The Fine Print

Apex Customer Account Agreement

This Customer Account Agreement (the “Agreement”) sets forth the respective rights and obligations of Apex Clearing Corporation (“Apex”) and the customer identified on the New Account Application (the “Customer”) in connection with the Customer’s brokerage account with Apex (the “Account”). Customer hereby agrees as follows with respect to the Account, which Customer has established with Apex for the purchase, sale, and/or carrying of securities or contracts relating thereto, at the instruction of Customer’s registered investment advisor as authorized by Customer in the New Account Application (“Advisor”), which transactions will be cleared through Apex. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. In order to open the Account, Customer will provide information that will allow Apex to identify Customer, including, but not limited to, Customer’s name, address, and date of birth. 1. Applicable Rules and Regulations. All transactions for the Account shall be subject to the constitution, rules, regulations, customs, and usages of the exchange or market and its clearing house, if any, upon which such transactions are executed, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement. 2. Definitions. “Obligations” means all indebtedness, debit balances, liabilities, or other obligations of any kind of the Customer to Apex, whether now existing or hereafter arising. “Assets” shall include, but shall not be limited to, money, securities, and other property of every kind and nature and all contracts and options relating to them in any way, whether for present or future delivery. 3. Advisor Agreement. Customer represents that Customer has entered into a separate agreement directly with Advisor (“Advisor Agreement”) authorizing Advisor to manage the Account, including executing trades, depositing or withdrawing funds to and from Account, requesting information, receiving Account statements and confirmations, changing certain of my information, and generally transacting in and managing the Account. Customer understands that Advisor has entered into an agreement with Apex pursuant to which Apex is willing to grant access to Advisor for Advisor to manage accounts for Advisor’s customers who open brokerage accounts at Apex for Advisor to manage. 4. Apex’s Role and Appointment. Customer appoints Apex as agent to carry the Account and to execute Advisor’s instructions relating to the Account. Customer agrees Apex may execute, clear, and settle any transaction in the Account at the instruction of Advisor and may accept and execute any instruction relating to the Account without inquiry or investigation. Customer assumes all investment risk with the Account and with authorizing Advisor to transact for the Account. Customer understands all transactions in the Account will be executed by Apex only at the instruction of Advisor acting pursuant to the Advisor Agreement, and that Apex’s role is only to hold or custody Account Assets, distribute or collect funds on behalf of the Account, execute and clear trades at the instruction of Advisor, generate account statements, and provide other custodial and clearing services as may be mandated by various regulatory standards and requirements. Customer understands Apex does not and will not offer investment advice, review the Account or transactions therein, make any determination of Customer’s suitability for any transaction or investment, will have no responsibility for trades made or activity in the Account, and has no discretion over transactions in or decisions made on behalf of Customer or the Account. Customer acknowledges that Advisor provides and is solely responsible for all investment advice and investment advisory services given in connection with the Account. Additionally, Apex will not verify the accuracy of any management fees Customer pays to Advisor pursuant to the terms of the Advisor Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event Customer initiates a claim against Apex, in Apex’s capacity as custodial broker or otherwise, and does not prevail, Customer shall be responsible for the costs and expenses associated with Apex’s defense of such claim. Apex may, in its sole and absolute discretion, and without prior notice to Customer or Advisor, transact, restrict, or refuse any orders placed in the Account. 5. Advisor Fee and Charges. Customer will pay fees to Advisor for its services in accordance with the Advisor Agreement (each such payment an “Advisor Fee”). Customer authorizes and instructs Apex to deduct the Advisor Fee directly from the Account and pay it to Advisor. Customer agrees and acknowledges that Advisor will instruct Apex of the amount to deduct and pay to Advisor, and Customer agrees to hold harmless Apex in any dispute related to the amount of any Advisor Fee. Apex may also charge, and Customer authorizes Apex to deduct from the Account, fees for services performed by Apex at Customer or Advisor’s instruction, including, but not limited to, transactions, preparation and delivery of paper statements and confirmations, rejected payments, and wire transfers. Customer acknowledges per the agreement between Advisor and Apex that Advisor may pay Apex fees directly for Apex’s services provided. Regardless of the method used to calculate fees charged by Apex to Advisor, Customer understands that Apex is not an advisor and will not act as an advisor on the Account. Additionally, the Advisor Fee may not include underlying ETF or mutual fund expenses, which are standard expenses that shareholders pay in accordance with such funds’ prospectus, in which case Apex shall be entitled to deduct such fees from the Account. 6. Breach; Security Interest. Whenever in Apex’s discretion Apex considers it necessary for Apex’s, Advisor’s, or Customer’s protection or in the event of, but not limited to: (i) any breach by Customer of this or any agreement with Apex or Advisor or (ii) Customer’s failure to pay for Assets purchased or deliver Assets sold, Apex may sell any and all Assets held in the Account or any other account in Customer’s name (either individually or jointly with others), cancel or complete any open orders for the purchase or sale of any Assets and/or borrow or buy-in any Assets required to make delivery against any sale, including a short sale, effected for the Customer, all without notice or demand for deposit of collateral, other notice of sale or purchase, or other notice or advertisement, each of which is expressly waiver by Customer, and/or Apex may require Customer to deposit cash or adequate collateral to Account prior to any settlement date in order to assure the performance or payment of any open contractual commitments and/or unsettled transactions. Apex has the right to refuse to execute transactions for Customer or Advisor at any time and for any reason. Any and all Assets belonging to Customer or in which Customer may have an interest held by Apex or carried in any of Customer’s accounts with Apex (either individually or jointly with others) shall be subject to a continuing and perfected first priority lien and security interest and right of set-off held by Apex for the discharge of and all indebtedness or obligation Customer may have to Apex, and will be held as security for payment of any liability or indebtedness in the Account or any of Customer’s accounts with Apex, wherever or however arising and without regard to whether or not Apex has made advances with respect to such Assets, and Apex is hereby authorized to sell and/or purchase any and all Assets in any of Customer’s accounts, and/or to transfer any such Assets among any of the Customer’s accounts to the fullest extent of the law and without notice where allowed. The losses, costs and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, incurred and payable or paid by Apex in the (i) collection of a debit balance and/or any unpaid deficiency in the Account or any accounts of the Customer with Apex or (ii) defense of any matter arising out of the Customer’s or Advisor’s transactions, shall be payable to Apex by Customer.  7. Cancellation. Apex is authorized, in its sole discretion, should it for any reason whatsoever deem it necessary for its protection, without any notice, to cancel any outstanding order, to close out the Account or any accounts of Customer at Apex, in whole or in part, or to close out any commitment made on behalf of Customer. Customer also authorizes Apex to terminate the account with or without Advisor’s instruction without notice to Customer. 8. Payment of Indebtedness on Demand. Customer shall at all times be liable for payment upon demand of any obligations owing from Customer to Apex and Customer shall be liable to Apex for any deficiency remaining in Account or in any other accounts of Customer at Apex in the event of the liquidation thereof (as contemplated by this Agreement or otherwise), in whole or in part, by Apex, Advisor, or Customer. Customer shall make payment of such obligations immediately upon demand. 9. Communications. Apex may send communications to Customer at Customer’s address on the New Account Application or at such other address as Advisor may hereafter give to Apex on behalf of Customer. All communications so sent, whether by mail, electronically, or otherwise, shall be deemed given to Customer personally, whether actually received or not. Customer shall be responsible for reviewing all statements and confirmations of Account as well as communications sent by Apex. Statements of Customer shall be conclusive if not objected to in writing by Customer within ten (10) days and confirmations shall be conclusive if not objected to in writing by Customer within five (5) days, after forwarding by Apex by mail or otherwise. In consideration of Apex sending any mail to Customer in care of a post office box or third party address, Customer hereby agrees that all correspondence of any nature whatsoever sent to Customer at such address will have the same force and effect as if it had been delivered to Customer personally. 10. ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION CLAUSE. BY SIGNING AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT THE PARTIES AGREE AS FOLLOWS: 1. ALL PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT ARE GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO SUE EACH OTHER IN COURT, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY THE RULES OF THE ARBITRATION FORUM IN WHICH A CLAIM IS FILED; 2. ARBITRATION AWARDS ARE GENERALLY FINAL AND BINDING; A PARTY’S ABILITY TO HAVE A COURT REVERSE OR MODIFY AN ARBITRATION AWARD IS VERY LIMITED. 3. THE ABILITY OF THE PARTIES TO OBTAIN DOCUMENTS, WITNESS STATEMENTS AND OTHER DISCOVERY IS GENERALLY MORE LIMITED IN ARBITRATION THAN IN COURT PROCEEDINGS; 4. THE ARBITRATORS DO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN THE REASON(S) FOR THEIR AWARD UNLESS, IN AN ELIGIBLE CASE, A JOINT REQUEST FOR AN EXPLAINED DECISION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED BY ALL PARTIES TO THE PANEL AT LEAST 20 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FIRST SCHEDULED HEARING DATE. 5. THE PANEL OF ARBITRATORS WILL TYPICALLY INCLUDE A MINORITY OF ARBITRATORS WHO WERE OR ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY. 6. THE RULES OF SOME ARBITRATION FORUMS MAY IMPOSE TIME LIMITS FOR BRINGING A CLAIM IN ARBITRATION. IN SOME CASES, A CLAIM THAT IS INELIGIBLE FOR ARBITRATION MAY BE BROUGHT IN COURT. 7. THE RULES OF THE ARBITRATION FORUM IN WHICH THE CLAIM IS FILED, AND ANY AMENDMENTS THERETO, SHALL BE INCORPORATED INTO THIS AGREEMENT. THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DISCLOSURES ABOVE. ANY AND ALL CONTROVERSIES, DISPUTES OR CLAIMS BETWEEN OR AMONG APEX, ADVISOR, AND/OR CUSTOMER OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, OR CONTROL PERSONS, ARISING OUT OF, IN CONNECTION WITH, FROM, OR WITH RESPECT TO (a) ANY PROVISIONS OF OR THE VALIDITY OF THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY RELATED AGREEMENTS, (b) THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES HERETO, OR (c) ANY CONTROVERSY ARISING OUT OF APEX’S BUSINESS, ADVISOR’S BUSINESS OR THE CUSTOMER’S ACCOUNTS, SHALL BE CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO THE CODE OF ARBITRATION PROCEDURE OF THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY REGULATORY AUTHORITY (“FINRA”). ARBITRATION MUST BE COMMENCED BY SERVICE OF A WRITTEN DEMAND FOR ARBITRATION OR A WRITTEN NOTICE OF INTENTION TO ARBITRATE. THE DECISION AND AWARD OF THE ARBITRATOR(S) SHALL BE CONCLUSIVE AND BINDING UPON ALL PARTIES, AND ANY JUDGMENT UPON ANY AWARD RENDERED MAY BE ENTERED IN A COURT HAVING JURISDICTION THEREOF, AND NEITHER PARTY SHALL OPPOSE SUCH ENTRY. No person shall bring a putative or certified class action to arbitration, nor seek to enforce any pre-dispute arbitration agreement against any person who has initiated in court a putative class action; or who is a member of a putative class who has not opted out of the class with respect to any claims encompassed by the putative class action until: (i) the class certification is denied; (ii) the class is de-certified; or (iii) Customer is excluded from the class by the court. Such forbearance to enforce an agreement to arbitrate shall not constitute a waiver of any rights under this Agreement except to extent stated herein. 11. Representations. Customer represents and warrants that Customer is of majority age, is not an employee of any exchange, corporation of which any exchange owns a majority of stock, or member of any exchange, member firm, or member corporation registered on any exchange, or of a bank, trust company, insurance company, or of any corporation, firm, or individual engaged in the business dealing either as broker or as principal in securities, bills of exchange, acceptances, or other forms of commercial paper. If Customer is a corporation, partnership, trust, or other entity, Customer represents that its governing instruments permit this Agreement, that this Agreement has been authorized by all required persons, and that the signatory on the New Account Application is authorized to sign on behalf of and bind Customer. Customer represents that it shall comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations in connection with the Account. Customer further represents that no one except Customer has an interest in the Account or other accounts of Customer with Apex. 12. Tax Treaty Eligibility. This Agreement shall serve as the Customer’s certification that Customer is eligible to receive tax treaty benefits between the country of residence indicated on the new account form and the country or countries of origin holding jurisdiction over the instruments held within Customer’s account. 13. Joint Accounts. If the New Account Application indicates that the Account shall consist of more than one person, Customer’s obligations under this Agreement shall be joint and several among them all. References to “Customer” shall include each of the customers identified on the New Account Application. Apex may rely on transfer or other instructions from Advisor or any one of the Customers in a joint account, and such instructions shall be binding on each Customer. Apex may deliver Assets, and send confirmations, notices, statements and communications of every kind to any one of the Customers, and such action shall be binding on each Customer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Apex is authorized in its sole discretion to require joint action by some or all Customers with respect to any matter concerning the joint account, including but not limited to the giving or cancellation of orders and the withdrawal of money or securities. In the case of Tenants by the Entirety accounts, joint action will be required for all matters concerning the joint account. Tenants by Entirety accounts are not recognized in certain jurisdictions, and, where not expressly allowed, will not be a permitted designation of the account. 14. Custodial Accounts for Minors. If a custodial account was selected, such as UTMA/UGMA, as the Customer Type in the New Account Application, the custodian opening the account (“Custodian”) understands Custodian has opened a custodial account for a minor and acts as the account custodian on behalf of the minor owner. It is Custodian’s obligation to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations governing such accounts. Custodian should consult with an attorney and/or tax advisor before opening a custodial account. The age of majority varies by state. Custodian agrees to promptly inform its advisor and broker in writing upon the account owner reaching the age of majority and to facilitate the transfer of the account assets to its beneficial owner. Apex reserves the right, but shall not be obligated, to terminate the custodianship and/or transfer the account assets to the beneficial owner upon the minor reaching the age of majority as determined by the state code Custodian has included, without notice to or consent of Custodian. 15. Other Agreements. If the Customer trades any options, the Customer agrees to be bound by the terms of your Customer Option Agreement. The Customer understands that copies of these agreements are available from you and, to the extent applicable, are incorporated by reference herein. The terms of these other agreements are in addition to the provisions of this Agreement and any other written agreements between you and the Customer. 16. Data Not Guaranteed. Customer expressly agrees that any data or online reports is provided to the Customer without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness of a particular purpose or non-infringement. Customer acknowledges that the information contained in any reports provided by Apex is obtained from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to its accuracy of completeness. Such information could include technical or other inaccuracies, errors or omissions. In no event shall Apex or any of its affiliates be liable to Customer or any third party for the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any information made available to Customer or for any decision made or taken by Customer in reliance upon such information. In no event shall Apex or its affiliated entities be liable for any special incidental, indirect or consequential damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damages, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use of any reports provided by you or with the delay or inability to use such reports. 17. Payment for Order Flow Disclosure. Depending on the security traded and absent specific direction from Customer, equity and option orders are routed to market centers (i.e., broker-dealers, primary exchanges or electronic communication networks) for execution. Routing decisions are based on a number of factors including the size of the order, the opportunity for price improvement and the quality of order executions, and decisions are regularly reviewed to ensure the duty of best execution is met. Apex may receive compensation or other consideration for the placing of orders with market centers for execution. The amount of the compensation depends on the agreement reached with each venue. The source and nature of compensation relating to Customer’s transactions will be furnished upon written request. 18. Credit Check. Apex is authorized, in its discretion, should Apex for any reason deem it necessary for its protection, to request and obtain a consumer credit report for Customer. 19. Miscellaneous. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, it shall not affect any other provision of this Agreement. The headings of each section of this Agreement are descriptive only and do not modify or qualify any provision of this Agreement. This Agreement and its enforcement shall be governed by the laws of the state of Texas and shall cover individually and collectively all accounts which the Customer has previously opened, now has open or may open or reopen with you, or any introducing broker, and any and all previous, current and future transactions in such accounts. Except as provided in this Agreement, no provision of this Agreement may be altered, modified or amended unless in writing signed by Apex’s authorized representative. This Agreement and all provisions shall inure to the benefit of Apex and its successors, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, Apex’s assigns, and all other persons specified in Paragraph 10. Apex shall not be liable for losses caused directly or indirectly by any events beyond Apex’s reasonable control, including without limitation, government restrictions, exchange or market rulings, suspension of trading or unusually heavy trading in securities, a general change in economic, political or financial conditions, war or strikes. Apex may transfer the accounts of Customer to Apex’s successors and assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon Customer and the heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns of Customer. Failure to insist on strict compliance with this Agreement is not considered a waiver of Apex’s rights under this Agreement. At Apex’s discretion, it may terminate this Agreement at any time on notice to the Customer and the Customer will continue to be responsible for any obligation incurred by the Customer prior to termination. Customer may not assign Customer’s rights or delegate Customer’s obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, without Apex’s prior consent. 20. SIPC Protection. As a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), funds are available to meet customer claims up to a ceiling of $500,000, including a maximum of $250,000 for cash claims. For additional information regarding SIPC coverage, including a brochure, please contact SIPC at (202) 371-8300 or visit www.sipc.org. Apex has purchased an additional insurance policy through a group of London Underwriters (with Lloyd’s of London Syndicates as the Lead Underwriter) to supplement SIPC protection. This additional insurance policy becomes available to customers in the event that SIPC limits are exhausted and provides protection for securities and cash up to certain limits. Similar to SIPC protection, this additional insurance does not protect against a loss in the market value of securities. 21. Sweep Program. If the Customer elects to participate in one of your FDIC or money market sweep programs, the Customer acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Customer has read and understands the sweep program terms and conditions and/or prospectuses available at http://www.apexclearing.com/disclosures/ and is aware of the products available in such sweep programs; (b) you may make changes to your FDIC and/or money market sweep programs and products at any time, in your sole discretion and with or without notice to Customer; (c) the free credit balances in the Customer’s Account may begin being included in the sweep program upon Account opening; and (d) you have no obligation to monitor the applicable sweep program elected for the Customer’s Account or to make recommendations about, or changes to, the sweep program that might be beneficial to the Customer. 22. Trusted Contacts. Under FINRA Rule 4512 your broker is required to disclose to you (the customer) that your broker, Apex Clearing Corporation or an associated person of your broker or Apex Clearing Corporation is authorized to contact the trusted contact person and disclose information about the customer’s account to address possible financial exploitation, to confirm the specifics of the customer’s current contact information, health status, or the identity of any legal guardian, executor, trustee or holder of a power of attorney, or as otherwise permitted by FINRA Rule 2165. 23. ACH Agreement. If Customer requests Automated Clearinghouse (“ACH”) transactions from Customer’s Account at Apex, Customer authorizes Apex to originate or facilitate transfer credits/debits to/from Customer’s eligible bank account. Transactions sent through the NACHA network will be subject to all applicable rules of NACHA and all rules set forth in Federal Reserve Operating circulars or other applicable laws and regulations. ACH deposits to Customer’s brokerage account are provisional. If the beneficiary bank does not receive final and complete payment for a payment order transferred through ACH, the beneficiary bank is entitled to recover from the beneficiary any provisional credit and Apex may charge Customer’s account for the transaction amount. Customer understands Apex or Customer’s Advisor may not notify Customer of any returned or rejected ACH transfers. Customer agrees to hold Apex and Apex’s agents free of liability for compliance with these instructions. Customer hereby agrees to hold harmless Apex and each of its affiliates, offices, directors, employees, and agents against, any claims, judgments, expenses, liabilities or costs of defense or settlement relating to: (a) any refusal or failure to initiate or honor any credit or debit request, by Apex or Advisor, whether (i) due to a lack of funds necessary to credit Customer’s account; (ii) due to inadvertence, error caused by similarity of account holder names or (iii) otherwise provided Apex has not acted in bad faith; (b) if the routing number is incorrect or the routing number or other information changes at another U.S. financial institution or (c) any loss, damage, liability or claim arising, directly or indirectly, from any error, delay or failure which is caused by circumstances beyond Apex’s direct control. To the extent permitted by applicable law or regulation, Apex hereby disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and in no event shall Apex be liable for any special indirect, incidental, or consequential damages whatsoever resulting from the ACH electronic service or any ACH transactions. Nothing in this herein shall constitute a commitment or undertaking by Apex or Advisor to effect any ACH transaction or otherwise act upon the instructions of Customer or Advisor with respect to any account at Apex. This authorization shall remain in full force and effect until Customer revokes authorization by written notification to Advisor that is forwarded to Apex. Customer understands that Apex has the right to terminate or suspend the ACH agreement at any time and without notice.

