A. Firm Description
Proficio Capital Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company was formed on
August 6, 2014 (“Proficio”) to provide discretionary investment advisory services to
the founder’s families as a private family office. Proficio has been offering
investment advisory services to high-net-worth families and individuals that are not
related to Proficio’s founders since September 2015. Robert Haber and Matthew
Wosk are the founders of Proficio. Matthew Wosk is the principal owner and
managing member (members are hereafter referred to as partners or partner). Key
employees are admitted to partnership in Proficio from time to time.
B. Types of Advisory Services
Proficio provides investment advisory services to businesses, foundations, and
endowments and to other investment advisors as a sub-advisor. Proficio provides
sub-advisory services to privately placed, insurance-dedicated investment funds as
well as to Canadian investment advisors. Proficio sponsors, administers, and advises
private pooled investment vehicles (“Private Funds”) to invest in one or more illiquid
investments requiring significant capital to purchase, to spread risk, enable exposure
at lower investment amounts, and to reduce the administrative burden imposed on
clients who would otherwise have to invest directly in the various funds and
investments that Proficio recommends. Proficio provides oversight of assets
managed by other advisers.
C. Discretionary Investment Advisory Services
Proficio provides highly personalized investment services through its portfolio
managers who are assigned to each client. Proficio may either have full discretion
over client assets and will invest these assets in accordance with Proficio’s investment
processes as described in Item 8 or Proficio may work in collaboration with
knowledgeable clients who want more involvement constructing their portfolios. The
extent of client involvement will vary from clients that are not involved, clients that
desire a veto over individual investments while largely remaining within Proficio’s
recommended portfolios, to clients that use Proficio’s advice as suggestions to build
their investment portfolios while utilizing Proficio’s other services. Prior to advising
or making investment allocations on behalf of a client, Proficio will attempt to learn
as much as possible about the client’s personal and family situation including the
expected financial needs for the next generations of the client’s family. Proficio’s
portfolio managers will also review the client’s current levels of taxation, risk
tolerance as well as the other investments that a client may hold, including non-
investment assets such as businesses and real estate. This information forms the basis
of a holistic evaluation that determines the type of investment portfolio Proficio will
manage for the client. Proficio, the portfolio manager and the client will periodically
review the portfolio to ensure it continues to meet the client’s needs. All portfolios
Proficio offers start with a core investment portfolio developed by the Chief
Investment Officer and Proficio’s research department and varied accordingly. At
least one of Proficio’s partners or a member or their family must invest in each
investment in the core investment portfolio that Proficio clients invest in (and in the
Private Funds that Proficio sponsors). There are four versions of the core investment
portfolio offered to clients. These are:
a) a conservative and income oriented portfolio that may have higher taxes,
b) a longer-term growth oriented portfolio adhering closely to the core investment
portfolio and implementing Proficio’s best tactical and strategic ideas,
c) an aggressive version of the general longer-term growth portfolio but with a
higher tax burden, and
d) a portfolio built in conjunction with clients with reference to Proficio’s core
investment portfolio and investment strategies as modified by the client.
Portfolio managers are charged with making the necessary adjustments to the core
portfolio with respect to investment selection among the core portfolio options, asset
allocation (within guidelines), and portfolio monitoring to meet the client’s needs.
Proficio seeks to tailor its investment advisory services based on the client’s other
assets (such as legacy securities and non-Proficio advised assets) owned by its clients.
For example, an investment in a Real Estate Investment Trust that buys office
buildings may not be appropriate for clients with a portfolio that contains direct
investments in office buildings.
Proficio will apply its quantitative and derivative experience to client needs and may
create customized hedges or other sophisticated transactions to address portfolio
issues on behalf of its clients, and to seek to gain or mitigate exposure in the market
for groups of clients where other methods are not as practical (for tax or other
reasons). Institutional clients will have access to the full range of services provided by
Proficio and in certain situations Proficio may serve as their external Chief
Investment Officer and investment staff. Proficio will not develop the same holistic
understanding or assign a portfolio type for institutional clients as it does with
individuals and families but will operate within the investment parameters established
with the client.
Proficio will consider investments that are generally liquid (for which a market exists)
and less-liquid investments such as hedge funds with redemption restrictions,
provided that any restrictions do not exceed 90 days (with 45 days prior notice and
payment within 5 to 10 days after the restriction period) for the core portfolio
investments. Proficio will also consider investments outside of the core portfolio for
its clients subject to redemption restrictions for periods greater than 90 days
depending on the client’s tolerance for risk and ability to withstand the long periods
of illiquidity of portions of their portfolio. For certain clients Proficio may
recommend illiquid investments such as hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and
Opportunity Zone investments (as described below) on a case-by-case basis
especially where the client has requested exposure to higher-risk, illiquid assets.
Private Funds
Proficio has created Private Funds that make multiple investments in long-term,
illiquid, higher risk assets as well as alternative investments (such as music royalties)
that have varying degrees of illiquidity. Certain of these Private Funds are intended
to be held for up to ten years, and possibly longer, if the investments do not perform
as expected, while other Private Funds are redeemable twice a year or quarterly
depending on the share class. Proficio serves as the general partner or managing
member as well as investment advisor for its Private Funds. See Item 15, Custody.
