Howlett Tax Services is a investment adviser based in Sedona, AZ, that holds a 88.0/100 Fidelon TransparencyScore (38th percentile among state-registered advisers), with 1 registered advisor. Score based on public SEC and FINRA filings.
Howlett Tax Services
Howlett Tax Services, INC · CRD #332582
A registered investment adviser held to a fiduciary standard.
Fidelon Fact Sheet
Howlett Tax Services, INC is a state-registered investment adviser in Sedona, AZ. It has one registered advisor. It manages $10 million across 8 client accounts. It charges a yearly percentage of your account that gets smaller as the account grows, and it does not report earning commissions. Its services include financial planning. Its filing reports disclosures.
Peer Context
12,329th of 19,775
state-registered advisers
Bottom 38%
326th of 521
state-registered advisers in AZ
Bottom 37%
4th of 5
state-registered advisers in Sedona, AZ
Bottom 20%
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
Blended across 1 tiers, from $250,000 and above.
This fee is negotiable
“IN SOME CASES, A FIXED FEE IS CHARGED. THIS WILL BE BASED ON THE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES AND WILL BE NEGOTIATED WITH EACH CLIENT.”
From their Form ADV Part 2A. Most investors never ask.
Other arrangements offered
- • A negotiated fee, agreed individually
Not included above
- • PATRICK HOWLETT, THE PRESIDENT AND SOLE SHAREHOLDER OF HOWLETT TAX SERVICES, INC IS A CALIFORNIA CERTIFIED TAX PREPARER. HE CHARGES FEES FOR TAX PREPATION AND PLANNING SEPARATE FROM ANY INVESTMENT ADVISOR FEES. Approximately 60% of total revenues are received in that capacity.
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 |
|---|---|
| $0 - $100,000 | 1.00% |
| $100,000 - $250,000 | 0.75% |
| $250,000 and above | 0.50% |
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
- Transparent fee structure — charges advisory fees, no commissions
- TransparencyScore in the top 62% of state-registered advisers
Things You Should Know
- Has regulatory disclosures on file — count not available yet
Conflict Audit
Zero material conflicts identified in regulatory filings.
Source: Form ADV Part 1, Items 6-8; Part 2A, Items 10-14
Regulatory Track Record
On file
Disclosures
Count not available
—
Total Fines
Not available
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.
91/100
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?
Not required
This firm is not required to file a Form CRS.
Without a Form CRS, the score above cannot go over 90. A firm that gives us one is scored on the same yardstick and can earn up to 10 more points.
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 Clarity60/100
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.
Each point is marked Covered or Not found. When a point is not found, we say what to ask.
- Can you tell what you'd pay?CoveredItem 5.A
Without a fee schedule you cannot compare this firm with any other.
THE CURRECT ANNUAL FEE SCHEDULE IS: ASSETS UNDER $100,000 - 1.00% ASSETS BETWEEN $100,000 AND $250,000 - 0.75% ASSETS ABOVE $250,000 - 0.50%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.
IN SOME CASES, A FIXED FEE IS CHARGED. THIS WILL BE BASED ON THE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES AND WILL BE NEGOTIATED WITH EACH CLIENT.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.
CLIENTS CAN ELECT TO HAVE THE FEES PAID FROM THEIR INVESTMENT ACCOUNT AT CHARLES SCHWAB.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.
THESE FEES ARE CHARGED QUARTERLY IN ADVANCE.p. 5
- Does it list the other costs you pay, like fund and custodian fees?Not found in the brochureItem 5.C
The advisory fee is rarely the whole bill; fund, trading and custody costs come on top.
What to askAsk what you will pay beyond the advisory fee, in dollars, over a typical year.
- Does it say how you get money back if you leave mid-period?Not found in the brochureItem 5.D
If you pay in advance and leave early, the refund rule decides what you get back.
What to askAsk what happens to fees already paid if you close the account partway through a billing period.
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.
There are no other forms of compensation for Howlett Tax Services, Inc. This includes Charles Schwab and other vendors.p. 15
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.
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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: 3.14 · CRD #332582