Registered Investment Advisor Authorization

I hereby authorize Apex Clearing Corporation to (i) execute trades and process transactions in the Account as directed by Advisor; (ii) remit checks, wire funds, and to otherwise make disbursements of funds held in the Account to (1) banks, broker-dealers, investment companies, or other financial institutions to an account of identical registration, or (2) you at your address of record at Advisor’s instruction,and (iii) pay investment advisory and other fees from the Account in the amount Advisor instructs without inquiry or investigation, in accordance with the terms of the Customer Account Agreement and Advisor Authorization.

Trusted Contact Disclosure

Under FINRA Rule 4512 Apex Clearing Corporation is required to disclose to you (the  customer) that Apex Clearing Corporation or an associated person of Apex Clearing Corporation is authorized to contact the trusted contact person and disclose information about the customer’s account to address possible financial exploitation, to confirm the specifics of the customer’s current contact information, health status, or the identity of any legal guardian, executor, trustee or holder of a power of attorney, or as otherwise permitted by FINRA Rule 2165.

Apex Clearing Corporation Privacy Policy –

Apex Clearing Corporation carries your account as a clearing broker by arrangement with your broker-dealer or registered investment advisor as Apex’s introducing client. At Apex, we understand that privacy is an important issue for customers of our introducing firms. It is our policy to respect the privacy of all accounts that we maintain as clearing broker and to protect the security and confidentiality of nonpublic personal information relating to those accounts. Please note that this policy generally applies to former customers of Apex as well as current customers.

In order to service your account as a clearing broker, information is provided to Apex by your Advisor who collects information from you in order to provide the financial services that you have requested.    

Apex does not disclose nonpublic personal information relating to current or former customers of introducing firms to any third parties, except as required or permitted by law, including but not limited to any obligations of Apex under the USA PATRIOT Act, and in order to facilitate the clearing of customer transactions in the ordinary course of business.

Apex has multiple affiliates and relationships with third party companies. Examples of these companies include financial and non‐financial companies that perform services such as data processing and companies that perform securities executions on your behalf. We may share information among our affiliates and third parties, as permitted by law, in order to better service your financial needs and to pursue legitimate business interests, including to carry out, monitor and analyze our business, systems and operations.

Apex strives to ensure that our systems are secure and that they meet industry standards. We seek to protect nonpublic personal information that is provided to Apex by your Advisor or otherwise obtained by Apex by implementing physical and electronic safeguards. Where we believe appropriate, we employ firewalls, encryption technology, user authentication systems (i.e. passwords and personal identification numbers) and access control mechanisms to control access to systems and data. Apex endeavors to ensure that third party service providers who may have access to nonpublic personal information are following appropriate standards of security and confidentiality. Further, we instruct our employees to use strict standards of care in handling the personal financial information of customers. 

 You may access your account information through a variety of media offered by your Registered Investment Advisor (i.e. statements or online services). Please contact your Registered Investment Advisor if you require any additional information.

 W-9 Certification

Under penalties of perjury, I certify that: (1) The number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number (or I am waiting for a number to be issued to me), and (2) I am not subject to backup withholding because: (a) I am exempt from backup withholding, or (b) I have not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that I am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified me that I am no longer subject to backup withholding, and (3) I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (defined below), and (4) The FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that I am exempt from FATCA reporting is correct.

Definition of a U.S. person. For federal tax return purposes, you are considered a U.S. person if you are: An individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien, A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States, An estate (other than a foreign estate), or A domestic trust (as defined in Regulations section 301.7701-7). The Internal Revenue Service does not require your consent to any provisions of this document other than the certifications required to avoid backup withholding.

APEX FDIC-INSURED SWEEP PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

You may elect to have dormant cash in your brokerage account at Apex Clearing Corporation (“Apex”) “swept” into and out of an interest-bearing FDIC-insured deposit account opened by Apex at a participating bank (“Program Bank”), at no cost to you, by participating in the Apex FDIC-Insured Sweep Program (the “Program”) where it will earn interest paid into your Apex Account.  By electing to have your excess cash swept through the Program, you hereby accept and agree to these terms and conditions, and appoint Apex as your agent in creating deposit accounts and providing services in accordance with the Program. These terms and conditions are in addition to those contained in your account agreements and any other agreements you may have with Apex or your agent. When opening a brokerage account carried by Apex (your “Apex Account”), you will have the option to direct your agent to have you and your Apex Account participate in the Program. If you do not affirmatively elect to participate, your excess cash will remain dormant in your Apex Account. Existing participants in the Program may terminate their participation by giving notice to their agent.  If you have an Apex Account but are not participating in the Program, you may direct your agent to transfer it into the Program at any time. Participation in the Program does not guarantee any or all of your excess cash balance will be swept to a Program Bank, and all sweeps shall be in Apex’s sole discretion. Apex reserves the right to refuse to allow any Apex Account to enter the Program and to remove any Apex Account from participation in the Program at any time at Apex’s discretion.

1. DEPOSITS

Once you elect to participate in the Program, you agree that Apex may begin to sweep the excess cash balance in your account into sweep deposit accounts it has established at one or more Program Banks on behalf of you and other Apex customers. These deposit accounts are omnibus accounts titled in such a way to disclose the funds swept into them are those of customers and not of Apex. Your ownership in these accounts will be evidenced by an entry on Apex’s records for each Program Bank at which your funds are on deposit and by disclosure on your Apex Account statement. You will not be given any additional evidence of ownership. If there is excess cash in your Apex Account such that a single deposit would put that amount beyond FDIC coverage, then Apex will sweep the excess cash into multiple Program Banks. Apex may transfer balances between Program Banks at any time at its discretion and may utilize one or more intermediary banks to route funds in the Program. While Apex provides the Program as a service to its customers, Apex shall be under no obligation to sweep any excess cash in your account into a Program Bank at any time. You may not deposit funds into the Program directly with any Program Banks; all funds in the Program must be deposited through your Apex Account.

1. WITHDRAWALS 

By enrolling in the Program, you consent to have Apex, as your agent, automatically withdraw any and all of your funds in the Program at Program Banks in the event of a debit in your Apex Account, or to pay for securities purchased for or sold to your Apex Account, or otherwise in Apex’s discretion. If funds that have been swept to a Program Bank are needed to cover a purchase, withdrawal, or other debit in your Apex Account, the funds will be automatically swept out of the Program Bank(s) and back into your Apex Account by Apex. You will not need to do anything for this process to occur. Although Apex may sweep your excess cash balance to an account at a Program Bank, you shall not be able to make withdrawals from that account, even if you contact the Program Bank directly. Your excess cash balance is only available through your Apex Account. Please contact your broker with any questions on accessing your cash balance.

 III. ACCESS TO YOUR EXCESS CASH BALANCE 

 Use of your Apex Account will not be affected when your excess cash is swept to a Program Bank. You will still be able to make purchases and withdrawals using your excess cash balance through your Apex Account at any time. However, any funds withdrawn or used for purchase will no longer be available to sweep to a Program Bank. You can only access your excess cash balance directly through your Apex Account. Being swept to a Program Bank shall not provide protection to your excess cash balance from legal processes such as levies or garnishments served on Apex.

1. INTEREST

You may earn interest on excess cash balances that Apex sweeps to Program Banks. The interest rate will be based on numerous factors, including the current interest rate environment, and is subject to change without notice. Over any given period, the interest rates on your swept excess cash balances may be lower than the rate of return on similar non-FDIC-insured investments or deposit accounts offered outside of the Program, including deposit accounts held directly by you with a Program Bank. Interest payments to you and movements of your excess cash balance will be reflected on your Apex Account statement. Interest accrues daily and is paid into the deposit account at each Program Bank. Any interest paid to you will be posted directly to your Apex Account. Interest rates and APY on funds in the Program will vary over time and can change daily without notice to you. Please contact your advisor for specific details on current interest rates and payments. 

1. FDIC INSURANCE & SIPC COVERAGE

Your excess cash balances that Apex sweeps to a Program Bank, together with any non-Program deposits you may have at the same Program Bank, are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to a standard maximum amount in accordance with the FDIC’s rules. The applicable FDIC insurance limit depends on a number of factors. Please consult www.fdic.gov for further details. If you have both excess cash and non-Program funds at the same Program Bank held in the same right and legal capacity, you must aggregate all such deposits for purposes of determining your FDIC insurance coverage. If that aggregate exceeds the applicable FDIC insurance limit, the FDIC may not insure the funds in excess of the applicable limits. Apex recommends you contact your financial and legal advisors for further details on FDIC limits and advice on participation in the Program. Apex shall have no obligation to consider any non-Program deposits when sweeping your excess cash balances. Please note that there is no specific time period during which the FDIC must make insurance payments available and the FDIC may require you provide certain documentation before insurance payments are made. Apex is not responsible for monitoring the amount of your excess cash balance swept to any Program Bank to determine whether it exceeds the limit of available FDIC insurance. You are solely responsible for monitoring the total amount of your assets on deposit with each Program Bank (including non-Program funds and accounts) in order to determine the extent of FDIC insurance coverage available to you on those deposits, including Program deposits. Apex shall not take into account any money you have on deposit at a Program Bank outside of the Program. Any securities and funds held in your Apex Account (as opposed to funds swept to a Program Bank) are (i) not insured by the FDIC, (ii) have no bank or government guarantees, and (iii) may have associated risks. Securities and funds not swept to a Program Bank are held in your Apex Account and are covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), of which Apex is a member. Your excess cash balance is only eligible for FDIC coverage once it is in an account at a Program Bank. However it shall be covered by SIPC while held by Apex and in transit to or from a Program Bank. As a member of SIPC, funds are available to meet customer claims up to a current ceiling of $500,000, including a maximum of $250,000 for cash claims. For additional information regarding SIPC coverage, including a brochure, please contact SIPC at (202) 371-8300 or visit www.sipc.org. Apex has purchased an additional insurance policy through a group of London Underwriters to supplement SIPC protection. This additional insurance policy becomes available to customers in the event that SIPC limits are exhausted and provides protection for securities and cash up to certain limits. Similar to SIPC protection, this additional insurance does not protect against a loss in the market value of securities. SIPC coverage does not cover fluctuations or losses in the market value of your investments. 

1. RELATIONSHIP

Apex receives payment from each Program Bank in connection with its participation in and operation of the Program. Apex’s payment from the Program Banks is paid as interest. This payment is typically based on the average aggregate amount of funds at each Program Bank and the current interest rate environment. The payment to Apex by one Program Bank may differ from payment of another Program Bank, even if the deposit amounts are identical. Apex may pay to its authorized agent or third-party an amount for facilitating the operations of the Program, which may be a portion of the payment made to Apex by the Program Banks.

VII. PROGRAM BANKS

You can obtain additional information on each Program Bank at www.fdic.gov. Occasionally, Program Banks may be added or removed from the Program Bank list available on Apex’s website. In such instances no additional notice will be sent to you. If a Program Bank is removed from the Program, it will no longer be able to receive sweeps of your excess cash balance. If any of your excess cash balance is at a Program Bank that is removed from the Program, Apex will transfer those funds into another Program Bank still in the Program or into your Apex Account, at Apex’s discretion. By electing to participate in the Program, whether when opening your Apex Account or by instruction to your advisor, you attest that you have received and read this Program Statement. You consent to all the provisions herein and for Apex to change the amounts and Program Banks into which your excess cash balance is swept at any time in Apex’s discretion. Further, you agree that nothing herein shall obligate Apex in any way to sweep any portion of your excess cash balance to any Program Bank at any time. You agree to hold harmless Apex for any results that may occur from participation in the Program, including specifically your receiving smaller payment than you could in a different type of account or had your excess cash balance been swept into a different Program Bank. You direct Apex to return all your swept funds to your Apex Account and to terminate your participation in the Program in the event  you utilize the services of an investment advisor who instructs Apex to remove you from or not include you in the Program. You agree Apex may share personal information about you, including name, social security number, tax identification number, address, date of birth, or others with certain entities or individuals that provide services to Apex in connection with the program including, but not limited to an Apex agent and/or your investment advisor.  For further information regarding the collection, processing, or use of your personal information, please see Apex’s Privacy Policy provided to you with your account opening documents. 

