A. Firm Information
Keystone Financial Services, LLC (“Keystone” or the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Keystone was organized as a Limited Liability Company (“LLC”)
under the laws of the State of Nebraska in December 2013 and became a registered investment advisor in June
2020. Keystone is owned and operated by Nancy J. Laug-Sholin (Owner), Justin Sholin (Partner), and Travis
Sholin (Partner).
This Disclosure Brochure provides information regarding the qualifications, business practices, and the advisory
services provided by Keystone. For information regarding this Disclosure Brochure, please contact Douglas
(“Blake”) B. Peterson, CEPA®, (Chief Compliance Officer) at (402)-392-1212.
B. Advisory Services Offered
Keystone offers investment advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates, charitable
organizations, businesses, and retirement plans. (each referred to as a “Client”).
The Advisor serves as a fiduciary to Clients, as defined under the applicable laws and regulations. As a
fiduciary, the Advisor upholds a duty of loyalty, fairness, and good faith towards each Client and seeks to
mitigate potential conflicts of interest. Keystone’s fiduciary commitment is further described in the Advisor’s
Code of Ethics. For more information regarding the Code of Ethics, please see Item 11 – Code of Ethics,
Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading.
Investment Management Services
Keystone provides customized investment advisory solutions for its Clients. This is achieved through continuous
personal Client contact and interaction while providing discretionary investment management and related
advisory services. Keystone works closely with each Client to identify their investment goals and objectives as
well as risk tolerance and financial situation in order to create a portfolio strategy. Keystone constructs
investment portfolios utilizing exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), low-cost, diversified mutual funds, individual
stocks, and/or individual bonds to achieve the Client’s investment goals. The Advisor may also utilize other
types of investments, as appropriate, to meet the needs of the Clients. The Advisor may retain certain
investments based on portfolio fit and/or tax considerations.
Keystone will select, recommend and/or retain mutual funds on a fund by fund basis. Due to specific custodial
and/or mutual fund company constraints, material tax consideration, and/or systematic investment plans,
Keystone will select, recommend, and/or retain a mutual fund share class that does not have trading costs but
does have higher internal expense ratios than institutional share classes. Keystone will seek to select the lowest
cost share class available that is in the best interest of each Client and will ensure the selection aligns with the
Client’s financial objectives and stated investment guidelines.
Keystone’s investment approach is primarily long-term focused, but the Advisor may buy, sell, or re-allocate
positions that have been held for less than one year to meet the objectives of the Client or due to market
conditions. Keystone will construct, implement, and monitor the portfolio to ensure it meets the goals, objectives,
circumstances, and risk tolerance agreed to by the Client. Each Client will have the opportunity to place
reasonable restrictions on the types of investments to be held in their respective portfolio, subject to acceptance
by the Advisor.
Keystone evaluates and selects investments for inclusion in Client portfolios only after applying its internal due
diligence process. Keystone may recommend, on occasion, redistributing investment allocations to diversify the
portfolio. Keystone may recommend specific positions to increase sector or asset class weightings. The Advisor
may recommend employing cash positions as a possible hedge against market movement. Keystone may
recommend selling positions for reasons that include but are not limited to harvesting capital gains or losses,
business or sector risk exposure to a specific security or class of securities, overvaluation or overweighting of
the position[s] in the portfolio, change in risk tolerance of the Client, generating cash to meet Client needs, or
any risk deemed unacceptable for the Client’s risk tolerance.
Retirement Accounts – When the Advisor provides investment advice to Clients regarding ERISA retirement
accounts or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), the Advisor is a fiduciary within the meaning of Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable,
which are laws governing retirement accounts. When deemed to be in the Client’s best interest, the Advisor will
provide investment advice to a Client regarding a distribution from an ERISA retirement account or to roll over
the assets to an IRA or recommend a similar transaction including rollovers from one ERISA sponsored Plan to
another, one IRA to another IRA, or from one type of account to another account (e.g., commission-based
account to fee-based account). Such a recommendation creates a conflict of interest if the Advisor earns a new
(or increases its current)
advisory fee as a result of the transaction. No client is under any obligation to roll over
a retirement account to an account managed by the Advisor.
