley organizes, implements, and administers the family financial structure in accordance with the
family's unique set of values, goals, and objectives. To administer the Family Board of Directors™, Tillman
Hartley oversees the establishment of accounts and advisory relationships, monitors these for Investment
Policy Statement compliance; establishes appropriate benchmarks for
investment performance
measurement and provides for adaptation to changing conditions and family objectives; and maintains
documents, records, comprehensive financial information, and current information about investment
strategies and tax matters.
Through the Wealth Planning process, the Tillman Hartley team strives to engage our clients in
conversations around the family’s goals, objectives, priorities, vision, and legacy – both for the near term as
well as for future generations. With each family's unique goals and circumstances in mind, the Tillman
Hartley team will offer wealth planning ideas and strategies to address the client's holistic financial picture,
including estate, income tax, charitable, cash flow, wealth transfer, and family legacy objectives. Computer
modeling is used to test financial and economic strategies.
Our team partners with our client's other advisors (CPA, estate attorney, insurance broker, etc.) to ensure
all parties' coordinated effort toward their stated goals. Such services include various reports on specific
goals and objectives, general investment and/or planning recommendations, guidance to outside assets,
and periodic updates.
SUB-ADVISORY SERVICES
Tillman Hartley may determine use of a Sub-advisor is appropriate for the strategy of managing a client’s
account. Tillman Hartley has established relationships with an independent registered investment advisor
(“Sub-advisor”) to carry out Sub-advisor services for certain clients deemed appropriate. Tillman Hartley
maintains discretionary authority over the client’s assets and use of the Sub-advisor. In all cases, the Sub-
advisor receives prior approval from Tillman Hartley of all trades made in the client accounts.
Prior to utilizing a Sub-advisor for a portion of a client’s portfolio, our Firm will provide the initial due
diligence and complete ongoing reviews of the management. In order to assist in the selection of a Sub-
advisor, our Firm will gather client information pertaining to financial situation, investment objectives, and
reasonable restrictions to be imposed upon the management of the account.
LEGACY MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Our Firm may advise a Client about legacy positions or other investments in Client portfolios. Clients can
limit or restrict our trading in these positions.
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FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICES
Our Firm offers financial planning services, which may involve preparing a written financial plan covering
specific or multiple topics. These include: investment planning, retirement planning, insurance planning,
tax planning, education expense planning, portfolio construction, and allocation review.
Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, the Client is solely responsible for determining whether to implement
our financial planning recommendations. Our financial planning services do not involve implementing
transactions on your behalf nor include active and ongoing monitoring or management of your investments
or accounts.
The Client must execute a separate written agreement if the Client elects to implement any of our
investment recommendations through our Firm or retain our Firm to monitor and manage investments
actively.
CONSULTING SERVICES
In consultation engagements, you will be required to select your own investment managers, custodian
and/or insurance companies to implement consulting recommendations. If your needs include brokerage
and/or other financial services, we will recommend using one of several investment managers, brokers,
banks, custodians, insurance companies, or other financial professionals. You must independently evaluate
these Firms before opening an account or transacting business, and you have the right to effect business
through any Firm you choose.
On more than an occasional basis, Tillman Hartley gives clients advice on matters not involving securities,
such as financial planning matters, general taxation issues, trust services, and financial aspects of estate
planning.
RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES
When applicable, our Firm accepts its appointment as an “Investment Manager” within the meaning of
Section 3(38) of ERISA (but only concerning those plan assets constituting the portfolio models). We will
not have any authority or responsibility in the administration of the Plan (including the selection of portfolio
models for the Plan) or interpretation of any Plan document. Our Firm agrees it will act in a manner
consistent with the requirements of a fiduciary under ERISA and the Code. We further agree that all
investment management powers, duties, and responsibilities relating to the portfolio shall be exercised
exclusively by our Firm per the Plan.
DISCLOSURE REGARDING INVESTMENT ADVICE & ROLLOVER RECOMMENDATIONS
We are fiduciaries under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and when we provide investment advice to
you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are also 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 have to act in your best interest and not
put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with
your interests.
A client or prospect leaving an employer typically has four options regarding an existing retirement plan
(and may engage in a combination of these options): (i) leave the money in the former employer’s plan, if
permitted, (ii) roll over the assets to the new employer’s plan, if one is available and rollovers are permitted,
(iii) rollover to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”), or (iv) cash out the account value (which could,
depending upon the client’s age, result in adverse tax consequences). Our Firm may recommend an
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investor roll over plan assets to an IRA for which our Firm provides investment advisory services. As a result,
our Firm and its representatives may earn an asset-based fee. In contrast, a recommendation that a client
or prospective client leave their plan assets with their previous employer or roll over the assets to a plan
sponsored by a new employer will generally result in no compensation to our Firm. Our Firm therefore has
an economic incentive to encourage a client to roll plan assets into an IRA that our Firm will manage, which
presents a conflict of interest. To mitigate the conflict of interest, there are various factors that our Firm
will consider before recommending a rollover, including but not limited to: (i) the investment options
available in the plan versus the investment options available in an IRA, (ii) fees and expenses in the plan
versus the fees and expenses in an IRA, (iii) the services and responsiveness of the plan’s investment
professionals versus those of our Firm, (iv) protection of assets from creditors and legal judgments, (v)
required minimum distributions and age considerations, and (vi) employer stock tax consequences, if any.
Our Firm’s Chief Compliance Officer remains available to address any questions that a client or prospective
client has regarding the oversight.
CLIENT OBJECTIVES & RESTRICTIONS
Our Firm tailors our investment management and advisory services continuously to meet the needs of our
Clients. We seek to ensure Client portfolios are managed consistently with those needs and objectives in
mind. We meet with Clients on an initial and ongoing basis to assess their specific risk tolerance, time
horizon, liquidity constraints, and other related factors relevant to managing their portfolios. Clients may
impose reasonable restrictions on managing the accounts if the conditions do not impact the performance
of a management strategy.
WRAP FEE PROGRAM
Typically, we do not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program.
