BACKGROUND
WealthSource Partners, LLC is a Nevada limited liability company that was organized on
November 2, 2015 in the state of California, and subsequently became registered as an
investment adviser on February 18, 2016. WealthSource was created from the merger of the
assets of Vellum Financial, LLC, formerly a California limited liability company, and Avant-
Garde Advisors LLC, formerly a Delaware limited liability company, both of which were
originally formed in 2009.
WealthSource is a wholly owned subsidiary of WealthSource Holdings, Inc., a Nevada
corporation (“WHI”). WHI is controlled by a Board of Directors that consists of A. Bryan
Sullivan, President; Eric Patton, Secretary and Treasurer; and Jon Dubravac. Mr. Sullivan is the
only shareholder who owns, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of WHI’s outstanding voting
securities. With respect to WealthSource, Mr. Patton serves as Chief Financial Officer, Jason
Mirabella serves as Chief Operating Officer, Christopher Shea serves as Chief Investment
Officer, Ryan Mannen serves as Chief Technology Officer, Natalia Autenrieth serves as Chief
of Staff and David Ito serves as Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel.
On December 1, 2023, WealthSource entered into definitive agreements with OneDigital
Investment Advisors LLC (“ODIA”), a registered investment adviser, pursuant to which certain
assets of WealthSource were sold to ODIA (“Acquisition”). As a result of the Acquisition, many
of WealthSource’s investment adviser representatives have now also become investment adviser
representatives of ODIA and WealthSource anticipates that it will withdraw its registration as
an investment adviser on or before August 27, 2024.
WealthSource offers advisory services, which generally consist of (1) financial planning (level
of detail and any written work product will vary by client engagement), (2) the provision of
discretionary or non-discretionary investment recommendations relating to the purchase or sale
of securities and/or the selection of third-party investment managers who are responsible for
making portfolio management decisions (“Sub-Advisers”), (3) the ongoing monitoring of
clients’ securities portfolios, and (4) non-discretionary recommendations regarding the purchase,
exchange or surrender of insurance products. WealthSource’s advisory services are tailored to
the specific needs of each client based on their investment objective(s), financial circumstances,
and risk tolerance as conveyed to or assessed by an investment adviser representative of
WealthSource (“IAR”).
All clients can impose reasonable restrictions, at any time, on the securities or types of securities
to be held in their portfolios. Restrictions, however, are deemed “unreasonable” (1) if they would
interfere with the ability of WealthSource or a Sub-Adviser to make investment decisions in a
timely manner, (2) if they would compel WealthSource to make investment decisions that would
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be inconsistent with the client’s investment objectives, financial circumstances and/or risk
tolerance, or (3) with respect to assets managed by a Sub-Adviser, if the Sub-Adviser prohibits
clients from imposing the requested restriction. Any investment restrictions or changes to such
restrictions must be provided to WealthSource in writing and signed by the client. Please note
that the imposition of one or more investment restrictions could result in investment returns that
are less optimal than the investment returns that would have been achieved if no investment
restrictions were imposed on WealthSource.
As of March 22, 2024, WealthSource had $2,116,238,123 in assets under management, of which
$2,020,531,070 was managed on a discretionary basis.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
WealthSource offers a variety of investment advisory services on a discretionary or non-
discretionary basis through its IARs. These services include, but are not limited to, the creation
of investment and/or asset allocation strategies that are customized by the IAR for the client
and/or the creation of customized portfolio allocations to model portfolios managed by
WealthSource under the direction of its Chief Investment Officer (hereafter, “WSP Models”) or
model portfolios managed by the IAR. The types of investments held in client accounts will vary
depending on the investment/asset allocation strategy and/or model portfolio utilized in the
management of the client’s account and can include, but are not limited to, exchange-traded
funds (“ETFs”), mutual funds, exchange traded notes (“ETNs”), variable annuities, real estate
investment trusts, equities, fixed income securities, options contracts, levered ETFs, structured
products and other non-publicly-traded securities such as private investment funds (e.g., private
equity funds, hedge funds).
