NATIONS FINANCIAL GROUP

Doing the Right Things With the Right Heart

DOING THE RIGHT THING AT THE RIGHT TIME A message from Scott

From the outside, many broker-dealers and RIAs look the same. All have the same products and capabilities and the same promise of great service. But are we all the same? No. So, what makes the difference? What makes one place a joy to work where your professional and personal life can flourish? And what makes another place the bane of your existence?

I believe the difference is motive. Motive is what drives a firm. The larger the company, the more the motive is about dollars. And you can feel it. For other firms, the motive is about the owner’s ego. But how does that help you? What’s our motive? Sure, we care about growth, but we want to grow because it adds new perspectives and resources for our existing Advisors and increases the opportunity for our staff to excel.

IN THE RIGHT WAY WITH THE RIGHT HEART How have we grown? By following our true motive: Doing what is right. We have a saying here at Nations: “We want to do the Right thing. At the Right time. In the Right way. With the Right heart.” That’s our motive. Are we perfect? No. But we care about doing what is Right. And we care about our Advisors in ways

other firms don’t… or won’t. That’s why our Advisors stay with us for decades. They are true professionals. They care about their clients more than they care about their commission statement. They want to serve and do what is Right and have some fun doing it. If that sounds like you, we want to continue the conversation. Advisors like you don’t grow on trees.

If we are “Right” for you and you are “Right” for us, then magic happens. Let’s see if there’s a fit. Thank you for considering Nations. I look forward to getting to know you better. Sincerely, Scott Bennett President; CEO

RUN RUN

GROW PROTECT TRANSITION

At Nations, we value your independence and want you to have the flexibility to run your business your way. We offer you the ability to maintain your commissions and trailbased revenue through our broker-dealer and grow your fee-based income through affiliation with our corporate RIA.

Run Your Business Your Way Independence at Nations

Being independent means a lot of things to different people. For most, it means being able to choose your location, grow your own brand, and establish your own culture. For some, it’s synonymous with having an entrepreneurial spirit that drives you to operate under your business model.

In either case, we will shoulder the burden of

OPERATIONS

COMPLIANCE

TECHNOLOGY

We provide a best-in-class tech stack, cybersecurity protections, unsurpassed support to you and your team managing the day-to-day operations, and a choice of three custodians:

1

FIRST CLEARING

2

TD AMERITRADE

3

CHARLES SCHWAB

We support every aspect of your business – from the front to the middle to the back office – so that you can focus on growing your business and providing exceptional service to your clients. Most broker-dealers and RIAs get the big things right – so do we. At Nations, though, we do the little things better.

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INTELLIGENT BUSINESS TOOLS

Let’s face it: Running an advisory business today requires technology to run efficiently and effectively. We are steadfast in our commitment to ongoing investment in our tech stack that supports everything from portfolio analysis and modeling to best-in-class planning tools for seamless account opening and outstanding client management. And it’s all designed with the Advisor needs in mind.

NationsOne single sign-on portal is the fastest, simplest, and most secure login possible for accessing your technology from anywhere via computer, phone, or tablet. The Black Diamond® Wealth Platform frees you to devote the time you need to guide your clients through their complete wealth journey. Intuitive dashboards, robust functionality, smart integrations, and exceptional service make delivering a sophisticated, modern client experience easy. Albridge Data and Reporting solutions consolidate data from hundreds of sources, both custodied and non-custodied, to provide a holistic view of assets and insights for you and your clients. Docupace is a paperless solution for account opening, workflow, and document management that streamlines an Advisor’s daily operational tasks and integrates with all custodial platforms.

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eMoney delivers innovative, planning-led solutions that power your business. This comprehensive financial planning platform is built for how you work and designed to scale to meet the growing needs of your business.

Zoom cloud-based phone system, video conferencing, webinars, and screen share presentations fully integrate with Nations systems and are available to Advisors at preferred pricing.

MoneyGuidePro® provides sophisticated solutions and smart assumptions to help Advisors navigate the complex financial elements of their clients’ lives.

Office 365 delivers a host of workflow and collaboration tools, including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint sites, and OneDrive.

Electronic Signatures streamline your account service process in a convenient, simple, fast, and safe way.