VIII. TAXATION

If you are paid interest in the Program in a given year, you will receive a Form 1099, if applicable, reflecting the interest you have earned in that year. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions should be construed as to constitute legal or tax advice. Please contact your own legal or tax advisor. Apex may be required to withhold United States federal income tax at the prevailing rate on taxable distributions payable to certain depositors who fail to provide sufficient and correct taxpayer identification information or to make required certifications or who have been notified by the Internal Revenue Service that they are subject to backup withholding. Please consult your tax advisor for further information or visit www.irs.gov.

 IX.LIMITATION OF LIABILITY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW,

IN NO EVENT SHALL APEX, THE PROGRAM BANKS, OR THEIR AGENTS, AFFILIATES, ASSIGNS, SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, OR EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE NO MATTER THE CONTEXT IN WHICH IT IS ASSERTED AND INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY PENALTIES OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.  Any failure by Apex, its agent, your advisor, or any Program Bank shall not constitute a violation or subject them to any liability if caused in any way by your negligence or willful act, force majeure, suspension of payment by another institution, market irregularity or loss of market access, war, act of terrorism, or any other circumstances beyond the control of them.

1. COMPLIANCE WITH LEGAL PROCESS 

Apex, its agent(s), and the Program Banks may comply, without notice to you, with any writ of attachment, execution, garnishment, levy, restraining order, subpoena, warrant, regulator or government request, or other legal process that the recipient believes to be valid. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Apex, its agent(s) and the Program Banks from all actions, claims, liabilities, losses, costs, attorney’s fees, and damages that may be associated with their compliance with any legal process in accordance with this section and you agree they may comply with any legal process received, even if such is not served properly on the recipient in accordance with all applicable legal requirements, so long as compliance is not done in bad faith. 

1. NO WARRANTIES EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES (ORAL OR WRITTEN, STATUTORY, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR OTHERWISE) ARE MADE TO YOU REGARDING THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, AS TO MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE, CONFORMITY TO ANY DESCRIPTION OR REPRESENTATION, NONINTERFERENCE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT. YOUR INVESTMENT ADVISOR, OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY IS NOT AUTHORIZED TO MAKE, OR MAY THEY MAKE, ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR UNDERTAKINGS ON BEHALF OF APEX OR THE PROGRAM BANKS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES OR AGENTS WITH RESPECT TO THE PROGRAM.

 XII. NO GUARANTEE OF PROGRAM BANKS

Your participation in the program is a direct obligation of the applicable Program Bank(s) to you. Apex is under no such obligation and Apex does not guarantee the financial condition of any Program Bank. Under federal banking regulations, a Program Bank may exercise its right to require prior notice of up to seven days before permitting your excess cash balance to be swept out. In the event of a failure of a Program Bank, there may be a time period during which you may not be able to access your money. Interest in a Program Bank account is not transferable. 

XIII. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES

1. Corporate Status. Apex is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.  Apex is not a bank or an investment advisor. Apex and the Program Banks do not provide advice regarding whether the Program is beneficial or right for you or your Apex Account.

1. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions. By continuing to maintain your Apex Account and participate in the Program, you accept the terms and conditions herein and you accept and will be legally bound by any new terms and conditions.

1. Obligation to Review Statements. In accordance with your account opening documents with Apex, you must carefully examine your Apex Account statement once you receive it. If you feel that there is an error, you must notify Apex through your advisor promptly. Failure to comply with this notification requirement may bar you from claiming any error involving your Program Bank accounts. 

1. Escheatment. In certain circumstances, Apex and the Program Banks may be required by law to escheat a portion or all of your excess cash balance and Apex Account to a state due to account inactivity for certain time periods, in accordance with state law. If funds are escheated to a state, you must file a claim with that state to reclaim the funds.

1. Assignment. You may not assign these terms and conditions or your participation in the Program, except through an assignment of your entire Apex Account. Apex may assign its rights and obligations under the Program and these terms and conditions without prior notice to you and without obtaining your consent.  

1. Set Off. Under the terms of your account agreements with Apex, Apex may charge or set off assets from your Apex Account against any obligations or debt you owe to Apex. This right extends to any excess cash balances that are swept to a Program Bank and swept funds shall have no additional protection solely because they are with a Program Bank.

1. No Waiver.  There shall be no waiver by Apex of any of these terms and conditions unless such waiver is in writing and signed by Apex. No failure or delay by Apex, its agent, or any Program Bank in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any partial exercise preclude further or full exercise of any right, power, or privilege. 

1. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of these terms and conditions is held to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way, to the maximum extent allowed by law, be affected, impaired, or invalidated.

1. Entire Agreement.  These terms and conditions, any additional documents provided to you by Apex, its agent, or any Program Bank concerning the Program, and your account opening agreements with Apex constitute the entire agreement with you regarding the Program and supersede all prior agreements, both oral and written, with respect to the subject matter herein. These terms and conditions are to be read in conjunction with, and not independently of, your Customer Account Agreement with Apex. For all purposes, your participation in the program is through your Apex Account and is subject to all terms of your Customer Account Agreement with Apex and any other account opening agreements you have with Apex.

1. Controlling Document.  In the event of any inconsistency between these terms and conditions and a provision of any such other document provided to you in connection with the Program, these terms and conditions shall prevail.

1. Governing Law and Arbitration. These terms and conditions shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Texas. In accordance with your account opening agreements with Apex, any disputes regarding the Program or your Apex Account shall be subject to and controlled by the Arbitration Agreement set forth in your Customer Account Agreement with Apex shall fully control.

1. Headings and Construction. The headings herein are included only for convenience and shall not be considered in the construction or interpretation of these terms and conditions. Any singular items herein shall be deemed to include the plural and vice versa. Any use of the term “includes” or any derivative or synonym of it shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”. References to any agreement or document provided to you shall include that agreement or document as amended, modified, supplemented, or replaced from time to time. In any construction of these terms and conditions, it shall not be construed against a party on the basis of that party potentially being the drafter of the terms and conditions. 

THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE SUBJECT TO THE PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION CLAUSE CONTAINED IN YOUR CUSTOMER ACCOUNT AGREEMENT GOVERNING YOUR APEX ACCOUNT. PLEASE REVIEW THE PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION CLAUSE IN YOUR CUSTOMER ACCOUNT AGREEMENT CAREFULLY.

Joint Account Agreement (With Rights of Survivorship)

In consideration of establishing a joint account the parties agree that each of them shall have the authority on behalf of the joint account to buy, sell and otherwise deal in, stocks, bonds and other securities, to receive on behalf of the joint account demands, notices, confirmations, reports, statements of account and communications of every kind; to receive on behalf of the joint account money, securities and property of every kind and to dispose of the same; to make on behalf of the joint account agreements relating to any of the foregoing matters and to terminate or modify same or waive any of the provisions thereof and generally to deal with agent or Apex Clearing Corporation on behalf of the joint account as fully and completely as if he alone were interested in said account. You are authorized to follow the instructions of any of the undersigned in every respect concerning the said joint account and to make deliveries to any of the undersigned, or upon his order, of any or all monies at any time or from time to time in the said joint account as he may order and direct, even if such deliveries and/or payments shall be made to him personally, and not for the joint account of the undersigned.  Notwithstanding  the  foregoing,  you reserve  the  right  to  insist  upon  written instructions bearing signatures of all parties to the account when such instructions effect change of ownership of monies and/or securities. In the event of any deliveries of securities or

payments of monies to any of the undersigned as aforesaid, you shall be under no duty or obligation to inquire into the purpose or propriety of any such demand for delivery of securities or payment of monies, and you shall not be bound to see the application or disposition of the said securities and/or monies so delivered or paid to any of the undersigned or upon his order. The authority hereby conferred shall remain in force until written notice of the revocation addressed to you is received by your firm.

The liability of the parties with respect to said account shall be joint  and several. The parties further agree that all property that you may at any time be holding or carrying on their behalf shall be subject to a lien in favor of you for the discharge of the obligations of the joint account to you, such lien to be in addition to and not in substitution of the right and remedies you otherwise would have.

It is further agreed that in the event of the death of either or any of the parties, the survivor or survivors shall immediately give you written notice thereof, and you may before or after receiving such notice, take such proceeding, require such papers and inheritance or estate tax waivers, retain such portion of and/or restrict transactions in the account as you may deem advisable to protect against any tax, liability, penalty or loss under any present or future laws or otherwise. The estate of any of the undersigned who shall have died shall be liable and each survivor shall continue liable jointly and severally, to you for any net debit balance or loss in said account in any way resulting from the completion of transactions initiated prior to the receipt of the written  notice  of  the  death  of  decedent  or  incurred  in the  liquidation  of  the  account  or  the adjustment of the interests of the respective parties.

It is the express intention of the parties to create an estate or account as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common.  In the event of the death of either of the undersigned, the entire interest in the joint account shall be vested in the survivor or survivors on the same terms and conditions as theretofore held, without in any manner releasing the decedent’s estate from the liability provided for in the next preceding paragraph.

I understand that Facet has entered into a fully disclosed clearing agreement with Apex Clearing Corporation (“Clearing Firm”) pursuant to which Clearing Firm may perform certain transaction processing, clearing, custodial, and financing functions for you with respect to the Account.  I understand  that Clearing  Firm  does not  control, audit, or otherwise supervise your activities, does not verify information I provide to you regarding the Account or transactions processed for the Account, and does not undertake responsibility for reviewing the appropriateness of transactions entered by you on my behalf.  I agree that you are not an agent of Clearing Firm, that

Clearing Firm is not your agent, and that I will in no way hold Clearing Firm, or its officers, directors, employees and agents liable for any trading losses that I may incur. I agree that Clearing Firm  is  a  beneficiary  of  my representations,  warranties,  acknowledgments,  and  covenants  in this agreement (including, without limitation, my authorizations, indemnifications, waivers, and releases) to the same extent as if they were made directly by me to Clearing Firm.  And I agree that Clearing Firm, in its own name and for its own benefit, shall be entitled to exercise and enforce directly against me such provisions and all other rights granted to you.

Subject to provisions hereof, all notices or communications for the undersigned in respect of the joint account are to be directed to the email address as provided on the new account application.

Transfer on Death Registration

To my Broker/Dealer (You or Your), I (We) wish to create a transfer on death (TOD) registration for the account listed above. I (We) hereby designate the person(s) identified below ( Beneficiary(ies) ) to receive all monies, securities and other assets held in the account listed above upon my (our) death, or the death of the last surviving account owner in the case of a joint account. I (We) may change the designation of the beneficiary(ies) only by completing a new Transfer on Death Beneficiary Designation Form. The Beneficiary Designation may not be revoked or changed by will, codicil, trust document or other testamentary document. You may rely on the latest Beneficiary Designation in your possession and no change in Beneficiary shall be effective until actually received and accepted by you.

I (We) understand that you have entered into an agreement with Apex with respect to the execution and clearance of securities. I (We also understand that because of the complex legal and tax issues involved, neither you nor Apex will advise whether the TOD designation is appropriate for tax or estate planning. I (We) acknowledge that the ability to register a securities account in TOD form is created by state law and not all states have enacted such laws. I (We) have been advised that I (we) should consult my (our) own legal and tax advisers before electing or revoking the TOD account designation as I (we) deem appropriate.

I (We) understand that upon my (our) death you many require my (our) Beneficiary(ies) to provide you with certain documents as you may deem necessary prior to instructing Apex to move the assets from my (our) TOD account into the Designated beneficiary(ies’) account(s).

I acknowledge and agree that upon my (our) death, distribution will be made to my (our) designated beneficiaries in the following manner:

PRIMARY BENEFICIARY(IES)
Any interest I (We) may have in this account will be paid in equal proportions, unless otherwise indicated, to the primary beneficiary(ies) I have designated. If the death of one or more designated Primary Beneficiary(ies) precedes my (our) death, the interest they would have received from this account will be paid, upon my (our) death, to my surviving Primary Beneficiary(ies) Pro Rata such that 100% is paid to the surviving primary beneficiary(ies).

CONTINGENT BENEFICIARY(IES)
If none of my Primary Beneficiaries survives me (us), any interest I (We) have in this account will be paid in equal proportions unless otherwise indicated to the Contingent Beneficiary(ies) I (We) have designated.If the death of one or more designated Contingent Beneficiary precedes my (our) death, the interest they would have received from this account will be paid, upon my (our) death, to my surviving Contingent Beneficiary(ies) Pro Rata such that 100% is paid to the surviving Contingent beneficiary(ies).

NO SURVIVING BENEFICIARY(IES)
If none of the Primary or Contingent beneficiaries I (We) have designated survives me (us), any interest I (We) may have in this account shall pass as if my (our) Transfer on Death instructions did not exist. I (We) understand and agree that Apex, may register and hold the securities in my (our) TOD account in Apex’s name or other “street” or nominee name and that this will create no duty on Apex’s part to determine registration or ownership of the account as a whole before or after my (our) death.

In consideration for establishing this registration and accepting the Beneficiary Designation, I (we) (including my (our) estate(s), heirs, spouse, successors in interest, and all Beneficiaries named herein) shall indemnify and hold harmless you and Apex (and affiliates, directors, officers, control persons, agents and employees thereof) from and against all claims, actions, costs and liabilities, including attorneys’ fees, by person or entity arising out of or relating to this account registration and transfers hereunder.

Apex reserves the right to refuse to accept or renew this TOD Beneficiary Designation Form and may terminate it at any time in its sole discretion and for any reason.

If any provision hereof is or at any time should become inconsistent with any present or future law, rule or regulation of any securities or commodities exchange or of any state or other sovereign government or an agency or regulatory body thereof, and if any of these entities have jurisdiction over the subject matter of this TOD Beneficiary Designation Form, said provision shall be deemed to be superseded or modified to conform to such law, rule or regulation, but in all other respects the TOD Beneficiary Designation Form shall continue and remain in full force and effect.

The provisions of this TOD Beneficiary Designation Form, including indemnities stated herein, shall be binding upon the Account Holder’s estate, Beneficiaries, heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns, shall insure to the benefit of each of you and Apex as your respective successors, assigns and affiliated companies, and shall survive the termination of this TOD Beneficiary Designation Form or the TOD Account.

Spouse’s signature is required if the spouse and/or Account Holder reside(s) in a Community Property or Marital Property State, and the spouse is not an account holder, or named as the sole primary beneficiary. By signing, spouse voluntarily and irrevocably consents to the beneficiary designation and to Apex paying all sums due upon death as designated above subject to the provisions of this Transfer on Death (TOD) Beneficiary Designation Form.

Roth Individual Retirement Custodial Account Agreement and Disclosure Statement

Form 5305-RA under section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

FORM (Rev. April 2017)

The Depositor named on the Application is establishing a Roth Individual Retirement Account (Roth IRA) under section 408A to provide for his or her retirement and for the support of his or her beneficiaries after death.

The Custodian named on the Application has given the Depositor the disclosure statement required by Regulations section 1.408-6.

The Depositor has assigned the custodial account the sum indicated on the Application.

The Depositor and the Custodian make the following agreement:

ARTICLE I

Except in the case of a qualified rollover contribution described in section 408A(e) or a recharacterized contribution described in section 408A(d)(6), the Custodian will accept only cash contributions up to $5,500 per year for 2013 through 2017. For individuals who have reached the age of 50 before the close of the tax year, the contribution limit is increased to $6,500 per year for tax years 2013 through 2017. For years after 2017, these limits will be increased to reflect a cost-of-living adjustment, if any.

