Disclosures

Client Relationship Summary

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Item 1 – Introduction

Socha Financial Group, LLC (“Socha”, “we” or “us”) is registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as a Registered Investment Adviser (“RIA”). As an RIA, our services and compensation structure differs from that of a registered broker-dealer, and it is important for you to understand the differences. Free and simple tools are available to research firms and financial professionals at Investor.gov/CRS. The site also provides educational materials about broker-dealers, investment advisers and investing.

Item 2 – Relationships and Services

What investment services and advice can you provide me?

We provide investment advisory services, including discretionary investment management, financial planning and consulting, and tax preparation services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, and estates (our “retail investors”).

When a retail investor engages us to provide investment management services, we first develop individualized investment profile and then monitor, on an ongoing basis, the investments in the accounts over which we have investment authority. Furthermore, when engaged on a discretionary basis, we shall have the authority, without prior consultation with you (unless you impose restrictions on our discretionary authority), to buy, sell, trade and allocate the investments within your account(s) consistent with your investment objectives. Our discretionary authority over your account(s) shall continue until our engagement is terminated.

When a retail investor engages us to provide financial planning and consulting or tax preparation services, we rely upon the information provided by the client and do not verify or monitor any such information while providing these services. Our financial planning and consulting services are completed upon the communication of our recommendations to the retail investor, while our tax preparation services are completed on delivery of the client’s tax returns.

We do not limit the scope of our investment advisory services to proprietary products or a limited group or type of investment.

For investment management services, we do not impose a minimum asset level or minimum annual fee.

Additional Information: For more detailed information about our Advisory Business and the Types of Clients we generally service, please see Items 4 and 7, respectively in our ADV Part 2A.

Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not? How will you choose investments to recommend to me? What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications? What do these qualifications mean?

Item 3 – Fees, Costs, Conflicts, and Standard of Conduct

What fees will I pay?

We provide our investment management services on a fee basis. When engaged to provide investment management services, we shall charge a fee calculated as a percentage of your assets under our management (our “AUM Fee”). Our annual AUM Fee shall generally range from 0.90% to 1.25% based on various factors, including the amount of assets to be managed and the scope of overall services to be rendered. Clients who place more than $250,000 under our management are eligible to receive financial planning and tax preparation services as part of our AUM Fee.

We typically deduct our AUM Fee from one or more of your investment accounts, in advance, on a quarterly basis. Because our AUM Fee is calculated as a percentage of your assets under management, the more assets you have in your advisory account, the more you will pay us for our investment management services. Therefore, we have an incentive to encourage you to increase the assets maintained in accounts we manage.

We can provide financial planning and consulting or tax preparation services on a standalone fixed fee or hourly rate basis. The final fee for such services varies depending on the scope and complexity of the services to be rendered. We may require that up to 50% of the estimated total fee be paid in advance.

Other Fees and Costs: Your investment assets will be held with a qualified custodian. Custodians generally charge brokerage commissions and/or transaction fees for effecting certain securities transactions (for example, transaction and redemption fees may be charged for certain mutual fund transactions). In addition, relative to mutual fund and exchange traded fund purchases, certain charges will be imposed at the fund level (e.g. management fees and other fund expenses). If we determine that it would be beneficial for the client, individual fixed income transactions may be effected through broker-dealers other than the account custodian, in which event, the client generally may incur both the fee (commission, mark-up/mark-down) charged by the executing broker-dealer and a separate “trade-away” and/or prime broker fee charged by the account custodian.

You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying.

Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?

Additional Information: For more detailed information about our fees and costs related to our management of your account, please see Item 5 in our ADV Part 2A.

What are your legal obligations to me when acting as my investment adviser? How else does your firm make money and what conflicts of interest do you have?

When we act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide you. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means:

* We may recommend a particular custodian from whom we receive support services and/or products, certain of which assist us to better monitor and service your account.

* We may recommend rollovers out of employer-sponsored retirement plans and into Individual Retirement Accounts that we manage for an asset-based fee, which could have the effect of increasing our compensation.

* We may recommend the purchase of commission-based insurance products, whereby we are incentivized to recommend products based on compensation to be received, rather than on a particular client’s needs.

How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?

Additional Information: For more detailed information about our conflicts of interest, please review our ADV Part 2A.

How do your financial professionals make money?

The majority of our financial professionals are members of the firm and are compensated through ownership distributions, based on the net revenue generated by Socha. Financial professionals who are not owners of the firm are generally compensated on a salary basis, with a bonus component based on Socha’s overall performance. Because Socha’s revenue is generated primarily through its AUM Fee, this compensation structure presents a conflict of interest, in that it incentivizes our financial professionals to recommend that you place additional assets under our management. You should discuss your financial professional’s compensation directly with your financial professional.