However, we provide services as part of a legacy Wrap Fee Program. Under the legacy Wrap Fee Program,
they will receive investment advisory services, the execution of securities brokerage transactions, custody,
and reporting services for a single specified fee. The terms and conditions of a wrap program engagement
are more fully discussed in our Wrap Fee Program Brochure.
The legacy “wrap” fee might be more or less than the fees and commissions charged by other advisory
Firms, third-party managers, and brokerage firms if the services were acquired separately. The factors that
bear upon the cost of services are the size of the account, type of transaction, and whether trades are
placed through a brokerage firm other than the custodian resulting in per trade commission being charged.
ASSETS
Tillman Hartley classifies assets it manages as Assets Under Management and Assets Under Advisement.
As of December 31, 2024, Tillman Hartley managed approximately $609,319,000 in Discretionary Assets
under Management and approximately $66,568,000 in Assets Under Advisement.
ITEM 5 – FEES AND COMPENSATION
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEES AND COMPENSATION
Our Firm charges a fee as compensation for providing Investment Management services on your account.
These services include advisory services, trade entry, investment supervision, and other account
maintenance activities.
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Tillman Hartley offers two fee structures: an All-Inclusive Account (“Wrap Fee”) in which you pay an asset-
based fee (“Advisory Fee”) and a Non-Inclusive Account (“Non-Wrap Fee”) in which you pay transaction
costs as well as the Advisory Fee. Information regarding Tillman Hartley's Wrap Fee Account is available in
its Wrap Brochure, which will be provided to legacy clients in the Wrap Fee Program upon request.
Fees are billed in advance each calendar quarter at 1/4 of the annual rate based on the previous quarter’s
ending market value. The annual rate is usually between 0.35% and 1%. The maximum annual advisory fee
is 1%, which is negotiable at the firm’s discretion. The rate is applied to client assets under management as
follows:
January 1st fee is based on the ending value of assets on September 30th of the previous year
•
• April 1st fee is based on the ending value of assets on December 31st of the previous year
•
July 1st fee is based on the ending value of assets on March 31st of the current year
• October 1st fee is based on the ending value of assets on June 30th of the current year
When the account opens, it is billed on a pro-rata basis on the portion of the calendar quarter billing period
remaining. The first two billings are based on the initial client assets under management. Fees are assessed
on all assets under management, including securities, cash, and money market balances. Margin account
balances are not included in the fee billing. New accounts are billed at the end of the quarter in which
assets are transferred based on the quarter-end balance. Other advisors may have higher or lower fees
than Tillman Hartley. Dividends or trade date settlements may occur, and our third-party billing software
may report a slight difference in account valuation at quarter-end compared to what is reported on your
statement from the custodian.
Tillman Hartley’s fees do not include any management or other fees charged by mutual fund companies.
The SEC charges minor transaction fees on certain security sales - these fees are deducted directly from
sales proceeds. Tillman Hartley may charge a set minimum fee if the percentage fee on assets is insufficient
to cover the scope of the work.
The independent and qualified custodian holding your funds and securities will debit your account directly
for the advisory fee and pay that fee to us. You will provide written authorization permitting the fees to be
paid directly from your account held by the qualified custodian. Further, the qualified custodian agrees to
deliver an account statement to you on at least a quarterly basis indicating all the amounts deducted from
the account, including our advisory fees. You can elect to be directly billed as an alternative.
In most cases, there are no additional expenses. If extraordinary services are required, a set or hourly fee
may be charged and agreed upon in advance.
Either Tillman Hartley or you may terminate the management agreement immediately upon written notice
to the other party. The management fee will be prorated to the date of termination for the month in which
the cancellation notice was given and refunded.
Upon termination, you are responsible for monitoring the securities in your account, and we will have no
further obligation to act or advise with respect to those assets. In the event of the client’s death or disability,
Tillman Hartley will continue the management of the account until we are notified of the client’s death or
disability and given alternative instructions by an authorized party.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES PROVIDED BY BLACK DIAMOND PERFORMANCE REPORTING,
LLC
We have contracted with Black Diamond Performance Reporting, LLC (referred to as “Black Diamond”) to
utilize its technology platforms to support data reconciliation, performance reporting, fee calculation and
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billing, research, client database maintenance, quarterly performance evaluations, payable reports, web
site administration, models, trading platforms, and other functions related to the administrative tasks of
managing client accounts. Due to this arrangement, Black Diamond will have access to client accounts, but
Black Diamond will not serve as an investment advisor to our clients. Tillman Hartley and Black Diamond
are non-affiliated companies. Black Diamond charges Tillman Hartley an annual fee for each account
administered by Black Diamond. The annual fee is paid from the portion of the management fee retained
by Us.
FAMILY BOARD OF DIRECTORS™ FEES
Family Board of Directors™ Agreement fee is negotiated on a client-by-client basis according to the level of
service required. The fee is based on a percentage of the Assets under Management and Assets under
Advisement and ranges from 0.35% to 1.0%. Specific billing arrangements are outlined in the Agreement.
Tillman Hartley may share a portion of the advisory fees with other professionals who serve on the Family
Board of Directors™. Fee-sharing is fully disclosed to the client, and all parties sign a disclosure agreement.
Tillman Hartley does not accept compensation from the sale of securities or other investment products.
The scope of work and fees for a Family Board of Directors™ Agreement is provided to the client in writing
prior to the start of the client relationship.
Fee Agreements may not be assigned without client consent.
Either Tillman Hartley or you may terminate the agreement immediately upon written notice to the other
party. The management fee will be prorated to the date of termination for the month in which the
cancellation notice was given and then refunded.
SUB-ADVISOR FEES
As described in Item 4, Tillman Hartley has engaged a Sub-advisor for certain client accounts, if deemed
appropriate. Our Firm has entered into a fee-sharing arrangement with the Sub-advisor. These fees are
based on a percentage of the management fees collected by Tillman Hartley or negotiated as a flat fee for
services. Under such arrangements where our Firm elects to utilize a Sub-advisor, and depending on the
contract with our Firm, the total advisory fee will be collected from the custodian by our Firm. This total
fee includes our Firm’s portion of the investment advisory fee as well as the Sub-advisors’ fee. Total fees
for clients utilizing a Sub-advisor will not exceed 1.0%. Fees will be charged only after disclosure to the
client and with the client’s consent. You will receive disclosure of all fees by the Sub-advisor, which include
the terms of the compensation arrangement and a description of the compensation paid, at the time of
signing an advisory agreement. Sub-advisor services provided and the method or type of management
offered may differ.
