Avidian Advisory Description
Avidian Wealth Solutions, LLC (“Avidian”) was formed on October 9, 2002, and
commenced doing business in 2003 as Streettalk Advisors, LLC. The principal owners are
James “Luke” Patterson, Michael Anthony Smith, Preston Snow, James Atkinson, Bradley
Covey, William Morgan Stone, and Gregory Litts.
Types of Advisory Services
Investment Management Accounts
Avidian primarily manages portfolios on a discretionary basis and makes arrangements
for efficient custody safekeeping of assets and trade execution. Avidian advises its clients
based on information gathered from the client. Clients are asked to complete a Client
Information and Financial Planning Profile Worksheet, which asks for information
regarding, but not limited to, net worth, and investment goals. According to the information
obtained from the worksheet, as well as information obtained from the client during their
meeting(s) with one of our advisors, the advisor will discuss and determine, with the client,
an investment strategy believed to best suit the client’s needs. This service is provided to
individuals, 401(k) plans, and/or their participants, as well as charitable organizations and
foundations. Avidian will review, supervise, and manage the account, which consists of all
assets covered by the advisory agreement with the client, and all additions to the account.
In limited circumstances, Avidian may allow for non-discretion account management
services. In these instances, the Advisor will give advice, recommendations and manage
the account per the below, however they will call the client for approval before affecting
any trades.
Whether using discretion or non-discretion Avidian provides advice regarding the
purchase and sale of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, money market
funds, government securities and obligations, debt securities, derivative securities or
contracts, alternative investments, non-traded investments, and other securities.
Generally, all accounts of a client will be aggregated for the purpose of allocating to a
model. Avidian offers many managed model solutions. The majority of Avidian’s clients
are invested in one or more of Avidian’s managed models, exceptions may be granted to
clients who would like to customize their portfolio, or clients who have joined Avidian
through a new advisor transition, therefore not all clients are similarly situated. In these
instances, the client will work directly with their Advisor to determine their strategy and
allocation. There is no guarantee that the advisory services offered will result in clients’
goals and objectives being met. Nor is there any guarantee of profit or protection from
loss.
Please Note-Use of Mutual Funds / ETF’s: Most mutual funds are available directly to
the public. Thus, a prospective client can obtain many of the mutual funds that may be
recommended and/or utilized by Avidian independent of engaging Avidian as an
investment advisor. However, if a prospective client determines to do so, he/she will not
receive Avidians initial and ongoing investment advisory services. Separate Fees: All
mutual funds (and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”)) impose fees at the fund level (e.g.,
management fees and other fund expenses). All mutual fund and ETF fees are separate
from, and in addition to, Avidian’s investment advisory fee as described at Item 5 below.
Avidian’s Chief Compliance Officer, Hope Edick, remains available to address any
questions that a client or prospective client may have regarding the above.
Sub-Advisory Arrangements
Avidian may engage sub-advisers for the purpose of assisting Avidian with the
management of its client accounts. Unless otherwise disclosed in this brochure or in a
separate agreement with the client, the sub-adviser will have discretionary authority over
the day-to-day management of the assets that are allocated to it by Avidian. The sub-
adviser will continue in such capacity until the arrangement is terminated or modified by
Avidian or the client. Please Note: Should Avidian or a client engage a sub-advisor the
fee charged by the sub-advisor, if any, will be detailed in Schedule A of the Avidian
Investment Advisory Agreement or the agreement with the sub-advisor and will be debited
directly from the client account at the custodian.
In addition, in certain cases, Avidian may be granted oversight on accounts in which it is
not considered the investment manager and does not have discretionary authority. In
these instances, Avidian may receive a portion of the advisory fee from the investment
manager for review/oversight and planning assistance.
