Firm Description
Valeo Financial Advisors, LLC (“Valeo”) is a limited liability company organized in Indiana.
We were founded in 2003 and have been registered with the SEC since March 2006. Our
principal office is located in Carmel, Indiana. Valeo is entirely owned and managed by our
members, with our principal owners being John T. Wortman and John C. Trott.
Advisory Services
Personal Advisory Services
Valeo provides individuals and their families with independent, comprehensive
financial planning and investment advice. This generally includes advice related to a
client’s business, cash flow, charitable giving, education funding, estate planning,
liabilities, insurance, investments, retirement and taxes. Recommendations are
tailored to each client’s individual circumstances and, as a result, vary significantly
from client to client. As part of the planning relationship, clients have the option to
impose restrictions related to certain securities or classes of securities.
Meetings with clients are typically agenda driven and focused on client goals,
implementation, action items and other proactive recommendations. While
investments are important, we help clients manage both sides of their personal
balance sheet—assets and liabilities. We work with our client’s existing advisors and
may recommend new advisors to fill any voids on their team when appropriate.
Institutional Advisory Services
Valeo provides institutional advisory services to: trusts, estates, charitable
organizations, corporations and other business entities. These services are primarily
related to investment management consulting. We assist our institutional clients with
the management of their investment decisions and selection of specific investment
managers or other service providers.
Other Services
From time-to-time Valeo advisors may provide pro-bono planning and investment
advice services to local and regional non-profits and their clients.
Valeo acts as the Manager for a pooled investment vehicle as noted below. However,
the pooled investment vehicle is closed to new investors, and Valeo does not receive
any compensation for the management of the fund.
Valeo’s annual investment advisory fee shall include investment advisory services,
and, to the extent specifically requested by the client, financial planning and consulting
services. In the event a client requires extraordinary planning and/or consultation
services (to be determined in the sole discretion of the Valeo), Valeo may determine
to charge for such additional services pursuant to a stand-alone Financial Planning
Agreement (see below).
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Limitations of Financial Planning and Non-Investment Consulting /
Implementation Services. As indicated above, to the extent requested by a client,
Valeo may provide financial planning and related consulting services. Neither Valeo
nor its investment adviser representatives assist clients with the implementation of any
financial plan, unless they have agreed to do so in writing. Valeo does not monitor a
client’s financial plan, and it is the client’s responsibility to revisit the financial plan with
Valeo, if desired.
Valeo does not serve as an attorney, accountant, or insurance agency, and no portion
of our services should be construed as such. Accordingly, Valeo does not prepare
estate planning documents, tax returns or sell insurance products. 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, etc.). You are under no obligation to engage the services of any such
recommended professional. The client retains absolute discretion over all such
implementation decisions and is free to accept or reject any recommendation that we
make.
If the client engages any unaffiliated recommended professional, and a dispute arises
thereafter relative to such engagement, the client agrees to seek recourse exclusively
from and against the engaged professional. At all times, the engaged licensed
professional(s) (i.e., attorney, accountant, insurance agent, etc.), and not Valeo, shall
be responsible for the quality and competency of the services provided.
It remains the client’s responsibility to promptly notify Valeo in writing if there is ever
any change in their financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of
reviewing, evaluating or revising Valeo’s previous recommendations and/or services.
Non-Discretionary Service Limitations. Clients that engage Valeo on a non-
discretionary investment advisory basis must be willing to accept that Valeo cannot
effect any account transactions without obtaining prior consent to any such
transaction(s) from the client. Therefore, in the event that Valeo would like to make a
transaction for a client's account (including in the event of an individual holding or
general market correction), and the client is unavailable, Valeo will be unable to effect
the account transaction(s) without first obtaining the client’s consent.
Retirement Rollovers-Potential for 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 Valeo recommends that a client roll over their
retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by Valeo, such a recommendation
creates a conflict of interest if Valeo will earn new (or increase its current) compensation
as a result of the rollover. If Valeo provides a recommendation as to whether a client
should engage in a rollover or not (whether it is from an employer’s plan or an existing
IRA), Valeo is acting as a fiduciary 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. No client is under any obligation to roll over
retirement plan assets to an account managed by Valeo, whether it is from an employer’s
plan or an existing IRA.
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Unaffiliated Private Investment Funds. Valeo may recommend that certain qualified
clients consider an investment in unaffiliated private investment funds. Valeo’s role
relative to the private investment funds is limited to its initial and ongoing due diligence
and investment monitoring services. Valeo’s clients are under absolutely no obligation
to consider or make an investment in any unaffiliated private investment fund.
Valuation. If Valeo bills an investment advisory fee based upon the value of unaffiliated
private investment funds or otherwise references unaffiliated private investment funds
owned by the client on any supplemental account reports prepared by Valeo, the value
for all unaffiliated private investment funds owned by the client will reflect the most
recent valuation provided by the fund sponsor. The current value of any unaffiliated
private investment fund could be significantly more or less than the original purchase
price or the price reflected in any supplemental account report.
