Firm Description
Fuhrman Management Associates, Inc. (FMA) was founded in 1985 and is a
registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940.
FMA provides personalized investment management and confidential advice
as well as financial planning to its clients. Clients consist of individuals, their
retirement accounts including IRAs and Profit Sharing Plans, trusts, estates,
charitable organizations and small businesses. Investment advice and
management of assets is an integral part of the advisory services provided by
the firm. Ongoing analysis and consultation with the client will include, but
not necessarily be limited to determination of financial objectives,
identification of financial problems, cash flow management, investment
management, insurance review, tax planning, education funding, retirement
planning, and estate planning.
Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc.) may
be engaged directly by the client on an as-needed basis and FMA maintains a
dialogue with these advisors in order to ensure a comprehensive investment
plan for the client. Conflicts of interest will be disclosed to the client in the
unlikely event they should occur.
FMA provides management advice and ongoing management and oversight
of the various assets held in clients’ investment accounts. Stocks, bonds and
mutual funds are the primary investment vehicles utilized in the management
of accounts, although FMA will occasionally recommend various other
investment vehicles such as annuities or insurance to achieve the investment
goals of its clients. The firm charges a management fee based upon the
assets under management and is not affiliated with any entity that sells
financial products or securities.
The initial meeting, which is preferably in person, is free of charge and is
considered an exploratory interview to determine the extent to which FMA’s
services of financial planning and investment management may be beneficial
to the client.
Clients receive periodic in-depth reviews (at least annually) either by phone or
in person, which are conducted with all clients to ensure that there are no
material changes in the investment objectives developed in prior meetings.
More frequent contact may, and often does, occur throughout the course of
the year by way of phone conversations and written correspondence. These
contacts may be initiated by the client as well as the advisor. Clients receive
monthly statements detailing all assets held at NFS Financial/Fidelity (NFS),
as well as any investment activity in their account. Clients also receive a
separate confirmation of any security transaction in their account. Those
clients who hold funds directly with a mutual fund receive quarterly statements from
mutual fund providers. In addition, FMA provides a quarterly Investab report detailing the
positions held, date of purchase and cost basis (if available) of all securities held in a
client’s portfolio.
Principal Owners:
The principal owners of FMA are Susan Fuhrman Holin (52%), Steven
Fuhrman (41%), Jonathan Holin (1%), David Holin (5%) and Joshua Holin
(1%).
Types of Advisory Services
FMA’s primary business is to provide investment supervisory services, also
known as asset management services. All of FMA’s advisory accounts are
managed on a discretionary basis. In addition, FMA may provide investment
advice on certain accounts (such as employee 401(k) accounts and certain
529 Plans not established through FMA) for which it does not exercise
discretion, but for which FMA provides quarterly investment advice, the
implementation of which is the responsibility of the client. In conjunction with
its overall management strategies, FMA also provides advice to clients on
matters not directly involving the management of securities, such as financial
planning matters, taxation issues, and trust services that often include estate
planning and date of death estate valuations of securities.
Tailored Relationships
The goals and objectives for each client are documented in the client file and
a formal Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is created for each client (or
family unit) that clearly reflects the stated investment goals and objectives of
each client. The IPS is reviewed annually and updated for any material
changes. It is the client’s responsibility to notify FMA of any material changes
which would affect the recommendations and asset allocation set forth in the
current IPS. A revised IPS is re-executed and acknowledged by each client
every three years regardless of whether there are any material changes.
Types of Agreements
The following agreements define the typical client relationships. Agreements
may not be assigned without client consent.
Investment Advisory Agreement
Clients who choose to engage FMA as their primary investment advisor do so
in order to obtain ongoing in-depth investment asset management and
retirement/estate planning. At the beginning of the advisory relationship,
information will be gathered in a confidential manner to determine a client’s
financial history, goals, objectives, and financial concerns and the advisor will
assist each client in developing an asset allocation strategy based on each
client’s specific needs. Realistic and measurable goals are set and
objectives and recommendations to reach those goals are defined. Since
investment goals and objectives change over time, recommendations are
reviewed at the in-depth annual meeting, agreed upon by the client and
implemented on an ongoing basis.
All clients who sign an FMA advisory agreement engaging FMA to manage
their assets establish an account through NFS Financial/Fidelity (NFS) as
clearing agent and custodian or with a mutual fund company, as appropriate
and must deposit all assets to be managed in the respective accounts. FMA
currently utilizes Western International (WIS) as its introducing broker, but
FMA and WIS are non-affiliated entities and WIS has no direct connection to
FMA clients other than providing access to NFS brokerage services. This
relationship and the corresponding costs to the client are disclosed in the
management agreement as well as acknowledged in writing by each client
who engages FMA as its advisor.
