FIRM AND PRINCIPAL OWNERS
MainLine Private Wealth, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company. MainLine Private
Wealth, LLC is sometimes called the “Firm” or “MLPW” in this brochure. The Firm was
formed in September 2011 and began its investment advisory operations on January 1, 2012.
MainLine Private Wealth, LLC was initially formed to acquire certain assets of Innovest
Financial Management, Inc. (“Innovest”). Principals of Innovest retained similar positions
with MLPW, although the primary business location, ownership structure and various other
factors are substantially different for MLPW.
A majority interest in the Firm (in terms of units held and profits participation) is maintained
by two of the Firm’s original owners: MainLine Investment Partners, LLC (“MainLine”)
and Gary P. Droz. MainLine is owned by three individuals: William A. Landman is the
majority owner and David A. Clapper and Richard A. Mitchell (retired) are minority owners.
Three other individuals hold executive officer positions for the Firm: David S.
Turbiner/Director of Advisory Services, William J. Romanelli/Chief Financial Officer and
Donna M. Rittershausen/Chief Compliance Officer. Other non-controlling investor
members of the Firm are disclosed on Schedules A and B of Form ADV Part 1.
The principal office and place of business for MainLine Private Wealth, LLC and certain
other related persons is 308 E. Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
The Firm has no subsidiaries but is related to other businesses. For purposes of this
brochure, an advisory affiliate or a related person of the Firm is considered to be a person or
entity that controls the Firm, is controlled by the Firm or is under common control with the
Firm. Please refer to Item 10 for more information about other financial industry activities
and affiliations related to the Firm, including other investment advisers and a broker-dealer.
MLPW’s investment policies are set by our Investment Committee. The senior members of
the Firm’s Investment Committee include William A. Landman, David A. Clapper, Gary P.
Droz and David S. Turbiner. Senior members each hold two votes compared to other
members who hold one vote each. Other members of the Investment Committee currently
include Rich Milburn, William Romanelli, Donna Rittershausen and Eric Zeltner.
Additional information is included in brochure supplements with respect to (i) each person
who formulates investment advice for a client and has direct client contact, and (ii) each
person who has discretionary authority over a client’s assets even if that person has no direct
client contact. We have prepared brochure supplements for Messrs. Droz, Landman,
Turbiner and Zeltner. Also, more information is available about all Investment Committee
Members listed above at the Firm’s website, as well for most members at
https://brokercheck.finra.org/ or https://adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure Page 5
ADVISORY SERVICES
MainLine Private Wealth seeks to provide individuals and families with client-centered,
comprehensive wealth management services. As a registered investment adviser, we are a
fiduciary. We are required to meet rigorous fiduciary standards not imposed on unregistered
financial planners or broker-dealer representatives. Our Firm has been at the forefront of the
industry’s shift toward fee-based advisory services and open architecture investing (meaning
we seek to recommend investments from the diverse universe of investment options
available based on the needs of our clients vs. for instance from a limited stall of proprietary
products). Coupled with our technical expertise, state-of-the-art reporting systems and –
most important – our personal commitment to our clients, MainLine Private Wealth sets
itself apart from other companies not only in terms of what we promise, but also in terms of
what we actually deliver.
Our advisory services are tailored to the individual needs of clients. Each client is unique,
with different investment objectives, time horizons and personal needs, and there is no “one
size fits all” approach to investment advice that can be successful over the long term. We
meet with clients to learn about their objectives and needs, and together we build a
customized investment solution that draws upon our professionals’ industry knowledge and
depth of experience. Our process, which sounds simple, is actually very sophisticated, and
we take great care to implement it with client understanding, transparency and execution in
mind. With this fundamental framework at our center, we primarily provide two separate
services which will be described in more detail below – (1) Private Wealth Advisory
Services and (2) Retirement Plan Advisory Services.
Private Wealth Advisory Services
MainLine Private Wealth, LLC provides a full suite of advisory services for our clients,
including continuous investment advice and portfolio management services. We combine
the knowledge and capability of a larger firm with the client responsiveness of a small firm.
Many of our relationships are with high net worth and ultra-high net worth families.
Regardless of size, at MLPW we believe that evaluating each client’s assets holistically is
vital to the financial planning process. Our approach involves each element of a client’s
financial life to ensure that all assets and accounts are closely reviewed, discussed and
monitored in order to implement a comprehensive strategy. This process is defined by:
Discovery – In a series of meetings, MLPW will gather all relevant financial information to
comprehensively evaluate a client’s financial situation, organize existing assets by entity and
determine the allocation of each style and asset class across the current investment portfolio.
