Firm Description
North Star Advisory Group, LLC (“NSAG”) is a registered investment adviser primarily based in
Beachwood, Ohio. We are organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Ohio.
We have been providing investment advisory services since 2014.
Principal Owner
Mark Kangas is our principal owner.
Types of Advisory Services
Currently, we offer the following investment advisory services, which are personalized to each
individual client:
• Portfolio Management Services
• Financial Planning Services
• Selection of Other Advisers
• Pension Consulting Services
• Advisory Services to Retirement Plans
• Sub-Advisory Services
• Real Estate Consulting Services
• Antiques and Collectables Consulting Services
The following paragraphs describe our services and fees. Please refer to the description of each
investment advisory service listed below for information on how we tailor our advisory services to your
individual needs. As used in this brochure, the words "we", "our" and "us" refer to North Star Advisory
Group, LLC and the words "you", "your" and "client" refer to you as either a client or prospective client
of our firm. The use of these terms is not intended to imply that there is more than one individual
associated with this firm.
Portfolio Management Services
We offer discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services. Our investment advice is
tailored to meet our clients' needs and investment objectives. If you retain our firm for portfolio
management services, we will meet with you to determine your investment objectives, risk tolerance,
and other relevant information at the beginning of our advisory relationship. We will use the information
we gather to develop a strategy that enables our firm to give you continuous and focused investment
advice and/or to make investments on your behalf. As part of our portfolio management services, we
may customize an investment portfolio for you according to your risk tolerance and investing
objectives. We may also invest your assets using a predefined strategy, or we may invest your assets
according to one or more model portfolios developed by our firm. Once we construct an investment
portfolio for you, or select a model portfolio, we will monitor your portfolio's performance on an ongoing
basis, and will rebalance the portfolio as required by changes in market conditions and in your financial
circumstances.
If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management services, we require you to grant our firm
discretionary authority to manage your account. Discretionary authorization will allow us to determine
the specific securities, and the amount of securities, to be purchased or sold for your account without
your approval prior to each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by the investment
advisory agreement you sign with our firm and the appropriate trading authorization forms. You may
limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased or
sold 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.
As part of our portfolio management services, we may use one or more sub-advisers to manage a
portion of your account on a discretionary basis. The sub-adviser(s) may use one or more of their
model portfolios to manage your account. We will regularly monitor the performance of your accounts
managed by sub-adviser(s), and may hire and fire any sub-adviser without your prior approval. We
may pay a portion of our advisory fee to the sub-adviser(s) we use; however, you will not pay our firm a
higher advisory fee as a result of any sub-advisory relationships.
Financial Planning Services
We offer financial planning services which typically involve providing a variety of advisory services to
clients regarding the management of their financial resources based upon an analysis of their
individual needs. These services can range from broad, comprehensive, financial planning to
consultative or single subject planning. If you retain our firm for financial planning services, we will
meet with you to gather information about your financial circumstances and objectives. We may also
use financial planning software to determine your current financial position and to define and quantify
your long-term goals and objectives. Once we specify those long-term objectives (both financial and
non-financial), we will develop shorter-term, targeted objectives. Once we review and analyze the
information you provide to our firm and the data derived from our financial planning software, we will
deliver a written plan to you, designed to help you achieve your stated financial goals and objectives.
Financial plans are based on your financial situation at the time we present the plan to you, and on the
financial information you provide to us. You must promptly notify our firm if your financial situation,
goals, objectives, or needs change.
You are under no obligation to act on our financial planning recommendations. Should you choose to
act on any of our recommendations, you are not obligated to implement the financial plan through any
of our other investment advisory services. Moreover, you may act on our recommendations by placing
securities transactions with any brokerage firm.
We review all financial plans on at least an annual basis. Additional reports will be provided to all
clients who have an ongoing financial relationship with us.
Selection of Other Advisers
As part of our investment advisory services, we may recommend that you use the services of a third
party money manager ("MM") to manage all, or a portion of, your investment portfolio. After gathering
information about your financial situation and objectives, we will recommend that you engage a specific
MM or investment program. Factors that we take into consideration when making our
recommendation(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: the MM's performance, methods of
analysis, fees, your financial needs, investment goals, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. We
will periodically monitor the MM(s)' performance to ensure its management and investment style
remains aligned with your investment goals and objectives.
Pension Consulting Services
We offer pension consulting services to employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries based upon the
needs of the plan and the services requested by the plan sponsor or named fiduciary. In general, these
services may include an existing plan review and analysis, plan-level advice regarding fund selection
and investment options, education services to plan participants, investment performance monitoring,
and/or ongoing consulting.
These pension consulting services will generally be non-discretionary and
advisory in nature. The ultimate decision to act on behalf of the plan shall remain with the plan sponsor
or other named fiduciary.
We may also assist with participant enrollment meetings and provide investment-related educational
seminars to plan participants on such topics as:
• Diversification
• Asset allocation
• Risk tolerance
• Time horizon
Our educational seminars may include other investment-related topics specific to the particular plan.
