ZEGA Financial, LLC is a registered investment adviser with its primary place of business in West
Palm Beach, Florida. We are organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of
Nebraska. We have been registered as an investment adviser since 2011. John ("Jay") Pestrichelli is
our principal owner. Currently, we offer Portfolio Management Services which are personalized to each
individual client and Sub-Advisor Services for other registered investment advisors.
As used in this brochure, the words "we", "our" and "us" refer to ZEGA Financial, LLC and the words
"you", "your" and "client" refer to you as a client or prospective client of our firm. Also, you may see the
term Associated Person in throughout this brochure. Our Associated Persons are our firm's officers,
employees, and all individuals providing investment advice on behalf of our firm.
We offer portfolio management services through a wrap-fee program ("Program") as described in this
wrap fee program brochure to prospective and existing clients. We are the sponsor and investment
adviser for the Program. A wrap-fee program is a type of investment program that provides clients with
asset management and brokerage services for one all-inclusive fee. If you participate in our wrap fee
program, you will pay our firm a single fee, which includes money management fees, certain
transaction costs, and custodial and administrative costs. You are not charged separate fees for the
respective components of the total services. We receive a portion of the wrap fee for our services. The
overall cost you will incur if you participate in our wrap fee program may be higher or lower than you
might incur by separately purchasing the types of securities available in the Program.
Prior to becoming a client under the Program, you will be required to enter into a separate written
agreement with us that sets forth the terms and conditions of the engagement and describes the scope
of the services to be provided, and the fees to be paid.
Client Investment Process
We provide discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services in accordance with
your individual investment objectives. If you participate in our discretionary portfolio management
services, we require you to grant our firm discretionary authority to manage your account. Subject to a
grant of discretionary authorization, we have the authority and responsibility to formulate investment
strategies on your behalf. This authorization includes deciding which securities to buy and sell, when to
buy and sell, and in what amounts, in accordance with your investment program, without obtaining
your prior consent or approval for each transaction. Discretionary authority is typically granted by the
investment advisory agreement you sign with our firm and/or through trading authorization forms. You
may limit our discretionary authority (for example, limiting the types of securities that can be purchased
for your account) by providing our firm with your restrictions and guidelines in writing.
If you enter into non-discretionary arrangements with our firm, we must obtain your approval prior to
executing any transactions on behalf of your account. You have an unrestricted right to decline to
implement any advice provided by our firm on a non-discretionary basis.
Assets for program accounts are held at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") as custodian. Schwab
also acts as executing broker/dealer for transactions placed in Program accounts, and provides other
administrative services as described throughout this Brochure. To compare the cost of the wrap fee
program with non-wrap fee portfolio management services, you should consider the frequency of
trading activity associated with our investment strategies and the brokerage commissions charged
by Schwab and the advisory fees charged by investment advisers.
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Changes in Your Financial Circumstances
In providing the contracted services, we are not required to verify any information we receive from you
or from your other professionals (e.g. attorney, accountant, etc.) and we are expressly authorized to
rely on the information you provide. Furthermore, unless you indicate to the contrary, we shall assume
that there are no restrictions on our services, other than to manage your account in accordance with
your designated investment objectives. It is responsibility to promptly notify us if there are ever any
changes in your financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of
reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services.
The Program Fee
We charge an annual "wrap-fee" for participation in the Program depending upon the market value of
your assets under our management. You are not charged separate fees for the different components
of the services provided by the Program. Our firm pays all trade expenses of trades placed on your
behalf. Our Program fee includes the fee we pay to any portfolio manager for their management of
your account and Schwab's transaction or execution costs. Assets in each of your account(s) are
included in the fee assessment unless specifically identified in writing for exclusion. In special
circumstances, and in our sole discretion, we may negotiate a lesser management fee based upon
certain criteria (i.e., anticipated future earning capacity, dollar amount of assets to be managed, related
accounts, account composition, pre-existing client relationship, account retention, etc.).
On an annualized basis, our Program fees range from 1.75% to 2.50%.
The fee is negotiable depending upon the complexity and scope of the plan, your financial situation,
and your objectives. Various factors may affect the fee we charge and will be discussed with you prior
to the engagement. In general, these factors include, but are not limited to: the types of investments
you own and mix of products you hold; the size and value of your account; your service preferences;
the frequency with which you trade; and, whether the account is discretionary or non-discretionary.
