Mason & Associates

Firm Description

Mason & Associates, Inc. (“Mason & Associates” or the “Firm”) was founded in 2006. Mason & Associates provides personalized confidential financial planning and investment management to individuals, pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and small businesses. Advice is provided through consultation with the client and may include: determination of financial objectives, identification of financial problems, cash flow management, tax planning, insurance review, investment management, education funding, retirement planning, and estate planning. Mason & Associates is strictly a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm. The firm does not sell annuities, insurance, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, limited partnerships, or other commissioned products. The firm is affiliated with an insurance agency, Mason Insurance Services, Inc. Advisors of Mason and Associates may offer insurance products and services through Mason & Associates Insurance Services, LLC. Mason & Associates does not act as a custodian of client assets. The client always maintains asset control. A written evaluation of each client's initial situation is provided to the client, often in the form of a net worth statement. Periodic reviews are also communicated to provide reminders of the specific courses of action that need to be taken. More frequent reviews occur but are not necessarily communicated to the client unless immediate changes are recommended. Other professionals (e.g., lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, etc.) are engaged directly by the client on an as-needed basis. Conflicts of interest will be disclosed to the client in the unlikely event they should occur. The initial meeting, which may be by telephone, is free of charge and is considered an exploratory interview to determine the extent to which financial planning and investment management may be beneficial to the client.

Principal Owners

Mason and Associates is owned by Charles W. Mason and Associates, Inc. Charles W. Mason is a 20% stockholder. Brent Mason is a 60% stockholder. Sun Mi (“Anne”) Shim is a 20% stockholder.

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Types of Advisory Services Mason & Associates, Inc. provides Investment Supervisory Services, also known as Portfolio Management Services. An initial interview and data gathering questionnaire may be used to determine the client's financial circumstances and investment objectives and to give the client the opportunity to impose reasonable restrictions on the management of the account. Clients may leave standing instructions with the advisory affiliate to refrain from investing in securities or types of securities, or invest in limited amounts of securities. On more than an occasional basis, Mason & Associates furnishes advice to clients on matters not involving securities, such as financial planning matters, taxation issues, and trust services that often include estate planning. Portfolio Management: As part of TMW's Portfolio Management service, a portfolio is created, generally consisting of individual stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds ("ETFs"), options, mutual funds and other public and private securities or investments. The client's individual investment strategy is tailored to their specific needs and may include some or all the previously mentioned securities. Portfolios will be designed to meet a particular investment goal, determined to be suitable for the client's circumstances. Once the appropriate portfolio has been determined, portfolios are continuously and regularly monitored, and if necessary, rebalanced based upon the client's individual needs, stated goals and objectives. Third Party Money Manager Services ("TPMM”) Our firm utilizes the sub-advisory services of various third-party investment advisory firms to aid in the implementation of an investment portfolio designed by our firm. Before selecting a firm, our firm will ensure that the chosen party is properly licensed or registered. Our firm will not offer advice on any specific securities or other investments in connection with this service. We will provide initial due diligence on third-party money managers and ongoing reviews of their management of client accounts. To assist in the selection of a third-party money manager, our firm will gather client information pertaining to financial situation, investment objectives, and reasonable restrictions to be imposed upon the management of the account. Managed Account Marketplace ("Marketplace') Moreover, our firm participates in the Schwab Connection Marketplace program for certain larger clients. The services provided are "unbundled," meaning fees for Portfolio Management and fees for trading are charged separately, in addition to the fees charged by our firm. The fees for Portfolio Management with the - 2Mason & Associates, Inc.

money management firm are negotiated with the individual manager by our firm on behalf of the Client and are based on the total assets with that manager included in the program and the type of management services (equity or fixed income) provided. Execution of security transactions may be paid in one of two ways: (1) A percentage of assets based on pricing schedules set by Schwab that are determined by trade volume for an individual money manager; or (2) On a transaction basis, where each transaction is charged a commission as negotiated with Schwab It may be possible for a client to use Marketplace and receive the same research services and benefits (subject to internal restrictions identified earlier) for a lower fee than available under the Select program. The bundled fees charged for the Select program may be higher than the "unbundled fees" charged under Marketplace because of the initial and ongoing due diligence provided by the Schwab Center for Financial Research and pricing set by the money management firms for each program. Our firm will periodically review all third-party money managers reports in all programs provided to the client at least annually. Our firm will contact clients from time to time in order to review their financial situation and objectives; communicate information to third-party money managers as warranted; and, assist the client in understanding and evaluating the services provided by the third­ party money manager. Clients will be expected to notify our firm of any changes in their financial situation, investment objectives, or account restrictions that could affect their financial standing. As of December 31, 2025, Mason & Associates managed approximately $708 million in assets on a discretionary basis and approximately $121 million in assets on a non-discretionary basis for approximately 698 clients.

Tailored Relationships

The goals and objectives for each client are documented in our client relationship management system. Investment policy statements are created that reflect the stated goals and objective. Clients may impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or types of securities. Agreements may not be assigned without client consent.

Types of Agreements

The following agreements define the typical client relationships.