FMA clients are charged certain additional ticket charges which are also
disclosed on each trade confirmation received by the client. FMA clients are
charged a flat ticket charge of $ 22.00 for equity trades, $30.00 for bond
trades and $15.00 for mutual fund transactions. These charges have been
set by WIS and may be in excess of the actual charges imposed by NFS for
such trades, but neither FMA nor its advisory representatives share in any
portion of these charges. These ticket charges are in payment for services
which are provided by WIS for the sole benefit of FMA clients and not in
payment of any obligation to WIS. FMA is not obligated to continue to use
WIS as its introducing broker and there are no restrictions on the firm’s ability
to select another introducing broker or deal directly with NFS. Although this
may result in lower ticket charges, FMA has determined that the investment
services and back office support provided by WIS to FMA and its clients
warrant the current level of ticket charges. The ticket costs are reviewed
each year in order to determine if the continued services provided by WIS
warrant the continued level of additional charges to a client. These fees are
disclosed in the management agreement which is signed by each client and
specifically acknowledged with their initials.
Investments may include: equities (stocks), warrants, corporate debt
securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, municipal securities,
investment company securities (variable life insurance, variable annuities,
and mutual funds shares), U. S. government securities, options contracts,
futures contracts, and interests in partnerships. Initial public offerings (IPOs)
are not available through FMA.
Clients may impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of
securities. They may also designate certain investment positions as “legacy”
investments, restricting FMA from liquidating these positions; which although
considered as part of the overall assets under management for purposes of
determining investment allocation, may be excluded from valuation for
purposes of the fee calculation.
If the securities are held directly at a mutual fund, clients must grant FMA
access to these accounts in order to allow for the implementation of
investment management decisions. In certain situations, where FMA is not
able to directly implement investment changes, FMA may instruct the client to
initiate the recommended portfolio changes.
Although there is no strict minimum account size for a managed account, it is
recommended that a client deposit at least $100,000 in cash and/or
securities. It should be noted that accounts with less than $ 100,000 in cash
and/or securities may be charged a higher percentage of assets under
management than clients with more assets under management.
Clients are also advised that performance on smaller individual managed
accounts (defined as accounts less than $100,000), may be more greatly
affected due to difficulties with diversification and the ability to minimize risk.
Accounts with less than $50,000 in assets are usually invested in mutual
funds or ETFs in order to achieve greater diversification than would be
possible by investing in individual securities. Performance of smaller
accounts may therefore vary from the performance of larger accounts due to
fluctuations in the market that
may affect smaller accounts to a greater
degree. Further, smaller accounts may be more volatile due to the reduced
ability to diversify.
Based on each client’s investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial
situation, FMA will manage the account(s) on a continuous basis based on
the individual needs of the client. Advisory Representatives are given
discretionary authority to monitor each client’s account and may rebalance
and reallocate the account based upon the investment objectives and
instructions from the client. FMA will only accept new clients on a fee basis
and with full discretion to manage the assets within each account. The
managed accounts of all clients will be billed in accordance with FMA’s fee
schedule, described below.
Investment advisory fees are billed on a quarterly basis and are deducted
directly from the client’s account. If a client has more than one account under
management, the client and advisor will determine the appropriate account
from which to deduct the fee. Clients receive a quarterly billing statement
with their quarterly Investab report which details the valuation and the
calculation of the quarterly bill. Upon mutual agreement between the client
and advisor, the value of certain assets, including but not limited to securities
which the client has determined will not be sold or certain annuities, as well
as the value of specific accounts (such as small custodian and IRA accounts)
may be excluded from the fee calculation. This decision is made on a case
by case basis.
Accounts established and funded during a quarter will be billed a pro-rata fee
based on the number of days remaining in the quarter. Additional assets
deposited into an existing account may be charged a pro-rated fee based on
the number of days remaining in the quarter. Fee adjustments will not be
made for partial withdrawals from the account during the quarter and there
are no fee adjustments for account appreciation or depreciation.
The annual fee charged by FMA is based on a percentage of assets under
management and is determined by the agreed upon asset allocation for the
account. A client is billed 1% of the equity allocation and .5% of the fixed.
For example, an account with a 60/40 equity/fixed allocation would be billed
.8% annually (.2% quarterly). Accounts with less than $100,000 in assets
are generally billed a flat 1% (.25% quarterly) until such time as the allocated
fee would generate at least $1,000 in annual fees. All fees are negotiable.
The Investment Management Agreement, which is executed by all clients of
FMA, is an ongoing agreement. However, either the client or FMA may
terminate the agreement at any time by written notice to the other party. At
termination, pre-paid fees will be rebated to the client on a pro rata basis for
the portion of the quarter remaining. The amount billed at the beginning of
the quarter is used as the basis for the fee computation, adjusted for the
number of days remaining in the quarter upon receipt of written notification of
termination. Once notification is received by FMA, FMA will cease all
discretionary management of the account(s), and the account(s) will be
considered to be non-discretionary and no longer under the control of FMA.
