Contrary is a investment adviser based in San Francisco, CA, that holds a 72.7/100 Fidelon TransparencyScore (th percentile), with 5 registered advisors. Score based on public SEC and FINRA filings.
Contrary
Contrary LLC · CRD #311054
A fee-only investment adviser with a clean regulatory record and fiduciary commitment.
Fidelon Fact Sheet
Contrary LLC is an investment adviser that reports custody of client assets, meaning the firm or a related party can hold or access client funds. The firm is based in San Francisco, California. It manages private funds and alternative investments. The firm charges asset-based fees and reports no commission income. Its regulatory record shows zero disclosures, complaints, or fines.
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
- Does not earn commissions on product sales
What you’d pay
Your balance falls in the All accounts band, charged at 2.23% on the full amount.
Not included above
- • organizational and liquidation expenses of a Fund
- • the advisory fees
- • any placement agent fees
- • any taxes that may be assessed against a Fund
- • all costs and expenses incurred by or on behalf of a Fund in connection with acquiring, holding and disposing of securities or other investments in portfolio companies
- • all expenses relating to any litigation, investigation, proceeding or audit
- • legal, consulting, investment banking, commercial banking, borrowing, custodial, auditing, AML/KYC, accounting and other professional service fees and expenses
- • costs and expenses in connection with a Fund’s legal and regulatory compliance
- • premiums for liability insurance
- • premiums for any key man insurance
- • market data costs
- • research-related expenses
- • costs and expenses for indemnification
- • expenses incurred in connection with the managed distribution of marketable securities
- • liquidation expenses of a Fund
- • expenses incurred in connection with annual or other meetings of a Fund’s partners
- • all expenses of a Fund’s advisory board
- • and all other ordinary operating expenses, or non-recurring or extraordinary expenses attributable to the activities and operations of a Fund. directors’, consulting, management service, transaction, commitment, breakup or broken deal fees from portfolio companies or prospective portfolio companies
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 |
|---|---|
| All accounts | 2.23% |
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
Things You Should Know
- Fee disclosure could be more detailed — while this firm charges fee-only (no commissions), its regulatory filings describe fee schedules and service terms less clearly than top-scoring peers
Conflict Audit
Our analysis identified 1 potential conflict of interest in regulatory filings.
Source: Form ADV Part 1, Items 6-8; Part 2A, Items 10-14
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.
99/100
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.
70/100
Fair
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.
34/100
Poor
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
Next Steps
Advisor Roster
Meeting Prep Kit for Contrary LLC
Walk into your next meeting fully prepared. We'll generate a meeting prep kit based on Contrary LLC's actual regulatory filings — not generic advice.
Get your free Firm Meeting Prep Report
A complete dossier on Contrary LLC — download instantly so you're the most prepared person in the room.
We never sell your information or share it with advisors unless you ask us to.
Monitor this firm
Get notified when something changes — new complaints, score movements, firm changes. Free.
Free: 1 advisor, monthly status report. Pro ($7/mo): up to 5, instant alerts, pending complaints.
Is this your profile?
Claim it to understand your TransparencyScore, unlock your level, and track changes over time.
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: 3.8 · CRD #311054