NationsConnect Intranet site connects Advisors to Nations news, calendars, reference materials, forms, and other timely and useful information.

Redtail CRM was the first cloud-based CRM for Financial Advisors. Their automated workflows, intuitive user interface, and integrations help you work smarter. SmartOffice helps you stay on top of client touchpoints, schedule appointments, and document past conversations for compliance. NATIONSFG.COM  7

WEALTH MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS We believe in a holistic approach to wealth management services for clients – each equally important to a client’s overall success. Our Advisors can choose which financial, retirement, insurance, and estate planning services to utilize in order to capture clients of all sizes, including more niche business.

Investment Management and Advice

Comprehensive Financial Planning

Qualified Retirement Plan Services

Specialized Services and Business Tools

• Advisor Managed Portfolios (AMPs)

• Financial planning tools that help you plan, track, manage, and engage with your clients in a meaningful way

• Plan design and documentation

• VIP client services

• Several platform offerings

• Research, market analysis, and portfolio modeling tools

• Model portfolios managed by multiple investment strategists • Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) • Unified Managed Account (UMA) solutions

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Protection

• 3(16)

• Insurance and annuity consultants to assist with products, advanced sales concepts, and case management

• 3(38)

• 3(21)

• Reporting and online investor services • Stock option financing program

• Brokerage services

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GROW

RUN

GROW

PROTECT TRANSITION

Marketing and Branding Services

Business Building and Practice Management Our business building and practice management processes help you regain focus, identify ideal clients, and create pathways to your future growth.

One of the most important jobs as an Advisor is successfully marketing your services to the right people. We have partnered with the industry’s leading marketing and branding companies. By helping you establish a clear strategy and partnering you with the right firm, we will help you deliver your message to your intended targets in the most cost-effective manner.

Growth Strategies Helping you grow is more than a platform and product mix. We will deliver expert coaching and consulting services tailored to help you grow and develop your business the way you’ve always envisioned. GROWTH STRATEGY PROCESS

1

2

3

4

Discovery We learn your current state of affairs and goals

Strategy We help you develop a plan tailored to your specific needs

Execution We help you execute your strategy

Ongoing Review We conduct continuous reviews of your plan

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Professional Development Executive Coaching: Go from a practice to a sustainable business that has stable, ongoing value Advisory Mastery program: Coaching the next generation into successful, focused Advisors Successor Development: Finding a potential successor is one thing – but developing them into a business-minded partner is critical to your overall succession plan Consulting Services: Practice assessments, value-added inventories, customer journey evaluations, business planning, and more

UNSURPASSED SERVICE AND SUPPORT We believe in creating an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect with our Advisors. With Nations, you are treated like a Partner because that is exactly who you are – our Partner. We take great pride in our people, and our Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based home office professionals are courteous, responsive, friendly, and thoroughly knowledgeable. And we are here for you.

HOME OFFICE SUPPORT TEAM

TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING

We do not measure hold times – because there are none. With our 1:4 Staff-to-Advisor ratio, we do not need to start every call with your rep number because we recognize your voice. Our sole objective is to provide the support you need to solve your problems and help service your clients. We take ownership of the problem and see it through to a resolution.

Our technology professionals are among the best in the industry. They are there to help you with every aspect of your technology needs. They will assist you and your team with your tech questions and advise you with finding the integrated solution tools that best serve your business and your budget.

INSURANCE AND ANNUITY SERVICES

TOTAL ACCESS AND TRANSPARENCY

We have dedicated insurance and annuity experts who will help you plan, research, and find the right products for your clients.

You have complete access to everyone in the company, including the cell phone numbers of all company leaders. Consider it an “All Access Pass.” The relationships we build here are established on a deep level of trust and is the essential component of our partnership. We take that very seriously.

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PRO TECT

RUN GROW

PROTECT

TRANSITION

We have the sophistication, expertise, and understanding of how our Advisors run their businesses so that we can anticipate, understand, and prepare for regulatory changes. We create policies and practices appropriate for high-quality, top Advisors – not merely managing to the lowest common denominator.

Common-Sense Compliance Regulations change. The industry continues to evolve. And unanticipated hurdles can be costly, time-consuming, and threatening.