Item 4 – Disciplinary History

Do you or your financial professionals have legal or disciplinary history? No.

We encourage you to visit www.Investor.gov/CRS to research our firm and our financial professionals. Furthermore, we encourage you to ask your financial professional: As a financial professional, do you have any disciplinary history? If so, for what type of conduct?

Item 5 – Additional Information

Additional information about our firm is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. You may contact our Chief Compliance Officer at any time to request a current copy of your ADV Part 2A or our relationship summary. Our Chief Compliance Officer may be reached by phone at 607-962-0605.

Who is my primary contact person? Is he or she a representative of an investment adviser or broker-dealer? Who can I talk to if I have concerns about how this person is treating me?

A copy of our Part 2A is available at: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=893185

Privacy Policy 2024

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Maintaining the trust and confidence of our clients is a high priority.  That is why we want you to understand how we protect your privacy when we collect and use information about you, and the steps that we take to safeguard that information.   This notice is provided to you on behalf of Socha Financial Group, LLC.

Information We Collect:  In connection with providing investment advisory information, financial advice, or other services, we obtain non-public personal information about you, including:

  • Information we receive from you on account applications, such as your address, date of birth, Social Security Number, occupation, financial goals, assets and income;
  • Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others

Categories of Information We Disclose:  We may disclose all information that we collect but only to our service providers which would be Charles Schwab Institutional for securities related servicing and a general agent, usually KAFL, for insurance related services.  Socha Financial Group and its affiliates do not sell customer lists and will not sell your name to telemarketers.

Categories of Parties to Whom We Disclose:  We will not disclose information regarding you or your account with us, except under the following circumstances:

  • To our affiliates, to the extent permitted by law;
  • To entities that perform services for us or function on our behalf, including financial service providers, such as a clearing broker-dealer, investment company, or insurance company;
  • To your attorney, trustee or anyone else who represents you in a fiduciary capacity;
  • To our attorneys, accountants or auditors;
  • To your power of attorney or other designated individual or trusted contact; and
  • To government entities or other third parties in response to subpoenas or other legal process as required by law or to comply with regulatory inquiries.

How We Use Information:  Information may be used to perform support services for us, such as data processors, technical systems consultants and programmers, or companies that help us service you for a number of purposes, such as:

  • To protect your accounts from unauthorized access or identity theft
  • To process your requests such as securities purchases and sales;
  • To establish or maintain an account with an unaffiliated third party, such as a clearing broker-dealer providing services to you and/or Socha Financial Group
  • To service your accounts, such as by issuing checks and account statements
  • To comply with Federal, State, and Self-Regulatory Organization requirements

Our Security Policy:  We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to those individuals who need to know that information, to provide products or services to you, and to perform their respective duties.  We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to safeguard confidential client information.

Closed or Inactive Accounts:  If you decide to close your account(s) or become an inactive client, our Privacy Policy will continue to apply to you.

Complaint Notification:  Please direct complaints to:  Michelle Socha Vang at Socha Financial Group, LLC   181 E Second St.  Corning, NY  14830  607-962-0605.

Changes to This Privacy Policy:  If we make any substantial changes in the way we use or disseminate confidential information, we will notify you.

 

Investment Management Page Disclosure

Socha Financial Group, LLC (“Socha”) is an SEC registered investment adviser located in Corning, New York. Socha may only transact business in those states in which it is notice-filed or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from notice-filing requirements. Socha’s web site is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Socha’s web site should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Socha’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Socha with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. A copy of Socha’s current Disclosure Brochure discussing Socha’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Socha upon written request.

Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Socha), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s).

Certain portions of Socha’s web site (i.e. newsletters, articles, commentaries, etc.) may contain a discussion of, and/or provide access to, Socha (and those of other investment and non-investment professionals) positions and/or recommendations as of a specific prior date. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, such discussion may no longer be reflective of current position(s) and/or recommendation(s). Moreover, no client or prospective client should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from Socha, or from any other investment professional. Socha is neither a law firm nor an accounting firm, and no portion of the web site content should be interpreted as legal, accounting or tax advice.

Specialty Portfolio Limitations: Certain portfolios, such as the Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) and Faith-Based portfolios, are subject to limitations that may not apply to portfolios which do not adhere to such a mandate. For example, the number of securities or investment managers offered in a specialty portfolio may be limited. ESG and Faith-Based considerations may vary from person to person, meaning the client’s opinion of what constitutes valid and valuable ESG or Faith-Based principles may differ from that of the relevant security issuer or investment manager. The ESG and Faith-Based portfolios, as well as the securities and investment managers underlying them, could underperform broad market indices. Investors must accept these limitations, including potential for underperformance. There can be no assurance that investment in ESG or Faith-Based portfolios will be profitable or prove successful.

