Carswell Investments is a investment adviser based in East Syracuse, NY, that holds a 93.9/100 Fidelon TransparencyScore (89th percentile among SEC-registered advisers), with 1 registered advisor. Score based on public SEC and FINRA filings.
Carswell Investments
Carswell Investments, LLC · CRD #158205
A fee-only investment adviser with a clean regulatory record and fiduciary commitment.
Fidelon Fact Sheet
Carswell Investments, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser in East Syracuse, NY. It has one registered advisor. It manages $322.5 million across 587 client accounts. It charges a percentage of the money it manages for you, and it does not report earning commissions. Its services include financial planning, portfolio management, educational seminars and investment newsletters. Its record shows no customer complaints, regulatory actions or fines.
Peer Context
1,202nd of 10,815
SEC-registered advisers
Top 11%
143rd of 1,070
SEC-registered advisers in NY
Top 14%
1st of 5
SEC-registered advisers in East syracuse, NY
#1 ranked
How This Firm Works
Registration & Standard of Care
Investment Adviser — this firm is a registered investment adviser, held to a fiduciary standard — legally required to act in clients' best interests.
How This Firm Gets Paid
- Charges a percentage of assets under management
- Charges fixed fees for specific services
- Does not earn commissions on product sales
What you’d pay
Blended across 1 tiers, from $10,000,000 and above.
This fee is negotiable
“Fees may be subject to negotiation based on factors such as the overall complexity of the client's financial affairs, the number of accounts, the nature and location of the work and other unique factors.”
From their Form ADV Part 2A. Most investors never ask.
Estimated from the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A brochure — not a quote. Actual fees are set in your agreement and may differ. Costs charged by others (custodians, fund managers) are not included.
What This Firm Charges
| Account Size | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| $5,000,000 and above | 0.95% |
| $10,000,000 and above | 0.60% |
| $10,000,000 and above | 0.80% |
Billed quarterly, in advance
Extracted from Form ADV Part 2A brochure
Specializations
Extracted from Form ADV Part 2A brochure
Key Findings
Strengths
- Fee-only compensation — no commission income reported
- Registered as investment adviser with fiduciary obligation
- No broker-dealer registration — advisory services only
- Clean regulatory record — no disclosures, arbitrations, or fines
- Transparent fee structure — charges advisory fees, no commissions
Conflict Audit
Zero material conflicts identified in regulatory filings.
Source: Form ADV Part 1, Items 6-8; Part 2A, Items 10-14
What this firm says about how it gets paid
“The more assets that you have in your advisory account, the more you will pay in fees, creating an incentive for us to encourage you to increase the amount of assets in your accounts.”
Source: the firm’s own Form CRS — quoted directly
Regulatory Track Record
0
Disclosures
Clean record — no disclosures found
$0
Total Fines
Clean record — no fines found
Regulatory Events
TransparencyScore Dimensions
Disclosure Record
Customer complaints, arbitrations, and fines. Frequency and recency matter.
100/100
Strong
Avg for investment adviser firms: 82.6 | Top 10%: 99.5
Filing Quality
How clearly the firm describes services, fees, and investment approach in regulatory filings.
94/100
Strong
Avg for investment adviser firms: 84.1 | Top 10%: 100
Conflict Disclosure
How openly the firm explains who pays it and what it's paid to sell. The conflict isn't the problem — hiding it is.
70/100
Fair
Avg for investment adviser firms: 54 | Top 10%: 67
Enforcement History
Self-reported legal and disciplinary history from Form ADV Item 11.
100/100
Strong
Avg for investment adviser firms: 99.7 | Top 10%: 100
Their two-page relationship summary
The SEC requires every SEC-registered investment adviser to hand you this summary, called a Form CRS, and says what it must cover. We checked this firm's against that list. What is a Form CRS?
- Does it include everything the SEC requires?
- Required sections
- 89/100
- Does it explain how the firm's conflicts affect you?
- Conflicts of interest
What to askAsk the advisor to name every way the firm gets paid besides your fee, and how each one can affect their advice.
- 56/100
- Can you tell what you would pay?
- What you pay
- 65/100
- Is it written in plain English?
- Plain language
- 92/100
This firm's Form CRS averages 76 out of 100 and adds 3.88 points to the score above.
What their brochure tells you
The firm must give you this brochure, Form ADV Part 2A, before you sign. We read it against the SEC's own instructions, item by item. Quotes are the firm's own words; page numbers refer to the filed brochure. What is in a brochure?
Can you tell what you'd pay and when?Brochure Fee Clarity100/100
The SEC asks every brochure to spell out the fee schedule, whether fees can be negotiated, how and when you are billed, the other costs you pay, and refunds.
