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The Evans Group

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From helping business retirement plans, captive insurance companies, and other institutions create customized investment programs designed to support their missions and manage their fiduciary responsibilities, to advising families on generational wealth management, we never forget that the ultimate beneficiaries of the assets we manage are people.

We start with what’s important to you

We take the time to listen and learn about the needs and goals of your institution and the people it serves – it’s these real-world insights that guide our strategies and personalized service.

About Us

Approach

As seasoned professionals, we’ve accrued over 60 years of combined financial wisdom and experience. But that background only matters if the advice and guidance we provide is what’s right for you and your life. Helping institutions and private clients make the most sense of your money, explaining things in a straightforward manner, devoting ourselves to doing what’s best for you, and being here to help you tackle the important questions with thoughtful guidance and a helping hand – that’s how we believe we're different, and how we hope to make a difference in your life.

Working with Chief Financial Officers, boards of directors and investment committees from a wide variety of institutions, our team can help develop and implement disciplined long-range financial strategies to aid in the management of your institution’s pool of assets and help fulfill your mission.

We believe that financial advice today is about more than just numbers. It’s about comprehensive objectives and the complexities that come along with them. What we’ve learned over time is that as the needs of our clients, both institutions and individuals, become more complex, building relationships for the long term becomes more important than ever. It’s not about us. It’s not about the markets. It’s about you.

Providing an exceptional client experience is not only how we do business but is also a reflection of who we are. Maintaining frequent and timely contact with you, we are all deeply involved in every step of the consulting process, resulting in consistency and continuity of service. Our “can do” attitude has helped us build enduring relationships with our institutional and private client families, some of which span five decades. That’s the kind of consistency we bring to every relationship.

We believe it’s an honor and a privilege to give back to the community where we live and work. Although this comes in many forms, we are all deeply passionate about children and enjoy volunteering our time with Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. If you’re looking for an advisory team who clearly understands your big picture while staying focused on the precise details, we welcome your call.

Mission

From helping business retirement plans, captive insurance companies, and other institutions create customized investment programs designed to support their missions and manage their fiduciary responsibilities, to advising families on generational wealth management, we never forget that the ultimate beneficiaries of the assets we manage are people.

Institutional Consulting

As a Bank of America Global Institutional Consultant, The Evans Group is among a select group of highly qualified and credentialed consultants who can provide the in-depth knowledge and customized service and assistance institutional investors need to navigate today’s financial landscape and be responsive to evolving market trends.

Strategies for Institutions

We appreciate that fiduciaries have a significant responsibility with respect to the assets under their care. Yet, many organizations do not have the time, resources or expertise required to develop, implement, and monitor a disciplined, long-range investment strategy. As a result, directing their investments can be a demanding responsibility requiring specific experience to help ensure that they can identify and are on target with their objectives.

As a Wealth Management Advisor, Ralph Evans is among a select group of highly qualified Global Institutional Consultants at Merrill who can provide the in-depth knowledge and customized service and assistance institutional investors need to navigate today’s financial landscape. At The Evans Group, we offer a full spectrum of institutional investment solutions within an intimate, high touch, client-consultant relationship.

Combining our years of experience, knowledge, and knowhow with access to the investing insights of Merrill and banking capabilities of Bank of America, we provide trustees and investment committee members with thoughtful advice and sophisticated investment strategies to help manage risk and fulfill their missions. Our disciplined investment process helps us respond to your organization’s changing needs and can help meet its long-term investment goals.

*Global Institutional Consulting, operating under the name “Bank of America,” is a business offering products and services for the benefit of institutional and ultra‐high net worth clients and is part of Global Wealth and Investment Management (GWIM), the wealth and investment management division of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). Global Institutional Consultants mentioned herein are registered representatives with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S“ or “Merrill”) and may assist you with investment products and services. The nature and degree of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and clients’ rights and Merrill’s obligations will differ depending upon the products and services actually provided. Banking activities may be performed by wholly owned banking affiliates of BofA Corp., including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Brokerage and investment advisory services are provided by wholly owned non-bank affiliates of BofA Corp., including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”), a dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser and Member SIPC.

Captive Insurance Companies

With over four decades of experience, The Evans Group understands the unique needs and complexities of captive insurance companies. We are dedicated to combining our wealth of knowledge and insight with our deep analytical skills to advise your board in the management of your investment portfolios.

We appreciate that every captive has different goals and liabilities. Adhering to a clear process and strategy, we provide prudently managed investment strategies to help meet your liquidity, income, and growth needs within the confines of industry guidelines, regulations of your domicile, and investment policy statement.

We provide holistic wealth management service to captives including:

Direct access to our entire team, which offers accountability and open communication
Collaboration with your investment committee and other service providers, including risk managers, actuaries, and outside custodians
Personalized advice, planning, and well-researched investment strategies emphasizing long-term growth and asset prservation to help you meet your objectives

Corporate Retirement Plans

Ralph Evans and his team can help address the often-complex financial management priorities of corporate retirement plan sponsors.

 
We can add value to your retirement plan by:

·         Providing a thorough needs assessment and plan evaluation

·         Looking for opportunities to improve in mission-critical areas such as technology, reporting, and fee disclosure

·         Developing an employee communications and education strategy

·         Offering access to 3(38) discretionary and 3(21) non-discretionary fiduciary advisory services1

·         Designing an investment menu based on your plan goals and participant needs

·         Providing periodic reporting and helping you understand results and measurements to assist you in managing your plan over time

·         Communicating with your employees through enrollment meetings and educational seminars

1Fiduciary Advisory Services is an investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. MLPF&S. MLPF&S offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select. Please refer to the Fiduciary Advisory Services Brochure for information on the program including a description of the series and related fees.