You may terminate your relationship in accordance with your Tillman Hartley agreement. Factors involved
in the termination of a Sub-advisor may include a failure to adhere to their stated management style or
your objectives, a material change in the professional staff of the Sub-advisor, unexplained poor
performance, unexplained inconsistency of account performance, or our decision to no longer include the
Sub-advisor on our list of approved Sub-advisors.
LEGACY MANAGEMENT FEE
Managed legacy positions are included within our Firm’s standard investment management fee and are
outlined in the executed investment management agreement.
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FINANCIAL PLANNING FEE
Our Firm provides financial planning services under a fixed fee arrangement. This arrangement charges a
mutually agreed-upon fee for financial planning services.
Fees charged for our financial planning services are negotiable based upon the type of Client, the services
requested, the investment adviser representative providing advice, the complexity of the Client's situation,
the composition of the Client's account, other advisory services provided, and the relationship of the Client
and the investment adviser representative.
The amount of the fee for your engagement is specified in your financial planning agreement with us. At
our sole discretion, the Client may be required to pay the fee at the time the agreement is executed with
our Firm; however, our Firm does not require or solicit prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees per Client,
six months or more in advance. The fee is considered earned upon delivery of the financial plan, and any
unpaid amount is immediately due.
The Client may pay the fees owed for the financial planning services by submitting payment directly via
check or by deducting the fee from an existing investment account. If the Client elects to pay by automatic
deduction from an existing investment account, they will provide written authorization to our Firm for such
a charge.
If the Client terminates the financial planning services after entering into an agreement with our Firm, the
Client will be invoiced and responsible for immediate payment of any hourly financial planning services
performed by us before receiving notice of termination. For financial planning services, our Firm performs
under a fixed fee arrangement, the Client will be responsible for paying a pro-rated fixed fee equivalent to
the percentage of work that our Firm completed. If there is a remaining balance of any fees paid in advance
after deducting fees from the final invoice, those remaining proceeds will be refunded to the Client.
CONSULTING FEES
We provide consulting services for clients who need advice on a limited scope of work. We will negotiate
consulting fees with the client. The range of fees for consulting services may vary based on the consulting
project's extent and complexity. Fees will be billed as services are rendered. Either party may terminate the
agreement. Upon termination, fees will be prorated to the date of termination, and any unearned portion
of the fee will be refunded to you as described in the Agreement.
WRAP PROGRAM FEES
Typically, we do not offer or sponsor a wrap fee program.
However, we are the sponsor and manager of the Tillman Hartley Wrap Program (the “Program”) for some
legacy accounts, a wrap fee program (i.e., an arrangement where brokerage commissions and transaction
costs are absorbed by the Firm). The fee for legacy accounts covers transaction costs or commissions
resulting from the management of the legacy accounts, however, most investments trade without
transaction fees today, so our payment of these and other incidental custodial related expenses should not
be considered a significant factor in determining the relative value of our wrap program. Legacy
participants in the Program may pay a higher aggregate fee than if brokerage services are purchased
separately. Additional information about the Program is available in Tillman Hartley’s Wrap Brochure, which
appears as Part 2A Appendix 1 of the Firm’s Form ADV.
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ADDITIONAL FEES AND EXPENSES
In addition to the advisory fees paid to our Firm, clients may also incur certain charges imposed by other
third parties, such as broker-dealers, custodians, trust companies, banks, and other financial institutions
(collectively “Financial Institutions”). These additional charges will include securities transaction fees,
custodial fees, fees charged by the Independent Managers, charges imposed directly by a mutual fund
company or ETF in a client’s account, as disclosed in the fund’s prospectus (e.g., fund management fees and
other fund expenses), deferred sales charges, odd-lot differentials, transfer taxes, wire transfer, and
electronic fund fees, and other fees and taxes on brokerage accounts and securities transactions. Tillman
Hartley’s brokerage practices are described at length in Item 12, below. Further, our Firm does not share
in any of these additional fees and expenses outlined above.
Tillman Hartley may include mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) in our investment strategies.
Tillman Hartley’s policy is to purchase institutional share classes of those mutual funds selected for the
client’s portfolio, when such options are available to the client. The institutional share class generally has
among the lowest expense ratio. The expense ratio is the annual fee that all mutual funds or ETFs charge
their shareholders. It expresses the percentage of assets deducted each fiscal year for funds expenses,
including 12b-1 fees, management fees, administrative fees, operating costs, and all other asset-based costs
incurred by the fund. Some fund families offer different classes of the same fund, and one share class may
have a lower expense ratio than another share class. These expenses come from client assets, which could
impact the client’s account performance. Mutual fund expense ratios are in addition to the Tillman Hartley
fee, and we do not receive any portion of these charges. If an institutional share class is not available for
the mutual fund selected, the advisor will purchase the least expensive share class available for the mutual
fund. As share classes with lower expense ratios become available, Tillman Hartley may use them in the
client’s portfolio and/or convert the existing mutual fund position to the lower-cost share class. Clients who
transfer mutual funds into their accounts with Tillman Hartley would bear the expense of any contingent
or deferred sales loads incurred upon selling the product. If a mutual fund has a frequent trading policy, the
policy can limit a client’s transactions in shares of the fund (e.g., for rebalancing, liquidations, deposits, or
tax harvesting). All mutual fund expenses and fees are disclosed in the respective mutual fund prospectus.
