Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC is an SEC registered investment adviser based in New York. We are
organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Delaware. We have been
providing investment advisory services since 1995. Joseph Gunnar Holding Co., LLC is our
principal owner and Joseph Alagna, Anthony Sica, Mark Peikin, and Stephan Stein are indirect
owners of Joseph Gunnar Holding Co., LLC. Messrs. Sica, Peikin and Stein hold less than 25%
ownership of Joseph Gunnar Holding Co., LLC. Some of our representatives may conduct
advisory business under the names Lellos Wealth Management and American Pride Wealth
Management Group.
As used in this brochure, the words "we," "our," "firm," and "us" refer to Joseph Gunnar & Co.,
LLC and the words "you," "your," and "client" refer to you as a client or prospective client of our
firm. Also, you may see the term Associated Person in throughout this brochure. Our Associated
Persons are our firm's officers, employees, and all individuals providing investment advice on
behalf of our firm.
We offer portfolio management services exclusively through a wrap-fee program ("Program") as
described in this wrap fee program brochure to prospective and existing clients. We are the
sponsor and investment adviser for the Program. A wrap-fee program is a type of investment
program that provides clients with asset management and brokerage services for one all-inclusive
fee. If you participate in our wrap fee program, you will pay our firm a single fee, which includes
money management fees, certain transaction costs, and custodial and administrative costs. You
are not charged separate fees for the respective components of the total services. We receive a
portion of the wrap fee for our services. The overall cost you will incur if you participate in our
wrap fee program may be higher or lower than you might incur by separately purchasing the types
of securities available in the Program.
Prior to becoming a client under the Program, you will be required to enter into a written agreement
with us that sets forth the terms and conditions of the engagement and describes the scope of
the services to be provided and the fees to be paid.
Client Investment Process
We provide discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services within the
Program in accordance with your individual investment objectives. If you participate in our
discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary
authority to manage your account. Subject to a grant of discretionary authorization, we have the
authority and responsibility to formulate and implement investment strategies on your behalf. This
authorization includes deciding which securities to buy and sell, when to buy and sell, and in what
amounts, in accordance with your investment program, without obtaining your prior consent or
approval for each transaction.
Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment advisory agreement you sign with
our firm and/or through trading authorization forms. You may limit our discretionary authority (for
example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased for your account) by providing our
firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing.
If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior
to executing any transactions on behalf of your account. You have an unrestricted right to decline
to implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis.
Assets for program accounts are held at RBC Correspondent Services ("RBC"), a division of RBC
Capital Markets, LLC. RBC Capital Markets, LLC is an unaffiliated broker-dealer and member of
NYSE/FINRA/SIPC. RBC also acts as executing and clearing firm for transactions placed in
Program accounts, and provides other administrative services as described throughout this
disclosure brochure.
Changes in Your Financial Circumstances
In providing the contracted services, we are not required to verify any information we receive from
you or from your other professionals (e.g. attorney, accountant, etc.) and we are expressly
authorized to rely on the information you provide. Furthermore, unless you indicate to the contrary,
we shall assume that there are no restrictions on our services, other than to manage your account
in accordance with your designated investment objectives. It is responsibility to promptly notify us
if there are ever any changes in your financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose
of reviewing/evaluating/ revising our previous recommendations and/or services.
The Program Fee
We charge an annual "wrap-fee" for participation in the Program depending upon the market value
of your assets under our management. You are not charged separate fees for the different
components of the services provided within the Program. Our firm pays all trade expenses of
trades placed on your behalf. Our Program fee includes the fee we pay to any portfolio manager
for their management of your account and RBC's transaction or execution costs. Assets in each
of your account(s) are included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in writing for
exclusion. In special circumstances, and in our sole discretion, we may negotiate a lesser
management fee based upon certain criteria (i.e., anticipated future earning capacity, dollar
amount of assets to be managed, related accounts, account composition, pre-existing client
relationship, account retention, etc.).
On an annualized basis, our Program fees are as follows:
Assets Under Management Maximum Annual Fee
as % of Portfolio
First $500,000 2.75%
Next $500,000 2.25%
Next $1,000,000 1.75%
Next $3,000,000 1.00%
Next $5,000,000 1.00%
As a client, you should be aware that the wrap fee charged by our firm may be higher (or lower)
than those charged by others in the industry, and that it may be possible to obtain the same or
similar services from other firms at lower (or higher) rates. A client may be able to obtain some or
all of the types of services available through our firm's wrap fee program on an individual basis
through other firms and, depending on the circumstances, the aggregate of any separately paid
fees may be lower or higher than the annual Program fees shown above.
At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same
household to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account
values for you and your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related
accounts. Combining account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your
paying a reduced advisory fee based on the available breakpoints in our fee schedule stated
above.
Our annual Program fee is billed and payable quarterly, in advance based on the value of your
account on the last day of the previous quarter. If the portfolio management agreement is
executed at any time other than the first day of a calendar quarter, our fees will apply on a pro
rata basis, which means that the Program fee is payable only in proportion to the number of days
in the quarter for which you are a client. Our Program fee is negotiable, depending on individual
client circumstances.
You may withdraw account assets on notice to our firm, and subject to the usual and customary
securities settlement procedures. However, we design our portfolios as long-term investments and
asset withdrawals may impair the achievement of your specific investment objectives.