Avidian Wrap Fee Program (Not available to new clients)
Avidian provides investment management services on a wrap fee basis in accordance
with our investment management wrap fee program (the “Program”). The services offered
under, and the corresponding terms and conditions pertaining to the Program were
discussed in the Wrap Fee Program Brochure, a copy of which was presented to the
Program participants at the onset of their relationship. Under the Program, Avidian is able
to offer participants discretionary investment management services, for a single specified
annual Program fee, inclusive of trade execution, custody, reporting, and Avidian’s
investment management fees. However, clients may incur additional fees as set forth
below. The current annual Program fee ranges from negotiable to 1.50% (See Fee
Differential disclosure below), depending upon the amount and type of the Program
assets.
Please Note: Participation in the Program may cost more or less than purchasing such
services separately. As also indicated in the Wrap Fee Program Brochure provided to the
participating client(s) at the onset of their participation, the Program fee charged by
Avidian for participation in the Program may be higher or lower than those charged by
other sponsors of comparable wrap fee programs.
Also, Please Note: Participation in the Program is no longer available to new clients.
Clients who previously participated in the Program are grandfathered in should they
wish to continue under the Agreement. These clients may opt out at any time.
Financial Planning and Consulting Services (Stand-Alone)
To the extent specifically requested by a client, Avidian may determine to provide financial
planning and/or consulting services (including investment and non-investment related
matters, business planning, including estate planning, insurance planning, etc.) on a
stand-alone fee basis. Fees charged are described in Item 5.
Avidian gathers information from the client such as assets, liabilities, and financial goals.
Avidian inputs that information into financial planning / retirement planning software. The
software uses the information to project the likelihood of various investment outcomes and
generate a Financial Goal Plan report. The software uses several methods of calculating
results. All results are hypothetical in nature and do not reflect actual investment results.
Implementation of any financial planning recommendation is entirely at the client's
discretion. This service is used merely to help the client understand how much they may
need to save in order to meet their retirement goals. There is no guarantee that clients will
meet their retirement or investment goals even if they follow all Avidian recommendations.
Please Note: Avidian does not serve as an attorney or accountant, and no portion of our
services should be construed as same. Accordingly, Avidian does not prepare estate
planning documents, or tax returns. To the extent requested by a client, we may
recommend the services of other professionals for certain non-investment implementation
purpose (i.e., attorneys, accountants, insurance), including Avidian’s representatives in
their separate individual capacities as licensed insurance agents of Avidian Insurance
Agency, LLC., and licensed CPAs (operating as a CPA Firm as an outside business
activity).
Affiliated Private Funds
Avidian Wealth Solutions, LLC is the general partner and investment advisor of The
Streettalk Advisors Premier Fund, LP (“Premier Fund”), a Texas limited partnership that
offered investors access to a diversified, multi-strategy investment portfolio designed to
provide long-term growth of capital. Avidian Wealth Solutions has exclusive and complete
control of the Premier Fund’s activities including the selection, retention, and replacement
of investment managers. The Streettalk Advisors Premier Fund deployed a fund of funds
strategy and invested primarily in different series of Black Swan Funds.
In 2015, Avidian Wealth Solutions was appointed to act as the liquidating trustee for each
series of the Black Swan Funds because the manager of the Black Swan Funds was
unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to the investors. The main duty of Avidian is to
oversee the orderly liquidation of each of the fund’s assets and the distribution of
disposition proceeds in accordance with the liquidation provisions set forth in the
applicable Operating Agreements. Avidian and its Principals are not employees of Black
Swan and receive no compensation or fee.
Avidian Wealth Solutions, LLC also acts as the investment manager to the STA Real
Estate Fund 1, LP, which is a Texas limited partnership that offers investors access to
mid-size real estate investment opportunities with a focus on multi-family residential
housing and senior living properties. The principals of Avidian Wealth Solutions are
responsible for the selection of the investment properties. STA Real Estate Company, LLC
acts as the general partner, two of the principals of Avidian Wealth Solutions, LLC (Michael
Smith and Luke Patterson) are affiliated with STA Real Estate Company, LLC. Avidian
clients are under absolutely no obligation to consider or make an investment in the STA
Real Estate Fund 1, LP.