Alternative Investments: Alternative investments are only available to investors that meet certain regulatory and issuer-defined criteria. Even amongst eligible clients, alternative investments may not be suitable or appropriate, depending on the client’s goals, risk tolerance, and circumstances. Alternative investments involve various risk factors, including, but not limited to, potential for complete loss of principal, liquidity constraints, and lack of transparency of underlying activities or investments, as more fully discussed in each alternative investment’s offering documents. Unlike liquid investments that a client may maintain, alternative investments may not provide regular liquidity.

About Page Disclosure

Socha Financial Group, LLC (“Socha”) is an SEC registered investment adviser located in Corning, New York. Socha may only transact business in those states in which it is notice-filed, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from notice-filing requirements. Socha’s web site is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Socha’s web site should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Socha’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Socha with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. A copy of Socha’s current Disclosure Brochure discussing Socha’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Socha upon written request.

Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Socha), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s).

Certain portions of Socha’s web site (i.e. newsletters, articles, commentaries, etc.) may contain a discussion of, and/or provide access to, Socha (and those of other investment and non-investment professionals) positions and/or recommendations as of a specific prior date. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, such discussion may no longer be reflective of current position(s) and/or recommendation(s). Moreover, no client or prospective client should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from Socha, or from any other investment professional. Socha is neither a law firm nor an accounting firm, and no portion of the web site content should be interpreted as legal, accounting or tax advice.

Services Page Disclosure

Socha Financial Group, LLC (“Socha”) is an SEC registered investment adviser located in Corning, New York. Socha may only transact business in those states in which it is notice-filed, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from notice-filing requirements. Socha’s web site is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Socha’s web site should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Socha’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Socha with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. A copy of Socha’s current Disclosure Brochure discussing Socha’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Socha upon written request.

Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Socha), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s).

Certain portions of Socha’s web site (i.e. newsletters, articles, commentaries, etc.) may contain a discussion of, and/or provide access to, Socha (and those of other investment and non-investment professionals) positions and/or recommendations as of a specific prior date. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, such discussion may no longer be reflective of current position(s) and/or recommendation(s). Moreover, no client or prospective client should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from Socha, or from any other investment professional. Socha is neither a law firm nor an accounting firm, and no portion of the web site content should be interpreted as legal, accounting or tax advice.

Limitations of Certain Services: The results of Socha’s tax planning services can and will vary, depending on a variety of factors, including the client’s financial and/or tax situation, changing market conditions, evolving rules and regulations, the overall scope of services being rendered, and other factors. Nothing herein should be interpreted as a guarantee of a certain outcome, level of performance, or client satisfaction. The services provided by Socha are highly reliant on the client providing complete and accurate information at the outset of the engagement and updating such information on a regular basis thereafter. A client’s lack of diligence in this respect could result in Socha’s services being rendered based on inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information, which may materially impact the client’s overall experience and outcome. Socha’s services may be further impacted by the level of coordination and cooperation, or lack thereof, of the client’s other engaged professionals, including accountants, attorneys, and other professionals. To the extent Socha’s services concern assets held in a client’s retirement plan account, Socha may require information regarding the features and characteristics of such plan (e.g., services, fees, expenses, etc.) in order to provide informed guidance, a lack of which information could materially impact or limit the advice that Socha is able to provide. Socha’s advisory and/or management services with respect to a client’s retirement plan account may also be limited to a set menu of investment options made available under the plan, which options Socha will generally have no ability to alter or influence. In addition to the risks involved with investing in securities generally, clients must be willing to accept these risks and limitations in connection with the services to be provided.

Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®): Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”) owns the CFP® certification mark, the Certified Financial Planner™ certification mark, and the CFP® certification mark (with flame design) logo in the United States (these marks are collectively referred to as the “CFP® marks”). The CFP Board authorizes use of the CFP® marks by individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients.

You may verify an individual’s CFP® certification and background through the CFP Board. The verification function will allow you to verify an individual’s certification status, CFP Board’s disciplinary history and any bankruptcy disclosures in the past ten years. Additional regulatory information may also be found through FINRA’S BrokerCheck and the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure databases, which are free tools that may be used to conduct research on the background and experience of CFP® professionals and those who held CFP® certification at one time, including with respect to employment history, regulatory actions, and investment-related licensing information, arbitrations, and complaints.