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FPI’s response to new SEC Marketing Rule

Originally aired 10/20/22

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DISCLOSURES

This presentation is provided for information purposes only and should not be used or construed as an indicator of future performance, an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security. Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. cannot guarantee the suitability or potential value of any particular investment. The financial data between different Research Report versions may not be comparable for several reasons. Strategies are constantly being enhanced with the intent to have a positive impact on the risk/reward profile of the strategies. Additionally, calculations have been improved and changed over time to reflect what we believe to be a more accurate depiction of the risk attributes of the strategy.

Research Report results are hypothetical and were achieved by means of retroactive application of a computer model, with the benefit of hindsight, and may not represent the results of actual trading. Therefore, Research Report results are NOT represented as actual trading or client experience and they do not reflect the impact on decision making or economic or market factors experienced during actual management of funds. The investment return and principal value of an investment may be lower or higher than the performance quoted; and investors’ shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Annual returns are compounded monthly .

Expenses of the funds are included to the extent they are reflected in the NAV. Sub-accounts of variable annuities, in addition to the expenses of a mutual fund, have mortality, administrative and other charges. Other fees may apply. Distributions have been reinvested. When provided, dividends are reinvested for indexes. In those cases where indexes do not provide dividend information, those returns would be understated. As individual tax rates vary, taxes have not been considered.

The Strategies, mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or annuity sub-accounts drawn for investment (the Universe Components) may be reduced or added to from time to time due to closures and other operational considerations. The list represents the universe in use at the time of this report, and may differ from prior periods. We review the Universe Components periodically and make appropriate changes. In those cases where a Universe Component does not have sufficient price history, a substitute, including in the case of annuities, a mutual fund or market index after which the sub-account was “cloned," may be used in order to create a longer history from which to test. When this occurs, the daily value of the surrogate may differ from the NAV of the actual Universe Component used prospectively due to different internal expenses. If the expenses are lower or in the case of indexes used, non-existent, the result of their use will be to overstate returns. Conversely, higher internal expenses will understate returns.

Advisors Preferred LLC ("AP"). Pursuant to a contract with AP, Flexible Plan Investments, acting in the capacity of a sub-adviser, provides investment advisory services for investing in select equity, income, derivative and ETF Investments which Flexible Plan also may use in selected strategies, regardless of the Investments described as being utilized elsewhere in this information. If these Investments are used in Client's portfolio, since Adviser would receive a fee for its sub-adviser activities, Clients will receive a pro-rata credit on their billing. AP is a federally registered investment adviser and is the adviser of The Gold Bullion Strategy Fund, Gold Bullion Strategy Portfolio and the Quantified family of funds. Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. serves as investment sub-adviser to The Gold Bullion Strategy Fund and the Quantified Funds, distributed by Ceros Financial Services, Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC). AP is the Funds' investment adviser and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ceros Financial Services, Inc. AP is compensated by the Funds in its role as investment adviser to the funds on the basis of assets under management in the Funds.

The principal risks of investing in the Funds are risks of the sub-advisor's investment strategy, risks of aggressive investment techniques, high portfolio turnover, risk of investing in derivatives, risks of investing in ETFs, risks of investing in other investment companies, leverage risk, taxation risk, concentration risk, gold risk, wholly-owned corporation risk, risk of non-diversification and interest rate risk. "Gold Risk" includes volatility, price fluctuations over short periods, risks associated with global monetary, economic, social and political conditions and developments, currency devaluation and revaluation and restrictions, trading and transactional restrictions.

You may obtain a Prospectus and SAI through the following contact information:

Fund Fund Advisor Contact Information
The Gold Bullion Strategy Fund Advisors Preferred 1445 Research Boulevard, Suite 530
Quantified All-Cap Equity Fund   Rockville, MD 20850
Quantified Alternative Investment Fund   Phone: 855-650-7453
Quantified Managed Income Fund
Quantified Market Leaders Fund
Quantified STF Fund

 

Advisor may predicate some strategies on trading signals furnished by non-affiliated firms. In such instances, the non-affiliated firm is under contract to Adviser to provide, and in certain instances, implement management of Client accounts in such strategies. Flexible Plan by necessity relies on information, data, and software provided by third parties, the reliability of which, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed and losses may result from reliance upon them. These are normal risks for which Flexible Plan takes no responsibility beyond use of reasonable care in its selection of the third party.

For many strategies, Adviser provides suitability-based profiles with names such as, without limitation, Conservative, Moderate, Balanced, Growth and Aggressive or with numerical designations such as 25, 40, 60, 80 and 100. Clients should draw no conclusions from such titles. Rather, they are simply a way of designating the hierarchical ranking of Adviser's Profiles within a strategy. They are not meant to imply any ranking within some universal risk measure or benchmark, nor are they equivalent to a Client's subjective concept of the term.