When calculating our fee, these factors are analyzed much as you would expect. So, for example, if
the investments you own and the services you require from us require more skill and expertise on our
part, you could expect your fee to be higher.
As a client, you should be aware that the wrap fee charged by our firm may be higher (or lower) than
those charged by others in the industry, and that it may be possible to obtain the same or similar
services from other firms at lower (or higher) rates. A client may be able to obtain some or all of the
types of services available through our firm's wrap fee program on an individual basis through other
firms and, depending on the circumstances, the aggregate of any separately paid fees may be lower or
higher than the annual fees shown above.
Depending on the arrangements made at the inception of the engagement, we may agree to either bill
our annual portfolio management fee quarterly or monthly, in advance or arrears, based on either the
average balance over the prior billing period or based on the value of your account on the last day of
the previous billing period.
If the portfolio management agreement is executed at any time other than the first day of a calendar
quarter, our fees will apply on a pro rata basis, which means that the advisory fee is payable in
proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a client. Our advisory fee is
negotiable, depending on individual client circumstances.
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At our discretion, we may combine the account values of family members living in the same household
to determine the applicable advisory fee. For example, we may combine account values for you and
your minor children, joint accounts with your spouse, and other types of related accounts. Combining
account values may increase the asset total, which may result in your paying a reduced advisory fee
based on the available breakpoints in our fee schedule stated above.
We will send you an invoice for the payment of our advisory fee, or we will deduct our fee directly from
your account through the qualified custodian holding your funds and securities. We will deduct our
advisory fee only when you have given our firm written authorization permitting the fees to be paid
directly from your account. Further, the qualified custodian will deliver an account statement to you at
least quarterly. These account statements will show all disbursements from your account. You should
review all statements for accuracy. We will also receive a duplicate copy of your account statements.
Termination of Advisory Relationship
The Client may terminate the portfolio management agreement within five business days of the date of
acceptance without penalty to the Client. After the five-day period, you may terminate the portfolio
management agreement upon 30-days' written notice to our firm. You will incur a pro
rata charge for
services rendered prior to the termination of the portfolio management agreement, which means you
will incur advisory fees only in proportion to the number of days in the quarter for which you are a
client. If you have pre-paid advisory fees that we have not yet earned, you will receive a prorated
refund of those fees.
Upon termination of accounts held at Schwab, they will deliver securities and funds held in the account
per your instructions unless you request that the account be liquidated. After the wrap fee program
agreement has been terminated, transactions are processed at the prevailing brokerage rates/fees.
You become responsible for monitoring your own assets and our firm has no further obligation to act
upon or to provide advice with respect to those assets.
Wrap Fee Program Disclosures
•The benefits under a wrap fee program depend, in part, upon the size of the Account, the
management fee charged, and the number of transactions likely to be generated in the
Account. For example, a wrap fee program may not be suitable for Accounts with little trading
activity. In order to evaluate whether a wrap fee program is suitable for you, you should
compare the Program Fee and any other costs of the Program with the amounts that would be
charged by other advisers, broker-dealers, and custodians, for advisory fees, brokerage and
other execution costs, and custodial services comparable to those provided under the Program.
•In considering the investment programs described in this brochure, you should be aware that
participating in a wrap fee program may cost more or less than the cost of purchasing advisory,
brokerage, and custodial services separately from other advisers or broker-dealers.
•Our firm and Associated Persons receive compensation as a result of your participation in the
Program. This compensation may be more than the amount our firm or the Associated Persons
would receive if you paid separately for investment advice, brokerage, and other services.
Accordingly, a conflict of interest exists because our firm and our Associated Persons have a
financial incentive to recommend the Program.
•Similar advisory services may be available from other registered investment advisers for lower
fees.
Additional Fees And Expenses
The Program Fee includes the costs of brokerage commissions for transactions executed through the
Qualified Custodian (or a broker-dealer designated by the Qualified Custodian), and charges relating to
the settlement, clearance, or custody of securities in the Account. The Program Fee does not include
mark-ups and mark-downs, dealer spreads or other costs associated with the purchase or sale of
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securities, interest, taxes, or other costs, such as national securities exchange fees, costs associated
with exchanging currencies, wire transfer fees, or other fees required by law or imposed by third
parties. The Account will be responsible for these additional fees and expenses.