Starting with “Yes” Starting from a place of “yes,” we take a fact-and-circumstance, commonsense approach to compliance. This solutions-oriented approach helps you achieve your objectives while protecting your business. You’ve spent years developing an impeccable reputation. Still, we know that can quickly change with a compliance problem or unexpected business glitch. That’s why having the right partner is so important.

NETWORKING We are a firm of like-minded individuals who share and leverage collective best practices with each other. Nations Leaders Conference NLC is a sesquiennial event that brings together our top Advisors for some fun, camaraderie, and a little business mixed in. The Advisor Roundtable This discussion-style event is comprised of individual Advisors seeking to improve their practices, efficiencies, profitability, and client experiences through idea sharing on various issues related to running an independent business. Operations Conference We value the men and women that support your business and invite them to participate in our Operations Conference where they can participate in trading, operations, compliance, and technology discussions. Learn tips and tricks, get the latest compliance updates, experience demos, and more.

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CREATING A PARTNERSHIP THAT REFLECTS YOUR VALUE CUSTOMIZED COMPENSATION

Transparency and a fair and mutually agreeable compensation model are fundamental to strong business partnerships. It should be easily understood and should best fit your business model.

That’s why we do not use compensation grids that never adequately account for an Advisor’s business mix. Instead, we evaluate where your business is today and where you want to take it, and then tailor a cost and compensation model that best aligns with your business model. You will not find a long list of nickel and dime charges. And you won’t find that we change the rules annually like many other firms do. We work hard to help you grow – that way, we both win.

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TRANS ITION

RUN GROW PROTECT

TRANSITION

Once we tailor your transition timeline, we hold weekly calls between your staff and our Conversion Team to walk you through the process in an orderly manner. This includes working with our marketing team on your website, branding message, and developing communications to clients so that you can hit the ground running from day one.

Transition Done Right Making this change is one of the biggest decisions of your life, and we take the transition process very seriously. We have a proven process that ensures your transition to Nations is smooth and efficient and minimizes disruption of your client relationships.

We care enough to get the details right, and our transition track record is impeccable – just ask anyone who has been through our transition process.

ALL-IN-ALL, OUR TRANSITION TO NATIONS COULD NOT HAVE GONE ANY BETTER. ALL OF THE UPFRONT PLANNING AND GOOD WORK WAS KEY TO OUR SUCCESSFUL MOVE. – ROBERT WILBANKS, LITTLETON, CO NATIONSFG.COM  19

SUCCESSION PLANNING Not only is capitalizing on your life’s work a big decision – it’s also really hard. In fact, it’s a lot harder than going into business and can take as much as 5-7 years to execute. Whether you’re looking to create a succession plan, grow your business through a merger or acquisition, or structure a buyout with an existing partner, Nations can guide you through the entire process.

Start with the End in Mind Starting with the end in mind, we help you find the best solutions for you.

TRANSITIONING TO ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS MODELS Enterprise model | Sell and Stay model | Ensemble model

BUSINESS VALUATION AND BUILDING BUSINESS VALUE

SUCCESSION AND CONTINUITY PLANNING

MATCHMAKING AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

SUCCESSOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

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Headquarters

PARTNER WITH US

CALL IT IOWA NICE OR THE MIDWESTERN WORK ETHIC – OR MAYBE, IT’S SIMPLY THAT BEING RELIABLE AND DOING WHAT YOU SAY IS JUST THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

As Nations continues to grow, we want to continue the conversation about your business and how we can do the Right thing for you. Learn about our one-on-one consulting and how we’ve helped others build their business. Contact Erik Bjorseth or visit our website to put a meeting on the calendar.

Securities and advisory services offered through Nations Financial Group, Inc. a Registered Investment Adviser and Independent Broker Dealer. Member FINRA / SIPC / MSRB. First Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-deal and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

Nations Financial Group 4000 River Ridge Drive NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

Get in Touch

Erik Bjorseth Chief Growth Officer [email protected] (319) 378-5273

Visit Our Website nationsfg.com

NATIONS FINANCIAL GROUP

There is a saying in Iowa that if you build it, they will come. We have built Nations Financial Group for Advisors like you.