Strategy and asset allocation decisions may not always be correct and may adversely affect account performance. The use of leverage may magnify this risk. Leverage and funds employing derivatives carry other risks that may result in losses, including the effects of unexpected market shifts, default and/or the potential illiquidity of certain derivatives.

For Global View Capital Management clients, this report may not reflect actual portfolios because the component strategies may change quarterly or when market conditions, in Flexible Plan's or the sub-adviser’s opinion, warrant a change. These results are derived from the historical hypothetical research reports of the component strategies in each of the model portfolios. These results reflect a snapshot of those allocations carried backward in time to demonstrate how the combination would have performed in the historical period provided.

Active investment management may involve more frequent buying and selling of assets. The majority of Flexible Plan strategies utilize no-load mutual funds with no transaction charges. Best efforts are employed to avoid short-term redemption charges, however, actively managed strategies can still result in charges, especially when entering or exiting a strategy. Additionally, any commissioned investments will reflect the impact of more frequent buying and/or selling of assets. If investing within a non-tax-deferred investment, Investors should consider the tax consequences of moving positions more frequently. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification cannot protect against all market risk.

“Model Account” results for the identified investment management strategy shown are time weighted geometrically linked returns. Except where noted, statistics are taken from single strategy accounts and are representative of our largest mutual fund and variable annuity holdings. These returns reflect actual accounts and dates of Flexible Plan's buy and sell signals. If an account terminates during a period, an alternative single account is substituted. Selection of accounts to serve as “model accounts” is based on the longevity of the account and least number of additions and withdrawals. Accordingly, many of the single accounts serving as ‘models’ are titled in the name of Flexible Plan’s President and controlling shareholder, a person related to Flexible Plan.

If single strategy account histories are unavailable, statistics applicable to such accounts are derived from the exchange history files of each strategy used. Actual buy-sell trading signals and pricing are used in conjunction with such files to create the applicable statistics for each model account. These exchange-history derived returns are believed representative of each strategy’s actual results, but the results do not represent the actual experience of any client during the period. Therefore, these results may not reflect the impact that material economic and market factors might have had on the results. Nor do they reflect any problems of execution or pricing that may have been encountered in the actual implementation of the buy and sell signals shown in the exchange history files, the effect of which has not been determined, and may be indeterminable.

Enhancements have been made in our methodologies on numerous occasions, which are believed to have had a positive effect on returns. The amount is not precisely quantifiable, but as strategy actual buy and sell signals are used, to the extent described, the effect of these enhancements is reflected. Efforts to develop indicators are ongoing and may result in further changes. Dividends are reinvested where available.

Utilizing performance between selected dates may not be indicative of overall performance of a profile since the dates chosen may have been selected to present optimum performance and may not be representative of investment performance of any profile during a different period. Inquiry for current results is always advised. Mutual fund or annuity results will vary based upon their volatility as they relate to the S&P 500 Index or other indices that may be shown. Specific mutual funds, sub-accounts or indices may materially outperform or under perform these results. Various mutual funds or sub-accounts used in any model account may no longer be available due to the result of Advisor's or fund advisor's periodic review, fund consolidations and/or exchange conditions imposed by the funds or annuity.

References to popular market indexes are included to demonstrate the market environment during the period shown and are not intended as 'benchmarks.' Index returns are after dividends. Since Index dividends are posted after the end of each month, they are retroactively prorated on a daily basis (which tends to understate returns if the end date range is inclusive of the current partial month). The Dow Jones Corporate Bond Index includes fixed-rate debt issues rated investment grade or higher by national rating services. Investments by bond funds utilized in generating the above returns may not be similarly rated. The investment program for the accounts included in the profiles includes trading and investment in securities in addition to those that may be included in the S&P 500. Such indices may not be comparable to the identified investment strategies due to the differences between the indices' and the strategies' objectives, diversification, represented industries, number and type of component investments, their volatility and the weight ascribed to them. No index is a directly tradable investment.

After Fees

If this presentation is calculated with the maximum current management fee, the maximum current management fee in effect is 2.25% (1.75% for group retirement plans). Strategic Solutions and Managed Solutions fees are deducted in arrears at the rate of 2.25% annually, with pro-ration of partial periods. Actual management fees will vary between 1.0% and 2.25% annually. Returns for certain programs/product families are shown before withdrawal of a maximum establishment fee of 1.2% unless the selected date range includes the inception date (start date) and if the solicitor firm allows the use of an establishment fee. All mutual fund fees and expenses are included to the extent they are reflected in net asset value; other fees may apply.