ARTICLE II

1.The annual contribution limit described in Article I is gradually reduced to $0 for higher income levels. For a depositor who is single or treated as a single, the annual contribution is phased out between adjusted gross income (AGI) of $118,000 and $133,000; for a married Depositor filing jointly, between AGI of $186,000 and $196,000; and for a married Depositor filing separately, between AGI of $0 and $10,000. These phase-out ranges are for 2017. For years after 2017, the phase-out ranges, except for the $0 to $10,000 range, will be increased to reflect a cost-of-living adjustment, if any. Adjusted gross income is defined in section 408A(c)(3).

2.In the case of a joint return, the AGI limits in the preceding paragraph apply to the combined AGI of the Depositor and his or her spouse.

ARTICLE III

The Depositor’s interest in the balance in the custodial account is nonforfeitable.

ARTICLE IV

1.No part of the custodial account funds may be invested in life insurance contracts, nor may the assets of the custodial account be commingled with other property except in a common trust fund or common investment fund (within the meaning of section 408(a)(5)).

2.No part of the custodial account funds may be invested in collectibles (within the meaning of section 408(m)) except as otherwise permitted by section 408(m)(3), which provides an exception for certain gold, silver, and platinum coins, coins issued under the laws of any state, and certain bullion.

ARTICLE V

1. If the Depositor dies before his or her entire interest is distributed to him or her and the Depositor’s surviving spouse is not the designated beneficiary, the remaining interest will be distributed in accordance with paragraph (a) below or, if elected or there is no designated beneficiary, in accordance with paragraph (b) below:
2. a) The remaining interest will be distributed, starting by the end of the calendar year following the year of the Depositor’s death, over the designated beneficiary’s remaining life expectancy as determined in the year following the death of the Depositor.

1. b) The remaining interest will be distributed by the end of the calendar year containing the fifth anniversary of the Depositor’s death.

2.The minimum amount that must be distributed each year under paragraph 1(a) above is the account value at the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year divided by the life expectancy (in the single life table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9) of the designated beneficiary using the attained age of the beneficiary in the year following the year of the Depositor’s death and subtracting one from the divisor for each subsequent year.

3. If the Depositor’s surviving spouse is the designated beneficiary, such spouse will then be treated as the Depositor.

ARTICLE VI

1. The Depositor agrees to provide the Custodian with all information necessary to prepare any reports required by sections 408(i) and 408A(d)(3)(E), Regulations sections 1.408-5 and 1.408-6, or other guidance published by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
2. The Custodian agrees to submit to the IRS and Depositor the reports prescribed by the IRS.

ARTICLE VII

Notwithstanding any other articles which may be added or incorporated, the provisions of Articles I through IV and this sentence will be controlling. Any additional articles inconsistent with section 408A, the related regulations, and other published guidance will be invalid.

ARTICLE VIII

This Agreement will be amended as necessary to comply with the provisions of the Code, the related Regulations, and other published guidance. Other amendments may be made with the consent of the persons whose signatures appear on the Application.

ARTICLE IX

9.1 Definitions – In this part of this Agreement (Article IX), the words \”you\” and \”your\” mean the Depositor, the words \”we,\” \”us\” and \”our\” mean the Custodian, \”Code\” means the Internal Revenue Code, and “Regulations” means the Treasury Regulations.

9.2 Notices and Change of Address – Any required notice regarding this Roth IRA will be considered effective when we send it to the intended recipient at the last address which we have in our records. Any notice to be given to us will be considered effective when we actually receive it. You, or the intended recipient, must notify us of any change of address.

9.3 Representations and Responsibilities – You represent and warrant to us that any information you have given or will give us with respect to this Agreement is complete and accurate. Further, you agree that any directions you give us, or action you take will be proper under this Agreement, and that we are entitled to rely upon any such information or directions. If we fail to receive directions from you regarding any transaction, if we receive ambiguous directions regarding any transaction, or we, in good faith, believe that any transaction requested is in dispute, we reserve the right to take no action until further clarification acceptable to us is received from you or the appropriate government or judicial authority. We shall not be responsible for losses of any kind that may result from your directions to us or your actions or failures to act, and you agree to reimburse us for any loss we may incur as a result of such directions, actions or failures to act. We shall not be responsible for any penalties, taxes, judgments, or expenses you incur in connection with your Roth IRA. We have no duty to determine whether your contributions or distributions comply with the Code, Regulations, rulings, or this Agreement.

We may permit you to appoint, through written notice acceptable to us, an authorized agent to act on your behalf with respect to this Agreement (e.g., attorney-in-fact, executor, administrator, investment manager), however, we have no duty to determine the validity of such appointment or any instrument appointing such authorized agent. Any such delegation of investment responsibility shall be to an investment advisor under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. If the assets of your Roth IRA are to be directed by an investment advisor, you shall deliver to us, if we request, a copy of the instruments appointing the investment advisor evidencing the investment advisor’s acceptance of such appointment, an acknowledgment by the investment advisor that it is a fiduciary, and a certificate evidencing the investment advisor’s current registration under said Act. We shall be fully protected in relying upon such instruments and certificates until otherwise notified in writing by you. We shall not be responsible for losses of any kind that may result from directions, actions or failures to act by your authorized agent, and you agree to reimburse us for any loss we may incur as a result of such directions, actions, or failures to act by your authorized agent.

The investment advisor at any time may issue orders for the purchase or sale of securities directly to a broker; and in order to facilitate such transaction, upon request we shall execute and deliver appropriate trading authorizations. Written notification of the issuance of each order shall be confirmed by written advice via confirms or otherwise to us by the investment advisor.

You hereby agree to fully indemnify us and hold us harmless from and against any claim or liability which may be asserted against us by reason of our acting or not acting pursuant to any direction from the investment advisor or failing to act in the absence of any such direction.

You will have sixty (60) days after you receive any documents, statements, or other information from us to notify us in writing of any errors or inaccuracies reflected in these documents, statements, or other information. If you do not notify us within 60 days, the documents, statements, or other information shall be deemed correct and accurate, and we shall have no further liability or obligation for such documents, statements, other information, or the transactions described therein.

By performing services under this Agreement we are acting as your agent. You acknowledge and agree that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as conferring fiduciary status upon us. We shall not be required to perform any additional services unless specifically agreed to under the terms and conditions of this Agreement, or as required under the Code and the Regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to Roth IRAs. You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless for any and all claims, actions, proceedings, damages, judgments, liabilities, costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees, arising from, or in connection with this Agreement.

To the extent written instructions or notices are required under this Agreement, we may accept or provide such information in any other form permitted by the Code or applicable regulations including, but not limited to, electronic communication.

9.4 Disclosure of Account Information – We may use agents and/or subcontractors to assist in administering your Roth IRA. We may release nonpublic personal information regarding your Roth IRA to such providers as necessary to provide the products and services made available under this agreement, and to evaluate our business operations and analyze potential product, service, or process improvements.

9.5 Service Fees – We have the right to charge an annual service fee and other designated fees (e.g., a transfer, rollover, or termination fee) for maintaining your Roth IRA. In addition, we have the right to be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses, including legal expenses, we incur in connection with the administration of your Roth IRA. We may charge you separately for any fees or expenses, or we may deduct the amount of the fees or expenses from the assets in your Roth IRA at our discretion. The full annual service fee attributable to the year in which you terminate your Roth IRA, along with the termination fee, shall be due and payable upon termination of your Roth IRA regardless of the date during the year in which you terminate your Roth IRA. We reserve the right to charge any additional fee upon 30 days’ notice to you that the fee will be effective. Fees such as subtransfer agent fees or commissions may be paid to us by third parties for assistance in performing certain transactions with respect to this Roth IRA.

Any brokerage commissions attributable to the assets in your Roth IRA will be charged to your Roth IRA. You cannot reimburse your Roth IRA for those commissions.

9.6 Investment of Amounts in the Roth IRA – You have exclusive responsibility for and control over the investment of the assets of your Roth IRA. All transactions shall be subject to any and all restrictions or limitations, direct or indirect, which are imposed by our charter, articles of incorporation, or bylaws; any and all applicable federal and state laws and regulations; the rules, regulations, customs and usages of any exchange, market or clearing house where the transaction is executed; our policies and practices; and this Agreement. After your death, your beneficiary(ies) shall have the right to direct the investment of your Roth IRA assets, subject to the same conditions that applied to you during your lifetime under this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 9.03 of this article). The right to direct investment of assets may be restricted, however, as provided in Section 9.06. We shall have no discretion to direct any investment in your Roth IRA. We assume no responsibility for rendering investment advice with respect to your Roth IRA, nor will we offer any opinion or judgment to you on matters concerning the value or suitability of any investment or proposed investment for your Roth IRA. In the absence of instructions from you, or if your instructions are not in a form acceptable to us, we shall have the right to hold any uninvested amounts in cash, and we shall have no responsibility to invest uninvested cash unless and until directed by you. We will not exercise the voting rights and other shareholder rights with respect to investments in your Roth IRA unless you or your agent provide timely written directions acceptable to us.

You will select the type of investment for your Roth IRA assets, provided, however, that your selection of investments shall be limited to any investment vehicle obtainable by us, that we are authorized by our charter, articles of incorporation, or bylaws to offer and do in fact, in our sole discretion offer for investment in Roth IRAs. For example, investments may include but shall not be limited to common stocks, government and corporate bonds, mutual funds, the purchase of put options on existing positions and writing of covered listed call options and such other options strategies that we may, from time to time, in our sole discretion make available for Roth IRAs and which strategies are approved for your account by your broker and/or investment advisor. Investments not generating confirmations must be accompanied by additional written instructions and such other documentation as we may, in our sole discretion, require. We shall act as a stockbroker or dealer whenever such services are required. We may, in our sole discretion, make available to you, additional investment offerings, which shall be limited to publicly traded securities, mutual funds, money market instruments, and other investments that are obtainable by us and that we, in our sole discretion, determine that we are capable of holding in the ordinary course of our business.

We shall have the power and authority in the administration of this Agreement to do all acts, including by way of illustration but not in limitation of the powers conferred by law, the following:

1. Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to invest and reinvest all or any part of the assets in securities obtainable through us and to invest in any lawful investment which is administratively acceptable to us without any duty to diversify and without regard to whether such property is authorized by the laws of any jurisdiction for investment by us;
2. Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to hold part or all of the uninvested assets or to place the same in a savings account approved by you or purchase a Certificate of Deposit with an institution approved by you;

3. To employ suitable agents and counsel and to pay them reasonable expenses and compensation;

4. Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to vote in person or by proxy with respect to securities held by us and to delegate our discretionary power;

5. Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction (and subject to approval of a custodial account for option trading privileges), to write covered listed call options against existing positions, to liquidate or close such option contracts, and to purchase put options on existing long positions (the same securities cannot be used to simultaneously cover more than one position);

6. Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to consent to or participate in dissolutions, reorganizations, consolidations, mergers, sales, leases, mortgages, and transfers or other changes affecting securities held by us;

7. To leave any securities or cash for safekeeping or on deposit, with or without interest, with such banks, brokers and other custodians as we may select, and to hold any securities in bearer form or in the name of these banks, brokers and any other custodians or in the name of the custodian without qualification or description or in the name of any nominee; and

8. Prior to the entry of any orders to purchase or sell securities in your account, you or your agent shall approve beforehand all such orders and direct us to implement such instructions. Selling short and executing purchases in an amount greater than available cash are prohibited. All investments outside of the cash account shall be accompanied by additional written instructions.

9.7 Beneficiary(ies) – If you die before you receive all of the amounts in your Roth IRA, payments from your Roth IRA will be made to your beneficiary(ies). We have no obligation to pay to your beneficiaries until such time we are notified of your death by receiving a valid death certificate.

You may designate one or more persons or entities as beneficiary(ies) of your Roth IRA. This designation can only be made on a form provided by or acceptable to us, and it will only be effective when it is filed with us during your lifetime. Each beneficiary designation you file with us will cancel all previous designations. The consent of a beneficiary(ies) shall not be required for you to revoke a beneficiary designation. If you have designated both primary and contingent beneficiaries and no primary beneficiary(ies) survives you, the contingent beneficiary(ies) shall acquire the designated share of your Roth IRA. If you do not designate a beneficiary, or if all of your primary and contingent beneficiary(ies) predecease you, your spouse will be the beneficiary, or if there is no spouse living at the time of your death your estate shall be the beneficiary.

If your surviving spouse is the designated beneficiary, your spouse may elect to treat your Roth IRA as his or her own Roth IRA, and would not be subject to the required minimum distribution rules. Your surviving spouse will also be entitled to such additional beneficiary payment options as are granted under the Code or applicable Regulations.

If the beneficiary designated to receive payments hereunder is a minor or person of unsound mind, whether so formally adjudicated or not, we may, at our discretion, make such payments to such person as may be acting as parent, guardian, committee, conservator, trustee or legal representative of such minor or incompetent and the receipt by any such person as selected by us shall be a full and complete discharge of us for any sums so paid.

We reserve the right to, at our discretion, deposit funds in a special savings account established in our name as Custodian for a beneficiary when within six months after any payment is due because we cannot ascertain the whereabouts or the identity of the beneficiary by mailing to the last known address shown on our records, and such beneficiary has not submitted a written claim for such payment before the expiration of said six-month period.

We may allow, if permitted by state law, an original Roth IRA beneficiary(ies) (the beneficiary(ies) who is entitled to receive distribution(s) from an inherited Roth IRA at the time of your death) to name a successor beneficiary(ies) for the inherited Roth IRA. This designation can only be made on a form provided by or acceptable to us, and it will only be effective when it is filed with us during the original Roth IRA beneficiary’s(ies’) lifetime. Each beneficiary designation form that the original Roth IRA beneficiary(ies) files with us will cancel all previous designations. The consent of a successor beneficiary(ies) shall not be required for the original Roth IRA beneficiary(ies) to revoke a successor beneficiary(ies) designation. If the original Roth IRA beneficiary(ies) does not designate a successor beneficiary(ies), his or her estate will be the successor beneficiary. In no event shall the successor beneficiary(ies) be able to extend the distribution period beyond that required for the original Roth IRA beneficiary.

If we so choose, for any reason (e.g., due to limitations of our charter or bylaws), we may require that a beneficiary of a deceased Roth IRA owner take total distribution of all Roth IRA assets by December 31 of the year following the year of death.

9.8 Termination of Agreement, Resignation, or Removal of Custodian – Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving written notice to the other or in another manner and form acceptable to us. We can resign as custodian at any time effective 30 days after we send written notice of our resignation to you. Upon receipt of that notice, you must make arrangements to transfer your Roth IRA to another financial organization. If you do not complete a transfer of your Roth IRA within 30 days from the date we send the notice to you, we may, but shall not be required to, appoint a successor custodian that we choose in our sole discretion. Upon any such successor’s acceptance of appointment, we shall have the right to transfer your Roth IRA assets to such successor trustee or custodian, or we may distribute your Roth IRA assets to you in a single sum. We shall not be liable for any actions or failures to act on the part of any successor trustee or custodian, nor for any tax consequences you may incur that result from the transfer or distribution of your assets pursuant to this section, nor for any losses arising out of such.

If this Agreement is terminated, we may charge to your Roth IRA a reasonable amount of money that we believe is necessary to cover any associated costs, including but not limited to one or more of the following:

* Any fees, expenses, or taxes chargeable against your Roth IRA

* Any penalties or surrender charges associated with the early withdrawal of any savings instrument or other investment in your Roth IRA

If we are required to comply with Regulations section 1.408-2(e), and we fail to do so, or we are not keeping the records, making the returns, or sending the statements as are required by forms or regulations, the IRS may require us to substitute another trustee or custodian.

We may establish a policy requiring distribution of the entire balance of your Roth IRA to you in cash or property if the balance of your Roth IRA drops below the minimum balance required under the applicable investment or policy established.

