If you’ve been wondering whether a brokerage or an investment advisory account is the best choice for you, this piece should be helpful in making that determination. If you still have questions, please contact your financial advisor or call Client Services at 800-634-1100.

If you have terminated your employment and have savings invested in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan or 403(b) plan, you may be eligible to roll those assets into an individual retirement account (IRA) without paying taxes on the distribution. However, a rollover into an IRA is not your only option. This fact sheet can assist you in making the right choice for your individual needs. If you still have questions, please contact your financial advisor or call Client Services at 800-634-1100.

For those investments allocated to a money market fund, it is fundamental policy to use every effort to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the fund. Please obtain a prospectus and read it carefully before you invest.

USBA provides access to a wide number of mutual funds on its brokerage platform. There is no guarantee that the funds will meet their stated objectives. Mutual fund investments are NOT insured by the FDIC or by any other Federal Government Agency, are NOT Bank deposits, are NOT guaranteed by the Bank or any Bank affiliate, and MAY lose value, including possible loss of principal. Mutual fund investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Carefully consider a mutual fund’s investment objectives, risk, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the fund’s prospectus, which may be obtained from a U.S. Bancorp Advisors, Wealth Management Advisor or by calling 800-634-1100. Please be sure to read the prospectus carefully before investing.

System response and account access times may vary due to a variety of factors, including trading volumes, market conditions, system performance and other factors. U.S. Bancorp Advisors and/or our clearing firm, National Financial Services, LLC (NFS), have an ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of service and technology to enable you to access your account, obtain market information, and enter your orders quickly, easily and efficiently. However, during periods of extraordinary volatility and volume, customers using online or automated trading services may experience delays in accessing their account due to high Internet traffic or systems capacity limitations. Similarly, customers may experience delays in reaching telephone representatives. Please be aware that market conditions, including stock and bond prices, may change during these periods. Multiple channels are available through which you may place orders or access information, including the Web, and client services representatives, so you have alternative ways to do business. For more information on trading in fast-changing markets, contact your financial advisor.

The market data on Wealthscape Investor is prepared by independent information providers that are not affiliated with U.S. Bancorp Advisors. Neither U.S. Bancorp Advisors nor the information providers guarantee that the information supplied is accurate, complete or timely. These materials are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security.

As today's investors know, the U.S. securities markets experience periods of extraordinary trading volumes and price volatility. While these conditions affect most segments of the markets, they can be especially acute in certain securities, such as Internet-related stocks and initial public offerings (IPOs). In addition, investors in rapidly increasing numbers are taking advantage of technological developments that enable them to obtain market information and personal account information and to initiate securities transactions through electronic channels such as the Internet, telephone, personal computer and two-way paging devices. In light of these factors, it is essential for investors to understand what they are buying, the environment in which transactions take place and the level of associated risk involved.

U.S. Bancorp Advisors routes its order flow through our clearing firm, National Financial Services, who transmits your orders for execution to various exchanges or market centers, based on a number of factors. These factors include: size of order, trading characteristics of the security, favorable execution prices (including opportunity for price improvement), access to reliable market data, availability of efficient automated transaction processing and reduced execution costs through price concessions from the market centers. Market makers generally have their own procedures for handling orders (consistent with industry rules). In periods of heavy trading and price volatility, market makers may alter their procedures on individual stocks or groups of stocks. For example, they may execute orders manually rather than electronically or reduce the order size for which they guarantee execution. Changes in trading procedures and other circumstances may result in queues and backlogs of orders, both intraday and at the market opening, and corresponding delays in executions in the over-the-counter (OTC) and listed markets. In such cases, the execution price of a market order may be significantly higher or lower than the market price quoted or displayed at the time you entered your order. During such heavy trading periods, the quotes displayed on your computer screen as "real time" may not reflect the current trading price of the security. These conditions may also delay the transmission of order execution reports.

When you place a market order, U.S. Bancorp Advisors routes its order flow through our clearing firm, National Financial Services, who will transmit the order to a market center for full and prompt execution without regard to price. Therefore, in a volatile market, a market order may receive an execution price significantly different from the price of that security quoted when the order was entered. Furthermore, if you place a market order when the markets are closed (e.g., nights, weekends or holidays), your order will be executed at the prevailing price when the market next opens. There can be substantial changes between the most recent closing price of a security and the next opening or available price. If you have limited assets to allocate to a transaction, you should consider placing a limit order, whether during the trading day or after hours. For example, your ability to make additional contributions to your retirement account is subject to certain requirements. Therefore, transactions in retirement accounts are generally limited to the assets available in the account. If your transaction price exceeds your available account balance and you cannot otherwise pay for the transaction, U.S. Bancorp Advisors and/or our clearing firm will be required to liquidate all or a portion of the transaction or other account assets to the extent necessary to satisfy your financial obligation. Any losses or costs of such liquidation will be your responsibility.