Please Note: Interests in the Streettalk Advisors Premier Fund, LP (“Premier Fund”)
and the STA Real Estate Fund 1, LP are closed to new investors. *This brochure is
not a public offer of either of these investments.
Unaffiliated Private Investment Funds
Avidian also provides investment advice regarding unaffiliated private investment funds.
Avidian may recommend that certain accredited and/or qualified clients consider an
investment in unaffiliated private investment funds. Avidian’s role relative to the private
investment funds shall be limited to its initial and ongoing due diligence and investment
monitoring services. If a client determines to become a private fund investor, they are
required to sign the sponsor subscription documents to transact the investment (thus
these assets are considered non-discretion investments – as Avidian cannot purchase or
sell without written approval). The amount of assets invested in the fund(s) shall be
included as part of “assets under management” for purposes of Avidian calculating its
investment advisory fee.
In some instances, Avidian may consider a private investment opportunity for clients in
which certain other Avidian clients are affiliated as a member of the general partnership
and/or sponsor of the investment. This could pose a conflict of interest in that an Avidian
Advisor could potentially leverage the relationship with the affiliated client sponsor to
acquire more assets (thus increasing their investment advisory fee). This could be
achieved by an Advisor telling the affiliated client that Avidian will recommend their
investment opportunity to its clients if they add assets to their Avidian account. To mitigate
this conflict Avidian uses the same due diligence process on all private investment
opportunities regardless of any relationship with the sponsor/issuer and the decision to
participate in any private offering is made by the Investment Committee. No Advisor has
the authority to choose what private investments the firm will offer.
In addition, it is important to note that there are no special compensation arrangements
between any private investment issuer and Avidian or any of its Advisors. Avidian clients
are under absolutely no obligation to consider or make an investment in a private
investment fund(s).
Please Note: Private investment funds generally involve various risk factors, including,
but not limited to, the potential for complete loss of principal, liquidity constraints, and lack
of transparency. A complete discussion is set forth in each fund’s offering documents,
which will be provided to each client for review and consideration. Unlike liquid
investments that a client may maintain, private investment funds do not provide daily
liquidity or pricing. Each prospective client investor will be required to complete a
Subscription Agreement, pursuant to which the client shall establish that he/she is
qualified for investment in the fund and acknowledges and accepts the various risk factors
that are associated with such an investment. Please Also Note: Valuation: If an Avidian
Client invests in an unaffiliated private investment fund(s), the value(s) of the
investment(s) reported on the custodial statement(s) and/or Avidian generated report(s)
shall reflect the most recent valuation provided by the Fund Sponsor or Issuer. Not all
Fund Sponsors report valuations on a set schedule. If no valuation post-purchase is
provided by the Fund Sponsor, then the valuation shall reflect the initial purchase price
until a valuation may be obtained. Therefore, if no valuation update is received from the
Fund Sponsor before the client’s fee is calculated, the client may pay a fee that is
significantly more or less than they would have paid should the Fund Sponsor have
provided a valuation update.
Tailored Advisory Services
When Avidian has discretion over client accounts, clients may instruct Avidian not to
purchase or sell certain investments or participate in a particular sector by notifying
Avidian in writing. For this reason, not all client accounts will contain the same investments
even if invested in the same portfolio model.
There is no significant difference between how Avidian manages wrap fee accounts and
non-wrap fee accounts. However, as stated above, if a client engaged us on a wrap fee
basis the client will pay a single fee for bundled services (i.e., investment advisory,
brokerage, custody). The services included in a wrap fee agreement or non-wrap fee
agreement will depend upon each client’s particular need. Clients who engage us on a
non-wrap fee basis will pay for services on an unbundled basis, paying for each service
separately (i.e., investment advisory, separate account manager fees, brokerage,
custody, etc.).