Risk Factors. Private investment funds generally involve various risk factors, including,
but not limited to, potential for complete loss of principal, liquidity constraints and lack
of transparency, a complete discussion of which 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 own, 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.
Private Investment Fund Conflict of Interest. Valeo has and will continue to
introduce its clients to private funds that are affiliated with other Valeo clients, thereby
creating a conflict of interest. Valeo has an economic incentive to introduce such funds
to its clients, because the introduction would benefit the other Valeo clients from whom.
Valeo currently earns investment advisory fees that could increase as a result. Given
the conflict of interest, Valeo advises all affected clients to consider seeking advice
from independent professionals (i.e., attorney, CPA, etc.) of their choosing before
becoming a fund investor. Valeo also reminds its clients that they are not under any
obligation to become a private fund investor.
Socially Responsible (ESG) Investing Limitations. Socially Responsible Investing
involves the incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)
considerations into the investment due diligence process. ESG investing incorporates
a set of criteria/factors used in evaluating potential investments: Environmental (i.e.,
considers how a company safeguards the environment); Social (i.e., the manner in
which a company manages relationships with its employees, customers, and the
communities in which it operates); and Governance (i.e., company management
considerations). The number of companies that meet an acceptable ESG mandate
can be limited when compared to those that do not and could underperform broad
market indices. Investors must accept these limitations, including potential for
underperformance. Correspondingly, the number of ESG mutual funds and exchange-
traded funds are limited when compared to those that do not maintain such a mandate.
As with any type of investment (including any investment and/or investment strategies
recommended and/or undertaken by Valeo), there can be no assurance that
investment in ESG securities or funds will be profitable or prove successful. Valeo
does not maintain or advocate an ESG investment strategy but will seek to employ
ESG if directed by a client to do so. If implemented, Valeo shall rely upon the
assessments undertaken by the unaffiliated mutual fund, exchange traded fund or
separate account portfolio manager to determine that the fund’s or portfolio’s
underlying company securities meet a socially responsible mandate.
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Cryptocurrency. For clients who want exposure to cryptocurrencies, including
Bitcoin, Valeo will advise the client to consider a potential investment in corresponding
exchange traded securities, or an allocation to separate account managers and/or
private funds that provide cryptocurrency exposure. Crypto is a digital currency that
can be used to buy goods and services and uses an online ledger with strong
cryptography (i.e., a
method of protecting information and communications through the
use of codes) to secure online transactions. Unlike conventional currencies issued by
a monetary authority, cryptocurrencies are generally not controlled or regulated,
and their price is determined by the supply and demand of their market. Because
cryptocurrency is currently considered to be a speculative investment, Valeo will not
exercise discretionary authority to purchase a cryptocurrency investment for client
accounts. Rather, a client must expressly authorize the purchase of the cryptocurrency
investment.
Valeo does not recommend or advocate the purchase of, or investment in,
cryptocurrencies. Valeo considers such an investment to be speculative.
Clients who authorize the purchase of a cryptocurrency investment must be prepared
for the potential for liquidity constraints, extreme price volatility and complete loss of
principal.
Asset Aggregation / Reporting Services. In conjunction with the services currently
provided by ByAllAccounts, Inc., Valeo may provide access to reporting services that
can reflect all of the client’s investment assets, including those investment assets that
are not part of the assets managed by Valeo (the “Excluded Assets”). Valeo’s service
relative to the Excluded Assets is limited to reporting service access only, which does
not include investment implementation. Because Valeo does not have trading authority
for the Excluded Assets, the client (and/or another investment professional), and not
Valeo, shall be exclusively responsible for directly implementing any recommendations
relative to the Excluded Assets. Further, the client and/or their other advisors that
maintain trading authority, and not Valeo, shall be exclusively responsible for the
investment performance or related activity (such as timing and trade errors) pertaining
to the Excluded Assets. The third-party reporting platform may also provide access to
financial planning information and applications, which should not be construed as
services, advice, or recommendations provided by Valeo. Accordingly, Valeo shall not
be held responsible for any adverse results a client may experience if the client
engages in financial planning or other functions available on the third-party reporting
platform without Valeo’s participation or oversight.
Portfolio Activity. Valeo has a fiduciary duty of loyalty and care, and to provide
services consistent with the client’s best interest. As part of its investment advisory
services, Valeo will review client portfolios on an ongoing basis to determine if any
changes are necessary based upon various factors, including, but not limited to,
investment performance, the economy, fund manager tenure, style drift, and/or a
change in the client’s investment objective. Based upon these factors, there may be
extended periods of time when Valeo determines that changes to a client’s portfolio
are neither necessary nor prudent. Valeo’s advisory fee shall remain due and payable
during any such inactive periods. There can be no assurance that those or other
investment decisions made by Valeo will be profitable or equal any specific
performance level(s).
Independent Managers. Valeo may recommend that the client allocate a portion of a
client’s investment assets among unaffiliated independent investment managers
(“Independent Manager(s)”) in accordance with the client’s designated investment
objective(s). In such situations, the Independent Manager(s) will have day-to-day
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responsibility for the active discretionary management of the allocated assets. Valeo
will 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. Valeo generally considers the following factors when
recommending Independent Manager(s): the client’s designated investment
objective(s), management style, performance, reputation, financial strength, reporting,
pricing, and research.