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Financial Planning Agreement

A financial plan is designed to help the client with all aspects of financial planning without ongoing investment management after the financial plan is completed. The financial plan may include, but is not limited to: a net worth statement; a cash flow statement; a review of investment accounts, including reviewing asset allocation and providing repositioning recommendations; strategic tax planning; a review of retirement accounts and plans including recommendations; a review of insurance policies and recommendations for changes, if necessary; one or more retirement scenarios; estate planning review and recommendations; and education planning with funding recommendations. Detailed investment advice and specific recommendations are provided as part of a financial plan. Implementation of the recommendations is at the discretion of the client. The fee for a financial plan is predicated upon the facts known at the start of the engagement. The minimum fee is $1,000 and is negotiable. Since financial planning is a discovery process, situations occur wherein the client is unaware of certain financial exposures or predicaments. The financial planning fee may be waived if the client decides to have Mason and Associates manage their investment portfolio. In the event that the client’s situation is substantially different than disclosed at the initial meeting, a revised fee will be provided for mutual agreement. The client must approve the change of scope in advance of the additional work being performed when a fee increase is necessary. After delivery of a financial plan, future face-to-face meetings may be scheduled as necessary for up to one month. Follow-on implementation work is billed separately at the rate of $350 per hour.

Investment Management Agreement

An Investment Management Agreement may be executed when clients decide that they wish Mason & Associates to implement their financial plan or to otherwise manage their investments. Not all such engagements will start with a comprehensive financial plan. Annual investment management fees are aggregated for all accounts for a single client relationship and/or household, per the following schedule: Total Asset Range

Fee Rate

First $1,000,000

1.25%

Next $1,000,001 to $2,000,000

1.15 %

Next $2,000,001 to $5,000,000

1.00 %

Over $5,000,001

Negotiable % - 4-

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Management fees are negotiable and may vary, depending on the complexity of the client’s financial situation. For certain private illiquid investments, Mason may receive a finder’s fee. In this case, the client will not be charged a management fee on the assets invested in that investment.

Hourly Planning Engagements

Mason & Associates provides hourly planning services for clients who need advice on a limited scope of work. The hourly rate for limited scope engagements is $350/hour.

Termination of Agreement

A client may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by notifying Mason & Associates in writing and paying the rate for the time spent on the investment advisory engagement prior to notification of termination. If the client made an advanced payment, Mason & Associates will refund any unearned portion of the advanced payment. Mason & Associates may terminate any of the aforementioned agreements at any time by notifying the client in writing. If the client made an advanced payment, Mason & Associates will refund any unearned portion of the advanced payment within 30 days.

Description

Mason & Associates bases its fees on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees (not including subscription fees).

Fee Billing

Investment management fees are charged quarterly, in arrears, meaning that we charge you on the last day of the month prior to the three-month billing period. Also, fees may be adjusted, if clients make deposits or withdrawals of cash or securities in excess of $25,000. Clients are notified of the amount of their fee through statements provided by their custodian. Payment in full is expected upon billing notice presentation. Fees are typically deducted from the clients account. Signing the management agreement constitutes your agreement to allow Mason & Associates to debit your account for management fees. Mason & Associates, in its sole discretion, may waive its minimum fee and/or charge a lesser investment advisory fee based upon certain criteria such as complexity of the financial situation, accounts of relatives, etc. - 5-

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Clients agree that the Mason & Associates may amend the advisory fees described in this section in its discretion, but only on thirty (30) days’ advance written notice to client. Client’s consent to any change in fees may be obtained by means of a negative consent. Fees for financial plans are billed in arrears, upon completion of the financial plan.

Other Fees

In addition to Mason & Associates’ advisory fees charged to clients, when Third Party Money Manager Services or Managed Account Marketplace services are utilized for client accounts, clients will incur additional advisory fees charged by these unaffiliated third party money management services. These unaffiliated advisory fees will vary and is set by each third party money manager, but generally will not exceed 1.00% annually. These fees may be charged in advance or in arrears, quarterly or monthly, and may be based on quarter end balances or actual daily balances. Mason & Associates will provide clients with details and information about these unaffiliated third party money management services and fees via materials created and provided by the respective third party managers such ADV disclosure brochures, account opening documents, and/or other materials provided by the third party money managers. If you have not received the above mentioned documents or have any questions at all, please contact us immediately for the information. Client are encouraged to review and understand the services and fees charged by unaffiliated third party money managers utilized for the management of their accounts. These unaffiliated advisory fees are separate and in addition to the advisory fees charged by Mason & Associates. Mason & Associates does not receive any portion of these unaffiliated advisory fees. Custodians may charge transaction fees on purchases or sales of certain mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. In addition, there are fees for other transactions such as wiring funds, buying municipal bonds, holding an alternative investment, etc. A schedule of these fees is provided with the management agreement.

Expense Ratios

Mutual funds generally charge a management fee for their services as investment managers. The management fee is called an expense ratio. These fees are in addition to the fees paid by you to Mason & Associates. Performance figures quoted by mutual fund companies in various publications are generally quoted after their fees have been deducted.

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Past Due Accounts and Termination of Agreement

Mason & Associates reserves the right to stop work on any account that is more than 30 days overdue in the payment of fees. In addition, Mason & Associates reserves the right to terminate any financial planning engagement where a client has willfully concealed or has refused to provide pertinent information about financial situations when necessary and appropriate, in our judgment, to provide proper financial advice. Any unused portion of fees collected in advance will be refunded within 30 days.