The brochure answers every one of these.
- Can you tell what you'd pay?CoveredItem 5.A
Without a fee schedule you cannot compare this firm with any other.
Carswell’s fee schedule for Wealth Management Services is as follows:p. 5
- Does it say whether the fee can be negotiated?CoveredItem 5.A
If fees are negotiable, other clients may be paying less than you for the same service.
Fees may be subject to negotiation based on factors such as the overall complexity of the client's financial affairs, the number of accounts, the nature and location of the work and other unique factors.p. 5
- Does it say whether the fee comes out of your account or gets billed?CoveredItem 5.B
A fee taken straight from your account is easy to stop noticing.
Generally, fees will be debited from client accounts in accordance with the client’s authorization in Carswell’s investment advisory agreement.p. 5
- Does it say how often you're charged?CoveredItem 5.B
Monthly, quarterly, in advance or in arrears changes what you owe when you leave.
Carswell’s fee for Wealth Management and Institutional Advisory Services are payable quarterly, in advance, and are calculated on the value of client assets under management as of the close of business on the last trading day of the previous calendar quarter.p. 5
- Does it list the other costs you pay, like fund and custodian fees?CoveredItem 5.C
The advisory fee is rarely the whole bill; fund, trading and custody costs come on top.
Clients may be subject to additional fees in connection with Carswell’s services, including, but not be limited to, mutual fund expenses, third-party manager fees, custodial and brokerage fees.p. 5
- Does it say how you get money back if you leave mid-period?CoveredItem 5.D
If you pay in advance and leave early, the refund rule decides what you get back.
Clients will receive a pro-rated refund of pre-paid fees if an advisory agreement is terminated before the end of the quarterly billing period.p. 5
Does it explain each conflict of interest and what it could cost you?Brochure Conflict Specificity70/100
The SEC asks the brochure to name each way the firm gets paid besides your fee, what that tempts the firm to do, and what it can cost you.
The brochure answers every one of these.
The brochure states the firm has no conflicts of this kind, and its Form ADV Part 1 agrees.
- Does the brochure say the firm has no conflicts of this kind?CoveredItems 10/11/12.B/14 + Part 1A
A clear statement that the firm earns nothing from commissions, perks or referrals is the simplest answer there is.
Carswell does not distribute products or product based services, does not solicit or accept referral fees from outside advisers, money managers, or mutual funds companies, and does not charge or receive transaction commissions from broker-dealers, insurance companies, or private offerings.p. 5
Do they earn commissions on products, and do they say so?Brochure Sales CompensationNot applicable
Not applicable: the brochure describes no product-sales commissions
Do they get free research or services from brokers, and does it affect you?Brochure Soft DollarsNot applicable
Not applicable: the brochure describes no research or services from brokers
A point not found is not a finding against the firm; many points apply only when the firm has that arrangement, and state-registered firms file the same brochure form.
Next Steps
Advisor Roster
1 advisor
| Advisor | CRD | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Roger Pickard | 4556595 | — | — |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the TransparencyScore measure?
The TransparencyScore measures how clearly and completely an advisor or firm discloses important information in their regulatory filings — things like fees, conflicts of interest, disciplinary history, and business practices. A higher score means better disclosure quality, not better investment performance.
Where does this data come from?
All data comes from public regulatory filings: SEC Form ADV (Parts 1, 2, and 3), FINRA BrokerCheck, and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database. These are official filings that firms and advisors are legally required to submit.
Does a low score mean they're a bad advisor?
Not necessarily. A low score means the firm's public filings are less transparent — they may use vague language about fees, skip details about conflicts, or have a more complex regulatory history. Some excellent advisors work at firms with poor disclosure practices. The score measures the filing, not the person.
How often is this data updated?
Fidelon refreshes data from SEC and FINRA sources on a regular schedule. Form ADV filings are updated annually by firms (with amendments throughout the year), and BrokerCheck data is updated as events are reported. Scores are recalculated after each data refresh.
Can an advisor or firm improve their score?
Yes. Scores are based on what's in public filings. A firm that rewrites its ADV brochure in clearer language, discloses conflicts more specifically, or resolves outstanding regulatory issues will see its score improve at the next refresh. The incentive structure is intentional.
Data Sources
Scores are generated using Fidelon's published scoring methodology and reflect the quality of public disclosures, not the quality of investment advice. A firm that improves its disclosures will see its score improve. Fidelon does not provide investment advice.
Verify on SEC IAPD
Last scored: · Score version: 3.15 · CRD #158205