The mutual fund and exchange-traded fund companies that choose to participate in your custodian's no
transaction fee (“NTF”) fund program pay a fee to be included in the NTF program. The fees paid by these
companies to participate in the program are ultimately borne by the mutual fund or exchange-traded fund
owners, including clients of our Firm. When we decide whether to choose a fund from your custodian's
NTF list or not, we consider our expected holding period of the fund, the position size, and the fund's
expense ratio versus alternative funds. Depending on our analysis and future events, NTF funds might not
always be in your best interest.
ITEM 6 – PERFORMANCE-BASED FEES AND SIDE-BY-SIDE MANAGEMENT
Tillman Hartley does not charge advisory fees on a share of the capital appreciation of the funds or securities
in a client account (so-called performance-based fees), nor engage side by side management.
ITEM 7 – TYPES OF CLIENTS
Tillman Hartley offers personalized, confidential financial planning and investment management to
individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable
organizations, corporations, and small businesses.
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Our Firm generally maintains a $1,000,000 minimum in aggregate investable assets to engage our advisory
services.
For the Family Board of Directors™ clients, Tillman Hartley generally imposes a minimum dollar amount of
$40,000,000 of assets under management and advisement.
In certain instances, at the discretion of our Firm, our minimum requirements may be waived.
ITEM 8 – INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISK OF LOSS
The basic tenets under which this Policy will be managed include the following:
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Modern Portfolio Theory will be the philosophical foundation for how the portfolio will be structured and
how subsequent decisions will be made. The underlying concepts of Modern Portfolio Theory include:
•
Investors are risk averse. The only acceptable risk is that which is adequately compensated by
potential portfolio returns.
•
•
•
•
• Markets are efficient. It is virtually impossible to anticipate the future direction of the market
as a whole or of any individual security. It is, therefore, unlikely that any portfolio will succeed
in consistently “beating the market”.
The design of the portfolio as a whole is more important than the selection of any particular
security within the portfolio. The appropriate allocation of capital among asset classes (stocks,
bonds, cash, etc.) will have far more influence on long-term portfolio results than the selection
of individual securities.
Investing for the long term (preferably longer than ten years) becomes critical to investment
success because it allows the long-term characteristics of the asset classes to surface.
For a given risk level, an optimal combination of asset classes will maximize returns. Diversifi-
cation helps reduce investment volatility. The proportional mix of asset classes determines
the long-term risk and return characteristics of the portfolio as a whole.
Portfolio risk can be decreased by increasing diversification of the portfolio and by lowering
the correlation of market behavior among the asset classes selected. (Correlation is the sta-
tistical term for the extent to which two asset classes move in tandem or opposition to one
another).
GLOBAL INVESTING
Investing globally helps to minimize overall portfolio risk due to the reduced correlation between econo-
mies of the world. Investing globally has been shown historically to enhance portfolio returns, although
there is no guarantee that it will do so in the future.
PREFERENCE FOR EQUITIES
Equities (stocks) offer the potential for higher long-term investment returns than cash or fixed-income in-
vestments. Equities are also more volatile in their performance. Investors seeking higher rates of return can
increase the proportion of equities in their portfolio, while at the same time accepting greater variation of
results (including declines in value).
STRUCTURED STRATEGIES
Picking individual securities and timing the purchase or sale of investments in the attempt to “beat the
market” are highly unlikely to increase long-term investment returns; they also can significantly increase
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costs. Primarily, asset classes will be managed in asset class funds or in separately managed accounts by
investment managers selected based on their adherence to specific asset class definitions and the relative
costs of obtaining the investments. Fewer asset classes may be used for specific accounts, depending on
the amounts in each account.
METHODS OF ANALYSIS
Tillman Hartley’s security analysis is done primarily through inspections of corporate activities, research
materials prepared by others, corporate rating services, annual reports, prospectuses, filings with the Se-
curities and Exchange Commission, company press, releases and the internet.
We consider future, intrinsic value by reviewing related economic, financial, and other factors. We consider
many data points that might affect the security’s value and may determine to overweight or underweight
a certain market sector or security based on our assessment of the various data points.
We utilize our model portfolios as a guide to building efficient portfolios for each client, based upon their
risk profile and objectives and the resulting correlation between their needs and each model.
We attempt to mitigate portfolio risk through asset allocation between asset classes. When using cash or
the fixed income asset class, we may include:
• Short, intermediate, or long-term US Treasury securities
• Corporate bonds
• Agency bonds
• Municipal bonds
Through Custodial Firms we have access to no-load or load-waived mutual funds. We can also purchase,
sell, or hold:
Individual stocks
•
• Bonds
ETFs
•
• UITs
• Mutual Funds
• Other
USE OF ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS
If deemed appropriate for your portfolio, Tillman Hartley may recommend "alternative investments.” Al-
ternative investments may include a broad range of underlying assets including, but not limited to, hedge
funds, private equity, venture capital, registered, publicly traded securities, structured notes, and private
real estate investment trusts. Alternative investments are speculative, not suitable for all clients, and in-
tended for only experienced and sophisticated investors who are willing to bear the high risk of the invest-
ment, which can include: loss of all or a substantial portion of the investment due to leveraging, short-
selling, or other speculative investment practices; lack of liquidity in that there may be no secondary market
for the fund and none expected to develop; volatility of returns; potential for restrictions on transferring
an interest in the fund; potential lack of diversification and resulting higher risk due to concentration of
trading authority with a single adviser; absence of information regarding valuations and pricing; potential
for delays in tax reporting; less regulation and often higher fees than other investment options such as
mutual funds. The SEC requires investors to be accredited to invest in these more speculative alternative
investments. Investing in a fund concentrating on a few holdings may involve heightened risk and greater
price volatility. Tillman Hartley does not receive any additional compensation if we recommend the use of
alternative investments.
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MARCH 2025 | PAGE 13
RISK OF LOSS
Clients must understand that past performance is not indicative of future results. Therefore, current and
prospective clients should never assume that future performance of any specific investment or investment
strategy will be profitable. Investing in securities involves risk of loss. Further, depending on the different
types of investments, there will be varying degrees of risk. Clients and prospective clients should be pre-
pared to bear investment loss, including loss of original principal.