Any transactions subsequent to the written notification and prior to transfer of
the assets from FMA to the new firm will be executed only upon additional
written instructions from the client and marked as unsolicited.
Investment Advisory Agreement (non discretionary)
In certain circumstances, where FMA is prohibited from exercising discretion
in the direct management of assets, (such as a 401(k) or 403(b) Plan or
certain 529 Plans), a client may engage FMA to provide quarterly investment
advice. FMA reviews the quarterly account statements and prepares a
quarterly analysis report with recommendations for rebalancing in accordance
with the client’s stated investment objectives and allocations. Implementation
of the recommendations is solely the responsibility of the client.
The fee for such an arrangement is generally .5% of the assets, billed quarterly;
although this fee may be waived when the client has other accounts under
management of the firm. There is an annual minimum fee of $500.00 ($125.00
per quarter) payment to be made upon completion and presentation of the
quarterly report. This agreement may be terminated at any time by providing
written notification to either party. Since payment is not made in advance, but
upon completion of each quarter’s written analysis report, if notification of intent
to terminate the management arrangement occurs after the quarterly report has
been prepared, client will be responsible for payment of that quarter’s fees.
Financial Planning Agreement
An individual who does not want ongoing investment management of their
assets may engage FMA to prepare a financial plan which is designed to help
the client with all aspects of financial planning. The financial plan may
include, but is not limited to: a net worth statement; a cash flow statement; a
review of investment accounts, including reviewing asset allocation and
providing repositioning recommendations; strategic tax planning; a review of
retirement accounts and plans including recommendations; a review of
insurance policies and recommendations for changes, if necessary; one or
more retirement scenarios; estate planning review and recommendations;
and education planning with funding recommendations.
Detailed and specific recommendations and investment advice generated in
the financial plan are presented to the client in a subsequent meeting.
Clients are advised that certain assumptions may be made with respect to
interest and inflation rates and the use of past trends and performance history
is not an indication of future performance. FMA does not guarantee that a
client’s financial goals and objectives will be met but provides a written
proposal with recommendations of how best to achieve these goals. The
implementation of any recommendations is at the discretion of the client and
client is responsible for notifying FMA of any changes in their financial
situation, goals or objectives which would have an impact on the
recommendations contained in the financial plan.
The fee for preparation of the financial plan is predicated upon the facts
known at the start of the engagement and will be based on the amount of time
anticipated to be necessary to complete the Plan. In the event that the
client’s financial situation and requests for analysis are substantially different
than disclosed at the initial meeting, a revised fee will be negotiated upon
mutual agreement. The client must approve the change of scope in advance
of the additional work being performed when a fee increase is necessary.
Financial plans are priced according to the degree of complexity associated
with the client’s situation. The minimum fee is $ 500.00 with a maximum
charge of $ 1,200.00 (unless it is determined that the scope of the work
required will significantly exceed 8-10 hours of time.) Any fees in excess of
$1,200 must be mutually agreed upon by the advisor and the client.
Fees for financial planning services are payable as follows: one-half of the
agreed upon fee upon execution of the engagement contract with the balance
of the fee due at the time of presentation of the Plan. Clients are advised that
fees for financial planning are strictly for financial planning services and not
for ongoing investment advice. After delivery and review of the financial plan,
future face-to-face meetings may be scheduled which will be billed separately
at the rate of $200.00 per hour. Clients are under no obligation to implement
the Plan’s recommendations through FMA. However, if after presentation of
the financial plan, the client decides to engage FMA for investment
management and advisory services, any fees in excess of the $ 200.00
hourly rate will be rebated to the client on their first quarterly management
bill.
Special Situation Engagements
FMA is not in the business of tax preparation work, but does prepare returns
for certain clients upon request. This service is performed as a separate
arrangement from the Advisory Service Agreement and the fee for
preparation of the required returns is based upon the complexity of the
returns. FMA may also, on occasion, prepare estate date of death valuations
for which it will charge a fee based upon the size and complexity of the estate
assets.
Hourly Planning Engagements
FMA may provide hourly planning services for clients who need advice on a
limited scope of work. The hourly rate for limited scope engagements is
$ 200.00 per hour. Based upon the information provided by the client, FMA
will estimate the amount of time needed to provide the requested services
and provide a projected range so that the client will know in advance the
maximum cost that may be incurred. Payment of one-half of the estimated
cost is due upon signing of the engagement contract, with the balance due
upon completion of services.
Termination of Agreement
A Client may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by
notifying FMA in writing subject to the conditions set forth in the explanation of
each contract. However, as noted above, should the termination occur after
work has been performed as originally agreed upon and in excess of the
advance payment, client will be responsible for the applicable fees.
FMA may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by
notifying the client in writing. If the client made an advance payment, FMA
will refund any unearned portion of the advance payment.