Great Lakes Financial Companies Inc.

Great Lakes Financial Companies, Inc. provides discretionary investment management to individual clients, managing about $10.9 million across roughly 70 accounts. The firm primarily constructs diversified portfolios of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds and, at a client’s request, may execute individual equity and fixed‑income trades; it does not provide financial planning or wrap-fee programs.

The firm uses a consultative intake process to document client objectives and risk tolerance and manages each portfolio on an individualized, discretionary basis with quarterly custodial reporting. Investment analysis combines charting, fundamental and technical approaches and leverages third‑party research sources such as Morningstar, S&P, BlackRock and Charles Schwab.

Noteworthy for an independent adviser, the firm’s sole adviser is also affiliated with an SEC‑registered broker‑dealer and operates a licensed insurance agency, and may receive commission‑based compensation (including mutual fund 12b‑1 fees and insurance commissions) in addition to percentage‑of‑AUM advisory fees. The brochure discloses that clients who implement advice through the firm are required to use that broker‑dealer for trade execution, a practice the firm identifies as creating potential conflicts of interest that it seeks to manage through written policies and periodic reviews.