Rollover Recommendations

As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that you roll assets from your employer’s retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 457, or ERISA 403(b) account (collectively, a “Plan Account”), to an individual retirement account, such as a SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, Traditional IRA, or Roth IRA (collectively, an “IRA Account”) that we will manage on your behalf. We may also recommend rollovers from IRA Accounts to Plan Accounts, from Plan Accounts to Plan Accounts, and from IRA Accounts to IRA Accounts. When we provide any of the foregoing rollover recommendations we are acting as fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the ERISA and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our management, we will charge you an asset-based fee as set forth in the advisory agreement you executed with our firm. This creates a conflict of interest because it creates a financial incentive for our firm to recommend the rollover to you (i.e., receipt of additional fee-based compensation). You are under no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the rollover. Moreover, if you do complete the rollover, you are under no obligation to have the assets in an IRA managed by our firm. Due to the foregoing conflict of interest, when we make rollover recommendations, we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interests and not put our interests ahead of yours. Under this special rule’s provisions, we must:  meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent advice);  never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal advice);  avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;  follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best interests;  charge no more than a reasonable fee for our services; and  give you basic information about conflicts of interest. - 7Mason & Associates, Inc.

Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in their company plan. Also, current employees can sometimes move assets out of their company plan before they retire or change jobs. In determining whether to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options are available, you should consider the costs and benefits of a rollover. Note that an employee will typically have four options in this situation: 1. leaving the funds in your employer’s (former employer’s) plan; 2. moving the funds to a new employer’s retirement plan; 3. cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from the plan; or 4. rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account. Each of these options has positives and negatives. Because of that, along with the importance of understanding the differences between these types of accounts, we will provide you with a written explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of both account types and the basis for our belief that the rollover transaction we recommend is in your best interests. As an alternative to providing you with a rollover recommendation, we may instead take an entirely educational approach in accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Interpretive Bulletin 96-1. Under this approach, our role will be limited only to providing you with general educational materials regarding the pros and cons of rollover transactions. We may make no recommendation to you regarding the prospective rollover of your assets and you are advised to speak with your trusted tax and legal advisors with respect to rollover decisions. As part of this educational approach, we will provide you with materials discussing some or all of the following topics: the general pros and cons of rollover transactions; the benefits of retirement plan participation; the impact of pre-retirement withdrawals on retirement income; the investment options available inside your Plan Account; and high level discussion of general investment concepts (e.g., risk versus return, the benefits of diversification and asset allocation, historical returns of certain asset classes, etc.). We may also provide you with questionnaires and/or interactive investment materials that may provide a means for you to independently determine your future retirement income needs and to assess the impact of different asset allocations on your retirement income. You will make the final rollover decision.

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of Loss Methods of Analysis

The main sources of information include financial newspapers and magazines, inspections of corporate activities, research materials prepared by others, corporate rating services, annual reports, prospectuses, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and company press releases. Other sources of information that Mason & Associates may use include Morningstar, Charles Schwab & Company's "SchwabLink" service and the information publicly available on the Internet. Cyclical Analysis: Statistical analysis of specific events occurring at a sufficient number of relatively predictable intervals that can be forecasted into the future. Cyclical analysis asserts that cyclical forces drive price movements in the financial markets. Risks include that cycles may invert or disappear and there is no expectation that this type of analysis will pinpoint turning points, instead be used in conjunction with other methods of analysis. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing - Environmental, social, and governance criteria are a set of standards for a company's operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. Environmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature and its ability to sustain operations over the macro-scale. Environmental criteria may include a company's energy use, waste, pollution, natural resource conservation, and treatment of animals. The criteria can also be used in evaluating any environmental risks a company might face and how the company is managing those risks. Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Does it work with suppliers that hold the same values as it claims to hold? Does the company donate a percentage of its profits to the local community or encourage employees to perform volunteer work there? Do the company's working conditions show high regard for its employees' health and safety? Are other stakeholders' interests taken into account? Governance specifically concerns a company's leadership, executive pay, audits internal controls, and shareholder rights. Investors may want to know that a company uses accurate and transparent accounting methods and that stockholders are allowed to vote on important issues. They may also want assurances that companies avoid conflicts of interest in their choice of board - 10 Mason & Associates, Inc.

members, don't use political contributions to obtain unduly favorable treatment and, of course, don't engage in illegal practices. Risks associated with ESG Investing include:

Lack of Standardization Risk: Variability and imprecision of industry ESG definitions and terms can create confusion among investors if investment advisers and funds have not clearly and consistently articulated how they define ESG and how they use ESG-related terms, especially when offering products or services to retail investors. Additionally, actual portfolio management practices of investment advisers and funds may not be consistent with their disclosed ESG investing processes or investment goals.

Implementation Risk: Actual implementation of ESG investment practices may result in:

o

The actual implementation practices differing from client disclosures in required documents (e.g., Form ADV Part 2A) and other client/investorfacing documents (e.g., advisory agreements, offering materials, responses to requests for proposals, and due diligence questionnaires). For example, a firm that claims adherence to global ESG frameworks may lack adherence to these standards during their day-to-day trading activities.

o

A firm holding funds that are predominated by issuers with low ESG scores.

o

A firm not having adequate controls around implementation and monitoring of clients' negative screens (e.g., prohibitions on investments in certain industries, such as alcohol, tobacco, or firearms), especially if the directives were ill-defined, vague, or inconsistent.

o

A firm not having adequate systems to consistently and reasonably track and update clients' negative screens leading to the risk that prohibited securities could be included in client portfolios.

o

Client preferences to favor certain industries or issuers not being effectuated because of challenges with implementation and monitoring, despite contrary marketing claims touting processes for implementing clients' positive screens.