Since market orders are executed as promptly as possible, it is generally not feasible to cancel a market order even if you have not received an execution report. Your request to attempt to cancel a market order will be handled on a best-efforts basis. Although you may receive an electronic notice or verbal confirmation that we have received your request for the attempted cancellation, do not assume that it means that the trade was canceled. U.S. Bancorp Advisors and/or our clearing firm are not responsible in cases where a replacement order is placed and executed prior to your receiving confirmation of the cancellation of a prior order. In addition, due to the queuing of orders, if a market order is entered near the close of trading, it may not be eligible to receive an execution. There may be additional fees for limit and stop orders.

A limit order will be executed only at a specific price or better. With a limit order to buy, the stock is eligible to be purchased at or below your limit price, but never above it. Similarly, with a limit order to sell, the stock is eligible to be sold at or above your limit price, but never below it. By placing a limit order instead of a market order, you protect yourself from buying the stock at a price higher or selling at a price lower than you had expected. However, in volatile markets, although your limit order receives price protection, due to priority of other orders, your order may not be executed even if the security is trading at your limit or better after your order is entered. Similarly, the security price may move away from your limit after your order is entered, in which case your order will not be executed. There may be additional fees for limit and stop orders.

Stop orders are available on certain securities to buy or sell after a stock has reached a certain specified price. A buy-stop order is placed above the current market price and automatically becomes a market order to buy when the "stop" price is reached. A sell-stop order is placed below the current market price and automatically becomes a market order to sell when the "stop" price is reached. As with any market order in volatile markets, the market order triggered at the stop price may receive an execution price significantly different from the quoted price of that security when the order is triggered. Market makers' procedures vary with respect to the handling of stop orders that have already hit the stop price. In addition, some market makers may not be willing to accept stop orders under certain market conditions, and this practice varies among market makers. When this occurs, U.S. Bancorp Advisors and/or our clearing firm may not accept certain stop orders. There may be additional fees for limit and stop orders.

Due to the extreme volatility sometimes associated with trading an IPO in the secondary market (particularly one that is trading at a price much higher than the initial offering price), a customer who places a market order for such a security is at risk of receiving an execution price that is substantially different from the market price at the time the order was placed. As discussed above, this risk can be reduced by appropriate use of limit orders. The placement of a limit order in such situations would address the risk of receiving an execution that is substantially away from the market price that was quoted at the time the order was placed. However, as with any limit order in a volatile market, due to order imbalances and fast markets, a limit order may not receive an execution, even if the security is trading at your limit or better after your order was entered.

Before trading securities in a margin account, you should understand some basic information about purchasing securities on margin and the risks involved with trading securities in a margin account. The following important information is helpful in understanding such risks, but you should also carefully review the margin terms in your account application and agreement. Please contact U.S. Bancorp Advisors regarding any questions or concerns you may have with your margin account.

When you purchase securities, you may pay for the securities in full or you may borrow all or part of the purchase price utilizing a margin account from our clearing firm, National Financial Services, LLC (NFS). If you choose to borrow funds from NFS, you will need to open a margin account with NFS through U.S. Bancorp Advisors. The securities in your accounts are NFS' collateral for the loan to you. If the securities in your account decline in value, so does the value of the collateral supporting your loan, and, as a result, NFS and U.S. Bancorp Advisors can take action, such as issue a margin call and/or sell securities or other assets in any of your accounts held with NFS through U.S. Bancorp Advisors, in order to maintain the required equity in the account. NFS may also take action to sell securities or other assets in your accounts held with NFS and with certain NFS affiliates.

It is important that you fully understand the risks involved in trading securities on margin. These risks include the following:

• You can lose more funds than you deposit in the margin account. A decline in the value of securities you purchased on margin may require you to provide additional funds or margin-eligible securities to NFS to avoid the forced sale of any securities or assets in your account(s).
• NFS and U.S. Bancorp Advisors can force the sale of securities or other assets in your account(s). If the equity in your account falls below the maintenance margin requirements or NFS' higher "house" requirements, NFS or U.S. Bancorp Advisors can sell the securities or other assets in any of your accounts held at NFS through U.S. Bancorp Advisors to cover the margin deficiency. NFS may also take action to sell securities or other assets in your accounts held with NFS and certain NFS affiliates. You also will be responsible for any shortfall in the account after such a sale, possibly including NFS' and/or U.S. Bancorp Advisors' costs related to collecting the shortfall.
• NFS and U.S. Bancorp Advisors can sell your securities or other assets without contacting you. Some investors mistakenly believe that a firm must contact them for a margin call to be valid and that the firm cannot liquidate securities or other assets in their accounts to meet the call unless the firm has contacted them first. This is not the case. Most firms will attempt to notify their customers of margin calls, but they are not required to do so. In addition, even if a firm has contacted a customer and provided a specific date by which the customer can meet a margin call, the firm can still take necessary steps to protect its financial interests prior to that date, including immediately selling the securities without notice to the customer.
• You are not entitled to choose which securities or other assets in your account(s) are liquidated or sold to meet a margin call. Because the securities and any other assets in your account(s) are collateral for the margin loan, NFS or U.S. Bancorp Advisors has the right to decide which assets to sell in order to protect its interests.
• NFS can increase its "house" maintenance margin requirements at any time and is not required to provide you advance notice. These changes in firm policy often take effect immediately and may result in the issuance of a maintenance margin call. Your failure to satisfy the call may cause NFS or U.S. Bancorp Advisors to liquidate or sell securities or any other assets in your account(s).
• You are not entitled to an extension of time on a margin call. While an extension of time to meet margin requirements may be available to customers under certain conditions, a customer does not have a right to the extension.
• Short selling is a margin account transaction and entails the same risks as described above. NFS or U.S. Bancorp Advisors can buy in your account securities to cover a short position without contacting you and may use all or any portion of the assets in your account to make such a purchase. If the assets in your account are not sufficient to cover the cost of such a purchase, you will be responsible for any shortfall, possibly including NFS' and/or U.S. Bancorp Advisors' costs in collecting the shortfall.
• In addition to market volatility, the use of bank card, checkwriting and similar features with your margin account may increase the risk of a margin call.

