About the firm
Harbor Financial Group, Inc., DBA Harbor Wealth Management (“Harbor”) is a U.S. Securities and Exchange (“SEC”) registered
investment adviser. We are an independent advisory firm, offering investment advisory and financial planning services to include
high net worth individuals, business owners, young professionals and planning-only engagements. Elyse D. Foster, CFP® is the
principal owner of Harbor, which began operations in 1988. Harbor’s Regulatory Assets Under Management (“RAUM”) as of
December 31, 2022 was $283,084,500. Of this amount, $278,783,900 were discretionary assets and $4,300,600 were non-
discretionary.
Harbor’s Advisory Services
Harbor offers investment supervisory services based on the specific financial and personal needs of its clients. Harbor and the client shall
agree upon the terms in writing and sign an Investment Advisory Agreement before services are performed.
Harbor offers financial plans to clients encompassing, but not limited to, the following:
Personal Financial Planning
Investment Management
Performance Reporting
Insurance Analysis and Planning
Estate Planning
Tax & Cash Flow Planning
Retirement Planning
Investment Analysis and Planning
Education Planning
Divorce Planning
Financial Planning and Related Consulting Services
Financial planning information will be obtained through personal interviews with the client including, but not limited to, current
financial status, future goals and attitudes toward risk. During the initial consultation with a new client, Harbor will determine the
specifics of the client's financial condition, including income, obligations, assets, investments and insurance, and the specifics of the client's
personal situation, including his/her family obligations and his/her investment objectives. Harbor will then prepare a projected financial
status report for the client based on this information. Individual schedules and analysis will be chosen from the list above. Advice will
include maximization of the efficiency of current assets and accumulation of additional assets to meet the client’s goals and objectives.
This initial report will then be discussed with the client. Should the client opt for investment management, he/she will sign a separate
agreement for these services. Harbor will then render investment advice to the client. Investment advice is not included in the plan unless
contracted for, as referenced in the next section.
On an annual basis at the option of the client, this report will be updated based upon new financial information provided by the client and, if
applicable, upon information developed by Harbor as a result of monitoring the client's investments. After the preparation of each report
for a client, Harbor will again consult with and render advice to the client as described above.
Investment Management Services
Should the client contract with Harbor to manage his/her assets, Harbor will advise the client with respect to the various types of financial
products and investments available to the client. These products and investments will be primarily provided through Schwab Institutional®
Enterprise (Schwab), a division of Charles Schwab, member SIPC, although accounts outside of Schwab may be included. Appropriate
disclosure of compensation payable to Schwab will be made in written documents provided by the Harbor to the client.
Harbor also may provide investment advice with respect to other types of investment programs which involve the flow through of tax
consequences directly
to the investor and/or cash distributions directly to the investor without double taxation. Examples include real estate
and natural gas investments.
The investment strategies, which will be generally recommended by Harbor, will involve (1) long-term investments for the purpose of
conserving existing assets and (2) obtaining maximum cash return on investments without engaging in unreasonable speculation.
Harbor provides asset management that includes an initial consultation and determination of the client's investment objectives. Based on the
consultation, the RIA manages the client's account by purchasing and/or selling securities in the account. The adviser offers meetings with
the client at least once a year to discuss whether the management of the account continues to reflect the investment objectives of the client.
Harbor’s Investment Committee provides continuous and regular investment advisory services to clients in connection with
establishing and monitoring of client investment objectives, risk tolerance, asset allocation goals and time horizon. In addition, the
Investment Committee may provide the client with information and research about investment products and strategies, and review
portfolio performance reports. The client has the opportunity to place reasonable restrictions or constraints on the way the account is
managed. However, such restrictions may affect the composition and performance of the portfolio. For these reasons and others (e.g.,
timing of contributions, withdrawals, tax minimization, etc.), performance of the portfolio may not be identical to the average client of
Harbor.
Harbor offers investment supervisory services primarily through “Adviser Managed Fee Based Accounts” and “Third Party Managed
Accounts”, which include private managed accounts. Trades are generally cleared through Charles Schwab and Company
(“Schwab”), pursuant to our clearing agreement with Schwab.
The services that we provide under some or all of these investment options may be available from other providers for lesser fees. In
addition, clients may buy securities (e.g., mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, etc.) outside of our investment programs without
incurring fees through our program.
Harbor reserves the right to bill the client for any reasonable travel expenses by Harbor representatives outside of the Denver, Colorado
metropolitan area for travel at the client’s request.
Complying with the DOL’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02:
When we provide investment advice to clients regarding their retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we act as fiduciaries
within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are
laws governing retirement accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with client interests, so we operate under a special
rule that requires us to act in the client’s best interest and not put our interest ahead of the client’s.
Under this special rule's provisions, we must:
Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent advice);
Never put our financial interests ahead of the client when making recommendations (give loyal advice);
Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in the client’s best interest;
Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
Give the client basic information about conflicts of interest.