Proficio may not form a Private Fund using assets purchased from its clients, their
families, or affiliates of Proficio.
a) Single Investment Private Funds: Single investment Private Funds Proficio
sponsors will
invest in a private investment, and subsequent classes of interests issued
after the initial investment, that are considered illiquid (subject to restrictions of more
than 90 days and for which a limited market exists) and that are only available to
sophisticated investors. Proficio will analyze and review these investments to
determine if they are suitable. Clients may invest in a Proficio Private Fund after they
have reviewed the investment, fees, and disclosure documents and complete a
subscription.
b) Multiple Investment Private Funds: Proficio will designate a portfolio of
investments to achieve a specific objective (for example a fund that seeks to purchase
investments expected to perform in market environments where fixed-income
investments underperform). To save on administrative and transaction costs, Proficio
will acquire these investments through a limited partnership or limited liability
company or a limited liability company series and allocate a percentage of the entity
to participating clients. Clients will approve the investment after their review through
an initial subscription and thereafter Proficio may allocate Client assets in accordance
with the Client’s needs. Private Funds will contain long-term investments with
limited liquidity but may also contain underlying investments that allow the fund to
offer more frequent redemption periods, such as quarterly. At least one Proficio
partner or a member of their family must invest in each Private Fund Proficio offers.
Opportunity Zone Investments
Opportunity Zones, added to the United States Internal Revenue Code by the Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act on December 22, 2017, are economically distressed communities
where new investments, under certain circumstances, may be eligible for preferential
tax treatment. Localities are designated as Opportunity Zones after nomination by the
state and certification by the Internal Revenue Service. Proficio has invested client
assets, where appropriate, in certain Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds. Investors
must remain invested in a Qualified Opportunity Zone company for at least ten years
to take advantage of the full tax benefits and should not expect to liquidate their
investment without a substantial discount independently of the planned exit of all the
investors or prior to the ten-year holding period.
Legacy Securities
In certain instances, clients will already hold publicly traded equity securities in their
portfolios that they are unwilling to sell. In these situations, Proficio will monitor the
holdings and may recommend when the client should consider selling the security
based on the client’s personal situation, their portfolio diversification needs, risk
tolerances, financial, investment needs and other considerations (such as to offset tax
gains). Proficio may suggest actions to be taken with respect to these securities, but it
will generally not have investment discretion and ultimately the client will have to
direct or approve any transaction. Proficio will take these holdings into account when
making other discretionary investment decisions with respect to the client’s portfolio.
Structured Notes
Proficio may review, price, and facilitate the purchase of structured notes to:
a) hedge an asset category in the core portfolio for a group of clients,
b) in a Proficio advised Private Fund where consistent with the Private Fund’s
investment requirements, or
c) for investment at the request by clients who are actively involved in their
portfolios.
Structured notes are debt securities issued by financial institutions that offer a return
based on underlying securities, interest rates, commodities, or currencies. Proficio
generally only recommends structured notes based on passive index ETFs unless a
note tied to a specific company serves as a better hedge. Certain sophisticated clients
may specifically request structured notes based on single name equities. Notes based
on single name equities are not made available to all clients and are not subject to
Proficio’s Chief Investment Officer and research staff review. When purchased for
sophisticated clients in this fashion, structured notes will not receive a suitability
review and are not subject to the requirements other investments for Proficio clients
must satisfy. These structured note purchases are not subject to the requirement that
Proficio partners or their families participate in the investment. Clients that hold
structured notes based on single name equities are required to periodically
acknowledge the risks in writing. See Item 8.C. for structured note risk factors.
Initial Public or Follow-on Offerings and SPACs
From time-to-time Proficio may have the opportunity to purchase shares in initial
public offerings, follow-on offerings, or block trades on behalf of its clients. Proficio
partners, officers and employees may not participate in such offerings. Proficio will
allocate the offering shares among its clients that have authorized Proficio to
participate on their behalf and who are not otherwise prohibited from participation.
Proficio will base each client’s allocation on the percentage of total assets under
management of the client’s account with Proficio. When four or more clients are
participating in an offering, no client, despite its size, will receive over 50% of the
total offering allocated to Proficio. Proficio will allocate shares with “trade away” and
other costs in mind. For example, if a client receives a small number of shares based
on the foregoing process and a sale will incur an excessive trade away commission
that may significantly reduce or eliminate any profit from the trade, then Proficio may
in its sole discretion skip the allocation as not cost-effective and direct the allocation
to another client. In some cases, it may be appropriate for one or more clients to hold
an initial public offering for longer periods than other clients or in accounts that
Proficio does not manage. Proficio may use that factor in determining the allocation
those clients receive. For small allocations, generally under $150,000, Proficio has
determined that the costs of the trade and the associated risk do not justify splitting
the trade among a group of clients. In that case, the entire allocation will generally be
allocated to the privately placed, insurance dedicated fund Proficio sub-advises.
Proficio has determined that the risks associated with Special Purpose Acquisition
Companies (SPAC) shares make them unsuitable for most clients. However, Proficio
will acquire SPAC shares for the insurance dedicated fund that it sub-advises and for
certain clients on the client’s direction.
Proficio does not provide legal or tax advice but will work together with a client’s
legal and tax advisors when warranted.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
At the current time, Proficio does not participate in any wrap fee programs.
E. Client Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, Proficio managed assets in the amount of $2.57 billion on
a discretionary basis. Proficio managed $399 million on a non-discretionary basis.