Because of the inherent risk of loss associated with investing, our Firm is unable to represent, guarantee,
or even imply that our services and methods of analysis can or will predict future results, successfully iden-
tify market tops or bottoms, or insulate you from losses due to market corrections or general declines.
Investors should be aware that accounts are subject to the following risks:
• MARKET RISK – Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political,
and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities to rise or fall. Because the value of invest-
ment portfolios will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money, and your investment may be
worth less upon liquidation. Due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors, Client may
not be able to sell some or all the investments promptly or may not be able to sell assets at desired
prices.
• CONCENTRATION RISK – Strategies concentrated in only a few securities, sectors or industries, regions
or countries, or asset classes could expose a portfolio to greater risk. They may cause the portfolio
value to fluctuate more widely than a diversified portfolio. Overexposure to certain sectors or asset
classes (e.g., MLPs, REITs, etc.) may be detrimental to an investor if there is a negative sector move.
•
LEGACY HOLDING RISK – Investment advice may be offered on any investment a client holds at the
start of the advisory relationship. Depending on tax considerations and Client sentiment, these invest-
ments will be sold over time, and the assets invested in the appropriate strategy. As with any invest-
ment decision, there is the risk that timing with respect to the sale and reinvestment of these assets
will be less than ideal or even result in a loss to the Client.
•
LIQUIDITY RISK – Low trading volume, large positions, or legal restrictions are some conditions that
could limit or prevent a portfolio from selling securities or closing positions at desirable prices. Securi-
ties that are relatively liquid when acquired could become illiquid over time. The sale of any such illiquid
investment might be possible only at substantial discounts or might not be possible at all. Further, such
investments may take more work to value.
• MANAGEMENT RISK – An account is subject to the risk that judgments about the attractiveness, value,
or potential appreciation of the account’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the selection of
securities or strategies fails to produce the intended results, the account could underperform other
accounts with similar objectives and investment strategies.
• MUNICIPAL BOND RISK – Investments in municipal bonds are affected by the municipal market as a
whole and the various factors in the cities, states, or regions where the strategy invests. Issues such as
legislative changes, litigation, business and political conditions relating to a particular municipal pro-
ject, municipality, state, or territory, and fiscal challenges can impact the value of municipal bonds.
These matters can also impact the ability of the issuer to make payments. Also, the public information
about municipal bonds is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds. Additionally, supply
and demand imbalances in the municipal bond market can cause deterioration in liquidity and a lack
of price transparency.
TILLMAN HARTLEY LLC
MARCH 2025 | PAGE 14
•
FOREIGN SECURITIES AND CURRENCY RISK - Investments in international and emerging-market secu-
rities include exposure to risks such as currency fluctuations, foreign taxes and regulations, and the
potential for illiquid markets and political instability.
• CAPITALIZATION RISK - Small-cap and mid-cap companies may be hindered as a result of limited re-
sources or less diverse products or services. Their stocks have historically been more volatile than the
stocks of larger, more established companies.
•
INTEREST RATE RISK - In a rising rate environment, the value of fixed-income securities generally de-
clines, and the value of equity securities may be adversely affected.
• CREDIT RISK - Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security may be unable to make interest pay-
ments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change
in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value and thus, impact the fund’s performance.
•
EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS - ETFs face market-trading risks, including the potential lack of an active
market for shares, losses from trading in the secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/re-
demption process of the ETF. Any of these factors may lead to the fund’s shares trading at either a
premium or a discount to its “net asset value.”
• RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERABILITY OF CERTAIN MUTUAL FUNDS - The mutual funds sponsored by
Dimensional Fund - Advisors (“DFA”) are generally only available through registered investment advis-
ers. Adviser uses and recommends DFA mutual funds. If a client terminates Advisers’ services, they may
be unable to transfer their securities to a retail account or to another broker-dealer, and they may be
unable to purchase additional shares of those mutual funds they currently own. If they determine to
sell their DFA mutual funds, they may be subject to tax consequences.
• PERFORMANCE OF UNDERLYING MANAGERS - We select the mutual funds and ETFs in the asset allo-
cation portfolios. However, we depend on the manager of such funds to select individual investments
in accordance with their stated investment strategy.
• ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY MUTUAL FUNDS OR ETFS – We may use certain ETFs and mutual funds in our
models and accounts that invest primarily in alternative investments and/or strategies. Investing in
these alternative investments and strategies may not be suitable for all our clients. These include spe-
cial risks, such as those associated with commodities, real estate, and leverage, selling securities short,
use of derivatives, potential adverse market forces, regulatory changes, and potential ill-liquidity. There
are special risks associated with ETFs that invest principally in real estate securities, such as sensitivity
to changes in real estate values and/or changes in interest rates and price volatility due to the ETF’s
concentration in the real estate market.
• ALTERNATIVE RISK – Alternative investments include other additional risks. Lock-up periods and other
terms obligate Clients to commit their capital investment for a minimum period, typically no less than
one or two years and sometimes up to 10 or more years. Illiquidity is considered a substantial risk and
will restrict the ability of a client to liquidate an investment early, regardless of the success of the
investment. Alternative investments are difficult to value within a client’s total portfolio. There may be
limited availability of suitable benchmarks for performance comparison; historical performance data
may also be limited.
In some cases, there may be a lack of transparency and regulation, providing an additional layer of risk.