WealthSource may also utilize margin and/or engage in short selling in the management of client
accounts. Clients should be aware that the market value of a client’s account and corresponding
fee payable by the client to WealthSource is generally increased as a result of the use of leverage
and, consequently, a conflict of interest exists when
WealthSource recommends the use of margin
or short selling to clients. Client accounts are generally rebalanced or reallocated periodically in
order to reestablish the targeted percentages of the initial asset allocation. This rebalancing or
reallocation will generally be performed quarterly but may be performed more or less frequently.
Third-Party Investment Managers
In providing investment advisory services, WealthSource may also recommend the portfolio
management services of other unaffiliated, independent investment advisers based on the needs
of the client. When recommending third-party investment managers on a discretionary basis,
WealthSource is responsible for performing due diligence on the third-party investment
manager, hiring one or more third-party investment managers on behalf of the client, monitoring
each third-party investment manager’s performance and adherence to its stated investment
strategy and, if necessary, terminating the third-party investment manager on the client’s behalf.
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Such third-party investment managers are hereafter referred to as “Sub-Advisers”.
When recommending third-party investment managers on a non-discretionary basis,
WealthSource will refer one or more third-party investment managers to the client for the client’s
consideration. If the client elects to utilize a referred third-party investment manager, the client
will enter into an investment management agreement directly with such investment manager and,
consequently, WealthSource will not have the authority or ability to hire or terminate the third-
party investment manager on the client’s behalf. Such third-party investment managers are
hereafter referred to as “TPIMs”. Clients should be aware that when WealthSource refers a
TPIM, WealthSource will be acting as a solicitor for such investment managers. Under this
arrangement, the client will not pay any investment advisory fees to WealthSource with respect
to assets placed under the TPIM’s management. Instead, WealthSource will be compensated
through the receipt of solicitation fees paid by the TPIM. Please see the “Item 5 – Fees and
Compensation” and the “Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations” sections
below for important information regarding conflicts of interest relating to WealthSource’s
activities as a solicitor.
In light of the breadth of investment strategies that are available through Sub-Advisers and
TPIMs and the unique combination of investment risks associated with each type of investment
strategy, clients who are recommended the services of a Sub-Adviser or referred to a TPIM
should carefully review the Form ADV, Part 2A (i.e., disclosure brochure), applicable Part 2Bs
(i.e., brochure supplements), and Part 3 (i.e., Form CRS or client relationship summary) of the
Sub-Adviser and/or TPIM for important information concerning the Sub-Adviser and/or TPIM
and their investment strategies, including any associated risks and conflicts of interest.
PENSION CONSULTING SERVICES
WealthSource also offers fee-only, non-discretionary pension consulting services primarily to
corporate retirement plans. Such services typically include the provision of investment advice
about asset classes and investment alternatives, assistance in the selection of investment options
to be made available by the retirement plan to its participants, monitoring of investment options
that have been selected, periodic onsite meetings with responsible plan fiduciaries and providing
general education to the plan’s participants.
FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICES (STAND-ALONE)
WealthSource offers stand-alone financial planning services on an ad hoc, project or ongoing
basis, which generally involves an analysis of the client’s current financial situation, goals, and
objectives in order to provide advice and/or guidance on a range of topics that may include:
Investment Analysis and Planning, Retirement Planning, Charitable Planning, Education
Planning, Real Estate Analysis, Mortgage/Debt Analysis and/or Insurance Analysis.
INSURANCE PLANNING SERVICES
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WealthSource offers discretionary and non-discretionary insurance planning services limited to
insurance products recommended and/or sold by DPL Financial Partners, LLC (“DPL”) to
clients. As part of these services, WealthSource provides non-discretionary advice regarding the
advisability of DPL’s insurance recommendations in relation to the client’s overall financial
planning objectives or plan, which include recommendations to purchase a new insurance
product; adding on or forgoing a rider to a new insurance product; retaining, annuitizing,
exchanging, surrendering, lapsing or withdrawing from an existing insurance product; taking out
a loan from an existing insurance product and/or entering into a life and/or viatical settlement
with respect to an existing insurance product as well as discretionary advice regarding the
allocation of investments between variable insurance product sub-accounts, changing indices for
interest-crediting rates, and/or changing an insurance product’s indexing method. Please see the