Form CRS FAQs

Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service?
Why or why not?

An investment advisory service is a good choice for those of you who are interested in receiving holistic investment and financial planning advice with ongoing professional investment management.

Our firm proactively manages your portfolio investments based on a clear understanding of where you are in your financial life and where you are headed. If you would like more comprehensive financial planning, our team of certified and qualified professionals can provide you with a financial plan that is periodically updated to inspire confidence in your financial roadmap and the probability of realizing your dreams.

We are a fee-only registered investment advisor committed to our fiduciary obligation:

We offer objective advice and strive to put your interests before our own
Our interests are aligned with yours – no product sales, no commissions, no referral fees

If you have already received planning and portfolio construction advice and prefer to monitor and reposition your own portfolio as your needs change, an investment advisory service might not be the best choice for you. In that case, you might choose to use a broker who functions in a transactional relationship for a commission versus a fee-only registered investment advisor who typically provides ongoing professional investment management. If that is the case, then an investment advisor like us would likely not be able to add value to your investment pathway.

How will you choose investments to recommend to me?

We begin the investment management process with an understanding of your financial situation, your goals and objectives, and risk tolerance. Once we have a good understanding of the various factors that guide your life goals, then we can recommend a portfolio tailored to your needs. Our investment committee researches every investment in-depth, reviews, and approves investments in a variety of asset classes to facilitate the construction of diversified client portfolios.

What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications?
What do these qualifications mean?

One of the hallmarks of BFSG, LLC is that our firm has a tremendous amount of experience and a wide bench of investment professionals that are drawn from the different areas of the firm. Chartered Financial Analyst® Charterholders, Certified Public Accountant/Personal Financial Specialist, Certified Financial Planners™, MBAs, and PhDs serve your investment and wealth management needs.

Click here for more information about our financial advisor’s relevant experience, licenses, education, and other qualifications.

Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?

As described in our Form ADV Part 2A (disclosure brochure), we charge an asset-based fee that is billed quarterly, for our investment advisory services. The fee is calculated based on a percentage of the total value of the assets in your account(s). In some cases, we charge fixed fees or hourly fees for investment advisory and financial planning services. In a fixed fee arrangement, the amount of fees we charge you remains the same regardless if your assets increase or decrease in value. Our fee schedule is listed in our client agreements and are billed quarterly in advance or quarterly in arrears as specified in our contract with you. Under certain circumstances, fees may be negotiable. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time.

Here is an illustration to help you understand the effect of fees and costs:

A client who invests $100,000 (the account minimum) in our investment advisory services and pays a fee of 1.0% per year, would have $99,000 to invest net of fees. In addition to our ongoing annual fees, you will be responsible for other fees and expenses associated with the investment of your assets. Such other fees and expenses may include, fees charged by your custodian, account maintenance fees, exchanges, and taxes. Some investments, such as mutual funds and exchange traded funds charge additional fees (called an “expense ratio”) that will reduce the value of your investments over time. We can discuss those transaction fees with you.

How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?

We disclose our material conflicts of interest in our Form ADV Part 2A (disclosure brochure) and summarize some of the most significant conflicts in our Form CRS. As a registered investment adviser, and as a fiduciary subject to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, we are obligated to act in your best interest and to avoid or disclose and seek to mitigate conflicts of interest. Trust, transparency, and our fiduciary duty are the cornerstones of our firm and our Code of Ethics, which applies to everyone at our firm. Our Chief Compliance Officer is available to discuss any specific questions that you have.

As a financial professional, do you have any disciplinary history? For what type of conduct?

No for our firm. Yes, for our financial professionals. Visit www.investor.gov/crs for a free and simple search tool to research our firm and our financial advisers.

Who is my primary contact person? Is he or she a representative of an investment adviser or a broker-dealer? Who can I talk to if I have concerns about how this person is treating me?

Rather than working with one person, you work with a team of investment and administrative professionals who are working together to offer solutions in critical areas of your financial life. We work hard to deliver the level of service that one would expect of an investment adviser. Click here to meet your team of professionals. All of our financial advisers who handle the management of your account(s) are representatives of BFSG, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Our Chief Compliance Officer, Michael Allbee, is available to address any concerns regarding a representative of our firm and can be reached at 714-282-1566.