Some alternative investments may involve the use of leverage and other speculative techniques. As a
result, some alternative investments may carry substantial additional risks, resulting in the loss of some
TILLMAN HARTLEY LLC
MARCH 2025 | PAGE 15
or all of the investment. Using leverage and certain other strategies will result in adverse tax conse-
quences for tax-exempt investors, such as the possibility of unrelated business taxable income, as de-
fined under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
• NON-LIQUID ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT RISK – From time to time, our Firm may recommend to
certain qualifying Clients that a portion of such Clients’ assets be invested in private funds, private fund-
of-funds, or other alternative investments (collectively, “Non-liquid Alternative Investments”). Non-
liquid Alternative Investments are not suitable for all of our Firm’s Clients. They are offered only to
those qualifying Clients for whom our Firm believes such an investment is suitable and in line with their
overall investment strategy. Non-liquid Alternative Investments typically are available to only a limited
number of sophisticated investors who meet the definition of “accredited investor” under Regulation
D of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or “qualified Client” under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or “qualified purchaser” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Non-liquid Alternative Investments present special risks for our Firm’s Clients, including, without
limitation, limited liquidity, higher fees and expenses, volatile performance, no assurance of
investment returns, heightened risk of loss, limited transparency, additional reliance on underlying
management of the investment, special tax considerations, subjective valuations, use of leverage and
limited regulatory oversight. When a Non-liquid Alternative Investment invests part or all of its assets
in real estate properties, there are additional risks that are unique to real estate investing, including
but not limited to: limitations of the appraisal value, the borrower’s financial conditions (if a loan has
obtained the underlying property), including the risk of foreclosures on the property; neighborhood
values; the supply of and demand for properties of like kind; and certain city, state or federal
regulations.
Additionally, real estate investing is also subject to possible loss due to uninsured losses from natural
and artificial disasters. The above list is not exhaustive of all risks related to an investment in Non-liquid
Alternative Investments. A more comprehensive discussion of the risks associated with a particular
Non-liquid Investment is set forth in that fund’s offering documents, which will be provided to each
Client subscribing to a Non-liquid Alternative Investment for review and consideration. It is important
that each potential, qualified investor carefully read each offering or private placement memorandum
before investing.
• CYBERSECURITY RISK – In addition to the material risks listed above, investing involves various opera-
tional and “cybersecurity” risks. These risks include both intentional and unintentional events at Till-
man Hartley or one of its third-party counterparties or service providers, that may result in a loss or
corruption of data, result in the unauthorized release or another misuse of confidential information,
and generally compromise our Firm’s ability to conduct its business. A cybersecurity breach may also
result in a third-party obtaining unauthorized access to our clients’ information, including social secu-
rity numbers, home addresses, account numbers, account balances, and account holdings. Our Firm
has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks
associated with cybersecurity breaches. However, there are inherent limitations in these plans and
systems, including that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because different or
unknown threats may emerge in the future. As such, there is no guarantee that such efforts will suc-
ceed, especially because our Firm does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of our third-party
service providers. There is also a risk that cybersecurity breaches may not be detected.
TILLMAN HARTLEY LLC
MARCH 2025 | PAGE 16
ITEM 9 – DISCIPLINARY INFORMATION
Neither Tillman Hartley nor its partners have been the subject of or otherwise have any legal, financial, or
other “disciplinary” items to report.
ITEM 10 – OTHER FINANCIAL INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES AND AFFILIATIONS
Neither Tillman Hartley, nor any of its managers or employees, is a broker-dealer, registered representative
of a broker-dealer, futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, commodity trading advisor,
or an associated person of the foregoing entities.
OTHER AFFILIATIONS
Tillman Hartley has arrangements that are material to its advisory and its clients with related persons who
are a broker-dealer, investment company, another investment advisor, accounting Firm, or law Firm.
Tillman Hartley has a relationship with Michael Tillman, J.D., an estate and charitable tax planning attorney
Michael Tillman, J.D., drafts legal documentation, and renders legal advice to clients, and frequently
collaborates with other law Firms. Tillman Hartley clients are free to select any law Firm to draft legal
documents and render legal advice. Clients are under no obligation to retain Michael Tillman, J.D. for their
legal services. Services provided by Michael Tillman, J.D., are billed separately according to an engagement
letter, and agreed upon by the client.
ITEM 11 – CODE OF ETHICS
Our Firm and persons associated with us are allowed to invest for their own accounts, or to have a financial
investment in the same securities or other investments that we recommend or acquire for your account
and may engage in transactions that are the same as or different than transactions recommended to or
made for your account. This creates a conflict of interest. We recognize the fiduciary responsibility to act in
your best interest and have established policies to mitigate conflicts of interest.
We have developed and implemented a Code of Ethics that sets forth standards of conduct expected of our
advisory personnel to mitigate this conflict of interest. The Code of Ethics addresses, among other things,
personal trading, gifts, and the prohibition against the use of inside information.
The Code of Ethics is designed to protect our clients, to detect and deter misconduct, educate personnel
regarding the Firm’s expectations and laws governing their conduct, remind personnel that they are in a
position of trust and must act with complete propriety at all times, protect the reputation of Tillman Hartley,
safeguard against the violation of the securities laws, and establish procedures for personnel to follow so
that we may determine whether their personnel are complying with the Firm’s ethical principles.
We have established the following restrictions in order to ensure our Firm’s fiduciary responsibilities:
• A director, officer, or employee of Tillman Hartley shall not buy or sell any securities for their personal
portfolio(s) where their decision is substantially derived, in whole or in part, by reason of his or her
employment unless the information is also available to the investing public on reasonable inquiry. No
supervised employee of Tillman Hartley shall prefer his or her own interest to that of the advisory
client. Trades for supervised employees are traded alongside client accounts.
• We maintain a list of all securities holdings of anyone associated with this advisory practice with access
to advisory recommendations. These holdings are reviewed regularly, by an appropriate
officer/individual of Tillman Hartley.
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MARCH 2025 | PAGE 17
• We emphasize the client's unrestricted right to decline the implementation of any advice rendered,
except in situations where we are granted the discretionary authority of the client's account.
• We require that all supervised employees act according to all applicable Federal and State regulations
governing registered investment advisory practices.
• Any supervised employee not in observance of the above may be subject to termination.
You may request a complete copy of our Code by contacting us at the address, telephone, or email on the
cover page of this Part 2; ATTN: Ben Cannon, Chief Compliance Officer.
ITEM 12 – BROKERAGE PRACTICES
Tillman Hartley generally recommends that clients utilize the custody, brokerage, and clearing services of
Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services (“Fidelity”) and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services
(“Schwab”), (the “Custodians”), for servicing investment management accounts. Our Custodians are
independent and unaffiliated FINRA-registered broker-dealers. We may recommend that you establish
accounts with these custodians to maintain custody of your assets and to effect trades for your accounts.