Proxy Voting Risk: Inconsistencies between public ESG-related proxy voting claims and internal proxy voting policies and practices may occur such as public statements that ESG­ related proxy proposals would be independently evaluated on a case-by-case basis to maximize value, while internal guidelines generally do not provide for such case-by-case analysis. While Mason & Associates does not vote proxies for clients, third party money managers and managers of investment vehicles used to invest clients’ assets may be voting their respective proxies. - 11 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Disclosure Risk: Lack of policies and procedures to ensure firms obtained reasonable support for ESG-related marketing claims, and inadequate policies and procedures regarding oversight of ESG-focused sub-advisers is also a risk. Firms have also had difficulties in substantiating adherence to stated investment processes, such as supporting claims made to clients that each fund investment had received a high score for each separate component of ESG (i.e., environmental, social, and governance), when relying instead on composite ESG scores provided by a sub-adviser.

Fundamental Analysis: The analysis of a business's financial statements (usually to analyze the business's assets, liabilities, and earnings), health, and its competitors and markets. When analyzing a stock, futures contract, or currency using fundamental analysis there are two basic approaches one can use: bottomup analysis and top-down analysis. The terms are used to distinguish such analysis from other types of investment analysis, such as quantitative and technical. Fundamental analysis is performed on historical and present data, but with the goal of making financial forecasts. There are several possible objectives: (a) to conduct a company stock valuation and predict its probable price evolution; (b) to make a projection on its business performance; (c) to evaluate its management and make internal business decisions; (d) and/or to calculate its credit risk.; and (e) to find out the intrinsic value of the share. When the objective of the analysis is to determine what stock to buy and at what price, there are two basic methodologies investors rely upon: (a) Fundamental analysis maintains that markets may misprice a security in the short run but that the "correct" price will eventually be reached. Profits can be made by purchasing the mispriced security and then waiting for the market to recognize its "mistake" and reprice the security.; and (b) Technical analysis maintains that all information is reflected already in the price of a security. Technical analysts analyze trends and believe that sentiment changes predate and predict trend changes. Investors' emotional responses to price movements lead to recognizable price chart patterns. Technical analysts also analyze historical trends to predict future price movement. Investors can use one or both of these different but complementary methods for stock picking. This presents a potential risk, as the price of a security can move up or down along with the overall market regardless of the economic and financial factors considered in evaluating the stock. Modern Portfolio Theory ("MPT"): A mathematical framework for assembling a portfolio of assets such that the expected return is maximized for a given level of risk, defined as variance. Its key insight is that an asset's risk and return should not be assessed by itself, but by how it contributes to a portfolio's overall risk and return. MPT assumes that investors are risk averse, meaning that given two portfolios that offer the same expected return, investors will prefer the less risky one. Thus, an investor will take on increased risk only if compensated by higher expected returns. Conversely, an investor who wants higher expected returns - 12 Mason & Associates, Inc.

must accept more risk. The exact trade-off will be the same for all investors, but different investors will evaluate the trade-off differently based on individual risk aversion characteristics. The implication is that a rational investor will not invest in a portfolio if a second portfolio exists with a more favorable risk-expected return profile - i.e., if for that level of risk an alternative portfolio exists that has better expected returns. The risk, return, and correlation measures used by MPT are based on expected values, which means that they are mathematical statements about the future (the expected value of returns is explicit in the above equations, and implicit in the definitions of variance and covariance). In practice, investors must substitute predictions based on historical measurements of asset return and volatility for these values in the equations. Very often such expected values fail to take account of new circumstances that did not exist when the historical data were generated. Mathematical risk measurements are also useful only to the degree that they reflect investors' true concerns-there is no point minimizing a variable that nobody cares about in practice. MPT uses the mathematical concept of variance to quantify risk, and this might be justified under the assumption of elliptically distributed returns such as normally distributed returns, but for general return distributions other risk measures (like coherent risk measures) might better reflect investors' true preferences. Third-Party Money Manager Analysis: The analysis of the experience, investment philosophies, and past performance of independent third-party investment managers in an attempt to determine if that manager has demonstrated an ability to invest over a period of time and in different economic conditions. Analysis is completed by monitoring the manager's underlying holdings, strategies, concentrations and leverage as part of our overall periodic risk assessment. Additionally, as part of the due-diligence process, the manager's compliance and business enterprise risks are surveyed and reviewed. A risk of investing with a third-party manager who has been successful in the past is that they may not be able to replicate that success in the future. In addition, as our firm does not control the underlying investments in a third-party manager's portfolio, there is also a risk that a manager may deviate from the stated investment mandate or strategy of the portfolio, making it a less suitable investment for our clients. Moreover, as our firm does not control the manager's daily business and compliance operations, our firm may be unaware of the lack of internal controls necessary to prevent business, regulatory or reputational deficiencies. Quantitative Analysis: The use of models, or algorithms, to evaluate assets for investment. The process usually consists of searching vast databases for patterns, such as correlations among liquid assets or price-movement patterns (trend following or mean reversion). The resulting strategies may involve highfrequency trading. The results of the analysis are taken into consideration in the - 13 Mason & Associates, Inc.

decision to buy or sell securities and in the management of portfolio characteristics. A risk in using quantitative analysis is that the methods or models used may be based on assumptions that prove to be incorrect.

