CapLink Securities, Inc. Form CRS
Introduction
Our firm, CapLink Securities, Inc. is a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (‘FINRA”) and a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Brokerage services and investment advisory services are different, and it is important for you to understand how advisory and brokerage services and fees differ in order to determine which type of account, investment or service is right for you. There are free and simple tools available to research firms and financial professionals at www.investor.gov/CRS, which also provides educational materials about investment advisers, broker-dealers, and investing.
What investment services and advice can you provide me?
The brokerage recommendations we offer to retail customers are limited to the recommendation of alternative investment strategies offered by third party sponsors (“sponsors”). Most of the sponsors have a minimum size applicable to making an investment in a particular product or strategy. We focus exclusively on introducing a limited number of alternative investment managers across non-competing strategies to institutional investors including funds of hedge funds, family offices, private banks, wealth advisors, foundations and endowments, consultants, and public funds. When we make a recommendation to invest with a sponsor, you will receive a copy of the product prospectus and other or equivalent disclosures. It is important that you carefully read the prospectus, because it contains important information about your investment. Although we have policies and procedures in place to periodically review your investments, we do not offer a monitoring service. We do not offer or maintain any proprietary products or investments. All of our services are non-discretionary. That means that you, the investor, make the ultimate decision to enter into an alternative strategy.
Conversation Starters:
Given my financial situation, should I choose a brokerage service? Why or why not?
How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications?
What do these qualifications mean?
What fees will I pay?
Each strategy we recommend is unique and has costs and fees that differ. It is important that you read the prospectus, subscription document or disclosure brochure (offering materials) for the strategy that is recommended to you. These documents contain very important information including the fees, costs and expenses associated with the alternative strategy. Generally, the strategies charge an up-front sales load, but they also may charge ongoing fees or additional costs that impact your investment. We share in some of these fees, as described in the offering materials. The fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying. If you have any questions, please contact us at 310.952.0987.
Conversation Starters:
Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments.
If I give you $100,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?
What are your legal obligations to me when providing recommendations?
How else does your firm make money and what conflicts of interest do you have?
When we act as your financial professional, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide you.
Here are some examples to help you understand what this means:
* We recommend only alternative strategies. This is incentive for use to promote these strategies over other investments that may also be suitable for you.
* Because the structures of alternative investments vary so greatly, we have incentive to recommend strategies that pay us more, over other strategies.
We have procedures in place to monitor for recommendations that may not be in your best interest, to protect you against these conflicts of interest.
How do CapLink Securities’ financial professional make money?
Our financial professionals are compensated based on the revenue our firm receives from the sponsors. This may be in the form of an upfront sales load, and/or there may be ongoing compensation in the form or fees that are paid to us. Your financial professional may also earn compensation from unaffiliated outside activities. These activities are disclosed to and approved by CapLink, but are separate and apart from the services we provide to you.
If you have any questions about the compensation we receive for a particular strategy, or if you are confused about a financial professional’s outside activities, please contact us at 310.952.0957
Do you or your financial professionals have legal or disciplinary history?
Our firm and/or financial professionals have legal and disciplinary history. Visit www.investor.gov/CRS for a free and simple search tool to research our firm and our financial professionals.
Conversation Starters:
Please explain your disclosure history to me.
Please explain CapLink Securities’ disclosure history to me.
Additional information
You can find additional information about our firm’s brokerage services on the SEC’s website at www.brokercheck.finra.org by searching CRD #130702. You may also contact our firm at 310.952.0987 to request a copy of this relationship summary and other up-to-date information.
Conversation Starters:
Who is my primary contact person?
Is he or she a representative of an investment adviser or a broker-dealer?
Who can I talk to if I have concerns about how this person is treating me?