Arete Wealth Strategists LLC

Item 5 – Fees and Compensation

    Forms of payment are based on the types of services being provided, term of service, applicable
    Service Tier, etc., and will be stated in your engagement agreement with the firm. Payment is made
    via electronic transfer, check or teller’s draft from a U.S. financial institution and through qualified,

    The term “assets under management” and rounding to the nearest $100,000 are as defined by the SEC’s 2010 General Instructions
    for Part 2 of Form ADV.

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unaffiliated third-party processors or your custodian of record maintaining your account; both
requiring your prior authorization. We do not accept cash, money orders or similar forms of
payment for advisory engagements.

Method of Compensation and Fee Schedule
Financial Planning Fees
Financial planning engagements are provided in two ways: Annual service package paid monthly
or on an hourly basis. Prior to entering into an agreement with our firm we will provide you with a
cost estimate. Our fee will take into consideration factors such as the complexity of your financial
profile, the depth of services to be provided through the engagement, assets that comprise your
overall portfolio, number of accounts comprising the portfolio, whether you or our firm will
implement the transactions for your account(s), time involved in the engagement, among others.

Annual Service Package (paid quarterly)
Annual service package services are an annual engagement that include the development of a
financial plan, assistance with the implementation of those recommendations and ongoing
support. A typical annual service package engagement will comprise 6 - 10 client meetings over
the course of the first year followed by check-ins and discussion ranging from annual to quarterly.
The prices quoted for plans vary depending on the complexity of the case with a minimum annual
fee of $8,100 or $2,025 a quarter. The fee may be negotiable in certain cases. Fees for this service
may be paid by electronic funds transfer. This service may be terminated with 30 days’ notice.
Prior to the completion of a twelve month term, early termination fees may be assessed as
described below in Termination of Services. Upon termination of any account, the fee will be
prorated and any unearned fee will be refunded to the client.

We take prospective clients through a 120 minute initial meeting to describe the nature of our
services. This fee is for client onboarding, data gathering, and setting the basis for the financial
plan. There’s a $500 fee for this meeting. This work will commence immediately after the fee is
paid and the client has provided the necessary information to proceed, and will be completed
within the first 90 days of the date the fee is paid. Therefore, the upfront portion of the fee will not
be paid more than 6 months in advance.
Hourly Fee
Financial planning is also available on an hourly basis for general inquiries or needs-based work.
Ashley Murphy’s rate is $450 per hour and Katelyn Meuse’s rate is $375; billed in 10 minute
increments and a partial increment will be treated as a whole increment. An estimate of the time
required will be given at the outset of the engagement. Half of the estimated fee is payable upon
signing the agreement and the balance is due upon delivery.

Only clients that have utilized the Service Package for a minimum of 12 months are eligible
for hourly financial planning services.

Portfolio Management Fees
Implementation Services and Investment Supervisory Services
Accounts for which we provide implementation assistance or investment supervisory services are
assessed an asset-based fee. The calculation is based on the reporting period ending value of

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your account(s) as of the last US market day of the billing period. We assess our asset-based fee
based on straight tier; all of the client’s assets managed by our firm are assessed at a single
percentage rate that declines as asset levels increase. The fee will be billed quarterly, in arrears,
per the following table.

1zyAjKJ1GNh_dsamhJc0R4FflYswv                                          Offshore
nU35V4HJxe8A4U0                                  IM Only                 WM                 Ascent             Summit                Areté
                Included Assets Under
                         Management:                 $0                $500,000           $500,000           $1,000,000           $3,000,000

  Assets Under Management
                        % of a base fee      Base Fee ^1,2          75% of Base 60% of Base 40% of Base 30% of Base
                                                                        $500K               $500K
                          $0 - $299,999         1.45%^*                Included            Included         $1M Included $3M Included
                                                                        $500K               $500K
                  $300,000 - $499,999            1.30%*                Included            Included         $1M Included $3M Included

                  $500,000 - $999,999             1.15%                 0.69%               0.69%           $1M Included $3M Included

              $1,000,000 - $2,999,999             0.85%                 0.51%               0.51%                0.34%          $3M Included

              $3,000,000 - $4,999,999             0.75%                 0.45%               0.45%                0.30%               0.23%

                            >$5,000,000           0.41%                 0.33%               0.33%                0.22%               0.17%
...

Item 7 – Types of Clients

Arete Wealth Strategists provides investment and advisory services to individuals and high net
worth individuals of all investment experience, and small businesses including other investment
advisory firms.

Mr. Murphy reserves the right to waive or reduce certain fees based on unique individual
circumstances, special arrangements or pre-existing relationships, and he may also decline
services to a prospective client for any non-discriminatory reason.