Investment Strategies

Read the rest in the brochure

Description

Mason & Associates generally provides investment advice to individuals, pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations or business entities. Client relationships vary in scope and length of service.

Account Minimums

The firm accepts new clients with a minimum of $1,000,000 of assets under management, which equates to an annual fee of $12,500.00. The assets may be divided among several accounts. When an account falls below $100,000 in value, a minimum annual fee may be charged. Depending upon circumstances, Mason & Associates may sign an Hourly Agreement with the client if assets have diminished significantly below $100,000. Mason & Associates has the discretion to waive the account minimum. Accounts below the minimum may be established when the client and the advisor anticipate the client will add additional funds to the accounts bringing the total to $500,000 within a reasonable time. Other exceptions will apply to employees of Mason & Associates and their relatives, or relatives of existing clients. Clients receiving ongoing Portfolio Management services may be assessed a minimum annual fee. Clients with assets below the minimum account size may pay a higher percentage rate on their annual fees than the fees paid by clients with greater assets under management.

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Sharing of Capital Gains

Fees are not based on a share of the capital gains or capital appreciation of managed securities. Mason & Associates does not use a performance-based fee structure because of the potential conflict of interest. Performance-based compensation may create an incentive for the adviser to recommend an investment that may carry a higher degree of risk to the client.

Financial Industry Activities

Some advisory affiliates of Mason & Associates are licensed insurance agents and, in this capacity, sell insurance products to advisory clients for which they may also receive a commission. This additional compensation creates a conflict of interest. However, at all times, Mason & Associates and its advisory affiliates will make recommendations that are in clients’ best interests consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities. Additionally, clients are under no obligation to purchase insurance products through any Mason & Associates licensed insurance agents. Advisory affiliates of Mason & Associates will spend approximately 90% of their time on investment advisory services, and 10% on insurance services.

Affiliations Mason & Associates is affiliated with the Mason Avant Manager, LLC. through common control and ownership. Brent Mason and Thomas Mason are the individuals who own and operate Mason Avant Manager, LLC (“Manager”). Mason Avant Manager, LLC is the Manager of the Mason Avant Fund, LLC (“Company”). Mason Avant Fund, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company selling membership interests through a private placement offering. Investors who purchase interests in the Company will be considered Members of the Company. The Company will use funds raised through its offering to purchase interests in the Avant Natural Resources Fund II LP (“Avant LP”), a Delaware limited partnership. Mason & Associates and Manager are not affiliated with Avant LP. As Manager of the Company, Mason Avant Manager, LLC will not receive any direct compensation associated with the management and operation of the Company. However, Manager will be reimbursed for expenditures related to the establishment of the Company. This reimbursement compensation creates a financial incentive for Mason & Associates to recommend investment in the Company which in turn creates a conflict of interest. Brent Mason and Thomas Mason as individuals have also invested in the Company which creates a financial incentive and a vested interest in success of this investment. These self-interests create a conflict of interest to recommend investment in the Company to advisory clients, rather than making such recommendations based solely on a client’s best interests. Mason & Associates and its advisory affiliates mitigate the above conflicts through disclosure and commitment to its fiduciary capacity to at all times act in clients’ best interest. Clients of Mason & Associates are under no obligation to purchase membership interests in the Company. Mason & Associates has arrangements that are material to its advisory business or its clients with a related company which is an insurance agency. - 23 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Additionally, an executive officer of Mason & Associates owns a separate entity, TDM Consulting, Inc. which provides sourcing, underwriting, and due diligence related services to an unaffiliated manager of private placement investments. TDM Consulting, Inc will receive separate compensation for providing these services. When Mason & Associates or its advisory affiliates recommend purchase of these private placement investments, receipt of this additional compensation by an affiliate of Mason & Associates creates a conflict of interest. That said, at all times Mason & Associates and its advisory affiliates will act in your best interest and act as a fiduciary in providing advisory recommendations and services to you. Clients should note that they are under no obligation to purchase any recommended private placement investments.

Transactions and Personal Trading Code of Ethics

The employees of Mason & Associates have adopted a Code of Ethics that is available for review by clients and prospective clients upon request. To obtain a copy, please contact info@masonlifeplanning.com

Participation or Interest in Client Transactions

Mason & Associates and its employees may buy or sell securities that are also held by clients. Employees may not trade their own securities ahead of client trades. Employees comply with the provisions of the Mason & Associates Compliance Manual.

Personal Trading

The Chief Compliance Officer of the firm is responsible for ensuring that reviews of the personal trading of all of the firm’s advisory affiliates is performed.

Selecting Brokerage Firms

Mason & Associates does not have any affiliation with product sales firms or broker/dealers. We also do not maintain custody of your assets although we may be deemed to have custody if you give us authority to withdraw assets from your account (see the Custody Section below). Specific custodian recommendations are made to Clients based on their need for such services. Mason & Associates recommends custodians based on the proven integrity and - 24 Mason & Associates, Inc.

financial responsibility of the firm and the best execution of orders at reasonable transaction fees. Currently, Mason & Associates require that our clients use a qualified custodian that Mason & Associates has a relationship with. Mason & Associates does not receive fees or commissions from any arrangements with qualified custodians. The qualified custodian(s) will hold your assets in a brokerage account and buy and sell securities when we instruct them to. While we require that you use a qualified custodian that we have a relationship with, you will decide whether to do so and will open your account with the qualified custodian by entering into an account agreement directly with them. We do not open the account for you, although we may assist you in doing so. If you do not wish to place your assets with a qualified custodian that we have a relationship with, then we cannot manage your account.