The wrap program fees that you pay to our firm for portfolio management services are separate and
distinct from the fees and expenses charged by mutual funds or exchange traded funds (described in
each fund's prospectus) to their shareholders. These fees will generally include a management fee and
other fund expenses. To fully understand the total cost you will incur, you should review all the fees
charged by mutual funds, exchange traded funds, our firm, and others.
Brokerage Practices
We participate in the Schwab program. Schwab is an independent and unaffiliated SEC-registered
broker-dealer and FINRA member. Schwab offers to independent investment advisors services which
include custody of securities, trade execution, clearance and settlement of transactions. We receive
some benefits from Schwab through our participation in the program.
If you participate in the Program, you will be required to establish an account with Schwab, member
FINRA/SIPC, an unaffiliated SEC-registered broker-dealer. If you do not direct our firm to execute
transactions through Schwab, we reserve the right to not accept your account. Not all advisers require
their clients to direct brokerage. Since you are required to use Schwab, we may be unable to achieve
the most favorable execution of your transactions. We believe that Schwab provides quality execution
services based on several factors, including, but not limited to, the ability to provide professional
services, reputation, experience and financial stability.
Research and Other Soft Dollar Benefits
In selecting or recommending a broker-dealer, we will consider the value of research and additional
brokerage products and services a broker-dealer has provided or will provide to our clients and our
firm. Receipt of these additional brokerage products and services are considered to have been paid for
with "soft dollars." Because such services could be considered to provide a benefit to our firm, we have
a conflict of interest in directing your brokerage business. We could receive benefits by selecting a
particular broker-dealer to execute your transactions, and the transaction compensation charged by
that broker-dealer might not be the lowest compensation we might otherwise be able to negotiate.
Products and services that we may receive from broker-dealers may consist of research data and
analyses, financial publications, recommendations, or other information about particular companies
and industries (through research reports and otherwise), and other products or services (e.g., software
and data bases) that provide lawful and appropriate assistance to our firm in the performance of our
investment decision-making responsibilities. Consistent with applicable rules, brokerage products and
services consist primarily of computer services and software that permit our firm to effect securities
transactions and perform functions incidental to transaction execution. We use such products and
services in our general investment decision making, not just for those accounts for which commissions
may be considered to have been used to pay for the products or services.
The test for determining whether a service, product or benefit obtained from or at the expense of a
broker constitutes "research" under this definition is whether the service, product, or benefit assists our
firm in investment decision-making for discretionary client accounts. Services, products, or benefits
that do not assist in investment decision-making for discretionary client accounts do not qualify as
"research." Also, services, products or benefits that are used in part for investment decision-making for
discretionary client accounts and in part for other purposes (such as accounting, corporate
administration, recordkeeping, performance attribution analysis, client reporting, or investment
decision-making for the firm's own investment accounts) constitute "research" only to the extent that
they are used in investment decision-making for discretionary client accounts.
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Before placing orders with a particular broker-dealer, we determine that the commissions to be paid
are reasonable in relation to the value of all the brokerage and research products and services
provided by that broker-dealer. In some cases, the commissions charged by a particular broker for a
particular transaction or set of transactions may be greater than the amounts charged by another
broker-dealer that did not provide research services or products.
We do not exclude a broker-dealer from receiving business simply because the broker-dealer does not
provide our firm with soft dollar research products and services. However, we may not be willing to pay
the same commission to such broker-dealer as we would have paid had the broker-dealer provided
such products and services.
The products and services we receive from broker-dealers will generally be used in servicing all of our
clients' accounts. Our use of these products and services will not be limited to the accounts that paid
commissions to the broker-dealer for such products and services. In addition, we may not allocate soft
dollar benefits to your accounts proportionately to the soft dollar credits the accounts generate. As part
of our fiduciary duties to you, we endeavor at all times to put your interests first. You should be aware
that the receipt of economic benefits by our firm is considered to create a conflict of interest.
We have instituted certain procedures governing soft dollar relationships including preparation of a
brokerage allocation budget, mandated reporting of soft dollar irregularities, annual evaluation of soft
dollar relationships, and an annual review of our brochure to ensure adequate disclosures of conflicts
of interest regarding our soft dollar relationships.
Brokerage for Client Referrals
We do not receive client referrals from broker-dealers in exchange for cash or other compensation,
such as brokerage services or research.