1A. Advisory Services and Fees:
| Provides investment supervisory services | 90% |
| Furnishes advice to clients on matters not involving securities | 10% |
1B. Applicant does call these services Financial Planning.
1C. Payment is in the form of a percentage
of assets under management..
1D. Describe services provided, basic fee
schedule, compensation due and termination practices:
3. Types of Invesments:
I use fundamental analysis to purchase undervalued
securities. Most of my analysis emphasized the purchase of securities selling
at discounts to their liquidation values. I use analysis popularized by
Benjamin Graham. There are also short sales of fundamentally overvalued
securities. I diversify widely by asset class and also invest on a worldwide
basis. My goal is to create, on a continuous basis, a portfolio that is
less volatile than an “orthodox” portfolio, but which also receives most
of the return achieved by the more aggressive portfolio.
4B. Main sources of information include:
6. Education and Business Background
Name: Michael John Crew
DOB: March 8, 1947
Education: North East London Polytechnic (AIB
1967)
Name: Nancy T. Thrasher
DOB: January 16, 1969
Education: Boston College, BA- Economics
and French (1991)
8. N.A.
9E. Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
I also purchase securities that I recommend for
my clients. The amounts are non-material and, in my opinion, do not affect
the price of the security. I buy (and sell) for my clients based on need,
availability of cash, and the size of the existing holdings (if any). The
size of the purchase is based on the overall portfolio total and a risk
tolerance adjustment. Those with the greatest need for the holding receive
the allocation first. Allocations are determined by use of numerous
linked Excel spreadsheets. The Excel files are categorized by security
type and may also be further sorted to include foreign or domestic properties.
There are ten spreadsheets tracking: 1. International Stock/Mutual Funds,
2. debt issues, 3. gold and precious metals, 4. real estate and real assets,
5. Short Sales, 6. Domestic Stock/Mutual Funds, 7. arbitrage, 8. variable
rate investments, and 10. other fixed rate assets. The Excel spreadsheets
are updated each weekday with the prior day’s trading and repriced twice
a month (1st and 15th). Portfolio balance adjustments are done quarterly
or as needed if significant changes have occurred.
10. N.A.
11A and B. Review of Accounts
I provide continuous review of all client accounts for both investment management and financial planning. Clients receive monthly statements from Fidelity, quarterly billing statements from me, an annual investment policy statement, an annual financial planning summary, general reports issued every six weeks and we also talk and meet on an “as-needed” basis. We have deliberately moved away from short-term performance reports as it undermined the long-term investment approach.
12A and 12B. Investment or Brokerage Discretion
I have limited trading authorization from Fidelity Institutional Brokerage Services. The powers limit access to the accounts to buying and selling securities. Automatic Advisor billing has also been established with written client permission.
We advise clients to vote on proxy statements when necessary. The client is then responsible for voting their proxies. To date, we have not offered any advice on voting.
I use Fidelity Institutional Brokerage Services for all client brokerage accounts. They were chosen for their low cost, efficiency and flexibility. The commission has been negotiated to the current level and negotiations continue on an "as needed" basis. Although other brokerage houses may show lower commission schedules, we believe Fidelity provides the best combination of execution price, commission fees and service. All trades are executed on the major exchanges for the best price. I have no financial relationship with Fidelity Brokerage Company. I also am listed as an advisor for client TIAA-CREF accounts (403B, RA and GRA). Again, there is no financial relationship with TIAA-CREF.
Orders are placed in block trades, which are then
allocated to clients based on the criteria listed in Item 9E above. No
advisory accounts are favored over others and all allocations are based
solely on need and availability of cash (if trade is a purchase). Clients
are treated fairly and equitably in allocation decisions and all allocations
are directed solely to client accounts (ie- there are no other entities
with advisory accounts).
13. Additional Compensation: None
14. N.A.