9.9 Successor Custodian – If our organization changes its name, reorganizes, merges with another organization (or comes under the control of any federal or state agency), or if our entire organization (or any portion which includes your Roth IRA) is bought by another organization, that organization (or agency) shall automatically become the trustee or custodian of your Roth IRA, but only if it is the type of organization authorized to serve as a Roth IRA trustee or custodian.

9.10 Amendments – We have the right to amend this Agreement at any time. Any amendment we make to comply with the Code and related regulations does not require your consent. You will be deemed to have consented to any other amendment unless, within 30 days from the date we send the amendment, you notify us in writing that you do not consent.

9.11 Withdrawals or Transfers – All requests for withdrawal or transfer shall be in writing on a form provided by or acceptable to us. The method of distribution must be specified in writing or in any other method acceptable to us. The tax identification number of the recipient must be provided to us before we are obligated to make a distribution. Withdrawals shall be subject to all applicable tax and other laws and regulations, including but not limited to possible early withdrawal penalties or surrender charges, and withholding requirements.

You are not required to take a distribution from your Roth IRA at age 70½. At your death, however, your beneficiary(ies) must begin taking distributions in accordance with Article V and Section 9.07 of this Agreement. We will make no distributions to you from your Roth IRA until you provide us with a written request for a distribution on a form provided by or acceptable to us.

9.12 Transfers from Other Plans – We can, but are not obligated to, receive amounts transferred to this Roth IRA from the custodian or trustee of another Roth IRA as permitted by the Code. In addition, we can, but are not obligated to, accept rollovers of eligible rollover distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans as permitted by the Code. We reserve the right not to accept any transfer.

9.13 Liquidation of Assets – We have the right to liquidate assets in your Roth IRA if necessary to make distributions or to pay fees, expenses, taxes, penalties, or surrender charges properly chargeable against your Roth IRA. If you fail to direct us as to which assets to liquidate, we will decide, in our complete and sole discretion, and you agree not to hold us liable for any adverse consequences that result from our decision.

9.14 Restrictions on the Fund – Neither you nor any beneficiary may sell, transfer, or pledge any interest in your Roth IRA in any manner whatsoever, except as provided by law or this Agreement.

The assets in your Roth IRA shall not be responsible for the debts, contracts, or torts of any person entitled to distributions under this Agreement.

9.15 What Law Applies – This Agreement is subject to all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. If it is necessary to apply any state law to interpret and administer this Agreement, the laws of the State of Texas shall govern.

Any court accounting shall be in the courts of Texas.

If any part of this Agreement is held to be illegal or invalid, the remaining parts shall not be affected. Neither your nor our failure to enforce at any time or for any period of time any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be construed as a waiver of such provisions, or your right or our right thereafter to enforce each and every such provision.

9.16 Arbitration – This agreement contains a Predispute Arbitration Clause. By Signing an Arbitration Agreement the Parties agree as follows:

1. a) All parties to this agreement are giving up the right to sue each other in court, including the right to a trial by jury except as provided by the rules of the Arbitration form in which a claim is filed;
2. b) Arbitration awards are generally final and binding; a party’s ability to have a court reverse or modify an arbitration award is very limited.

1. c) The liability of the parties to obtain documents, witness statements and other discovery is generally more limited in Arbitration than in court proceedings;

1. d) The Arbitrators do not have to explain the reason(s) for their award unless in an eligible case, a joint request for an explained decision has been submitted by all parties to the panel at least 20 days prior to the first scheduled hearing date.

1. e) The panel of Arbitrators will typically include a minority of Arbitrators who were or are affiliated with the securities industry.

1. f) The rules of some Arbitration forums may impose time limits for bringing a claim in Arbitration. In some cases, a claim that is ineligible for Arbitration may be brought in court.

1. g) The rules of the Arbitration forum in which the claim is filed, and any amendments thereto, shall be incorporated into this agreement.

The following Arbitration Agreement should be read in conjunction with the disclosures above. Any and all controversies, disputes or claims between the Customer and You, or the Introducing Broker and/or Registered Investment Advisor, or the Agents, Representatives, Employees, Directors, Officers, or Control Persons of You or The Introducing Broker and/or Registered Investment Advisor, Arising out of, in connection with, from or with respect to (a) Any provisions of or the validity of this agreement or any related agreements, (b) The relationship of the parties hereto , or (c) Any controversy arising out of your business, the Introducing Broker and/or Registered Investment Advisor’s business or the Customer’s accounts, shall be conducted pursuant to the code of Arbitration procedure of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Arbitration must be commenced by service of a written demand for Arbitration or a written Notice of Intention to Arbitrate. The decision and award of the Arbitrator(s) shall be conclusive and binding upon all parties, and any judgment upon any award rendered may be entered in a court having jurisdiction thereof, and neither party shall oppose such entry.

No person shall bring a putative or certified class action to arbitration, nor seek to enforce any pre-dispute arbitration agreement against any person who has initiated in court a putative class action; or who is a member of a putative class who has not opted out of the class with respect to any claims encompassed by the putative class action until: (i) the class certification is denied; or (ii) the class is de-certified; or (iii) the customer is excluded from the class by the court. Such forbearance to enforce an agreement to arbitrate shall not constitute a waiver of any rights under this agreement except to the extent stated herein.

9.17 Assignability – This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of our successors and assigns,  shall be binding on you, your heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas.

9.18 Payment for Order Flow/Order Routing – “Payment for order flow” is a common and widespread industry practice whereby a brokerage firm receives monetary or non-monetary remuneration in return for the routing of customer orders to a designated exchange, market maker, dealer or market center for execution. Apex Clearing receives payment for order flow on certain transactions in the form of rebates, monetary compensation or an inter-company transfer of funds. Payment for order flow is considered to be compensation to Apex Clearing. Your broker and/or the introducing firm that clears its trades through Apex Clearing, may or may not be compensated for such orders. The source and nature of any compensation received in connection with a specific transaction will be furnished upon written request of the customer.

Absent specific instructions from customers, Apex Clearing automatically routes orders in over-the-counter (“OTC”) securities to selected OTC market makers. Selected exchange-traded securities may be routed to affiliated specialists, regional exchanges or designated third-market dealers. All orders are routed to an exchange, market-maker, dealer or market center that matches or improves upon the displayed national best bid or offer for the particular security at the time the order is processed. Price improvement opportunities, or execution at prices superior to the displayed national best bid or offer, may be available for certain transactions in NASDAQ and listed securities from execution destinations to which orders are routed.

9.19 Accounting – Within 90 days from the close of each custodial account year, We shall render an accounting (valuing the assets fair market value) to you, which accounting may consist of copies of regularly issued broker-dealer statements to you. In the absence of the filing in writing with us of exceptions or objections to any such accounting, within 30 days after the mailing of such accounting, you shall be deemed to have approved such accounting. In such case, or upon your written approval, we shall be released, relieved and discharged with respect to all matters and things set forth in such accounting as though such accounting had been settled by the decree of a court of competent jurisdiction. No person other than you may require an accounting or bring any action against us with respect to this agreement or our actions as Custodian.

We reserve the right to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for judicial settlement of our accounts, for determination of any questions of construction which may arise or for instructions. You shall be the only necessary party defendant to such action except we may, if we so elect, bring in as a party defendant any other person or persons.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Section References are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

PURPOSE OF FORM

Form 5305-RA is a model custodial account agreement that meets the requirements of section 408A. However, only Articles I through VIII have been reviewed by the IRS. A Roth Individual Retirement Account (Roth IRA) is established after the form is fully executed by both the individual (Depositor) and the Custodian. This account must be created in the United States for the exclusive benefit of the Depositor and his or her beneficiaries.

Do not file Form 5305-RA with the IRS. Instead, keep it with your records.

Unlike contributions to Traditional individual retirement arrangements, contributions to a Roth IRA are not deductible from the Depositor’s gross income; and distributions after five years that are made when the Depositor is 59½ years of age or older or on account of death, disability, or the purchase of a home by a first-time homebuyer (limited to $10,000), are not includible in gross income.

For more information on Roth IRAs, including the required disclosures the Custodian must give the Depositor, see Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), and Pub. 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

 DEFINITIONS

Custodian – The custodian must be a bank or savings and loan association, as defined in section 408(n), or any person who has the approval of the IRS to act as custodian.

Depositor – The Depositor is the person who establishes the custodial account.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS

Article I – The Depositor may be subject to a 6% tax on excess contributions if (1) contributions to other individual retirement arrangements of the Depositor have been made for the same tax year, (2) the Depositor’s adjusted gross income exceeds the applicable limits in Article II for the tax year, or (3) the Depositor’s and spouse’s compensation is less than the amount contributed by or on behalf of them for the tax year.

Article V – This article describes how distributions will be made from the Roth IRA after the Depositor’s death. Elections made pursuant to this article should be reviewed periodically to ensure they correspond to the Depositor’s intent. Under paragraph 3 of Article V, the Depositor’s spouse is treated as the owner of the Roth IRA upon the death of the Depositor, rather than as the beneficiary. If the spouse is to be treated as the beneficiary, and not the owner, an overriding provision should be added to Article IX.

Article IX – Article IX and any that follow it may incorporate additional provisions that are agreed to by the Depositor and Custodian to complete the agreement. They may include, for example, definitions, investment powers, voting rights, exculpatory provisions, amendment and termination, removal of the Custodian, Custodian’s fees, state law requirements, beginning date of distributions, accepting only cash, treatment of excess contributions, prohibited transactions with the Depositor, etc. Attach additional pages if necessary.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

 RIGHT TO REVOKE YOUR IRA

You have the right to revoke your Roth IRA within seven (7) days of the receipt of the Disclosure Statement. If revoked, you are entitled to a full return of the contribution you made to your Roth IRA. The amount returned to you would not include an adjustment for such items as sales commissions, administrative expenses, or fluctuation in market value. You may make this revocation only by mailing or delivering a written notice to the IRA Administrator, Apex Clearing Corporation, 350 N. St. Paul Street 1300, Dallas, TX, 75201.

If you send your notice by first class mail, your revocation will be deemed mailed as of the date of the postmark, or if sent by certified or registered mail, it shall be deemed to be mailed as of the date of certification or registration. If mailed, the written notice of revocation shall be mailed in the United States in an envelope, or other appropriate wrapper, first-class mail with the postage prepaid.

If you have any questions about the procedure for revoking your Roth IRA, please call the Custodian at the telephone number listed on the Application.

REQUIREMENTS OF A ROTH IRA

1. Cash Contributions – Your contribution must be in cash, unless it is a rollover or conversion contribution.

1. Maximum Contribution – The total amount you may contribute to a Roth IRA for any taxable year cannot exceed the lesser of 100 percent of your compensation or $5,500 for 2017 and 2018, with possible cost-of-living adjustments thereafter. If you also maintain a Traditional IRA (i.e., an IRA subject to the limits of Internal Revenue Code (Code) sections 408(a) or 408(b)), the maximum contribution to your Roth IRAs is reduced by any contributions you make to your Traditional IRAs. Your total annual contribution to all Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs cannot exceed the lesser of the dollar amounts described above or 100 percent of your compensation.

Your Roth IRA contribution is further limited if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) equals or exceeds $186,000 (for 2017) or $189,000 (for 2018) if you are a married individual filing a joint income tax return, or equals or exceeds $118,000 (for 2017) or $120,000 (for 2018) if you are a single individual. Married individuals filing a joint income tax return with MAGI equaling or exceeding $196,000 (for 2017) or $199,000 (for 2018) may not fund a Roth IRA. Married individuals filing a separate income tax return with MAGI equaling or exceeding $10,000 may not fund a Roth IRA. The MAGI limits described above are subject to cost-of-living increases for tax years beginning after 2018.

If you are married filing a joint income tax return and your MAGI is between the applicable MAGI phase-out range for the year, your maximum Roth IRA contribution is determined as follows:

1. Begin with the appropriate MAGI phase- out maximum for the applicable year and subtract your MAGI from it;

2. Divide the result by the difference between the phase-out range maximum and minimum; and

3. Multiply this number by the maximum allowable contribution for the year, including catch-up contributions if you are age 50 or older. For example, if you are age 30 and your MAGI is $191,000, your maximum Roth IRA contribution for 2017 is $2,750 ([$196,000 minus $191,000] divided by $10,000 and multiplied by $5,500).

If you are single and your MAGI is between the applicable MAGI phase-out for the year, your maximum Roth IRA contribution is determined as follows: (1) Begin with the appropriate MAGI phase-out maximum for the applicable year and subtract your MAGI from it; (2) divide the result by the difference between the phase-out range maximum and minimum; and (3) multiply this number by the maximum allowable contribution for the year, including catch-up contributions if you are age 50 or older. For example, if you are age 30 and your MAGI is $121,000, your maximum Roth IRA contribution for 2017 is $4,400 ([$133,000 minus $121,000] divided by $15,000 and multiplied by $5,500).

1. Contribution Eligibility – You are eligible to make a regular contribution to your Roth IRA, regardless of your age, if you have compensation and your MAGI is below the maximum threshold. Your Roth IRA contribution is not limited by your participation in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, other than a Traditional IRA.
2. Catch-Up Contribution – If you are age 50 or older by the close of the taxable year, you may make an additional contribution to your Roth IRA. The maximum additional contribution is $1,000 per year.

1. Nonforfeitability – Your interest in your Roth IRA is nonforfeitable.

1. Eligible Custodians – The Custodian of your Roth IRA must be a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or a person or entity approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.

1. Commingling Assets – The assets of your Roth IRA cannot be commingled with other property except in a common trust fund or common investment fund.

1. Life Insurance – No portion of your Roth IRA may be invested in life insurance contracts.

1. Collectibles – You may not invest the assets of your Roth IRA in collectibles (within the meaning of Code section 408(m)). A collectible is defined as any work of art, rug or antique, metal or gem, stamp or coin, alcoholic beverage, or other tangible personal property specified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, specially minted United States gold and silver coins, and certain state- issued coins are permissible investments. Platinum coins and certain gold, silver, platinum or palladium bullion (as described in Code section 408(m)(3)) are also permitted as Roth IRA investments.

1. Beneficiary Payouts – Your designated beneficiary is determined based on the beneficiary(ies) designated as of the date of your death who remains your beneficiary(ies) as of September 30 of the year following the year of your death. The entire amount remaining in your account will, at the election of your beneficiary(ies), either

1. Be distributed by December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of your death, or
2. Be distributed over the remaining life expectancy of your designated beneficiary(ies).

If your spouse is your sole designated beneficiary, he or she must elect either option (1) or (2) by the earlier of December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of your death, or December 31 of the year you would have attained age 70½. Your designated beneficiary(ies), other than a spouse who is the sole designated beneficiary, must elect either option (1) or (2) by December 31 of the year following the year of your death. If no election is made, distribution will be calculated in accordance with option (2). In the case of distributions under option (2), distributions must commence by December 31 of the year following the year of your death. Generally if your spouse is the designated beneficiary, distributions need not commence until December 31 of the year you would have attained age 70½, if later. If a beneficiary(ies) other than an individual or qualified trust as defined in the Regulations is named, you will be treated as having no designated beneficiary(ies) of your Roth IRA for purposes of determining the distribution period. If there is no designated beneficiary of your Roth IRA, the entire Roth IRA must be distributed by December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of your death.

A spouse who is the sole designated beneficiary of your entire Roth IRA will be deemed to elect to treat your Roth IRA as his or her own by either (1) making contributions to your Roth IRA or (2) failing to timely remove a required minimum distribution from your Roth IRA. Regardless of whether or not the spouse is the sole designated beneficiary of your Roth IRA, a spouse beneficiary may roll over his or her share of the assets to his or her own Roth IRA.

If we so choose, for any reason (e.g., due to limitations of our charter or bylaws), we may require that a beneficiary of a deceased Roth IRA owner take total distribution of all Roth IRA assets by December 31 of the year following the year of death.