Best Execution

Mason & Associates reviews the execution of trades at the qualified custodians as they occur, usually on the day after execution. Transaction fees charged by qualified custodians are also reviewed. Mason & Associates does not receive any portion of the transaction fees. Mason & Associates has found that transactions at the qualified custodians we work with are executed timely and that the qualified custodians’ transaction costs are competitive. A schedule of transaction costs can be found in the qualified custodians’ account opening documents and other materials that they provide. We also provided information about these to our clients as an addendum to our Investment Management Agreement. We also review best execution results at the qualified custodians that we have relationships with at least annually.

Soft Dollars

Mason & Associates does not receive soft dollars or any form of payment for order flow.

Order Aggregation

While individual client advice is provided each account, on occasion, Mason & Associates aggregates trades for clients. Should Mason & Associates execute a block trade, each client will receive an average price based on the total number of shares executed and the price per share. No advisory account within the block trade will be favored over any other advisory account, and thus, each account will participate in an aggregated order at the average share price and receive the same commission rate. The aggregation is generally expected to slightly reduce the costs of execution. Mason & Associates will not aggregate a client's order if in a particular instance Mason & Associates believes that aggregation would not be in the client’s best interests. Block trades submitted for clients’ transactions - 25 Mason & Associates, Inc.

may also include the trades for employees of Mason & Associates in compliance with the firm’s Code of Ethics.

Referrals

Mason & Associates has been fortunate to receive many client referrals over the years. The referrals come from current clients, estate planning attorneys, accountants, employees, personal friends of employees and other similar sources. The firm currently has one solicitor to provides us with referrals of prospective clients. For additional information regarding this, please refer to the Use of Solicitors section below. Mason & Associates does not accept referral fees or any form of remuneration from other professionals when a prospect or client is referred to them.

Other Compensation

Mason & Associates receives an economic benefit from qualified custodians in the form of the support products and services it makes available to us and other - 26 Mason & Associates, Inc.

independent investment advisors whose clients maintain their accounts at qualified custodians. In addition, qualified custodians has also agreed to pay for certain products and services for which we would otherwise have to pay once the value of our clients’ assets in accounts at qualified custodians reaches a certain amount. As a result, we have an incentive to recommend/require clients to use qualified custodians. This incentive creates a conflict of interest which we must disclose as a part of our fiduciary duty. Despite this incentive, our fiduciary duty and Code of Ethics require us and our advisory affiliates to put the interest of our clients first at all times.

Use of Solicitors Solicitors

Mason & Associates will compensate solicitors, and the following rules will be abided by: All solicitors will represent to us that they are not subject to any orders from the SEC or have been convicted of any of the misconduct or crimes so specified by the SEC. All solicitors will execute a Solicitor/Adviser Agreement with us. We will make a bona fide effort to ascertain that the solicitor has complied with the Solicitor/Adviser Agreement. Any partner, officer, director, or employee who is compensated as a solicitor will disclose this status and/or any affiliation to the client at the time of the solicitation. Solicitors will deliver to the client at the time of the solicitation; the Form ADV Part 2A, the Compensation Disclosure Document ("Solicitor/Client Agreement"), and the Client Acknowledgement. The Client Acknowledgement will be returned to us for our files. We will comply with any state laws regarding the use of solicitors and any registration requirements that may be applicable.

Legal and Disciplinary

The firm and its employees have not been involved in legal or disciplinary events related to past or present investment clients. - 22 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Periodic Reviews

Account reviews are performed at least quarterly by our Investment Team. Account reviews are performed more frequently when market conditions dictate.

Review Triggers

Other conditions that may trigger a review are changes in the tax laws, new investment information, and changes in a client's own situation. Accounts are reviewed by our Investment Committee periodically to ensure that the investments are in accordance with the client’s stated investment objectives.

Regular Reports

Clients receive periodic communications in the form of reports or investment reviews on a frequency predetermined with each Client (i.e. annually, semiannually, or quarterly). The written updates may include a net worth statement, portfolio statement and a summary of objectives and progress towards meeting those objectives. Clients also receive regular statements from their custodians. These statements will be provided at least quarterly and often monthly, whenever there is activity in the client’s account.

Under government regulations, we are deemed to have custody of your assets if, for example, you authorize us to instruct qualified custodians to deduct our advisory fees directly from your account or if you grant us authority to move your money to another person’s account. However, qualified custodians maintain actual custody of your accounts and assets.

- 27 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Account Statements

All assets are held at qualified custodians or sometimes other qualified custodians. The custodians will provide regular account statements directly to clients at their address of record. Most custodians, including the qualified custodians we recommend, will provide account statements not less frequently than quarterly. You should carefully review those account statements promptly when you receive them.

Performance Reports

Clients are urged to compare the account statements received directly from their custodians to the performance report statements provided by Mason & Associates. If there is a discrepancy between the firm’s performance reports and the custodial statements, clients are requested to immediately contact us at (888)-988-401K. The client should at all times assume that clearing firm statements are correct unless otherwise informed by the clearing firm.