The investment management fees charged by the designated Independent
Manager(s) are exclusive of, and in addition to, Valeo’s ongoing investment advisory
fee, subject to the terms and conditions of a separate agreement between the client
and the Independent Manager(s). Valeo’s advisory fee is set forth in the fee schedule
at Item 5 below.
Availability of Mutual Funds. While Valeo may allocate investment assets to mutual
funds that are not available directly to the public, Valeo may also allocate investment
assets to publicly available mutual funds that the client could purchase without
engaging Valeo as an investment adviser. However, if a client or prospective client
determines to purchase publicly available mutual funds without engaging Valeo as an
investment adviser, the client or prospective client would not receive the benefit of
Valeo’s initial and ongoing investment advisory services with respect to management
of the asset.
Cross Transactions. In limited circumstances, Valeo may arrange for cross-
transactions pursuant to which Valeo may cross transactions between two of its
managed client accounts (i.e., arranging for the clients’ securities trades by “crossing”
these trades when Valeo believes that such transactions are beneficial to its clients).
For all such transactions, neither Valeo nor any related person will be acting as a
broker or receive any commission or transaction-based compensation. The client may
revoke Valeo’s cross-transaction authority at any time upon written notice to Valeo.
Cash Positions. Valeo continues to treat cash as an asset class. As such, unless
determined to the contrary by Valeo, all cash positions (money markets, etc.) shall
continue to be included as part of assets under management for purposes of
calculating Valeo’s advisory fee. At any specific point in time, depending upon
perceived or anticipated market conditions/events (there being no guarantee that such
anticipated market conditions/events will occur), Valeo may maintain cash positions
for defensive purposes. In addition, while assets are maintained in cash, such amounts
could miss market advances. Depending upon current yields, at any point in time,
Valeo’s advisory fee could exceed the interest paid by the client’s money market fund.
Cash Sweep Accounts. Certain account custodians can require that cash proceeds
from account transactions or new deposits, be swept to and/or initially maintained in a
specific custodian designated sweep account. The yield on the sweep account will
generally be lower than those available for other money market accounts. When this
occurs, to help mitigate the corresponding yield dispersion Valeo shall (usually within
30 days thereafter) generally (with exceptions) purchase a higher yielding money
market fund (or other type security) available on the custodian’s platform, unless Valeo
reasonably anticipates that it will utilize the cash proceeds during the subsequent 30-
day period to purchase additional investments for the client’s account. Exceptions
and/or modifications can and will occur with respect to all or a portion of the cash
balances for various reasons, including, but not limited to the amount of dispersion
between the sweep account and a money market fund, the size of the cash balance,
an indication from the client of an imminent need for such cash, or the client has a
demonstrated history of writing checks from the account.
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The above does not apply to the cash component maintained within a Valeo actively
managed investment strategy (the cash balances for which shall generally remain in
the custodian designated cash sweep account), an indication from the client of a need
for access to such cash, assets allocated to an unaffiliated investment manager and
cash balances maintained for fee billing purposes.
The client shall remain exclusively responsible for yield dispersion/cash balance
decisions and corresponding transactions for cash balances maintained in any Valeo
unmanaged accounts.
Client Obligations. In performing our services, Valeo shall not be required to verify
any information received from the client or from the client’s other professionals, and is
expressly authorized to rely thereon. Moreover, each client is advised that it remains
their responsibility to promptly notify Valeo in writing if there is ever any change in their
financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or
revising our previous recommendations and/or services.
Cybersecurity Risk. The information technology systems and networks that Valeo
and its third-party service providers use to provide services to Valeo’s clients employ
various controls, which are designed to prevent cybersecurity incidents stemming from
intentional or unintentional actions that could cause significant interruptions in Valeo’s
operations and result in the unauthorized acquisition or use of clients’ confidential or
non-public personal information. Clients and Valeo 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. Although Valeo has established procedures to reduce the
risk of cybersecurity incidents, there is no guarantee that these efforts will always be
successful, especially considering that Valeo 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.
Disclosure Statement. Copies of Valeo’s written disclosure statement and client
relationship summary, as set forth on Form ADV Part 2 and Form CRS respectively,
are provided to each client prior to, or contemporaneously with, the execution of the
Investment Advisory Agreement.
Valeo provides investment advisory services specifically tailored to the needs of each
client. Before providing investment advisory services, an investment adviser
representative will ascertain each client’s investment objective(s). Thereafter, Valeo
will allocate and/or recommend that the client allocate investment assets consistent
with the designated investment objective(s). The client may, at any time, impose
reasonable restrictions, in writing, on Valeo’s services.
Valeo does not participate in a wrap fee program.
As of December 31, 2023, Valeo managed $8,944,535,606 in assets. Approximately
$6,976,619,300 is managed on a discretionary basis, and $1,967,916,306 is managed
on a non-discretionary basis.
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