Some of our custodians' products, services, and other benefits may benefit us and may not benefit you or
your account. Our recommendation/requirement that you place assets with one of these custodians may
be based in part on benefits they provide us and not solely on the nature, cost, or quality of custody and
execution services provided by the custodian.
Our recommendation of Custodians is generally based on the broker’s cost and fees, skills, reputation,
dependability, and compatibility with the client. You may be able to obtain lower commissions and fees
from other brokers. The value of products, research, and services given to us is not a factor in determining
broker/dealer selection or the reasonableness of their commissions.
We place trades for your account subject to our duty to seek the best execution and other fiduciary duties.
You may be able to obtain lower commissions and fees from other brokers. The value of products, research,
and services given to us is not a factor in determining broker/dealer selection or the reasonableness of their
commissions. The custodian's execution quality may be different from other broker-dealers.
The custodian we utilize makes available to us other products and services that benefit us but may not
benefit your accounts in every case. Some of these other products and services assist us in managing and
administering your accounts. These include software and technology that provide access to client account
data (such as trade confirmations and account statements), facilitate trade execution (and allocation of
aggregated trade orders for multiple client accounts), provide research, pricing information, and other
market data, facilitate payment of our fees from your account, and assist with back-office functions,
recordkeeping, and reporting.
Many of these services generally may be used to service all or a substantial number of our accounts. The
custodians also make available to us other services intended to help us manage and further develop its
business enterprise. These services may include consulting, publications, and conferences on practice
management, information technology, business succession, regulatory compliance, and marketing. In
addition, the custodians may make available, arrange, and/or pay for these services rendered to us by third
parties. The custodians may discount or waive fees it would otherwise charge for some of these services
or pay all or a part of the fees of a third-party providing these services to us.
While as a fiduciary, we endeavor to act in your best interest, our recommendation that you maintain your
assets in accounts at our recommended custodians may be based in part on the benefit to us or the
availability of some of the foregoing products and services and not solely on the nature, cost or quality of
TILLMAN HARTLEY LLC
MARCH 2025 | PAGE 18
custody and brokerage services provided by the custodian, which may create a conflict of interest. Our Firm
and its employees endeavor to put our clients' interest first as a part of their fiduciary duty.
BROKERAGE FOR CLIENT REFERRALS
Tillman Hartley Family Office does not receive client referrals from any custodian or third-party in exchange
for using that custodian or third party.
TRADE ERRORS
We have implemented procedures designed to prevent trade errors; however, trade errors in client
accounts cannot always be avoided. Consistent with our fiduciary duty, our policy is to correct trade errors
in a manner that is in the client's best interest. In cases where the client causes the trade error, the client
will be responsible for any loss resulting from the correction. Depending on the specific circumstances of
the trade error, the client may not be able to receive any gains generated as a result of the error correction.
In all situations where the client does not cause the trade error, the client will be made whole, and we
would absorb any loss resulting from the trade error if the Firm caused the error. If the error is caused by
the custodian, the custodian will be responsible for covering all trade error costs. If an investment gain
results from the correcting trade, the gain will be donated to charity. We will never benefit or profit from
trade errors.
We do not routinely recommend, request, or require that clients direct us to execute the transaction
through a specified custodian. Additionally, we typically do not permit clients to direct brokerage. We
place trades for client accounts subject to our duty to seek best execution and other fiduciary duties.
ITEM 13 – REVIEW OF ACCOUNTS
ACCOUNT REVIEWS AND REVIEWERS – INVESTMENT SUPERVISORY SERVICES
The Firm monitors your portfolio on a continuous and ongoing basis, while regular account reviews are
conducted on at least a quarterly basis. More frequent reviews occur but are not necessarily communicated
to you unless immediate changes are recommended. Such reviews are conducted by the Firm’s Investment
Committee and/or investment advisor representatives and are intended to fulfill the Firm’s fiduciary
obligations to their advisory clients. All advisory clients are encouraged to discuss their needs, goals, and
objectives with Tillman Hartley and keep the Firm informed of any changes thereto. Tillman Hartley
contacts ongoing investment advisory clients at least quarterly to review its previous services and/or
recommendations and quarterly to discuss the impact resulting from any changes in the client’s financial
and/or investment objectives. At that time, or more frequently if there are contributions or withdrawals
from the account, rebalancing is considered. Annually the Investment Policy Statement is reviewed and the
portfolio re-engineered if warranted.
STATEMENTS AND REPORTS
You are provided with transaction confirmation notices and regular summary account statements directly
from the Custodians where your assets are custodied. From time-to-time or as otherwise requested, you
may also receive written or electronic reports from the Firm and/or an outside service provider, which
contain certain account and/or market-related information, such as an inventory of account holdings or
account performance. You are encouraged to compare the account statements received from your
custodian with any documents or reports you receive from our Firm or an outside service provider.
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ITEM 14 – CLIENT REFERRALS AND OTHER COMPENSATION
Tillman Hartley has been fortunate to receive many client referrals over the years. The referrals came from
current clients, estate planning attorneys, accountants, employees, personal friends of employees, and
other similar sources. Tillman Hartley does little advertising. In lieu of advertising, the Firm may
compensate referring parties for these referrals with full disclosure to the client in accordance with Rule
206 (4)-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This arrangement will not result in higher costs to the
client. In this regard, we maintain Solicitors Agreements in compliance with Rule 206 (4)-1 of the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 and applicable state and federal laws. All clients referred by Promoters to our Firm will
be given full written disclosure describing the terms and fee arrangements between our Firm and
Promoter(s). The Promoter will not provide clients any investment advice on behalf of Tillman Hartley.
Tillman Hartley does not accept referral fees or any form of remuneration from other professionals when a
potential client is referred to them.
