The Ascent Group LLC

Item 5 – Fees and Compensation
TAG offers services on a fee basis, which includes fixed and/or hourly fees, as well as fees based upon
assets under management. Additionally, certain of the Firm’s Supervised Persons, in their individual
capacities, offers securities brokerage services and/or insurance products under a separate commission-
based arrangement.

    A. Fees for Advisory Services
Financial Planning and Consulting Fees

TAG charges a fixed and/or hourly fee for providing financial planning and consulting services under a
stand-alone engagement. These fees are negotiable but range from $250 to $25,000 on a fixed fee basis
and/or from $150 to $500 on an hourly basis, depending upon the scope and complexity of the services
and the professional rendering the financial planning and/or the consulting services. The fee can be for a
defined project, such as the delivery of a plan, or for ongoing services. If the client engages the Firm for
additional investment advisory services, TAG can offset all or a portion of its fees for those services based
upon the amount paid for the financial planning and/or consulting services.

The terms and conditions of the financial planning and/or consulting engagement are set forth in the
Advisory Agreement. For project-based services TAG requires one-half of the fee (estimated hourly or fixed)
payable upon execution of the Advisory Agreement. The outstanding balance is due upon delivery of the
financial plan or completion of the agreed upon services. Ongoing services are charged as described in the
investment management item, below. The Firm does not, however, take receipt of $1,200 or more in prepaid
fees, six or more months in advance of services rendered.

Investment Management Fees

TAG offers investment management services for an annual fee based on the amount of assets under the
Firm’s management. This management fee can be up to 175 basis points (1.75%), depending upon the
size and composition of a client’s portfolio, the type and amount of services rendered and the individual(s)
providing the services.

                                            The Ascent Group, LLC
                              192 Ballard Court, Suite 400 Virginia Beach, VA 23462
                                             Phone: (757) 499-8300
                                                www.tagwm.com

The management fee is allocated to a number of parties. The Firm receives part of the management fee
and will allocate a portion of that fee amongst Independent Managers or itself in the case of TAG Managed
Portfolios (these are referred to as the “Manager Fee”). In addition, the Advisor receives a portion of the
management fee (the “Advisor Fee”). The Advisory Agreement can describe certain of these fees, but will
primarily describe the total advisory fee. Both the Firm and the Advisor will have an incentive to recommend
or utilize the options that result in the most profit for themselves. For example, the Firm may make more
money under the Advisor Models solution. The Firm and the Advisors have a fiduciary duty to act in the
best interest of clients regardless of that incentive. In addition, the Firm has priced accounts with 55ip at a
higher Manager Fee than other managers in AMP. This is due to additional administrative and investment
services required of the Firm on the 55ip platform. In addition, the Firm can customize portfolios on 55ip
which costs more to the Firm. The Firm has an incentive to choose 55ip non-customized portfolios due to
the fee structure. The Firm and its Advisors will, however, make recommendations that are in the best
interest of the client pursuant to their fiduciary duty.

The annual fee is prorated and charged quarterly or monthly, in arrears, based upon the market value of
the average daily account balance during the billing period as determined by a party independent from the
Firm (including the client’s custodian or another third-party). When using Independent Managers the Firm
will generally follow that Independent Manager’s billing procedures as disclosed to the client.

Since the asset-based fee is determined by average daily account balance, if assets are deposited into or
withdrawn from an account, or the agreement is terminated after the inception of a quarter, the base fee
payable with respect to such assets is adjusted accordingly.

Additionally, for asset management services the Firm provides with respect to certain client holdings (e.g.,
held-away assets, accommodation accounts, alternative investments, etc.), TAG can negotiate a fee rate
that differs from the range set forth above. Clients are advised that a conflict of interest exists for the Firm
to recommend that clients engage TAG for additional services for compensation, including rolling over
retirement accounts or moving other assets to the Firm’s management. Clients retain absolute discretion
over all decisions regarding engaging the Firm and are under no obligation to act upon any of the
recommendations.

Subadvisory fees are charged based upon the agreement between TAG and the RIA or a tri-party
agreement between TAG, the RIA and the end client.

Retirement Plan Consulting Fees

TAG charges as fixed project-based fee to provide clients with retirement plan consulting services. Each
engagement is individually negotiated and tailored to accommodate the needs of the individual plan
sponsor, as memorialized in the Agreement. These fees vary, based on the scope of the services to be
rendered, and ranges up to $250,000 per annum on a fixed fee basis or up to 150 basis points (1.50%),
depending upon services provided and the amount of assets to be advised on.

Fee Discretion

TAG may, in its sole discretion, negotiate to charge a lesser fee based upon certain criteria, such as
anticipated future earning capacity, anticipated future additional assets, dollar amount of assets to be
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Item 7 – Types of Clients
TAG offers services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business
entities, and pension and profit sharing plans.

The SIPP has a minimum investment of $5,000 and a minimum annual Manager Fee of $100 (which does
not include the Advisor Fee). The SIPP also has a minimum account balance of $50,000 for its tax-loss
harvesting feature. In addition, the SIPP requires a 4% cash position which can result in less assets being
invested than the Firm would otherwise require. This can result in less return on the assets that are
managed through the SIPP.

In addition, the Firm has additional minimum Manager Fees as a condition for starting and maintaining the
various programs that Advisors can choose. These minimums will be listed in the specific agreement with
the client. The minimum fee will cause clients with smaller portfolios to incur an effective fee rate that is
higher than the Firm’s stated fee. In addition, the minimums will be assessed by the firm as the Manager
Fee so Advisors are not incentivized or disincentivized from triggering a minimum. This may result in an
Advisor choosing a portfolio without considering the minimums. The Firm, however, has procedures in place
to review that the total fee is within the Firm’s fiduciary duty.