Insurance Network Program
Avidian can provide clients with access to a platform for insurance products through DPL
Financial Partners, LLC ("DPL"). All products available through this program are
commission free / fee-based products. Should a client determine to purchase an insurance
product through the program, DPL (the program sponsor) will receive administrative fees
from the insurance carrier based on the product sold and DPL becomes the agent of
record on the contract. Avidian will be acting in an advisory capacity to the same client
and the client will pay advisory fees. The advisory fee will be paid according to the terms
in the client’s advisory agreement (managed account fees). For more detailed information
regarding fees and conflicts of interest regarding this service see disclosure in Item 5 Fees
and Item 10 Other Business Activities.
Direct Purchase of Fee Based Annuity Products
Avidian has access to several fee-based annuity products offered directly from certain
insurance carriers. Should an Avidian Wealth Advisor recommend a client purchase an
annuity product through a direct purchase program, Avidian will be acting in its capacity
as an investment advisor according to the advisory agreement in place. The market value
of the annuity(s) is used in the calculation of the client’s management fee. For more
detailed information on conflicts of interest see disclosure in Item 5 Fees and Item 10
Other Business Activities.
Client Assets under Management
As of December 2023, Avidian Wealth Solutions had $3.11 billion in assets under
management.
Other Services and Information
Financial Institution Consulting Services – Avidian provides investment consulting
services to certain broker/dealer’s customers (“Brokerage Customers”) who provide
written consent requesting to receive the firm’s consulting services. Mutual Securities
entered into a written advisory agreement with Avidian. Please see Item 5 for Fees
associated with this service and Item 10 for more detail regarding these services.
Non-Investment Consulting: Avidian Wealth does not hold itself out as providing consulting
services other than what is described above under Consulting Services. However, to the
extent requested by a client, Avidian may recommend the services of other professionals
for certain non-investment implementation purposes (i.e., attorneys, accountants,
insurance, etc.) including, as disclosed below, to certain Avidian Wealth personnel in their
separate capacities as licensed agents (See Item 10 below). The client is under no
obligation to engage in the service of any such recommended professional. The client
retains absolute discretion over all such decisions and is free to accept or reject any
recommendation from Avidian. *Please Note: If the client engages any such
recommended professional and a dispute arises thereafter, relative to such engagement,
the client agrees to seek recourse exclusively from and against the engaged professional.
Avidian requires a client (aggregate account) minimum of $1,000,000 for its discretionary
managed account services. Avidian, in its sole discretion, may reduce its investment
advisory fee and/or reduce its minimum $1,000,000 investable assets per client
requirement based upon certain criteria (i.e., anticipated future earning capacity,
anticipated future additional assets, dollar amount of assets to be managed, related
accounts, account composition, negotiations with clients, etc.).
Retirement Rollovers: Conflict of Interest: A client or prospective client leaving an
employer typically has four options regarding an existing retirement plan (and may engage
in a combination of these options): (i) leave the money in the former employer’s plan, if
permitted, (ii) roll over the assets to the new employer’s plan, if one is available and
rollovers are permitted, (iii) roll over to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”), or (iv)
cash out the account value (which could, depending upon the client’s age, result in
adverse tax consequences). If Avidian recommends that a client roll over their retirement
plan assets into an account to be managed by Avidian, such a recommendation creates
a conflict of interest if Avidian will earn an advisory fee on the rolled over assets.
No client is under any obligation to rollover retirement plan assets to an account
managed by Avidian. Avidian’s Chief Compliance Officer, Hope Edick, remains
available to address any questions that a client or prospective client may have
regarding the conflict of interest presented by such rollover recommendation.
Separately Managed Accounts - Independent Managers. Avidian may allocate (and/or
recommend that the client allocate) a portion of a client’s investment assets among
unaffiliated separately managed accounts (“SMAs”) and/or independent investment
managers in accordance with the client’s designated investment objective(s). In such
situations, the SMA or independent investment managers shall have day-to-day
responsibility for the active discretionary management of the allocated assets. Avidian
shall continue to render investment supervisory services to the client relative to the
ongoing monitoring and review of account performance, asset allocation and client
investment objectives. Avidian also retains discretion over the account and may hire and
fire the manager. Factors which Avidian shall consider in recommending SMAs or
independent investment managers include the client’s designated investment objective(s),
the Manager’s management style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting,
pricing, and research. Please Note: Should Avidian or a client engage a third-party
manager the fee charged by the Manager will be detailed in Schedule A of the Avidian
Investment Advisory Agreement and/or the agreement with the Manager and will be
debited directly from the client account at the custodian.