At no time will Keystone accept or maintain custody of a Client’s funds or securities, except for the limited
authority as outlined in Item 15 – Custody. All Client assets will be managed within the designated account[s] at
the Custodian, pursuant to the terms of the advisory agreement. Please see Item 12 – Brokerage Practices.
Financial Planning Services
Keystone will typically provide a variety of financial planning and consulting services to Clients pursuant to a
written financial planning agreement. Services are offered in several areas of a Client’s financial situation,
depending on their goals and objectives.
Generally, such financial planning services involve preparing a formal financial plan or rendering a specific
financial consultation based on the Client’s financial goals and objectives. This planning or consulting may
encompass one or more areas of need, including but not limited to investment planning, retirement planning,
personal savings, education savings, insurance needs, and other areas of a Client’s financial situation.
A financial plan developed for, or financial consultation rendered to the Client will usually include general
recommendations for a course of activity or specific actions to be taken by the Client. For example,
recommendations may be made that the Client start or revise their investment programs, commence or alter
retirement savings, establish education savings and/or charitable giving programs.
Keystone may also refer Clients to an accountant, attorney, or other specialists, as appropriate for their unique
situation. For certain financial planning engagements, the Advisor will provide a written summary of the Client’s
financial situation, observations, and recommendations. For consulting or ad-hoc engagements, the Advisor
may not provide a written summary. Plans or consultations are typically completed within six (6) months of the
contract date, assuming all information and documents requested are provided promptly.
Financial planning and consulting recommendations pose a conflict between the interests of the Advisor and the
interests of the Client. For example, the Advisor has an incentive to recommend that Clients engage the Advisor
for investment management services or to increase the level of investment assets with the Advisor, as it would
increase the amount of advisory fees paid to the Advisor. Clients are not obligated to implement any
recommendations made by the Advisor or maintain an ongoing relationship with the Advisor. If the Client elects
to act on any of the recommendations made by the Advisor, the Client is under no obligation to implement the
transaction through the Advisor.
Retirement Plan Advisory Services
Keystone provides retirement plan advisory services on behalf of the retirement plans (each a “Plan”) and the
company (the “Plan Sponsor”). The Advisor’s retirement plan advisory services are designed to assist the Plan
Sponsor in meeting its fiduciary obligations to the Plan and its Plan Participants. Each engagement is
customized to the needs of the Plan and Plan Sponsor. Services generally include:
● Plan Participant Enrollment and Education Tracking
● Vendor Analysis
● Investment Oversight Services (ERISA 3(21))
● Ongoing Investment Recommendation and Assistance
These services are provided by Keystone serving in the capacity as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). In accordance with ERISA Section 408(b)(2), the Plan
Sponsor is provided with a written description of Keystone’s fiduciary status, the specific services to be
rendered, and all direct and indirect compensation the Advisor reasonably expects under the engagement.
C. Client Account Management
Prior to engaging Keystone to provide investment advisory services, each Client is required to enter into one or
more agreements with the Advisor that define the terms, conditions, authority, and responsibilities of the Advisor
and the Client.
These services may include:
• Establishing an Investment Strategy – Keystone, in connection with the Client, will develop a strategy
that seeks to achieve the Client’s goals and objectives.
• Asset Allocation – Keystone will develop a strategic asset allocation that is targeted to meet the
investment objectives, time horizon, financial situation, and tolerance for risk for each Client.
• Portfolio Construction – Keystone will develop a portfolio for the Client that is intended to meet the
stated goals and objectives of the Client.
• Investment Management and Supervision – Keystone will provide investment management and ongoing
oversight of the Client’s investment portfolio.
D. Wrap Fee Programs
Keystone does not manage or place Client assets into a wrap fee program. Investment management services
are provided directly by Keystone.
E. Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, Keystone manages $164,882,666 in Client assets, all of which are managed on a
discretionary basis. Clients may request more current information at any time by contacting the Advisor.