Proteus is a investment adviser based in Indianapolis, IN, that holds a 80.0/100 Fidelon TransparencyScore (th percentile), with 4 registered advisors. Score based on public SEC and FINRA filings.
Proteus
Proteus, LLC · CRD #164085
A fee-only investment adviser with a clean regulatory record and fiduciary commitment.
Fidelon Fact Sheet
Proteus, LLC charges performance-based fees in addition to its regular fees. The firm is an investment adviser in Indianapolis, Indiana. It manages private funds and sends investment newsletters. Clients pay 0.96% of assets per year. The firm holds client money. It has a clean record with no 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 0.96% on the full amount.
This fee is negotiable
Proteus, LLC states in its Form ADV that advisory fees may be negotiated.
From their Form ADV Part 2A. Most investors never ask.
Not included above
- • The Clients (and indirectly, Investors) can be charged for third party transaction costs, custodial fees and any other investment-related fees or expenses such as due diligence services, pursuant to the offering documents. In addition, the Clients (and indirectly, the Investors) may bear reasonable costs and expenses, pursuant to the offering documents, which include, but are not limited to the following: travel expenses
- • consulting, advisory, investment banking, legal, and other professional fees relating to investments or contemplated investments
- • information-related expenses
- • interest expenses
- • appraisal fees
- • legal, auditing, and accounting expenses (including expenses associated with the preparation of Client financial statements, tax returns, and Schedule K-1s)
- • insurance expenses (including errors and omissions insurance and other similar policies)
- • any entity-level taxes, fees, or other governmental charges levied against the Client
- • all litigation-related and indemnification expenses
- • and expenses comparable to any of the foregoing
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 | 0.96% |
Billed calculated monthly, paid in arrears
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 disclosure in the client summary — filings provide less detail than higher-scoring peers in this area
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
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.
50/100
Weak
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
4 advisors
| Advisor | CRD | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Charles Brown | 5602070 | — | — |
| Jeffrey Michael McClure | 3064148 | — | — |
| David Smith Rankin | 2862826 | — | — |
| Eric Gray Knauss | 1292814 | — | — |
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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: 3.8 · CRD #164085