If your beneficiary fails to remove a required minimum distribution after your death, an additional penalty tax of 50 percent is imposed on the amount of the required minimum distribution that should have been taken but was not. Your beneficiary must file IRS Form 5329 along with his or her income tax return to report and remit any additional taxes to the IRS.

INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF ESTABLISHING A ROTH IRA

1. Contributions Not Deducted – No deduction is allowed for Roth IRA contributions, including transfers, rollovers and conversion contributions.

1. Contribution Deadline – The deadline for making a Roth IRA contribution is your tax return due date (not including extensions). You may designate a contribution as a contribution for the preceding taxable year in a manner acceptable to us. For example, if you are a calendar year taxpayer, and you make your Roth IRA contribution on or before April 15, your contribution is considered to have been made for the previous tax year if you designate it as such.

If you are a member of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone, hazardous duty area, or contingency operation, you may have an extended contribution deadline of 180 days after the last day served in the area. In addition, your contribution deadline for a particular tax year is also extended by the number of days that remained to file that year’s tax return as of the date you entered the combat zone. This additional extension to make your Roth IRA contribution cannot exceed the number of days between January 1 and your tax filing deadline, not including extensions.

1. Tax Credit for Contributions – You may be eligible to receive a tax credit for your Roth IRA contributions. This credit may not exceed $1,000 in a given year. You may be eligible for this tax credit if you are:

* age 18 or older as of the close of the taxable year,

* not a dependent of another taxpayer, and

* not a full-time student.

The credit is based upon your income (see chart below), and will range from 0 to 50 percent of eligible contributions. In order to determine the amount of your contributions, add all of the contributions made to your Roth IRA and reduce these contributions by any distributions that you have taken during the testing period. The testing period begins two years prior to the year for which the credit  is sought and ends on the tax return due date (including extensions) for the year for which the credit is sought. In order to determine your tax credit, multiply the applicable percentage from the chart below by the amount of your contributions that do not exceed $2,000.

 2017 Adjusted Gross Income*

Applicable Percentage of 50%

  * Joint Return: $1 – 37,000

  * Heads of a Household: $1 – 27,750

  * All Other Cases: $1 – 18,500

Applicable Percentage of 20%

  * Joint Return: $37,001 – 40,000

  * Heads of a Household: $27,751 – 30,000

  * All Other Cases: $18,501 – 20,000

Applicable Percentage of 10%

  * Joint Return: $40,001 – 62,000

  * Heads of a Household: $30,001 – 46,500

  * All Other Cases: $20,001 – 31,000

Applicable Percentage of 0%

  * Joint Return: Over $62,000

  * Heads of a Household: Over $46,500

  * All Other Cases: Over $31,000

 2018 Adjusted Gross Income*

Applicable Percentage of 50%

* Joint Return: $1 – 38,000

* Heads of a Household: $1 – 28,500

* All Other Cases: $1 – $19,000

Applicable Percentage of 20%

* Joint Return: $38,001 – 41,000

* Heads of a Household: $28,501 – 30,750

* All Other Cases: $19,001 – $20,500

Applicable Percentage of 10%

* Joint Return: $41,001 – 63,000

* Heads of a Household: $30,751 – 47,250

* All Other Cases: $20,501 – $31,500

Applicable Percentage of 0%

* Joint Return: Over $63,000

* Heads of a Household: Over $47,250

* All Other Cases: Over $31,500

*Adjusted gross income (AGI) includes foreign earned income and income from Guam, America Samoa, North Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. AGI limits are subject to cost-of-living adjustments each year.

1. Excess Contributions – An excess contribution is any amount that is contributed to your Roth IRA that exceeds the amount that you are eligible to contribute. If the excess is not corrected timely, an additional penalty tax of six percent will be imposed upon the excess amount. The procedure for correcting an excess is determined by the timeliness of the correction as identified below.
2. Removal Before Your Tax Filing Deadline. An excess contribution may be corrected by withdrawing the excess amount, along with the earnings attributable to the excess, before your tax filing deadline, including extensions, for the year for which the excess contribution was made. An excess withdrawn under this method is not taxable to you, but you must include the earnings attributable to the excess in your taxable income in the year in which the contribution was made. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be avoided.

2. Removal After Your Tax Filing Deadline. If you are correcting an excess contribution after your tax filing deadline, including extensions, remove only the amount of the excess contribution. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be imposed on the excess contribution for each year it remains in the Roth IRA. An excess withdrawal under this method is not taxable to you.

3. Carry Forward to a Subsequent Year. If you do not withdraw the excess contribution, you may carry forward the contribution for a subsequent tax year. To do so, you under-contribute for that tax year and carry the excess contribution amount forward to that year on your tax return. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be imposed on the excess amount for each year that it remains as an excess contribution at the end of the year.

You must file IRS Form 5329 along with your income tax return to report and remit any additional taxes to the IRS.

1. Tax-Deferred Earnings – The investment earnings of your Roth IRA are not subject to federal income tax as they accumulate in your Roth IRA. In addition, distributions of your Roth IRA earnings will be free from federal income tax if you take a qualified distribution, as described below.
2. Taxation of Distributions – The taxation of Roth IRA distributions depends on whether the distribution is a qualified distribution or a nonqualified distribution.

1. Qualified Distributions. Qualified distributions from your Roth IRA (both the contributions and earnings) are not included in your income. A qualified distribution is a distribution that is made after the expiration of the five-year period beginning January 1 of the first year for which you made a contribution to any Roth IRA (including a conversion from a Traditional IRA), and is made on account of one of the following events.

* Attainment of age 59½

* Disability

* First-time homebuyer purchase

* Death

For example, if you made a contribution to your Roth IRA for 2007, the five-year period for determining whether a distribution is a qualified distribution is satisfied as of January 1, 2012.

2. Nonqualified Distributions. If you do not meet the requirements for a qualified distribution, any earnings you withdraw from your Roth IRA will be included in your gross income and, if you are under age 59½, may be subject to an early distribution penalty tax. However, when you take a distribution, the amounts you contributed annually to any Roth IRA and any military death gratuity or Service members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) payments that you rolled over to a Roth IRA, will be deemed to be removed first, followed by conversion and employer-sponsored retirement plan rollover contributions made to any Roth IRA on a first-in, first-out basis. Therefore, your nonqualified distributions will not be taxable to you until your withdrawals exceed the amount of your annual contributions, rollovers of your military death gratuity or SGLI payments, and your conversions and employer-sponsored retirement plan rollovers.
3. Income Tax Withholding – Any nonqualified withdrawal of earnings from your Roth IRA may be subject to federal income tax withholding. You may, however, elect not to have withholding apply to your Roth IRA withdrawal. If withholding is applied to your withdrawal, not less than 10 percent of the amount withdrawn must be withheld.

1. Early Distribution Penalty Tax – If you are under age 59½ and receive a nonqualified Roth IRA distribution, an additional early distribution penalty tax of 10 percent generally will apply to the amount includible in income in the year of the distribution. If you are under age 59½ and receive a distribution of conversion amounts or employer-sponsored retirement plan rollover amounts within the five-year period beginning with the year in which the conversion or employer-sponsored retirement plan rollover occurred, an additional early distribution penalty tax of 10 percent generally will apply to the amount of the distribution. The additional early distribution penalty tax of 10 percent generally will not apply if one of the following exceptions apply.

1. Death. After your death, payments made to your beneficiary are not subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

2. Disability. If you are disabled at the time of distribution, you are not subject to the additional 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. In order to be disabled, a physician must determine that your impairment can be expected to result in death or to be of long, continued, and indefinite duration.

3. Substantially Equal Periodic Payments. You are not subject to the additional 10 percent early distribution penalty tax if you are taking a series of substantially equal periodic payments (at least annual payments) over your life expectancy or the joint life expectancy of you and your beneficiary. You must continue these payments for the longer of five years or until you reach age 59½.

4. Unreimbursed Medical Expenses. If you take payments to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed a specified percentage of your adjusted gross income, you will not be subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. For further detailed information and effective dates you may obtain IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS. The medical expenses may be for you, your spouse, or any dependent listed on your tax return.

5. Health Insurance Premiums. If you are unemployed and have received unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks under a federal or state program, you may take payments from your Roth IRA to pay for health insurance premiums without incurring the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

6. Higher Education Expenses. Payments taken for certain qualified higher education expenses for you, your spouse, or the children or grandchildren of you or your spouse, will not be subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

7. First-Time Homebuyer. You may take payments from your Roth IRA to use toward qualified acquisition costs of buying or building a principle residence. The amount you may take for this reason may not exceed a lifetime maximum of $10,000. The payment must be used for qualified acquisition costs within 120 days of receiving the distribution.

8. IRS Levy. Payments from your Roth IRA made to the U.S. government in response to a federal tax levy are not subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

9. Qualified Reservist Distributions. If you are a qualified reservist member called to active duty for more than 179 days or an indefinite period, the payments you take from your Roth IRA during the active duty period are not subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

You must file IRS Form 5329 along with your income tax return to the IRS to report and remit any additional taxes or to claim a penalty tax exception.

1. Required Minimum Distributions. – You are not required to take distributions from your Roth IRA at age 70½ (as required for Traditional and savings incentive match plan for employees of small employers (SIMPLE) IRAs). However, your beneficiaries generally are required to take distributions from your Roth IRA after your death. See the section titled Beneficiary Payouts in this disclosure statement regarding beneficiaries’ required minimum distributions.

1. Rollovers and Conversions – Your Roth IRA may be rolled over to another Roth IRA of yours, may receive rollover contributions, or may receive conversion contributions, provided that all of the applicable rollover or conversion rules are followed. Rollover is a term used to describe a movement of cash or other property to your Roth IRA from another Roth IRA, or from your employer’s qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan, or federal Thrift Savings Plan. Conversion is a term used to describe the movement of Traditional IRA or SIMPLE IRA assets to a Roth IRA. A conversion generally is a taxable event. The general rollover and conversion rules are summarized below. These transactions are often complex. If you have any questions regarding a rollover or conversion, please see a competent tax advisor.

1. Roth IRA-to-Roth IRA Rollovers. Assets distributed from your Roth IRA may be rolled over to the same Roth IRA or another Roth IRA of yours if the requirements of IRC Sec. 408(d)(3) are met. A proper Roth IRA‐to‐Roth IRA rollover is completed if all or part of the distribution is rolled over not later than 60 days after the distribution is received. In the case of a distribution for a first‐time homebuyer where there was a delay or cancellation of the purchase, the 60‐day rollover period may be extended to 120 days. Roth IRA assets may not be rolled over to other types of IRAs (e.g., Traditional IRA, SIMPLE IRA), or employer‐ sponsored retirement plans. You are permitted to roll over only one distribution from an IRA (Traditional, Roth, or SIMPLE) in a 12‐month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own. A distribution may be rolled over to the same IRA or to another IRA that is eligible to receive the rollover. For more information on rollover limitations, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

2. Traditional IRA-to-Roth IRA Conversions. If you convert to a Roth IRA, the amount of the conversion from your Traditional IRA to your Roth IRA will be treated as a distribution for income tax purposes, and is includible in your gross income (except for any nondeductible contributions). Although the conversion amount generally is included in income, the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax will not apply to conversions from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, regardless of whether you qualify for any exceptions to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. If you are age 70½ or older, you must remove your required minimum distribution before converting your Traditional IRA.

3. Simple IRA-to-Roth IRA Conversions. You are eligible to convert all or any portion of your existing SIMPLE IRA into your Roth IRA, provided two years have passed since you first participated in a SIMPLE IRA plan sponsored by your employer. The amount of the conversion from your SIMPLE IRA to your Roth IRA will be treated as a distribution for income tax purposes and is includible in your gross income. Although the conversion amount generally is included in income, the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax will not apply to conversions from a SIMPLE IRA to a Roth IRA, regardless of whether you qualify for any exceptions to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. If you are age 70½ or older you must remove your required minimum distribution before converting your SIMPLE IRA.

4. Rollovers of Roth Elective Deferrals. Roth elective deferrals distributed from a 401(k) cash or deferred arrangement, 403(b) tax- sheltered annuity, 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan, or federal Thrift Savings Plan, may be rolled into your Roth IRA.

5. Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan-to-Roth IRA Rollovers. You may roll over, directly or indirectly, any eligible rollover distribution from an eligible employer-sponsored retirement plan to your Roth IRA. An eligible rollover distribution is defined generally as any distribution from a qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan, or federal Thrift Savings Plan unless it is a required minimum distribution, hardship distribution, part of a certain series of substantially equal periodic payments, corrective distributions of excess contributions, excess deferrals, excess annual additions and any income allocable to the excess, deemed loan distribution, dividends on employer securities, or the cost of life insurance coverage. If you are a spouse, non spouse, or qualified trust beneficiary who has inherited a qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, or 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan, you may be eligible to directly roll over the assets to an inherited Roth IRA. The inherited Roth IRA is subject to the beneficiary distribution requirements.

If you are conducting an indirect rollover, your eligible rollover distribution generally must be rolled over to your Roth IRA not later than 60 days after you receive the distribution. In the case of a plan loan offset due to plan termination or severance from employment, the deadline for completing the rollover is your tax return due date (including extensions) for the year in which the offset occurs.

Although the rollover amount generally is included in income, the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax will not apply to rollovers from eligible employer-sponsored retirement plans to a Roth IRA or inherited Roth IRA, regardless of whether you qualify for any exceptions to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

6. Beneficiary Rollovers From 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) Eligible Governmental Plans Containing Roth Elective Deferrals. If you are a spouse, non spouse, or qualified trust beneficiary of a deceased 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan participant who had made Roth elective deferrals to the plan, you may directly roll over the Roth elective deferrals and their earnings to an inherited Roth IRA. The Roth IRA must be maintained as an inherited Roth IRA, subject to the beneficiary distribution requirements.
7. Rollovers of Military Death Benefits. If you receive or have received a military death gratuity or a payment from the SGLI program, you may be able to roll over the proceeds to your Roth IRA. The rollover contribution amount is limited to the sum of the death benefits or SGLI payment received, less any such amount that was rolled over to a Coverdell education savings account. Proceeds must be rolled over within one year of receipt of the gratuity or SGLI payment for deaths occurring on or after June 17, 2008. Any amount that is rolled over under this provision is considered nontaxable basis in your Roth IRA.

8. Qualified HSA Funding Distribution. If you are eligible to contribute to a health savings account (HSA), you may be eligible to take a one- time tax-free qualified HSA funding distribution from your Roth IRA and directly deposit it to your HSA. The amount of the qualified HSA funding distribution may not exceed the maximum HSA contribution limit in effect for the type of high deductible health plan coverage (i.e., single or family coverage) that you have at the time of the deposit, and counts toward your HSA contribution limit for that year. For further detailed information, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans.

9. Rollovers of Settlement Payments From Bankrupt Airlines. If you are a qualified airline employee who has received a qualified airline settlement payment from a commercial airline carrier under the approval of an order of a federal bankruptcy court in a case filed after September 11, 2001, and before January 1, 2007, you are allowed to roll over any portion of the proceeds into your Roth IRA within 180 days after receipt of such amount, or by a later date if extended by federal law. For further detailed information and effective dates you may obtain IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

10. Rollover of Exxon Valdez Settlement Payments. If you receive a qualified settlement payment from Exxon Valdez litigation, you may roll over the amount of the settlement, up to $100,000, reduced by the amount of any qualified Exxon Valdez settlement income previously contributed to a Traditional or Roth IRA or eligible retirement plan in prior taxable years. You will have until your tax return due date (not including extensions) for the year in which the qualified settlement income is received to make the rollover contribution. To obtain more information on this type of rollover, you may wish to visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

11. Rollover of IRS Levy. If you receive a refund of eligible retirement plan assets that had been wrongfully levied, you may roll over the amount returned up until your tax return due date (not including extensions) for the year in which the money was returned.

12. Written Election. At the time you make a rollover or conversion to a Roth IRA, you must designate in writing to the custodian your election to treat that contribution as a rollover or conversion. Once made, the election is irrevocable.