We may also provide additional types of pension consulting services to plans on an individually
negotiated basis. All services, whether discussed above or customized for the plan based upon
requirements from the plan fiduciaries (which may include additional plan-level or participant-level
services) shall be detailed in a written agreement and be consistent with the parameters set forth in the
plan documents.
Either party to the pension consulting agreement may terminate the agreement upon 30 days' written
notice to the other party. The pension consulting fees will be prorated for the quarter in which the
termination notice is given and any unearned fees will be refunded to the client.
Advisory Services to Retirement Plans
As disclosed above, we offer various levels of advisory and consulting services to employee benefit
plans ("Plan") and to the participants of such plans (“Participants”). The services are designed to assist
plan sponsors in meeting their management and fiduciary obligations to Participants under the
Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (“ERISA”). Pursuant to adopted regulations of the U.S.
Department of Labor under ERISA Section 408(b)(2), we are required to provide the Plan's responsible
plan fiduciary (the person who has the authority to engage us as an investment adviser to
the Plan) with a written statement of the services we provide to the Plan, the compensation we receive
for providing those services, and our status (which is described below).
The services we provide to your Plan are described above, and in the service agreement that you will
sign with our firm. Our compensation for these services is described below, at Item 5, and also in the
service agreement. We may, with consent of the Plan, and in accordance with Plan documents, bill
out-of pocket expenses (such as overnight mailings, messenger, translation fees, etc.) at cost. We do
not reasonably expect to receive any other compensation, direct or indirect, for the services we provide
to the Plan or Participants. Nonetheless, since Associated Persons of our firm are licensed insurance
agents, these individuals may receive fees, revenue sharing or other forms of indirect compensation in
connection with Insurance investments. If we receive any other compensation for such services, we
will (i) offset the compensation against our stated fees, and (ii) we will promptly disclose the amount of
such compensation, the services rendered for such compensation and the payer of such compensation
to the retirement plan.
In providing services to the Plan and Participants, our status is that of an investment adviser registered
with the State of Ohio and other state securities authorities and we are not subject to any
disqualifications under Section 411 of ERISA. In performing fiduciary services, we are acting as a non-
discretionary fiduciary of the Plan as defined in Section 3(21), only. We do not act as a discretionary
"investment manager" of the Plan as defined in Section 3(38) under ERISA.
Sub-Advisory Services
We offer sub-advisory services to unaffiliated third party money managers (the "Primary Investment
Adviser"). As part of these services, we will provide model portfolios, which the Primary Investment
Adviser selects for their clients. We will not directly manage the Primary Investment Adviser's individual
client accounts. The Primary Investment Adviser will be responsible for selecting the
appropriate model for its clients.
Real Estate Consulting Services
We offer consulting services concerning real estate. This service primarily involves advising clients on
liquidation strategies for real estate and managing potential capital gains.
Antiques and Collectables Consulting Services
We offer consulting services concerning antiques and collectables. This service primarily involves
advising clients on the collectability, potential financial appreciation, capital gains management,
business strategies and liquidation strategies of various types of antiques and collectables.
Tailored Relationships
Clients can engage our firm to manage all or a portion of their assets on a discretionary or non-
discretionary basis. We primarily offer advice on fixed income products such as municipal securities
and bonds and on investment company securities such as mutual funds and exchange traded funds
("ETFs"). Additionally, we may advise you on any type of investment that we deem appropriate based
on your stated goals and objectives. We may also provide advice on any type of investment held in
your portfolio at the inception of our advisory relationship.
NSAG also may render non-discretionary investment management services to clients relative to their
individual employer-sponsored retirement plans, or other products that may not be held by the client’s
primary custodian. In so doing, NSAG either directs or recommends the allocation of client assets
among the various investment options that are available with the plan. Client assets are maintained at
the specific insurance company or custodian designated by the plan.
NSAG tailors its advisory services to the individual needs of clients. NSAG consults with clients initially
and on an ongoing basis to determine risk tolerance, time horizon and other factors that may impact
the clients’ investment needs. NSAG ensures that clients’ investments are suitable for their investment
needs, goals, objectives and risk tolerance.
Clients are advised to promptly notify NSAG if there are changes in their financial situation or
investment objectives or if they wish to impose any reasonable restrictions upon NSAG’s management
services.
You may request that we refrain from investing in particular securities or certain types of securities.
You must provide these restrictions to our firm in writing. Clients may impose reasonable restrictions or
mandates on the management of their account (e.g., require that a portion of their assets be invested
in socially responsible funds) if, in NSAG’s sole discretion, the conditions will not materially impact the
performance of a portfolio strategy or prove overly burdensome to its management efforts.
Wrap Fee Programs
NSAG does not offer a wrap fee program.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, we provide continuous management services for $161,032,803 in client
assets on a discretionary basis and $21,823,033 on a non-discretionary basis.