A. Firm Information
Forness Financial LLC (“Forness Financial” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Advisor is organized as a Limited Liability Company (“LLC”)
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Forness Financial was founded in September 2014, and
is owned and operated by Norman A. Forness (Managing Principal) and Ryan C. Forness (Managing Principal
and Chief Compliance Officer). This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications,
business practices, and the advisory services provided by Forness Financial.
B. Advisory Services Offered
Forness Financial offers investment advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, and
estates (each referred to as a “Client”).
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and regulations. As such, each
recommendation made as part of the advisory services is based on the belief that the recommendation is in the
Client's best interest. Forness Financials’ fiduciary commitment to each Client is further described in the
Advisor’s Code of Ethics. For more information regarding the Code of Ethics, please see Item 11 – Code of
Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading.
Investment Management Services
Forness Financial provides customized investment advisory solutions for its Clients. This is achieved through
continuous personal Client contact and interaction while providing discretionary investment management and
financial consulting services. Forness Financial works with each Client to identify their investment goals and
objectives as well as risk tolerance and financial situation in order to create a portfolio strategy. Forness Financial
will then construct an investment portfolio, consisting of low-cost, diversified mutual funds and/or exchange-
traded funds (“ETFs”) to achieve the Client’s investment goals. The Advisor may also utilize individual stocks and
bonds, and other types of securities, as necessary, to meet the needs of certain Clients. The Advisor may retain
certain legacy investments based on portfolio fit and/or tax considerations.
Forness Financial’s investment strategies are primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell or re-
allocate positions that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market
conditions. Forness Financial will construct, implement and monitor the portfolio to ensure it meets the goals,
objectives, circumstances, and risk tolerance agreed to by the Client. Each Client will have the opportunity to
place reasonable restrictions on the types of investments to be held in their respective portfolio, subject to
acceptance by the Advisor.
Forness Financial evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its
internal due diligence process. Forness Financial may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment
allocations to diversify the portfolio. Forness Financial may recommend specific positions to increase sector or
asset class weightings. The Advisor may recommend employing cash positions as a possible hedge against
market movement. Forness Financial may recommend selling positions for reasons that include, but are not
limited to, harvesting capital gains or losses, business or sector risk exposure to a specific security or class of
securities, overvaluation or overweighting of the position[s] in the portfolio, change in risk tolerance of the Client,
generating cash to meet Client needs, or any risk deemed unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
Forness Financial will provide investment advisory services and portfolio management services and will not
provide securities custodial or other administrative services. At no time will Forness Financial accept or maintain
custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the limited authority as outlines in Item 15 – Custody. All
Client assets will be managed within their designated account[s] at the Custodian, pursuant to the terms of the
advisory agreement. Please See Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Retirement Plan Accounts – When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will recommend
that a
Client roll over its retirement plan account into an account managed by the Advisor. In such instances, the
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Advisor will serve as an investment fiduciary as that term is defined under The Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest as the Advisor will earn a
new (or increase its current) advisory fee as a result of the rollover. No client is under any obligation to roll over
retirement plan assets to an account managed by the Advisor.
Financial Consulting Services
As part of its investment advisory services, Forness Financial will typically provide a variety of financial consulting
services for its Clients. Generally, such financial consulting services will involve preparing or managing a
financial plan or rendering a specific financial consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives.
Financial consulting may encompass one or more areas of need, including, but not limited to investment
planning, retirement planning, personal savings, education savings, insurance needs and other areas of a
Client’s financial situation. Forness Financial provides this service as part of its comprehensive investment
advisory services.
Financial consulting recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the interests of
the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor for
investment management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any
recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects
to act on any of the recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the
transaction through the Advisor.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging Forness Financial to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter into
an investment advisory agreement with the Advisor that defines the terms, conditions, authority and
responsibilities of the Advisor and the Client. These services may include:
• Establishing Investment Strategy – Forness Financial, in connection with the Client, will develop a
strategy that seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
• Asset Allocation – Forness Financial will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the
investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation and tolerance for risk for each Client.
• Portfolio Construction – Forness Financial will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet
the stated goals and objectives of the Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – Forness Financial will provide investment management and
ongoing oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
• Financial Planning and Consulting – Forness Financial provides financial planning and consulting
services for its Clients as part of its investment advisory services. Such planning and consulting services
are tailored to the needs of Clients.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
Forness Financial will typically absorb securities transaction fees for certain mutual funds, and other transaction
based fees (herein “Covered Costs”) In such instances, the Covered Costs are included as part of its overall
investment advisory fee paid by the Client (See Item 5 – Fees and Compensation). Depending on the level of
trading required for the Client’s account in a particular year, the Client may pay more or less in total fees than if
the Client had paid its own securities transaction fees separately. The inclusion of investment advisory fees and
securities transaction fees into a single fee is typically considered a “wrap fee program”. Please see Appendix 1
– Wrap Fee Program Brochure, which is included with this Disclosure Brochure.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2022, Forness Financial manages approximately $150,669,286in Client assets, all of which
are managed on a discretionary basis. Clients may request more current information at any time by contacting
the Advisor.
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