Through these initial personal discussions, client goals and objectives are discussed.
Planning and Execution – Our team of experienced analysts and investment professionals
works with each client to determine a comfortable range of investment portfolio volatility
using objective metrics. Discussions include asset management and allocation, detailed
financial planning, cash flow analysis, and sometimes a more in-depth review of estate and
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure Page 6
charitable planning endeavors, as well as tax and income related conversations. Throughout
this process we seek to understand our client’s unique time horizon, risk tolerance, goals and
long-term objectives. We then prepare detailed analytics along with several allocation
proposals. We work together and build consensus around a selected volatility range and the
course of action that we believe offers the best opportunity to optimize our client’s
expectations of risk, reward and diversification. Our team will then execute on the plan with
careful consideration to cost, time horizon and tax implications.
Reporting and Performance – MLPW endeavors to consolidate all client assets regardless of
custodian in a comprehensive format. This consolidated reporting inventories assets by
entity and reports on the performance of the entire portfolio. Style-blended benchmarking is
utilized at the security, account and portfolio levels to create a clear view of the quality of
the performance. We meet with most clients several times per year, although we
communicate with some clients via webinar or telephone based on preference or service
model. A detailed review of the targets and current allocation is conducted in order to
reconcile and rebalance when appropriate, and at this time we introduce new investment
ideas, address any current financial needs, and provide personalized education on financial
topics. Please refer to Item 13 below for more information about client reporting.
We promote passive investment options for most clients’ core investment strategy in an open
architecture environment, which may be supplemented with allocations to individual bond or
stock portfolios, private credit, private equity, private real estate, hedge funds or other
alternative asset classes as appropriate.
More specifically, accounts advised as part of this service will often include individuals,
IRAs, College Savings Plans, ERISA covered 401(k) and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates,
charitable organizations and corporations. (We should note, however, that we do not
provide administration, custodial or recordkeeping services for any of the retirement plans
for which we provide advice.) The Firm makes investment recommendations for client
assets primarily through the use of a combination of exchange traded funds and alternative
investments, when appropriate, but it may depending on circumstances recommend other
investment vehicles including but not limited to individual stock holdings, fixed income
instruments, private equity and real estate investments, money markets or CDs, load and no-
load mutual funds, separate account equity and fixed income managers. The Firm employs a
long-term investment strategy that allocates account assets among
several different asset
classes and styles (examples include but are not limited to: cash, fixed income, large cap
growth, large cap value, small cap growth, small cap value, commodities, developed
international, emerging markets and private equity) with the purpose of providing the client
with a well-diversified investment portfolio with particular attention to matching the
volatility of the portfolio to the client’s tolerance for risk, as mentioned above.
MLPW may provide access to or recommend alternative and/or private investments, or
monitor client assets that are invested in private investments, such as limited partnerships, or
limited liability companies which invest in securities or other private investments. We assist
clients in implementation of recommendations to invest in alternative and/or private
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure Page 7
investments when appropriate, but we do not exercise discretion with respect to these types
of investments. Clients must meet certain eligibility requirements in order to invest in these
products and must complete subscription documents required by the investment.
The client may place reasonable restrictions on the nature of the investments held in the
portfolio or the allocation among the various classes, and we will assist the client in
understanding and evaluating the potential impact of these restrictions on the portfolio.
Accounts will be monitored on an ongoing basis and, when appropriate, MLPW will suggest
a reallocation of the portfolio based on changing economic conditions or changes in the
client’s individual circumstances. In some cases, we may recommend rebalancing account
assets so that the client’s assets remain invested according to the targeted ranges established
by the agreed upon asset allocation strategy. As circumstances dictate, we may adjust the
criteria for assigning assets to categories or add or eliminate instruments from a client’s
allocation strategy. Should the client’s individual situation change, we will assist the client
in revising the current portfolio and/or reevaluate his or her financial situation to determine
if a different portfolio or allocation would be appropriate to the client’s new situation.
The Firm may also assist clients in identifying their retirement needs and goals with cash
flow modeling and retirement planning based on the client’s income, cost of living, current
account values, deferrals and assumptions regarding retirement age, inflation and future
returns.
MLPW typically manages trading in client accounts under a limited power of attorney
through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), a self-clearing broker-dealer and
custodian. In these cases, clients will be required to enter into separate custodial agreements
with Schwab. Schwab agreements include a trading authorization so that Schwab may
execute trades as directed by MLPW, the adviser.