ERISA Plan Engagements: Avidian may also be engaged by Plan sponsors to provide
discretionary and/or non-discretionary investment advisory services to ERISA retirement
plans, whereby Avidian shall manage Plan assets in the amount and objective as
designated by the Plan sponsor. In such engagements, Avidian will serve as an
investment fiduciary as that term is defined under The Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”)- either as a 3(21) fiduciary for non-discretionary
engagements or as a 3(38) fiduciary for discretionary engagements. In either engagement,
Avidian will generally provide services on an “assets under management” fee basis per
the terms and conditions of an Investment Advisory Agreement between the Plan and
Avidian.
Participant Directed Retirement Plans: Avidian may also provide investment advisory and
consulting services to participant directed retirement plans per the terms and conditions
of a Retirement Plan Consulting Agreement between Avidian and the Plan. For such
engagements, Avidian shall assist the Plan sponsor to select an investment platform from
which Plan participants shall make their respective investment choices, and, to the extent
engaged to do so, shall provide corresponding education to assist the participants with
their decision-making process.
Client Retirement Plan Assets: If requested to do so, Avidian shall provide investment
advisory services relative to the client’s 401(k) plan assets. In such an event, Avidian shall
allocate (or recommend that the client allocate) the retirement account assets among the
investment options available on the 401(k) platform. Avidian’s ability shall be limited to the
allocation of the assets among the investment alternatives available through the plan
Avidian will not receive any communications from the plan sponsor or custodian, and it
shall remain the client’s exclusive obligation to notify Avidian of any changes in investment
alternatives, restrictions, etc. pertaining to the retirement account.
Fee Differentials: As indicated above with regard to Avidian’s Wrap Fee Program, Avidian
shall receive an investment advisory fee based upon a percentage (%) of the market value
of the assets placed under management (between negotiable and 1.50%). However, fees
shall vary depending upon various objective and subjective factors, including but not
limited to the representative assigned to the account, the amount of assets to be invested,
the complexity of the engagement, the anticipated number of meetings and servicing
needs, related accounts, future earning capacity, anticipated future additional assets, and
negotiations with the client.
Because we shall generally price our advisory services based upon various objective and
subjective factors, similarly, situated clients could pay diverse fees, and the services to be
provided by Avidian to any particular client could be available from other advisers at lower
fees.
Investment Risk: Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it
should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment
strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or
undertaken by Avidian) will be profitable or equal any specific performance level(s).
Cybersecurity Risk: The information technology systems and networks that Avidian and
its third-party service providers use to provide services employ various controls, which are
designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents stemming from intentional or unintentional
actions that could cause significant interruptions in Avidian’s operations and result in the
unauthorized acquisition or use of clients’ confidential or non- public personal information.
Clients and Avidian are nonetheless subject to the risk of cybersecurity incidents that could
ultimately cause them to incur losses, including for example: financial losses, cost, and
reputational damage to respond to regulatory obligations, other costs associated with
corrective measures, and loss from damage or interruption to systems. While Avidian has
established its systems and protocol to reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents, there is
no guarantee that these efforts will always be successful, especially considering that
Avidian does not directly control the cybersecurity measures and policies employed by
third-party service providers. Clients could incur similar adverse consequences resulting
from cybersecurity incidents that more directly affect issuers of securities in which those
clients invest, broker-dealers, qualified custodians, governmental and other regulatory
authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, or other financial institutions.
Client Obligations: In performing its services, Avidian is not required to verify any
information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals and is
authorized to rely on such information without verification. Clients remain responsible to
promptly notify Avidian if there is ever any change in their financial situation or investment
objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising Avidian’s previous
recommendations and/or services.