If you have decided to engage our firm as your investment advisor you will already have met with one of our portfolio managers. You explained your situation and what you a looking for. What happens next?

The first step is to fill out and sign our one page Investment Advisory Agreement (PDF). With this agreement your are engaging our firm to manage your investment account on a fully discretionary basis. The agreement also specifies the fee schedule which will apply to your account(s), including any special provision for multiple accounts. This agreement is not effective until you have had a chance to review Part II of our ADV (PDF) which is the client disclosure format specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC also requires that you have a chance to review our Privacy Notice and Proxy Notice which specifies our policies on those matters

Once our relationship has been established, you will need to select a custodian for the assets in your portfolio. The majority of our clients prefer the safety, security and service of a bank custody department, although some want us to work with a broker/dealer whom they prefer. We are happy to work with whomever you prefer.

On behalf of our clients we have made special arrangements for custodial services at two leading banks, HSBC Bank through their Buffalo office and State Street Corp. through their Boston office. These services include not only routine recordkeeping and regular statements, but very helpful annual tax reporting services and internet access to your account. Both custodians provide these services to Robshaw & Julian clients at a substantial discount from rates charged to individual clients.

The next step is to fill out the necessary forms for the custodial service you have selected. Of necessity, these are more involved than a simple contract, since they involve direct access to your assets. This is the point at which you will specify who is to receive statements and how often, either quarterly or monthly. You will also be giving Robshaw & Julian authority to initiate securities trades in your account and to bill your account for our quarterly management fee, unless other payment arrangements have been made. If you have selected one of our preferred bank custodians, you will have the opportunity to sign up for internet access to your account.

If you will be using a new custodian it will be necessary to move your existing account from the current custodian. This process will begin with a transfer authorization letter signed by you. You will also need a list of assets to be transferred. This is most easily handled with a recent statement for your current account. All transfers are handled on a custodian-to-custodian basis and do not require your participation beyond the original paperwork. Transfers usually take about a week to ten days after the new custodian has received all the necessary paperwork.

The new custodian will inform your portfolio manager when the account assets are in place. You will not be charged any fees until this occurs.

At some point in the process you will have met with your new portfolio manager for the purpose of defining your investment needs and concerns, specifying any special circumstances and working out an investment strategy based on your objectives and risk tolerance. Your portfolio manager will now begin to execute that plan on your behalf.

Making the transition from cash or an existing portfolio to a fully invested Robshaw & Julian portfolio often takes time. Market conditions, your risk tolerance and capital gains which are embedded in your current holdings are all factors which we take into account when investing a new account. This brings up another matter, commissions on security trades.

We are not an investment broker/dealer and cannot execute security trades for our clients. On behalf of our clients we have arranged with a number of national securities firms to execute transactions at $.15 per share for trades made in our clients' accounts. This rate does not apply to accounts custodied at broker/dealer firms. If you choose to place your account assets with a brokerage firm, the commission arrangement will be between you and the broker.

Your portfolio manager will keep you informed about the progress of your account. Although you are welcome to contact your portfolio manager at any time, he or she will proactively establish a regular pattern of letters, phone contacts and personal meetings with you. These communications are designed to alert the portfolio manager of any changes which may affect the management of your account, to let you know our view of the investment markets and what changes we are making in your account and to develop a stronger and more productive manager-client relationship.

It's quite possible that you or a member of your immediate family may open a second account with Robshaw & Julian Associates. Many of our clients have two or more accounts under our management. There are two benefits to this. First, we will combine all of your accounts for the purposes of calculating our investment management fee. Because our fee schedule has a sliding scale, you will pay a substantially lower fee for new assets which are added to your account over and above the $500,000 combined level. Second, with more of your financial picture in the direct view of your portfolio manager, we can provide better coordination of your overall investment strategy.