Tillman Hartley receives non-monetary benefits from third parties, including custodians such as Fidelity and
Schwab, and investment firms such as Vanguard, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Avantis, and others, in
connection with the services we provide. For example, Vanguard or Schwab may cover the cost of
continuing education (CE) requirements for our Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs). This support
helps our IARs meet professional development and regulatory requirements, ensuring they stay informed
about industry standards and best practices. Tillman Hartley subscribes to research and other web-based
services published by Dimensional Fund Advisors. Dimensional Fund Advisors does not charge a
subscription fee for its services; however, its model portfolios may include recommendations for
investment products offered or managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors. Tillman Hartley representatives
may attend user conferences sponsored by Dimensional Fund Advisors and have access to consultants for
which it does not charge. Because Dimensional Fund Advisors affiliates earn revenue from investments in
its respective investment products, it does not charge Tillman Hartley fees for these services. The financial
support does not impact the advice provided to clients or the fees clients pay for advisory services.
However, these discounts create a conflict of interest for the Advisor.
To address these potential conflicts:
§
Tillman Hartley adheres to its fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of clients. Recommendations
are based on a thorough evaluation of client needs, investment objectives, and other relevant
factors, not the receipt of third-party benefits.
§ We periodically review our policies to ensure that our selection of investment products and
services remains unbiased and aligned with client interests.
Clients should be aware that the receipt of this support does not alter the fees they pay for our advisory
services or the cost of investing in investment firms’ products. If you have any questions about these
arrangements or how they may affect our services, please contact us at (352) 335-9015.
ITEM 15 – CUSTODY
We do not have physical custody, as it applies to investment advisors. Custody has been defined by
regulators as having access or control over client funds and/or securities.
Tillman Hartley is deemed to have custody of clients’ funds due to the following arrangements:
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MARCH 2025 | PAGE 20
DEDUCTION OF ADVISORY FEES
For all accounts, our Firm has the authority to have fees deducted directly from client accounts.
Our Firm has established procedures to ensure all client funds and securities are held at a qualified
custodian in a separate account for each client under that client’s name. Clients, or an
independent representative of the client, will direct, in writing, the establishment of all accounts
and therefore are aware of the qualified custodian’s name, address, and the manner in which the
funds or securities are maintained. Finally, account statements are delivered directly from the
qualified custodian to each client, or the client’s independent representative, at least quarterly.
The client should carefully review those statements and are urged to compare the statements
against reports received from Tillman Hartley. When the client has questions about their account
statements or fee deductions, the client should contact Tillman Hartley or the qualified custodian
preparing the statement.
Please refer to Item 5 for more information about the deduction of advisor fees.
STANDING LETTERS OF AUTHORIZATION (“SLOA”)
Our Firm is deemed to have custody of clients’ funds or securities when clients have standing
authorizations with their custodian to move money from a client’s account to a third-party
(“SLOA”) and, under that SLOA, it authorizes us to designate the amount or timing of transfers with
the custodian. The SEC has set forth a set of standards intended to protect client assets in such
situations, which we follow. We do not have a beneficial interest in any of the accounts we are
deemed to have custody where SLOAs are on file. In addition, account statements reflecting all
activity on the account(s) are delivered directly from the qualified custodian to each client or the
client’s independent representative, at least quarterly. The client should carefully review those
statements and are urged to compare the statements against reports received from us. When the
client has questions about their account statements, the client should contact us, the client’s
Advisor or the qualified custodian preparing the statement.
SERVING AS CO-TRUSTEE
Tillman Hartley does not act as a custodian of client assets, with the exception of accounts held by
trusts where Kevin Schwall or Gary Lutes serve as co-trustee. This is an exception to the Firm's
custody policy. Our Firm has engaged Wolf & Company to conduct an annual audit on trust
accounts where Kevin Schwall or Gary Lutes serve as a co-trustee. Kevin Schwall and Gary Lutes
have no signatory authority over any client or trust account where they are not serving as co-
trustee.
ITEM 16 – INVESTMENT DISCRETION
For discretionary accounts, prior to engaging Tillman Hartley to provide investment advisory services, you
will enter into a written Agreement with us granting the Firm the authority to supervise and direct, on an
ongoing basis, investments in accordance with the client’s investment objective and guidelines. In addition,
you will need to execute additional documents required by the custodian to authorize and enable Tillman
Hartley, in its sole discretion, without prior consultation with or ratification by you, to purchase, sell, or
exchange securities in and for your accounts. We are authorized, in our discretion and without prior
consultation with you to: (1) buy, sell, exchange, and trade any stocks, bonds, or other securities or assets
(2) determine the amount of securities to be bought or sold, and (3) place orders with the custodian. Any
limitations to such discretionary authority will be communicated to our Firm in writing by you, the client.
TILLMAN HARTLEY LLC
MARCH 2025 | PAGE 21
The limitations on investment and brokerage discretion held by Tillman Hartley for you are:
•
For discretionary accounts, we require that we be provided with the authority to determine which
securities and the amounts of securities to be bought or sold.
• Any limitations on this discretionary authority shall be in writing as indicated on the Investment
Advisory Agreement, Appendix B. You may change/amend these limitations as required.
ITEM 17 – VOTING CLIENT SECURITIES
PROXY VOTING
As a matter of Firm policy, Tillman Hartley does not vote proxies on your behalf. You, the client, are
responsible for voting proxies; however, Tillman Hartley may provide our clients with consulting assistance
regarding proxy issues.
When assistance on voting proxies is requested, Tillman Hartley will provide recommendations to you. If a
conflict of interest exists, it will be disclosed to you. You may contact our office with questions about a
particular solicitation by phone at (352) 335-9015.
CLASS ACTION SUITS
A class action is a procedural device used in litigation to determine the rights of and remedies, if any, for
large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and/or fact. Class action suits
frequently arise against companies that publicly issue securities, including securities recommended by
investment advisors to clients. With respect to class action suits and claims, you (or your agent) will have
the responsibility for class actions or bankruptcies involving securities purchased for or held in your account.
We do not provide such services and are not obligated to forward copies of class action notices we may
receive to you or your agents.
ITEM 18 – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
We do not require or solicit prepayment of more than $1,200 in fees per client, six months or more in
advance. Therefore, we are not required to include a balance sheet for our most recent fiscal year.
Tillman Hartley does not have any financial impairment that will preclude the Firm from meeting the
contractual commitment to our clients.
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