1. Transfer Due to Divorce – If all or any part of your Roth IRA is awarded to your spouse or former spouse in a divorce or legal separation proceeding, the amount so awarded will be treated as the spouse’s Roth IRA (and may be transferred pursuant to a court-approved divorce decree or written legal separation agreement to another Roth IRA of your spouse), and will not be considered a taxable distribution to you. A transfer is a tax-free direct movement of cash and/or property from one Roth IRA to another.

1. Recharacterizations – If you make a contribution to a Traditional IRA and later recharacterize either all or a portion of the original contribution to a Roth IRA along with net income attributable, you may elect to treat the original contribution as having been made to the Roth IRA. The same methodology applies when recharacterizing a contribution from a Roth IRA to a Traditional IRA. For tax years beginning before January 1, 2018, if you have converted from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, or rolled over an eligible employer-sponsored retirement plan to a Roth IRA, you may recharacterize the conversion or rollover along with the net income attributable to a Traditional IRA. The deadline for completing a recharacterization is your tax filing deadline (including any extensions) for the year for which the original contribution was made or conversion or rollover completed. However, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, you may not recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion or an employer-sponsored retirement plan rollover.

LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

1. Spousal Roth IRA – If you are married and have compensation, you may contribute to a Roth IRA established for the benefit of your spouse, regardless of whether or not your spouse has compensation. You must file a joint income tax return for the year for which the contribution is made.

The amount you may contribute to your Roth IRA and your spouse’s Roth IRA is the lesser of 100 percent of your combined eligible compensation or $11,000 for 2017 and 2018. This amount may be increased with cost-of-living adjustments each year. However, you may not contribute more than the individual contribution limit to each Roth IRA. Your contribution may be further limited if your MAGI falls within the minimum and maximum thresholds.

If your spouse is age 50 or older by the close of the taxable year, and is otherwise eligible, you may make an additional contribution to your spouse’s Roth IRA. The maximum additional contribution is $1,000 per year.

2501. Gift Tax – Transfers of your Roth IRA assets to a beneficiary made during your life and at your request may be subject to federal gift tax under IRC Sec. 2501.
2502. Special Tax Treatment – Capital gains treatment and 10-year income averaging authorized by IRC Sec. 402 do not apply to Roth IRA distributions.

1. Prohibited Transactions – If you or your beneficiary(ies) engage in a prohibited transaction with your Roth IRA, as described in IRC Sec. 4975, your Roth IRA will lose its tax-deferred or tax-exempt status, and you generally must include the value of the earnings in your account in your gross income for that taxable year. The following transactions are examples of prohibited transactions with your Roth IRA. (1) Taking a loan from your Roth IRA (2) Buying property for personal use (present or future) with Roth IRA assets (3) Receiving certain bonuses or premiums because of your Roth IRA.

1. Pledging – If you pledge any portion of your Roth IRA as collateral for a loan, the amount so pledged will be treated as a distribution and may be included in your gross income for that year.

OTHER

1. IRS Plan Approval – Articles I through VIII of the agreement used to establish this Roth IRA have been approved by the IRS. The IRS approval is a determination only as to form. It is not an endorsement of the plan in operation or of the investments offered.

1. Additional Information – For further information on Roth IRAs, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), or Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), by calling 800-TAX-FORM, or by visiting www.irs.gov on the Internet.

1. Important Information About Procedures for Opening a New Account – To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial organizations to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. Therefore, when you open a Roth IRA, you are required to provide your name, residential address, date of birth, and identification number. We may require other information that will allow us to identify you.
2. Qualified Reservist Distributions – If you are an eligible qualified reservist who has taken penalty-free qualified reservist distributions from your Roth IRA or retirement plan, you may recontribute those amounts to a Roth IRA generally within a two-year period from your date of return.
3. Qualified Charitable Distributions – If you are age 70½ or older, you may take tax-free Roth IRA distributions of up to $100,000 per year and have these distributions paid directly to certain charitable organizations. Special tax rules may apply. For further detailed information and effective dates you may obtain IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.
4. Disaster Related Relief – If you qualify (for example, you sustained an economic loss due to, or are otherwise considered affected by, certain IRS designated disasters), you may be eligible for favorable tax treatment on distributions, rollovers, and other transactions involving your Roth IRA. Qualified disaster relief may include penalty-tax free early distributions made during specified timeframes for each disaster, the ability to include distributions in your gross income ratably over multiple years, the ability to roll over distributions to an eligible retirement plan without regard to the 60- day rollover rule, and more. For additional information on specific disasters, including a complete listing of disaster areas, qualification requirements for relief, and allowable disaster-related Roth IRA transactions, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Apex Clearing Corporation may charge your broker and/or investment advisor a fee. Please contact your broker and/or investment advisor for information regarding these charges.

Service Fees: We have the right to charge an annual service fee and other designated fees (e.g., a transfer, rollover or termination fee) in conjunction with your Roth IRA. In addition, we have the right to be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses, including legal expenses, we incur in connection with the administration of your Roth IRA. We may charge you separately for any fees or expenses, or we may deduct the amount of the fees or expenses from the assets in your Roth IRA at our discretion. The full annual service fee attributable to the year in which you terminate your Roth IRA, along with the termination fee, shall be due and payable upon termination of your Roth IRA regardless of the date during the year in which you terminate your IRA. We reserve the right to charge any additional fee upon 30 days notice to you that the fee will be effective. Fees such as sub transfer agent fees or commissions may be paid to us by third parties for assistance in performing certain transactions with respect to this Roth IRA.

Any brokerage commissions attributable to the assets in your Roth IRA will be charged to your Roth IRA. You cannot reimburse your Roth IRA for those commissions.

The value of your Roth IRA will be solely dependent upon the performance of any investment instrument chosen by you to fund your Roth IRA. Therefore, no projection of the growth of your Roth IRA can be reasonably shown or guaranteed. There are certain fees and charges associated with the investments you may select for your Roth IRA.

In the event this agreement is terminated or you transfer out of your existing Roth IRA, a fee will apply. Additionally, brokerage commissions may apply according to your selection of investments. Questions relative to fees and brokerage commission(s) should be discussed with your broker and/or investment advisor prior to executing any orders or you may refer to the prospectus which will describe the terms of the investment you choose.

You will select the type of investment for your Roth IRA assets, provided, however, that your selection of investments shall be limited to any investment vehicle obtainable by us, that we are authorized by our charter, articles of incorporation, or bylaws to offer and do in fact, in our sole discretion offer for investment in Roth IRAs..  For example, investments may include but shall not be limited to common stocks, government and corporate bonds, mutual funds, the purchase of put options on existing positions and writing of covered listed call options and such other options strategies that we may, from time to time, in our sole discretion make available for Roth IRAs and which strategies are approved for your account by your broker and/or investment advisor. Investments not generating confirmations must be accompanied by additional written instructions and such other documentation as we may, in our sole discretion, require. We shall act as a stockbroker or dealer whenever such services are required. We may, in our sole discretion, make available to you, additional investment offerings, which shall be limited to publicly traded securities, mutual funds, money market instruments and other investments that are obtainable by us and that we, in our sole discretion, determine that we are capable of holding in the ordinary course of our business.

Traditional IRA/SEP IRA Custodial Account Agreement and Disclosure Statement

Form 5305-A under section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Depositor named on the application is establishing a Traditional individual retirement account under section 408(a) to provide for his or her retirement and for the support of his or her beneficiaries after death.

The custodian named on the application has given the Depositor the disclosure statement required by Regulations section 1.408-6.

The Depositor has assigned the custodial account the sum indicated on the application. The Depositor and the custodian make the following agreement:

ARTICLE I

Except in the case of a rollover contribution described in section 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(d)(3), or 457(e)(16), an employer contribution to a simplified employee pension plan as described in section 408(k), or a recharacterized contribution described in section 408A(d)(6), the custodian will accept only cash contributions up to $5500 per year for tax years 2013 through 2017. For individuals who have reached the age of 50 by the end of the year, the contribution limit is increased to $6500 per year for tax years 2013 through 2017. For years after 2017, these limits will be increased to reflect a cost-of-living adjustment, if any.

ARTICLE II

The Depositor’s interest in the balance in the custodial account is nonforfeitable.

ARTICLE III

1. No part of the custodial account funds may be invested in life insurance contracts, nor may the assets of the custodial account be commingled with other property except in a common trust fund or common investment fund (within the meaning of section 408(a)(5)).

2. No part of the custodial account funds may be invested in collectibles (within the meaning of section 408(m)) except as otherwise permitted by section 408(m)(3), which provides an exception for certain gold, silver, and platinum coins, coins issued under the laws of any state, and certain bullion.

ARTICLE IV

1. Notwithstanding any provision of this agreement to the contrary, the distribution of the Depositor’s interest in the custodial account shall be made in accordance with the following requirements and shall otherwise comply with section 408(a)(6) and the regulations thereunder, the provisions of which are herein incorporated by reference.

2. The Depositor’s entire interest in the custodial account must be, or begin to be, distributed not later than the Depositor’s required beginning date, April 1 following the calendar year in which the Depositor reaches age 70½. By that date, the Depositor may elect, in a manner acceptable to the custodian, to have the balance in the custodial account distributed in: (a) A single sum or (b) Payments over a period not longer than the life of the Depositor or the joint lives of the Depositor and his or her designated beneficiary.

3. If the Depositor dies before his or her entire interest is distributed to him or her, the remaining interest will be distributed as follows:

1. a) If the Depositor dies on or after the required beginning date and:

1. the designated beneficiary is the Depositor’s surviving spouse, the remaining interest will be distributed over the surviving spouse’s life expectancy as determined each year until such spouse’s death, or over the period in paragraph (a)(iii) below if longer. Any interest remaining after the spouse’s death will be distributed over such spouse’s remaining life expectancy as determined in the year of the spouse’s death and reduced by one for each subsequent year, or, if distributions are being made over the period in paragraph (a)(iii) below, over such period.

1. the designated beneficiary is not the Depositor’s surviving spouse, the remaining interest will be distributed over the beneficiary’s remaining life expectancy as determined in the year following the death of the Depositor and reduced by one for each subsequent year, or over the period in paragraph (a)(iii) below if longer.

    iii. there is no designated beneficiary, the remaining interest will be distributed over the remaining life expectancy of the Depositor as determined in the year of the Depositor’s death and reduced by one for each subsequent year.

1. b) If the Depositor dies before the required beginning date, the remaining interest will be distributed in accordance with paragraph (i) below or, if elected or there is no designated beneficiary, in accordance with paragraph (ii) below.

1. The remaining interest will be distributed in accordance with paragraphs (a)(i) and (a)(ii) above (but not over the period in paragraph (a)(iii), even if longer), starting by the end of the calendar year following the year of the Depositor’s death. If, however, the designated beneficiary is the Depositor’s surviving spouse, then this distribution is not required to begin before the end of the calendar year in which the Depositor would have reached age 70½. But, in such case, if the Depositor’s surviving spouse dies before distributions are required to begin, then the remaining interest will be distributed in accordance with paragraph (a)(ii) above (but not over the period in paragraph (a)(iii), even if longer), over such spouse’s designated beneficiary’s life expectancy, or in accordance with (ii) below if there is no such designated beneficiary.

1. The remaining interest will be distributed by the end of the calendar year containing the fifth anniversary of the Depositor’s death.

4. If the Depositor dies before his or her entire interest has been distributed and if the designated beneficiary is not the Depositor’s surviving spouse, no additional contributions may be accepted in the account.

5. The minimum amount that must be distributed each year, beginning with the year containing the Depositor’s required beginning date, is known as the “required minimum distribution” and is determined as follows.

1. a) The required minimum distribution under paragraph 2(b) for any year, beginning with the year the Depositor reaches age 70½, is the Depositor’s account value at the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year divided by the distribution period in the uniform lifetime table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9. However, if the Depositor’s designated beneficiary is his or her surviving spouse, the required minimum distribution for a year shall not be more than the Depositor’s account value at the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year divided by the number in the joint and last survivor table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9. The required minimum distribution for a year under this paragraph (a) is determined using the Depositor’s (or, if applicable, the Depositor and spouse’s) attained age (or ages) in the year.

1. b) The required minimum distribution under paragraphs 3(a) and 3(b)(i) for a year, beginning with the year following the year of the Depositor’s death (or the year the Depositor would have reached age 70½, if applicable under paragraph 3(b)(i)) is the account value at the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year divided by the life expectancy (in the single life table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9) of the individual specified in such paragraphs 3(a) and 3(b)(i).

1. c) The required minimum distribution for the year the Depositor reaches age 70½ can be made as late as April 1 of the following year. The required minimum distribution for any other year must be made by the end of such year.

6. The owner of two or more Traditional IRAs may satisfy the minimum distribution requirements described above by taking from one Traditional IRA the amount required to satisfy the requirement for another in accordance with the regulations under section 408(a)(6).

ARTICLE V

1. The Depositor agrees to provide the custodian with all information necessary to prepare any reports required by section 408(i) and Regulations sections 1.408-5 and 1.408-6.

2. The custodian agrees to submit to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Depositor the reports prescribed by the IRS.

ARTICLE VI

Notwithstanding any other articles which may be added or incorporated, the provisions of Articles I through III and this sentence will be controlling. Any additional articles inconsistent with section 408(a) and the related regulations will be invalid.

ARTICLE VII

This agreement will be amended as necessary to comply with the provisions of the Code and the related regulations. Other amendments may be made with the consent of the persons whose signatures appear on the application.

ARTICLE VIII

8.1 Definitions – In this part of this agreement (Article VIII), the words “you” and “your” mean the Depositor. The words “we,” “us,” and “our” mean the custodian. The word “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code, and “regulations” means the Treasury regulations.

8.2 Notices and Change of Address – Any required notice regarding this IRA will be considered effective when we send it to the intended recipient at the last address that we have in our records. Any notice to be given to us will be considered effective when we actually receive it. You, or the intended recipient, must notify us of any change of address.

8.3 Representations and Responsibilities – You represent and warrant to us that any information you have given or will give us with respect to this agreement is complete and accurate. Further, you agree that any directions you give us or action you take will be proper under this agreement, and that we are entitled to rely upon any such information or directions. If we fail to receive directions from you regarding any transaction, if we receive ambiguous directions regarding any transaction, or if we, in good faith, believe that any transaction requested is in dispute, we reserve the right to take no action until further clarification acceptable to us is received from you or the appropriate government or judicial authority. We will not be responsible for losses of any kind that may result from your directions to us or your actions or failures to act, and you agree to reimburse us for any loss we may incur as a result of such directions, actions, or failures to act. We will not be responsible for any penalties, taxes, judgments, or expenses you incur in connection with your IRA. We have no duty to determine whether your contributions or distributions comply with the Code, regulations, rulings, or this agreement.

We may permit you to appoint, through written notice acceptable to us, an authorized agent to act on your behalf with respect to this agreement (e.g., attorney-in-fact, executor, administrator, investment manager), but we have no duty to determine the validity of such appointment or any instrument appointing such authorized agent. We will not be responsible for losses of any kind that may result from directions, actions, or failures to act by your authorized agent, and you agree to reimburse us for any loss we may incur as a result of such directions, actions, or failures to act by your authorized agent.

You will have 60 days after you receive any documents, statements, or other information from us to notify us in writing of any errors or inaccuracies reflected in these documents, statements, or other information. If you do not notify us within 60 days, the documents, statements, or other information will be deemed correct and accurate, and we will have no further liability or obligation for such documents, statements, other information, or the transactions described therein.

By performing services under this agreement we are acting as your agent. You acknowledge and agree that nothing in this agreement will be construed as conferring fiduciary status upon us. We will not be required to perform any additional services unless specifically agreed to under the terms and conditions of this agreement, or as required under the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to IRAs. You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless for any and all claims, actions, proceedings, damages, judgments, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including attorney’s fees arising from or in connection with this agreement.

To the extent written instructions or notices are required under this agreement, we may accept or provide such information in any other form permitted by the Code or applicable regulations including, but not limited to, electronic communication.