Margin credit extended by National Financial Services LLC, member NYSE, SIPC.

Please note that margin requirements may be raised during periods of market volatility. Factors considered in raising the margin requirement for a particular stock include: price fluctuations, market capitalization and volatility. Increasing the amount of equity that must be maintained in margin accounts protects you, U.S. Bancorp Advisors, and NFS, our clearing firm, in the event of a significant change in the value of the stock by decreasing the chance your account positions will be liquidated to meet a margin call. Some volatile securities may also be designated “not marginable” (100 percent of initial margin is required within three days of settlement) or “cash on hand” (100 percent of the purchase price must be in the account prior to execution of the trade).

USBA periodically accepts unsolicited purchases, sales or transfers in of equities, mutual funds, securities and other financial instruments. An unsolicited order will be identified as such on the confirmation provided by USBA. The customer accepts full responsibility for ensuring such transactions are appropriate for their account given their financial situation and investment experience and objectives.

USBA will only execute individual equity transactions for equities on U.S. exchanges or electronic stock markets. USBA prohibits transactions for individual equities on foreign exchanges (i.e., Global Depository Receipts, etc.).

Under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rule 606, broker-dealers are required to disclose statistical reports with specific information about their order routing practices for non-directed orders in NMS stocks and option contracts in NMS securities on a quarterly basis and make these available on a free public website. U.S. Bancorp Advisors (USBA) routes its order flow through our clearing firm, National Financial Services (NFS). NFS conducts regular and rigorous reviews of trading activity for the purpose of determining best execution. USBA does not receive payment for order flow. Furthermore, USBA does not have any material relationships with any of the venues identified within the reports.

Through USBA Client Services, our customers can request details of NMS stock and option non-directed orders in NMS securities to obtain the identity of the market centers to which their orders were routed for execution up to six months prior to their request, and the time of the transactions (for example, order execution time), resulting from such orders, if any. If you would like to request a report, please contact USBA Client Services at 800-634-1100.

U.S. Bancorp Advisors, LLC, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, has published its recent Statement of Financial Condition. Access information about U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bancorp Advisors. This statement of financial condition is provided in accordance with Rule 17a-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is updated here annually.

Click the following link for a copy of the U.S. Bancorp Advisors Commission & Fee Schedule, Disclosures, and Services Agreements (PDF),  which includes a copy of our Business Continuity Program. Alternatively, customers may request that U.S. Bancorp Advisors mail them a written copy by contacting 800-634-1100.

As of August 16, 2024, the following product providers have been approved at U.S. Bancorp Advisors LLC (“USBA”):

American Funds, Aristotle, Axio, Banner, BlackRock, BNP, Brighthouse Financial, Capitas Financial, Corebridge, Covr, Crump, Equitable, Federated, Fidelity Advisors, First Trust, Global Atlantic, Hartford, Highland Capital, HSBC, Invesco, Jackson National, John Hancock, JP Morgan, Lincoln Financial, Mainstay, MassMutual Ascend, MFS, Nationwide, New York Life, OneAmerica, Pacific Life, Paychex, PIMCO, Principal, Professional Life Advisor Network (PLAN), Protective Life, Prudential, Putnam, Securian Financial, Symetra, Transamerica, Wells Fargo, Western & Southern.

Certain product providers listed above have entered into a revenue sharing agreement with USBA where USBA receives up to 0.30 percent (or 30 basis points) of the total purchase amount from our sponsors (“Product Partners”).  In exchange, these Product Partners are provided enhanced access to our investment professionals and have greater opportunities to participate in marketing and training functions. It is important to note that our investment professionals do not receive any portion of the revenue and cost sharing arrangements, not all product providers approved by USBA make financial contributions to us, and these revenue-sharing payments are not made directly by the client, but are paid by a fund’s distributor, investment adviser, or other related entity.