While MainLine Private Wealth, LLC often obtains discretionary authority over its clients’
advisory accounts at Schwab through its advisory agreements, most often it will not exercise
discretion but instead develop an overall consensus with each client on recommendations
prior to arranging for or effecting purchases or sales. We believe that having discretion to
operate under limited power of attorney authority at Schwab is important as there may be
cases where implementation of the client’s investment strategy may require discretionary
authority. Examples may include when a client instructs MLPW to (a) purchase or sell an
investment in the future, and MLPW representative chooses when to effect the purchase or
sale, or (b) sell account assets for tax purposes or cover a distribution without specifying the
particular asset(s) to be sold.
For various reasons, some clients maintain accounts at custodians other than Schwab.
Private fund and hedge fund investments are typically not held in custody at Schwab, but at
other qualified custodians. Services provided with respect to accounts not held at Schwab
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure Page 8
will most often be non-discretionary. Please refer to Item 16 (Investment Discretion) for
more information on this topic.
Clients engaging us for our advisory services will enter into an agreement with the Firm
setting forth the terms and conditions of the relationship, which includes terms regarding
advisory and account fees to be charged and disclosures made via the Firm’s Form ADV
Part 2.
Based on client needs, we may also develop customized modeling for specific issues such as
asset acquisition and divestment.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
MLPW offers professional non-discretionary investment advisory services for corporate
qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, including 401(k)s (“Retirement
Plans”) by assisting Retirement Plan Trustees in assessing and understanding their needs,
and dutifully complying with their fiduciary obligation and commitment to their employee
participants.
We identify potential service providers and evaluate proposals in order to recommend a
tailored solution to the client’s specific requirements. Since we do not promote proprietary
products for retirement plan clients, MLPW is able to offer advice free of vested interests
and evaluate the entire investment universe (subject to restrictions imposed at a specific
third-party administrator) to make recommendations that be believe may be most suitable for
our Retirement Plan clients and their participants.
MLPW provides the tools and resources to aid clients in making educated investment
decisions by helping to develop an investment policy statement, analyze investments and
determine a blueprint for monitoring investments performance. MLPW will also make
recommendations to customized model portfolios to meet the needs of individual Retirement
Plan participants.
We meet with clients periodically each year to review the Retirement Plan, make
recommendations for the addition or removal of investments as appropriate, and conduct
employee education meetings where we will engage participants of the Retirement Plan in a
risk profiling process in order to assist them to thoughtfully determine risk tolerance.
As is also the case with the ERISA covered retirement benefit plans for which we provide
Private Wealth Advisory Services, MLPW does not provide custodial, administration or
recordkeeping services for Retirement Plans. Investments recommended or utilized as part
of the programs described above (e.g., mutual funds or private fund investments) may be
subject to initial and on-going expenses and fees (e.g., management fees, trading costs, etc.)
which are usually set forth in the applicable prospectus, offering document or other
disclosure materials. Any such expenses and fees would be in addition to the fees described
in the Fee Schedule section below. Although it is very unlikely, to the extent that MLPW
receives any compensation in connection with the recommendation or trading of such
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure Page 9
securities in the Retirement Plan, we will offset the client’s advisory fee by the amount of
any other compensation we receive from the client’s account so there is no special incentive
for the Firm to recommend or trade certain securities.
Clients engaging MLPW for Retirement Plan Advisory Services will enter into a non-
discretionary agreement with MLPW setting forth the terms and conditions of the
relationship, which includes terms regarding advisory fees to be charged and disclosures
made via the Firm’s Form ADV Part 2 as well as “covered service provider” 408(b)(2)
disclosures required by ERISA.
Other Services
Certain non-advisory services may be provided from time to time on a separately negotiated,
standalone basis. For example, for a fixed annual fee, MLPW may provide consolidated
reporting of client assets with respect to which MLPW provides no investment advice, or
may provide general investment education in a group setting.
MLPW does not sponsor or participate in any wrap fee programs and does not provide tax or
legal advice.
CLIENT ASSETS MANAGED BY MAINLINE PRIVATE WEALTH, LLC
As discussed earlier in this Item, clients may retain MLPW on a discretionary or a non-
discretionary basis. In fact, many client relationships have a combination of discretionary
and non-discretionary accounts. As of March 2023, the amount of client assets advised by
MLPW, including only those assets that meet the SEC’s definition of Regulatory Assets
Under Management (“RAUM”), are as follows:
Discretionary $ 747.0 million
Non-Discretionary $ 45.8 million
Total RAUM $ 792.8 million
The Firm advises clients on approximately $203.6 million in assets on a non-discretionary
basis not included in the RAUM amounts listed above (most of these assets are illiquid
investments made by Private Wealth Advisory clients, or are clients of our Retirement Plan
Advisory Services discussed above.)
Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure Page 10