Discretionary Authority for Trading

Mason & Associates generally obtains discretionary authority to manage securities accounts on behalf of clients. Mason & Associates has the authority to determine, without obtaining specific client consent, the securities to be bought or sold, and the amount of the securities to be bought or sold in the client’s account. If a client does not wish to allow Mason to use discretion when placing trades, they may specify this in writing as part of the client agreement. In accounts where discretionary authority has not been granted, Mason & Associates consults with the client prior to executing trades in their accounts. Mason & Associates does not receive any portion of the transaction fees or commissions paid by the client to the custodian.

Proxy Votes

Mason & Associates does not vote proxies on securities. Clients are expected to vote their own proxies or designate an outside third party to do so for them.

- 28 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Financial Condition

Mason & Associates does not have any financial impairment that will preclude the firm from meeting contractual commitments to clients. Mason & Associates is not required to provide a balance sheet because we do not serve as a custodian for client funds or securities, and do not require prepayment of fees of more than $1,200 per client, and six months or more in advance.

Business Continuity Plan General

Mason & Associates has a Business Continuity Plan in place that provides detailed steps to mitigate and recover from the loss of office space, communications, services or key people.

Disasters

The Business Continuity Plan covers natural disasters such as snow storms, hurricanes, tornados, and flooding. The Plan covers man-made disasters such as loss of electrical power, loss of water pressure, fire, bomb threat, nuclear emergency, chemical event, biological event, T-1 communications line outage, Internet outage, railway accident and aircraft accident. Electronic files are backed up daily and archived offsite.

Alternate Offices

Alternate offices are identified to support ongoing operations in the event the main office is unavailable. It is our intention to contact all clients within five days of a disaster that dictates moving our office to an alternate location.

Loss of Key Personnel

Mason & Associates has a sufficient number of qualified employees so that services to clients will not be interrupted, in the event of serious disability or death of Brent Mason.

Information Security Program Information Security

Mason & Associates maintains an information security program to reduce the risk that your personal and confidential information may be breached. - 29 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Privacy Notice

Mason & Associates values you as a customer and respects your right to privacy. We recognize that you have placed your trust in us, and we take the responsibility to preserve that trust. Mason pledges to work to protect the security of your confidential information. One way we endeavor to keep your trust is to properly handle that personal information. We pledge to you that:

Protection of your privacy is a top priority;

Your account information and all documents you provide to us are protected in a secure environment;

We only collect personal information in order to accomplish our customer commitments to you; and

Information about you is only used and shared in limited and controlled ways.,

Mason maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to ensure that personal information we have about you is treated responsibly, and in accordance with our privacy policy. We restrict access to information about you only to those representatives and employees who need to know that information in order to provide products and services to you or to conduct Mason’s business. Advisory Affiliates or employees who have access to the information may only use it for legitimate business purposes. In addition, we take steps to safeguard information about you in accordance with applicable data security regulations. We collect personal information about you from these sources:

Mason’s Account Forms, applications for the purchase of various products, and other forms;

Product vendors, as a result of your transactions with us; and/or,

Depending on the product you are requesting to purchase, information received from consumer reporting agencies, medical providers or others.

We may disclose the following categories of information to entities that perform administrative services on our behalf or as required or permitted by law for legal, regulatory, or other purposes:

Information you provide directly to us on the Customer Account Form, applications or other forms;

Information we receive about your transactions with us or with our product providers; and/or,

If required for the products you purchase, information received from other agencies such as: consumer reporting agencies concerning your creditworthiness, motor vehicle and driver’s license reports, medical and employment information, and loss reports. - 30 Mason & Associates, Inc.

A special note about medical or health information: While we might receive medical or health information from you at the time of application for various types of insurance, we do not share it externally for any purpose other than what is directly related to the administration of your policy, account, or claim, as required or permitted by law, or as you authorize us to do. Personally identifiable information about you will be maintained during the time you are a client, and for the required time thereafter that such records are required to be maintained by federal and state securities laws. After this required period of record retention, all such information may be destroyed. If at any time in the future it is necessary to disclose any of your personal information in a way that is inconsistent with this policy, we will give you advance notice of the proposed change so you will have the opportunity to opt out of such disclosure.

- 31 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Firm Brochure Supplement (Part 2B of Form ADV)

Mason & Associates 7474 North Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90041 888.988.401K: (888) 988-401K FAX: (323) 395-0714 WEBSITE: www.masonlifeplanning.com EMAIL: info@masonlifeplanning.com This brochure supplement provides information about all Employees of Mason & Associates which supplements the Mason & Associates brochure. You should have received a copy of that brochure. Please contact us if you did not receive Mason & Associates brochure and would like a copy of the brochure of Mason & Associates or if you have any questions about the contents of this supplement. Additional information about our employees is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

January 29, 2026

- 32 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Brochure Supplement (Part 2B of Form ADV) Education and Business Standards

Mason & Associates prefers that advisors in its employ have a bachelor's degree and further coursework demonstrating knowledge of financial planning and tax planning. Examples of acceptable coursework include: an MBA, a CFP®, a CFA, JD, AIF, CLU, AEP, or EA. Additionally, advisor should have work experience that demonstrates their aptitude for financial planning and investment management.

Professional Certifications

Employees have earned certifications and credentials that are required to be explained in further detail. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®): Chartered Financial Analysts are licensed by the CFA Institute to use the CFA® mark. CFA® certification requirements:

Hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or have equivalent education or work experience.

Successful completion of all three exam levels of the CFA® Program.

Have 4,000 hours of www.cfainstitute.org/about/membership/process/Pages/work_experien ce.aspx in the investment decision-making process.