Guiding Individuals and Their Families

In addition to handling wealth management challenges and uncovering opportunities for institutions, we are well versed in helping individual clients and multigenerational families pursue their goals. Over the years we have become deeply entrenched in their lives – from milestones and triumphs to difficulties and challenges. We commonly refer our clients as “instaviduals” because we manage their portfolios with the same rigor, discipline, and process as we do with our institutional investors.

We strive to serve as your family’s financial advisors for life, handling all matters related to helping you manage and preserve your wealth, and building your legacy – so you are free to focus on the people and priorities in life that matter to you most. Through regular meetings and ongoing discussions, we stay apprised of any transitions in your life so we can better respond to your changing needs. We’ll ask a lot of questions about what you’re really thinking, feeling, worried about; your experiences with money; and what you’ve accomplished so far. Together we’ll figure out where you are now and help you define the true purpose of your wealth. Whatever the need, we’ll be here for you as your family grows and evolves into future generations.

Meet the Team

Our team is comprised of talented and experienced individuals committed to building strong client relationships based on trust and personalized service.

Solutions for Institutions

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Helping institutions meet their investment needs

We put the resources and intellectual capital of Merrill to work for institutional clients like you by delivering thoughtful advice and sophisticated investment strategies through focused client-centric consulting. We help organizations like yours address today’s complex investment challenges through an integrated, goals-based investment process that enables them to redefine success, manage risk and help fulfill their missions.

Investment Solutions

We provide access to a broad suite of potential investment solutions for non-profit organizations, foundations, endowments and corporate retirement and pension plans. Our level of involvement is based on your preference — from traditional consulting, to client-directed implementation, to full discretionary outsourced CIO services. We work with your CFO, board  of directors and investment committee to develop a tailored investment strategy that is consistent with your culture, goals, preferences and risk profile.

Disciplined Investment Process

We follow a disciplined process that helps to address your organization’s changing needs and provides you with a potentially higher probability of achieving your long-term investment goals.

1

Investment Policy Statement Development and Review

Act as liaison between institutional clients and Merrill's Investment Policy Statement (IPS) service, which creates and modifies an IPS, based on the client’s investment goals and objectives.

2

Strategic Allocation Modeling

Customizable asset allocation based on the Chief Investment Office capital market assumptions.

3

Investment Manager Due Diligence

Recommend investment solutions leveraging Merrill's thorough and rigorous due diligence process.

4

Investment Manager Search and Selection

Advanced portfolio construction techniques combined with client specific objectives and Merrill's capital market guidance.

5

Portfolio Strategy

Leverage Merrill's global intellectual capital including tactical tilts to potentially help increase returns.

6

Performance Measurement

Review, quantify and evaluate performance to identify opportunities to refine the portfolio’s overall strategy, based on the Investment Policy Statement.

Endowments, Foundations and Nonprofits

We understand the issues nonprofits, endowments and foundations address in funding their missions in an ever-changing financial climate. Drawing on the global resources of Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates, we offer insight, guidance and personalized service to help institutions develop and execute investment strategies focused on what matters most to them and the people they serve.

Impact investing and/or Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks based on the fact that ESG criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.

Defined benefit plans

Whether your defined benefit plan is an active part of your overall benefit offering, is closed to new participants, or fully frozen, Bank of  America's service model allows you to outsource the many administrative tasks associated with the maintenance of a pension plan to fulfill plan obligations and manage risk.

Key services include:
• Investment consulting service
• Open architecture investment management platform
• Liability driven investment implementation
• Actuarial services and discretionary investment management

And More

Beyond our experience, we offer access to the deep intellectual capital and broad capabilities of Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates. If we identify a need we can’t service ourselves, we can connect you with the people and resources to help you. Through our network of advisors, we strive to deliver strategies to help you manage the day-to-day and long-term responsibilities required in pursuing your institution’s goals. As we work together to address your evolving needs, we can help make the broad capabilities of Bank of America Corporation feel more accessible.

We’re committed to a high standard

Putting clients’ interests first isn’t new, and this isn’t a one-time event. Our clients have been at the center of everything we do since Charles Merrill founded Merrill over a hundred years ago.

Solutions for Individuals

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Approach

Every relationship begins with a conversation, helping you identify and prioritize which goals matter most to you. Whether it's transferring wealth to the next generation, customizing your financial approach to help you pursue your passions, or providing advice and guidance to help you stay informed, we start by listening to learn more about you and your family.

Philosophy

We believe the best financial approach is the one that helps you pursue your goals. That's why, from the start, we talk about your aspirations and encourage you to ask questions about issues that matter most to you. Calculating how to manage future health care expenses? College on the horizon? Considering the sale of a business or purchase of a home? Preparing to pass your wealth to future generations? It all starts with a plan intended to help you manage, grow, and preserve your wealth today, while also considering the impact it can have for years to come. With access to the investment insights of Merrill and banking solutions from Bank of America, we will work with you to develop an approach designed to help address your financial needs.

Capabilities

Merrill’s process is designed to help deliver a customized, comprehensive experience to assist you not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments. Providing you with access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help you manage all of the pieces of your financial life. Working one-on-one with a Merrill advisor means you have a single point of contact to help you with potential strategies for transferring wealth to the younger generation.

Join us

Let’s Have a Conversation

There is no substitute for a one-on-one relationship with a Merrill financial advisor committed to your needs.