Item 5: Fees & Compensation
We are required to describe our brokerage, custody, fees and fund expenses so you will know how
much you are charged and by whom for our advisory services provided to you. Our fees are generally
not negotiable.
Compensation for Our Advisory Services
Fee Schedule:
Assets under Management Annual Percentage of Assets Charge:
< $500,000 2.25%
$500,001 to $1,000,000 2.00%
$1,000,001 to $2,000,000 1.75%
> $2,000,001 1.50%
Our firms’ fees are billed on a pro-rata annualized basis monthly in advance based on the market
close value of the account on each 4th Wednesday of the month. Fees will generally be automatically
deducted from your managed account through a qualified custodian. As part of this process, Clients
understand the following:
a) Clients must provide our firm with written authorization permitting direct payment of
advisory fees from their account(s) maintained by a custodian who is independent of our
firm;
b) The account custodian sends a statement to the client, at least quarterly, showing all account
disbursements, including advisory fees. Our firm will send an invoice directly to the
custodian.
Other Types of Fees & Expenses
Clients will incur transaction charges for trades executed in their accounts. These transaction fees
are separate from our fees and will be disclosed by the firm that the trades are executed through.
Also, clients will pay the following separately incurred expenses, which we do not receive any part
of: charges imposed directly by a mutual fund, index fund, or exchange traded fund which shall be
disclosed in the fund’s prospectus (i.e., fund management fees and other fund expenses). Charles
Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) does not charge transaction fees for U.S. listed equities and exchange
traded funds.
Termination & Refunds
We charge our advisory fees monthly in advance. In the event that you wish to terminate our
services, we will refund the unearned portion of our advisory fee to you. Our custodian will notify us
that you wish to terminate our services. We will then proceed to close out your account and process
a pro-rata refund of unearned advisory fees.
ADV Part 2A – Firm Brochure Page 5 Investment Strategies, LLC
Commissionable Securities Sales
Our investment adviser representatives, Shana F. Hofmeister and Dorothy A.M. Fowler, may sell
securities for a commission. In order to do so, they are registered representatives of United Planners'
Financial Services, member FINRA/SIPC. As such, they may accept compensation for the sale of
securities or other investment products, including distribution or service (“trail”) fees from the sale
of mutual funds. Clients should be aware that the practice of accepting commissions for the sale of
securities:
1) Presents a conflict of interest and gives our firm and/or our investment adviser
representatives an incentive to recommend investment products based on the compensation
received, rather than on client’s needs. We generally address commissionable sales conflicts
that arise:
a) when explaining to clients that commissionable securities sales creates an incentive to
recommend products based on the compensation we and/or our investment adviser
representatives may earn and may not necessarily be in the best interests of the client;
and
b) when recommending commissionable mutual funds, explaining that “no-load” funds are
available.
2) In no way prohibits clients from purchasing investment products recommended by us
through other brokers or agents which are not affiliated with our firm.
3) Does not exceed more than 50% of our revenue.
4) Does not reduce your advisory fees to offset the commissions our supervised persons receive.