Fulfill society requirements, which vary by society.

Agree to adhere to and sign the Member's Agreement, a Professional Conduct Statement, and any additional documentation requested by CFA® Institute.

Certified Financial Planner (CFP®): Certified Financial Planners are licensed by the CFP ® Board to use the CFP® mark. CFP® certification requirements:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

Completion of the financial planning education requirements set by the CFP® Board (www.cfp.net).

Successful completion of CFP® Certification Exam.

6,000 hours of professional experience related to the financial planning process, or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience that meets additional requirements.

Successfully pass the Candidate Fitness Standards and background check. - 33 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Completion of 30 hours of continuing education, including completion of a 2-hour, CFP Board-approved ethics course every two years.

Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®): Awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils to recognized estate planning professionals who meet special requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional reputation, and character. AEP® certification requirements:

Must be either attorneys, Chartered Life Underwriters®, Certified Public Accountants, Certified Trust and Financial Advisors, Chartered Financial Consultants®, and Certified Financial Planners® who are actively engaged in estate planning and meet stringent qualifications at the time of application and commit to ongoing continuing education and recertification requirements.

With a minimum of 5 years of experience, the designation is available after taking two courses through The American College.

For those individuals who have 15 years of experience or more, one may choose to be exempt from the required graduate-level courses in estate planning.

Minimum of thirty (30) hours of continuing education during the previous twenty-four (24) months, of which at least fifteen (15) hours MUST have been in estate planning.

Must abide by the NAEPC Code of Ethics.

Must be a member of the appropriate affiliated local estate planning council.

Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) ®: Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) Designees can demonstrate that they have met educational, competence, conduct and ethical standards to carry out a fiduciary standard of care and serve the best interests of their clients. Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designation is issued by Center of Fiduciary Studies.

Candidate must meet a point-based threshold based on a combination of education, relevant industry experience and/or professional development.

Candidate must complete either web-based program or capstone program.

Successfully pass proctored certification exam.

Must complete 6 hours of continuing education per year.

Satisfy the Code of Ethics and Conduct Standards - 34 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®): A Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) is a financial professional with extensive knowledge of life insurance and designation is issued by the American College.

Three-year qualifying full-time work experience.

Candidate must complete Five core and three elective courses, equivalent of 24 semester credit hours.

Successfully pass proctored exam.

Must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years.

Enrolled Agent (EA): Enrolled Agents are enrolled by the Internal Revenue Service and authorized to use the EA designation. EA enrollment requirements:

Successful completion of the three-part IRS Special Enrollment Examination (SEE), or completion of five years of employment by the IRS in a position which regularly interpreted and applied the tax code and its regulations.

Successfully pass the background check conducted by the IRS.

• Must complete 72 hours of continuing education every three years. A minimum of 16 hours must be earned per year, two of which must be on ethics.

- 35 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Brent Markey Mason, AIF® (Born 1977) Educational Background:

Southern Methodist University, 1999, Bachelor of Business Administration

Business Experience:

Mason & Associates, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, March 2003 to Present

Cambridge Investment Research, Nov. 2006 to December 2015

Transamerica Financial Advisors - March. 2003 to Nov. 2006

Putnam Investments - Aug. 1999 to Feb. 2003

Other Business Activities:

Independent Insurance Agent, CA Insurance License # 0355313

Additional Compensation:

Insurance commissions. This additional compensation creates a conflict of interest. However, at all times, Mason & Associates and its advisory affiliates will make recommendations that are in clients’ best interests consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities. Additionally, clients are under no obligation to purchase insurance products through any Mason & Associates licensed insurance agents.

Supervision:

Brent M. Mason is the President of the firm and is not supervised. However, he and the Chief Compliance Officer of the firm meet regularly and discuss any issues that may arise.

Disciplinary History:

Brent M. Mason does not have a disciplinary history

- 36 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Charles William Mason, CFP®, CLU (Born 1944) Educational Background:

University of Maryland, 1968

Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) 1980

Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) 1983

Business Experience:

Mason & Associates, Inc., Los Angeles, CA - Dec. 1980 to Present

Mutual Securities, Inc. – January 2016 to December 2021

Cambridge Investment Research – Nov. 2006 to December 2015

Other Business Activities:

Independent Insurance Agent, CA Insurance License # 0566817

Additional Compensation:

Insurance commissions. This additional compensation creates a conflict of interest. However, at all times, Mason & Associates and its advisory affiliates will make recommendations that are in clients’ best interests consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities. Additionally, clients are under no obligation to purchase insurance products through any Mason & Associates licensed insurance agents.

Supervision:

Charles W. Mason is supervised by Brent Mason, President. He reviews Charles Mason’s work through frequent office interactions as well as remote interactions. He also reviews Charles Mason’s activities through our client relationship management system.

Disciplinary History:

Charles W. Mason does not have a disciplinary history. - 37 Mason & Associates, Inc.

Sun Mi "Anne" Shim, AEP®, CFP®, EA (Born 1973) Educational Background:

University of Phoenix, 2005, BS

Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) 2006

IRS Enrolled Agent (EA) 2011

Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®) 2015

Business Experience:

Mason & Associates, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, March 2002 to Present

Cambridge Investment Research, Nov. 2006 to December 2015

Other Business Activities:

Independent Insurance Agent, CA Insurance License # 0D70949

Additional Compensation:

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