Straight answers, before you move.

You give advice as an investment adviser representative of Acrylic Financial, Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser, CRD 288263. When acting in an advisory capacity through Acrylic, supervised persons are held to a fiduciary standard, under the firm's written Code of Ethics and its Chief Compliance Officer.

Work done as a registered representative of a broker-dealer or as an insurance agent follows the rules for those roles and is not conducted through Acrylic. Each client's fee schedule, and any discretionary authority, is set out in the client's advisory agreement.

Joining: your practice moves to Acrylic, and you work as an investment adviser representative of Acrylic. Sub-advisory: your RIA stays yours, and Acrylic can manage portfolios for your clients as a sub-adviser, inside the relationships your firm already holds.

Form ADV Part 2A, Item 7 lists other investment advisers among the types of clients Acrylic serves.

The advisory services in Item 4 of the firm's Form ADV Part 2A: portfolio management, financial planning, the selection of other advisers, and ongoing advice on assets the firm does not hold, such as an employer retirement plan.

Financial planning can cover investment, insurance, tax, retirement, education, and debt and credit planning. Form CRS names portfolio management, financial planning and the selection of other advisers as the services the firm primarily offers retail clients.

Many Acrylic representatives are also registered representatives of Brooklight Place Securities, Inc., an affiliate of Acrylic through common ownership, and many are licensed insurance agents. In those roles they may earn commissions. That work follows the rules for those roles and is not conducted through Acrylic, and the sale of insurance products is not made in a fiduciary capacity.

It is a conflict of interest, disclosed to clients in Form ADV Part 2A, Items 5E and 10, and in Form CRS. Advisory fees are not reduced to offset commissions. Item 5E also describes a selling agreement between Acrylic and Brooklight Place Securities for registered representatives who become investment adviser representatives of Acrylic.

How the licenses you hold today fit is part of the first conversation.

A custodian Acrylic has approved, not Acrylic. The brochure names Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Interactive Brokers LLC and Mid Atlantic Clearing & Settlement Corporation among them. Brooklight Place Securities does not provide custodian services to Acrylic advisory clients.

Acrylic does not accept or maintain physical custody of client funds or securities. Because advisory fees are deducted from client accounts with written authorization, the firm is deemed to have custody of those assets. Clients receive account statements directly from the custodian. Item 12 explains the limits and the conflict of directing accounts to these custodians.

Acrylic generally requires clients to keep the accounts it manages at custodians it has approved, so a managed account held somewhere else would generally move to one of them. Assets the firm advises on without trading authority, such as an employer-sponsored retirement plan, can stay where they are, as assets under advisement.

Which accounts move, and in what order, is part of the plan for your move.

Yes, where the client grants it. Acrylic offers both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management. With discretionary authority, described in the client's advisory agreement, transactions can be made without the client's prior approval for each one. Without it, the client approves first.

Clients may impose reasonable restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities.

No. Item 7 of Form ADV Part 2A states that there is no account minimum for any of Acrylic's services, and Form CRS says the firm does not have a minimum account size.

Portfolio management fees are asset-based. They are withdrawn directly from the client's account with written authorization, monthly and in arrears, and calculated on the average daily balance. Accounts in the same household are aggregated to calculate the fee unless the client instructs otherwise, and when an account reaches a higher tier, that tier's single rate applies to the whole balance.

Fees are negotiable, and the final fee schedule is set in each client's advisory agreement. Financial planning is billed as a fixed fee or by the hour, and paid by check or wire. The full schedule is in Item 5.

Third-party costs, which are separate from Acrylic's fees: custodian fees, brokerage fees and commissions, the internal management and administration fees of mutual funds, and transaction fees. Item 5 also lists a one-time setup fee for each account established. Acrylic does not participate in wrap fee programs.

Where an outside manager is used, the client generally pays that manager's fee as well as Acrylic's, so the total can be higher than working with one adviser.

Form CRS says the firm and its financial professionals are paid primarily through the advisory fees clients pay for advisory services. The terms of your own arrangement are set in writing between you and Acrylic, and they are part of the first conversation. Bring your current arrangement so the two can be compared.

Acrylic's president and Chief Compliance Officer is Charles Truhlar. Every financial plan is reviewed by him when it is created and when it is delivered.

The firm's written Code of Ethics covers areas including personal securities transactions, insider trading, conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, and confidentiality, and it is available free on request. Acrylic monitors the personal investment accounts of its investment adviser representatives against a restricted list, and periodically reviews recommendations to assess whether they are based on an objective evaluation of each client's risk profile and objectives rather than on commissions.

Form ADV Part 2A, Item 9 reports none: no criminal or civil actions, no administrative proceedings and no self-regulatory organization proceedings. Form CRS says the firm does not have legal and disciplinary events. You can check the firm yourself on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site.

The Acrylic MAC is the platform Acrylic advisors sign in to, with your tools in one place. The firm may use third-party planning software to analyze a client's current financial position and goals. Ask us which tools connect to the Acrylic MAC today, and how.

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Advisor Services also makes technology available to the firm for client account data, trade execution, fee payment, recordkeeping and client reporting. Item 14A explains that some of the services Schwab provides benefit Acrylic and may not benefit client accounts.

With the form on the join page. A move then runs in five steps: a first conversation about your book, your clients and where you want the practice to go; a look at fit, covering custody, platforms and what would change; the plan, with names and dates agreed together; registration and paperwork, handled with you one step at a time; and your first day on the Acrylic MAC.

To give advice through Acrylic you work as an investment adviser representative of Acrylic, and registration is step four of a move, handled with you. What it involves depends on the licenses and registrations you hold today, so bring them to the first conversation.

In a sentence, yes, because we are transparent and flexible. We will meet you wherever you are and help you grow.

That covers a veteran advisor with a wealth of knowledge, an advisor just starting out in financial services, an insurance agent adding advisory services, a registered representative adding advisory services, and the principal of an RIA who wants the technology and experienced firm personnel behind the practice. For an RIA that stays yours, there is sub-advisory.

We will answer their questions. Really, we are here for them. Your clients can call 833-4ACRYLIC (833-422-7954) or write to info@acrylicfinancial.com for help with forms, user IDs, passwords and changes to an account.

For savings the firm does not hold, such as a 401(k), Acrylic can give ongoing advice as assets under advisement, and investment planning can help a client choose among the investments inside a company plan.