Results are shown after fees at the rate indicated and, if applicable, less a credit for use of any sub-advised funds (primarily used in QFC Strategies). These fees are not taken into account in computing Annualized risk, Beta or Maximum loss (daily). Since monthly maximum loss is after fees, there may be an occasion when monthly max loss may exceed daily max loss. The maximum investment advisory fee is 2.25% yearly (1.75% for group retirement plans), dependent upon assets under management and is deducted pro-rata in arrears. For the Strategic Solutions, as well as Schwab, Nationwide MarketFLEX Advisor VA and Jefferson National Monument Advisor strategies, an establishment fee of up to 1.2% has been deducted at inception.

Adviser offers ETF strategies and primarily utilizes NTF (no transaction fee) funds except as referenced under ‘Trading Fees’ below. However, certain custodians such as Folio Institutional, Schwab Institutional, TD Ameritrade, and Fidelity Institutional may charge short-term (funds held less than 30 to 90 days) transaction fees ranging between $3.75 and $8.95 per trade. Additionally, Client accounts utilizing ETF strategies at Folio Institutional will be charged an annual custodial fee of 20 basis points or a minimum of $50. These costs are the responsibility of Client and are not included in Adviser’s fees. Client accounts utilizing ETF strategies in the Strategic Solutions program (custodied at TCA by E*TRADE and described in Adviser’s ADV Part 2A Wrap Fee Program Brochure) may incur trading costs. Generally, the cost per trade of an ETF is approximately $0.0045 per share, with a minimum of $2.00 per omnibus trade. These additional costs are subject to change and are borne by Client and not included in Adviser’s fees.

Before Fees, or Reduced Fees

If this presentation is calculated without the maximum current management fee, the investment returns may be inflated and this presentation is not for public distribution. It is to be used solely in “one-on-one” presentations where clients and prospective clients have full opportunity to discuss the types and amounts of fees and expenses. Returns would be reduced by such payments and the impact would be magnified by the effect of compounding if such payments were withdrawn from the account. For example, the payment of annual advisory fees of 2% of the year end account values would reduce a gross five-year compound annual rate of return of 8.5% to 6.3%. On a cumulative basis using such assumptions, $100,000 would grow to $135,900, versus $150,400 without fees. The payment of an establishment fee of 1.2% of the initial account value would reduce a gross five-year compound annual rate of return of 6.3% to 6.1%. On a cumulative basis using such assumptions, $100,000 would grow to $134,300 versus $135,900.

ASSET CLASS RISK CONSIDERATIONS

US and Global Bonds: All investments involve risk. Special risks associated with investing in bonds include fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, declining markets, duration, call and credit risk. Special risks are associated with foreign investing, including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments. Investments in developing markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors, in addition to those associated with these markets’ smaller size and lesser liquidity.
Commodities: Concentrating investments in natural resources industries can be affected significantly by events relating to those industries, such as variations in the commodities markets, weather, disease, embargoes, international, political and economic developments, the success of exploration projects, tax and other government regulations and other factors. US and Global Real Estate: Investments in Real Estate are subject to changes in economic conditions, credit risk and interest rate fluctuations Global Currencies: Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. They generally are determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets and relative merits of investments in different countries, actual or perceived changes in interest rates, and other complex factors. Currency exchange rates also can be affected unpredictably by intervention (or the failure to intervene) by US or foreign governments or central banks, or by currency controls or political developments. Long / Short Directional: Portfolio may invest in derivative investments such as futures, contracts, options, swaps, and forward currency exchange contracts that may be illiquid or increase losses due to the use of leveraged positions. US and Global Equities: In addition to the foreign investment risks noted above, the principal risks associated with equities include market, portfolio management, and sector risks. Downside Protection: The use of cash, short-term investments, inverse funds and hedging strategies may help mitigate the overall risk of the portfolio and offer some downside protection.

Investors should consider carefully information contained in the prospectus, including investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. You can request a prospectus by contacting your financial advisor. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investment value will fluctuate, and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost.

Crash Test Reports

Fees are not taken into account in computing Annualized risk, Risk Adjusted Return, Beta or Maximum loss (daily). All performance calculations contain advisory fees to the extent indicated on the report.

Weekly Update

Several analyses are offered in the Weekly Update for use. They include, but are not limited to: top fund changes (buy / sell) through the week, top five gains and losses from holdings, asset class positions, daily portfolio allocation changes and open fund positions 1 year historical risk (standard deviation) distributions. This information is derived from exchange history and believed to be accurate.

All returns are after advisory fees and any trading commissions where applicable. The returns are considered preliminary estimates as they have been derived from downloaded transaction history (exchange history) and therefore may potentially exclude dividends, reinvestment and compounding.

PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS.

Please read Flexible Plan Investments' Brochure Form ADV Part 2A carefully before investing.

As supplemental information, a listing of all recommendations made within the immediately preceding twelve months, all assumed trades and other data used to generate the referenced results is available upon request. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss as well as the potential for gain. T:/compliance/_disclosures/Disclosure Master ver 18-10-19