We will deduct our Program fee directly from your account through the qualified custodian holding
your funds and securities. We will deduct our advisory fee only when the following requirements
are met:
• You provide our firm with written authorization permitting the fees to be paid directly from
your
account held by the qualified custodian;
• We send the qualified custodian written notice of the amount of the fee to be deducted from
your account;
• We send you an invoice showing the amount of the fee, the value of the assets on which the
fee is based, the time period covered by the fee and the specific manner in which the fee was
calculated, including any formulae used to calculate the fee; and
• The qualified custodian agrees to send you a statement, at least quarterly, indicating all
amounts dispersed from your account including the amount of the advisory fee paid directly to
our firm.
Upon receiving an invoice and/or billing statement from our firm, we encourage you to reconcile
our invoices with the statement(s) you receive from the qualified custodian. If you find any
inconsistent information, please call our main office number located on the cover page of this
disclosure brochure.
Termination of Advisory Relationship
You may terminate your agreement with us to participate in the Program upon 30 days' written
notice to our firm. You will incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to the termination of
the wrap fee program agreement, which means you will incur advisory fees only in proportion to
the number of days in the terminating quarter during which you were a client. If you have pre-paid
advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a pro-rated refund of those fees.
Upon termination of accounts held at RBC, RBC will deliver securities and funds held in the
account per your instructions unless you request that the account be liquidated. After the wrap
fee program agreement has been terminated, transactions are processed at the prevailing
brokerage rates/fees. You become responsible for monitoring your own assets and our firm has
no further obligation to act upon or to provide advice with respect to those assets.
If you have not received the brochure document(s) at least 48 hours prior to signing an agreement,
you has five business days in which to cancel the agreement, without penalty.
Wrap Fee Program Disclosures
• The benefits under a wrap fee program depend, in part, upon the size of the account, the
management fee charged, and the number of transactions likely to be generated in the
account. For example, a wrap fee program may not be suitable for accounts with little trading
activity. In order to evaluate whether a wrap fee program is suitable for you, you should
compare the Program Fee and any other costs of the Program with the amounts that would
be charged by other advisers, broker-dealers, and custodians, for advisory fees, brokerage
and other execution costs, and custodial services comparable to those provided under the
Program.
• In considering the investment programs described in this brochure, you should be aware that
participating in a wrap fee program may cost more or less than the cost of purchasing
advisory, brokerage, and custodial services separately from other advisers or broker-dealers.
• Our firm and Associated Persons receive compensation as a result of your participation in
the Program. This compensation may be more than the amount our firm or the Associated
Persons would receive if you paid separately for investment advice, brokerage, and other
services. Accordingly, a conflict of interest exists because our firm and our Associated
Persons have a financial incentive to recommend the Program.
• Similar advisory services may be available from other registered investment advisers for
lower fees.
Additional Fees And Expenses
The Program fee includes the costs of brokerage commissions for transactions executed through
RBC (or a broker-dealer designated by RBC), and charges relating to the settlement, clearance,
or custody of securities in your Program account. The Program fee does not include mark-ups
and mark-downs, dealer spreads or other costs associated with the purchase or sale of securities,
interest, taxes, or other costs, such as national securities exchange fees, charges for transactions
not executed through RBC (or designee), costs associated with exchanging currencies, wire
transfer fees, or other fees required by law or imposed by third parties. The client will be
responsible for these additional fees and expenses.
The Program fees that you pay to our firm for services included within the Program are separate
and distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange traded funds
(described in each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally include a
management fee and other fund expenses. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you
should review all the fees charged by mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others.
We may trade client accounts on margin. Each client must sign a separate margin agreement
before margin is extended to that client account. Program fees for advice and execution Program
accounts are based on the total asset value of the account, which includes the value of any
securities purchased on margin. While a negative amount may show on a client's statement for
the margined security as the result of a lower net market value, the amount of the Program fee is
based on the absolute market value. This could create a conflict of interest where we may have
an incentive to encourage the use of margin to create a higher market value and therefore receive
a higher Program fee. The use of margin may also result in interest charges in addition to all other
fees and expenses associated with the security involved.
State of California Required Disclosures
While our firm endeavors at all times to offer clients specialized services at reasonable costs, the
fees charged by other investments advisers for comparable services may be lower than the fees
charged by our firm.
Brokerage Practices
If you participate in the Program, you will be required to establish an account with RBC. If you do
not direct our firm to execute transactions through RBC, we reserve the right to not accept your
account. Not all advisers require their clients to direct brokerage. Since you are required to use
RBC, we may be unable to achieve the most favorable execution of your transactions. We believe
that RBC provides quality execution services based on several factors, including, but not limited
to, the ability to provide professional services, reputation, experience and financial stability.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
We do not have any soft dollar arrangements.
Economic Benefits
As a registered investment adviser we have access to the institutional platform of your account
custodian. As such, we will also have access to research products and services from your account
custodian. These products may include financial publications, information about particular
companies and industries, research software, and other products or services that provide lawful
and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our investment decision-making
responsibilities. Such research products and services are provided to all investment advisers that
utilize the institutional services platforms of these firms, and are not considered to be paid for with
soft dollars. However, you should be aware that the commissions charged by a particular broker
for a particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts another broker
who did not provide research services or products might charge.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
We do not receive client referrals from broker-dealers in exchange for cash or other compensation,
such as brokerage services or research.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, we manage $20,888,609.51 in client assets on a discretionary basis
and $10,129,529.25 on a non-discretionary basis.