sontag advisory defined

We are a registered investment advisory firm founded in 1995. We act as a fiduciary on over $5 billion in assets for wealthy individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and foundations. Our position as fiduciary means we are under legal obligation to provide the
most prudent advice based upon our experience. It also means we are required to focus on
our clients’ needs and to align ourselves with their interests while maintaining the highest
level of integrity.

Our approach is holistic and tailored to each client. Our objective is to maximize each client's goals and help them secure a promising future.

the advantage of an independent advisor

At Sontag Advisory we are objective decision makers. We have no inventory of financial products to sell. We are not obligated to any brokerage house, money management firm, mutual fund, insurance company or bank. Which is why we can offer completely independent advice and put all our focus on our clients' needs. All of our clients' assets are held in custody outside of Sontag Advisory.

*Sontag Advisory is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Financial Partners (NFP). NFP has an affiliated broker-dealer, NFP Securities, Inc. Sontag Advisory utilizes NFP Securities Inc. only in limited instances. Our full disclosure document (ADV) is available upon request.

an overview of you

We take a 360-degree view of your financial situation. We use this information to create a personalized wealth management and investment program that also incorporates estate planning and tax management.

We review and report on all of your investment assets monthly, even if some of your holdings are not assets that we have placed. This comprehensive reporting allows us to consistently monitor and focus on a very important question; is your portfolio in alignment with your goals and risk preferences? It also allows you to have a monthly update on the state of all of your assets.

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Complete Resource Assessment

A full review of the client’s existing income and assets is conducted, including concentrated stock positions, retirement plans, real estate, stock option plans, etc. We also review the client’s age(s), health, family status, children’s needs, family obligations and living expenses.

Our Senior Advisors

Our boutique-style approach gives each of our clients direct access to a diversified group of senior financial specialists who work together to meet our clients’ wealth management needs. Each member of our experienced management team excels in a specific area of wealth management; financial planning, investment advisory, estate planning and tax management. They are intimately involved in creating and monitoring the action plan that seeks to maximize each client’s success.

sontag advisory defined ( continued )

Our clients include families, law fi rm and medical group partners, successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, Wall Street and business professionals, divorcees, widows, retirees, trusts and estates, charitable foundations and non-profi t institutions. And each of these clients has different goals and different wealth profi les. But the one thing they share is the personal attention we provide. And the trust in our advice we’ve earned over the years.

Back

our focus is on the client

Our goal is to become your trusted advisor in all aspects of your financial life for the long-term. So we focus on developing a deep understanding of your individual circumstances, priorities and goals. No two clients live the same life. Which is why every financial strategy we build is unique.

With our integrated financial thinking and our exceptional level of personal care and commitment, our client-advisor relationships tend to go on for years and years.

our approach to wealth management

We listen, educate and advise. We act as a financial executive office - and partner with our clients in managing their wealth. Our approach is comprehensive and tailored to our clients’ goals and priorities. After jointly discussing a client’s specific goals, we create a personal investment portfolio that incorporates old-fashioned investment advice with our fiduciary standards. Client meetings offer an opportunity to review investment results, discuss non-financial issues and consider life events that could have an impact on a client’s overall financial priorities.

our investment philosophy

Sontag Advisory makes personalized recommendations that are firmly grounded in research, supported by the combined talents of our senior investment team, and, most importantly, reflective of the personal goals and objectives of each client.

Our investment strategy is disciplined and focused on each client’s long-term goals and risk tolerance. As a rule, we’re proactive, rather than reactive. Each individual investment is considered based on its fit within our client’s overall portfolio.

our planning philosophy

Our discipline is to objectively evaluate each clients financial planning situation and to validate or modify each of these components;

our planning philosophy ( continued )

In addition, working with our client’s attorney and/or accountant, we assist with and facilitate:

- Estate and trust planning

- Tax management

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Personalized Financial Planning

We objectively review each client’s overall financial situation; current wills and trust documents, special needs and life planning, and insurance, plus their objectives regarding retirement, investment and wealth distribution. We then customize a plan that integrates our client’s goals within a larger, overall financial strategy. We facilitate and assist in the creation of estate and trust planning and work with the client’s attorney and accountants to establish a highly personalized estate plan and on-going tax management.

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Investment Planning

Based on the size of a client’s investment portfolio, cash flow needs and risk profile, a customized target asset allocation is developed that includes specific recommendations for investments, as well as the placement of those investments (taxable vs. retirement accounts). Additionally, reviews and assessments of estate, tax, insurance, and other wealth issues are offered.

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Asset Allocation

The most important determinant of portfolio performance and risk is asset allocation. We meet with our clients on a regular basis and remain constantly focused on maintaining an asset allocation consistent with their risk/return parameters.

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Performance Evaluation

During periodic meetings, performance is reviewed in absolute and relative terms for each asset class, manager and account, as well as for the overall portfolio. Performance is based on achieving our client’s objectives rather than being benchmark driven.

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Dynamic Investment Monitoring

We communicate with all managers on a regular basis and due diligence is performed continually. For discretionary accounts, cash balances are reviewed weekly with a full review
of all discretionary account holdings conducted periodically.

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Complete Integration

To help each of our clients achieve their long-term wealth management goals, we integrate their investment program with insurance needs, tax management, and estate planning. Our expertise in wealth planning techniques helps to efficiently maximize the after-tax distribution of wealth and satisfy charitable objectives.

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Comprehensive Monthly Reporting

Sontag Advisory produces a monthly statement that consolidates all of a client’s investment accounts wherever they are held. That means each client can see where all of their assets are, how they’re performing, how much is invested in each asset class and their overall portfolio asset allocation on just one or two pages. This reporting is highly specialized and very comprehensive and generally only offered by a few large banks to their wealthiest clients.

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Access to Investment Options

We consider manager selection and due diligence critical components of constructing a broadly diversified portfolio. Our research has identified top tier equity managers with whom we have close working relationships. We work with several bond professionals to maximize efficiency, quality and structure of fixed income portfolios, including taxable and municipal bonds. We select and actively manage blended no-load mutual fund allocations in discretionary accounts. We assist the client in making choices in their qualified retirement plans within the context of their overall portfolio.

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Technology

We are constantly searching for ways to better serve our clients and have invested in leading-edge, custom-designed technology and advanced analytic systems that give our
clients a clear advantage.