8.4 Disclosure of Account Information – We may use agents and or subcontractors to assist in administering your IRA. We may release non-public personal information regarding your IRA to such providers as necessary to provide the products and services made available under this agreement, and to evaluate our business operations and analyze potential product, service, or process improvements.

8.5 Service Fees – We have the right to charge an annual service fee or other designated fees (e.g., a transfer, rollover, or termination fee) for maintaining your IRA. In addition, we have the right to be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses, including legal expenses, we incur in connection with the administration of your IRA. We may charge you separately for any fees or expenses, or we may deduct the amount of the fees or expenses from the assets in your IRA at our discretion. We reserve the right to charge any additional fee after giving you 30 days’ notice. Fees such as subtransfer agent fees or commissions may be paid to us by third parties for assistance in performing certain transactions with respect to this IRA.

Any brokerage commissions attributable to the assets in your IRA will be charged to your IRA. You cannot reimburse your IRA for those commissions.

8.6 Investment of Amounts in the IRA – You have exclusive responsibility for and control over the investment of the assets of your IRA. All transactions will be subject to any and all restrictions or limitations, direct or indirect, that are imposed by our charter, articles of incorporation, or bylaws; any and all applicable federal and state laws and regulations; the rules, regulations, customs and usages of any exchange, market or clearing house where the transaction is executed; our policies and practices; and this agreement. After your death, your beneficiaries will have the right to direct the investment of your IRA assets, subject to the same conditions that applied to you during your lifetime under this agreement (including, without limitation, Section 8.03 of this article). The right to direct investment of assets may be restricted, however, as provided herein. We will have no discretion to direct any investment in your IRA. We assume no responsibility for rendering investment advice with respect to your IRA, nor will we offer any opinion or judgment to you on matters concerning the value or suitability of any investment or proposed investment for your IRA. In the absence of instructions from you, or if your instructions are not in a form acceptable to us, we will have the right to hold any uninvested amounts in cash, and we will have no responsibility to invest uninvested cash unless and until directed by you. We will not exercise the voting rights and other shareholder rights with respect to investments in your IRA unless you provide timely written directions acceptable to us.

You will select the investment for your IRA assets, provided, however, that your selection of investments shall be limited to any investment vehicle obtainable by us, that we are authorized by our charter, articles of incorporation, or bylaws to offer and do in fact, in our sole discretion offer for IRAs For example, investments may include but shall not be limited to common stocks, government and corporate bonds, mutual funds, the purchase of put options on existing positions and writing of covered listed call options and such other options strategies that we may, from time to time, in our sole discretion make available for IRAs and which strategies are approved for your account by your broker and/or investment advisor. Investments not generating confirmations must be accompanied by additional written instructions and such other documentation as we may, in our sole discretion, require. We shall act as a stockbroker or dealer whenever such services are required. We may in our sole discretion make available to you additional investment offerings, which will be limited to publicly traded securities, mutual funds, money market instruments, and other investments that are obtainable by us and that we, in our sole discretion, determine that we are capable of holding in the ordinary course of our business.

We shall have the power and authority in the administration of this Agreement to do all acts, including by way of illustration but not in limitation of the powers conferred by law, the following.

1. a) Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to invest and reinvest all or any part of the assets in securities obtainable through us and to invest in any lawful investment which is administratively acceptable to us without any duty to diversify and without regard to whether such property is authorized by the laws of any jurisdiction for investment by us;

1. b) Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to hold part or all of the uninvested assets or to place the same in a savings account approved by you or purchase a Certificate of Deposit with an institution approved by you;

1. c) To employ suitable agents and counsel and to pay them reasonable expenses and compensation;

1. d) Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to vote in person or by proxy with respect to securities held by us and to delegate our discretionary power;

1. e) Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction (and subject to approval of a custodial account for option trading privileges), to write covered listed call options against existing positions, to liquidate or close such option contracts, and to purchase put options on existing long positions (the same securities cannot be used to simultaneously cover more than one position);

1. f) Pursuant to your or your agent’s direction, to consent to or participate in dissolutions, reorganizations, consolidations, mergers, sales, leases, mortgages, and transfers or other changes affecting securities held by us;

1. g) To leave any securities or cash for safekeeping or on deposit, with or without interest, with such banks, brokers and other custodians as we may select, and to hold any securities in bearer form or in the name of these banks, brokers and any other custodians or in the name of the custodian without qualification or description or in the name of any nominee; and

1. h) Prior to the entry of any orders to purchase or sell securities in your account, you or your agent shall approve beforehand all such orders and direct us to implement such instructions. Selling short and executing purchases in an amount greater than available cash are prohibited. All investments outside of the cash account shall be accompanied by additional written instructions.

8.7 Beneficiaries – If you die before you receive all of the amounts in your IRA, payments from your IRA will be made to your beneficiary(ies). We have no obligation to pay to your beneficiaries until such time we are notified of your death by receiving a valid death certificate.

You may designate one or more persons or entities as beneficiary of your IRA. This designation can only be made on a form provided by or acceptable to us, and it will only be effective when it is filed with us during your lifetime. Unless otherwise specified each beneficiary designation you file with us will cancel all previous designations. The consent of your beneficiary(ies) will not be required for you to revoke a beneficiary designation. If you have designated both primary and contingent beneficiaries and no primary beneficiary(ies) survives you, the contingent beneficiary(ies) will acquire the designated share of your IRA. If you do not designate a beneficiary or if all of your primary and contingent beneficiaries predecease you, your spouse will be the beneficiary, or if there is no spouse living at the time of your death, your estate will be the beneficiary.

A spouse beneficiary will have all rights as granted under the Code or applicable regulations to treat your IRA as his or her own.

If the beneficiary designated to receive payments hereunder is a minor or person of unsound mind, whether so formally adjudicated or not, we may, at our discretion, make such payments to such person as may be acting as parent, guardian, committee, conservator, trustee or legal representative of such minor or incompetent and the receipt by any such person as selected by us shall be a full and complete discharge of us for any sums so paid.

We reserve the right to, at our discretion, deposit funds in a special savings account established in our name as Custodian for a beneficiary when within six months after any payment is due because we cannot ascertain the whereabouts on our records, and such beneficiary has not submitted a written claim for such payment before the expiration of said six-month period.

We may allow, if permitted by state law, an original IRA beneficiary(ies) (the beneficiary(ies) who is entitled to receive distributions from an inherited IRA at the time of your death) to name successor beneficiary(ies) for the inherited IRA. This designation can only be made on a form provided by or acceptable to us, and it will only be effective when it is filed with us during the original IRA beneficiary’s(ies’) lifetime. Unless it is otherwise specified, each beneficiary designation form that the original IRA beneficiary(ies) files with us will cancel all previous ones. The consent of a successor beneficiary(ies) will not be required for the original IRA beneficiary(ies) to revoke a successor beneficiary(ies) designation. If the original IRA beneficiary(ies) does not designate a successor beneficiary(ies), his or her estate will be the successor beneficiary. In no event will the successor beneficiary(ies) be able to extend the distribution period beyond that required for the original IRA beneficiary.

If we so choose, for any reason (e.g., due to limitations of our charter or bylaws), we may require that a beneficiary of a deceased IRA owner take total distribution of all IRA assets by December 31 of the year following the year of death.

8.8 Required Minimum Distributions – Your required minimum distribution is calculated using the uniform lifetime table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9. However, if your spouse is your sole designated beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger than you, your required minimum distribution is calculated each year using the joint and last survivor table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9.

If you fail to request your required minimum distribution by your required beginning date, we can, at our complete and sole discretion, do any one of the following.

* Make no distribution until you give us a proper withdrawal request

* Distribute your entire IRA to you in a single sum payment

* Determine your required minimum distribution from your IRA each year based on your life expectancy, calculated using the uniform lifetime table in Regulations section 1.401(a)(9)-9, and pay those distributions to you until you direct otherwise

We will not be liable for any penalties or taxes related to your failure to take a required minimum distribution.

8.9 Resignation or Removal of Custodian – We may resign as Custodian at any time upon 30 days written notice to the Participant. Upon resignation, we may, but shall not be required to, appoint a successor custodian under this Agreement; provided that any successor custodian shall satisfy the requirements of Code section 408(a)(2). Upon any such successor’s acceptance of appointment, we shall transfer the assets of the custodial account, together with copies of relevant books and records, to such successor custodian; provided, however, that we are authorized to reserve such sum of money or property as we may deem advisable for payment of any liabilities constituting a charge on or against the assets of the custodial account, or on or against us. We shall not be liable for the acts or omissions of any successor custodian. If no successor custodian is appointed by us, the custodial account shall be terminated, and the assets of the Account, reduced by the amount of any unpaid fees or expenses, will be distributed to you.

If we are required to comply with Regulations section 1.408–2(e), and we fail to do so, or we are not keeping the records, making the returns or sending the statements as are required by forms or Regulations, the IRS may, after notifying you, require you to substitute another trustee or custodian.

We may establish a policy requiring distribution of the entire balance of your IRA to you in cash or property if the balance of your IRA drops below the minimum balance required under the applicable investment or policy established.

Termination of Custodial Account – You may terminate this Agreement at any time upon notice to us in a manner and form acceptable to us. Upon such termination, we shall transfer the assets of the custodial account, reduced by the amount of any unpaid fees or expenses, to the custodian or trustee of another individual retirement account (within the meaning of Code section 408) or other retirement plan designated by you. We shall not be liable for losses arising from the acts, omissions, delays or other inaction of any such transferee custodian or trustee. If we receive notice of your intention to terminate the custodial account and you have not designated a transferee custodian or trustee for the assets in the custodial account, the custodial account reduced by any unpaid fees or expenses, will be distributed to you.

8.10 Successor Custodian – If our organization changes its name, reorganizes, merges with another organization (or comes under the control of any federal or state agency), or if our entire organization (or any portion that includes your IRA) is bought by another organization, that organization (or agency) will automatically become the trustee or custodian of your IRA, but only if it is the type of organization authorized to serve as an IRA trustee or custodian.

8.11 Amendments and Termination of the Plan – We have the right to amend or terminate this agreement at any time consistent with the provisions of applicable law without obtaining your consent, or the consent of your spouse or your beneficiary(ies). You will be deemed to have consented to any other amendment unless, within 30 days from the date we send the amendment, you notify us in writing that you do not consent.

8.12 Withdrawals or Transfers – All requests for withdrawal or transfer will be in writing on a form provided by or acceptable to us. The method of distribution must be specified in writing or in any other method acceptable to us. The tax identification number of the recipient must be provided to us before we are obligated to make a distribution. Withdrawals will be subject to all applicable tax and other laws and regulations, including but not limited to possible early distribution penalty taxes, surrender charges, and withholding requirements.

8.13 Transfers From Other Plans – We can receive amounts transferred to this IRA from the trustee or custodian of another IRA. In addition, we can accept direct rollovers of eligible rollover distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans as permitted by the Code. We reserve the right not to accept any transfer or direct rollover.

8.14 Liquidation of Assets – We have the right to liquidate assets in your IRA if necessary to make distributions or to pay fees, expenses, taxes, penalties, or surrender charges properly chargeable against your IRA. If you fail to direct us as to which assets to liquidate, we will decide, in our complete and sole discretion, and you agree to not hold us liable for any adverse consequences that result from our decision.

8.15 Restrictions on the Fund – Neither you nor any beneficiary may sell, transfer, or pledge any interest in your IRA in any manner whatsoever, except as provided by law or this agreement.

The assets in your IRA will not be responsible for the debts, contracts, or torts of any person entitled to distributions under this agreement.

8.16 What Law Applies – This agreement is subject to all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. If it is necessary to apply any state law to interpret and administer this agreement, the laws of the State of Texas shall govern.

If any part of this agreement is held to be illegal or invalid, the remaining parts will not be affected. Neither your nor our failure to enforce at any time or for any period of time any of the provisions of this agreement will be construed as a waiver of such provisions, or your right or our right thereafter to enforce each and every such provision.

8.17 Arbitration – This agreement contains a Predispute Arbitration Clause.

By Signing an Arbitration Agreement the Parties agree as follows:

1. a) All parties to this agreement are giving up the right to sue each other in court, including the right to a trial by jury except as provided by the rules of the Arbitration form in which a claim is filed;

1. b) Arbitration awards are generally final and binding; a party’s ability to have a court reverse or modify an arbitration award is very limited.

1. c) The liability of the parties to obtain documents, witness statements and other discovery is generally more limited in Arbitration than in court proceedings;

1. d) The Arbitrators do not have to explain the reason(s) for their award unless in an eligible case, a joint request for an explained decision has been submitted by all parties to the panel at least 20 days prior to the first scheduled hearing date.

1. e) The panel of Arbitrators will typically include a minority of Arbitrators who were or are affiliated with the securities industry.

1. f) The rules of some Arbitration forums may impose time limits for bringing a claim in Arbitration. In some cases, a claim that is ineligible for Arbitration may be brought in court.

1. g) The rules of the Arbitration forum in which the claim is filed, and any amendments thereto, shall be incorporated into this agreement

The following Arbitration Agreement should be read in conjunction with the disclosures above. Any and all controversies , disputes or claims between the Customer and You, or the Introducing Broker and/or Investment Advisor, or the Agents, Representatives, Employees, Directors, Officers, or Control Persons of You or The Introducing Broker and/or Investment Advisor, Arising out of, in connection with, from or with respect to (a) Any provisions of or the validity of this agreement or any related agreements, (b) The relationship of the parties hereto, or (c) Any controversy arising out of your business, the Introducing Broker and/or Investment Advisor’s business or the Customer’s accounts, Shall be conducted pursuant to the code of Arbitration procedure of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Arbitration must be commenced by service of a written demand for Arbitration or a written Notice of Intention to Arbitrate. The decision and award of the Arbitrator(s) shall be conclusive and binding upon all parties and any judgment upon any award rendered may be entered in a court having jurisdiction thereof, and neither party shall oppose such entry.

No person shall bring a putative or certified class action to arbitration, nor seek to enforce any pre-dispute arbitration agreement against any person who has initiated in court a putative class action; or who is a member of a putative class who has not opted out of the class with respect to any claims encompassed by the putative class action until: (i) the class certification is denied; or (ii) the class is de-certified; or (iii) the customer is excluded from the class by the court. Such forbearance to enforce an agreement to arbitrate shall not constitute a waiver of any rights under this agreement except to the extent stated herein.

8.18 Payment For Order Flow/Order Routing – “Payment for order flow” is a common and widespread industry practice whereby a brokerage firm receives monetary or non-monetary remuneration in return for the routing of customer orders to a designated exchange, market maker, dealer, or market center for execution. Apex Clearing receives payment for order flow on certain transactions in the form of rebates, monetary compensation or an inter-company transfer of funds. Payment for order flow is considered to be compensation to Apex Clearing. Your broker and/or the introducing firm that clears its trades through Apex Clearing, may or may not be compensated for such orders. The source and nature of any compensation received in connection with a specific transaction will be furnished upon written request of the customer.

Absent specific instructions from customers, Apex Clearing automatically routes orders in over-the-counter (“OTC”) securities to selected OTC market makers. Selected exchange traded securities may be routed to affiliated specialists, regional exchanges or designated third- market dealers. All orders are routed to an exchange, market maker, dealer or market center that matches or improves upon the displayed national best bid or offer for the particular security at the time the order is processed. Price improvement opportunities, or execution at prices superior to the displayed national best bid or offer, may be available for certain transactions in NASDAQ and listed securities from execution destinations to which orders are routed.

8.19 Assignability – This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of our successors and assigns, shall be binding on you, your heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas.

8.20 Accounting – Within 90 days from the close of each custodial account year, we shall render an accounting (valuing the assets fair market value) to you, which accounting may consist of copies of regularly issued broker-dealer statements to you. In the absence of the filing in writing with us of exceptions or objections to any such accounting, within 30 days after the mailing of such accounting, you shall be deemed to have approved such accounting. In such case, or upon your written approval, we shall be released, relieved and discharged with respect to all matters and things set forth in such accounting as though such accounting had been settled by the decree of a court of competent jurisdiction. No person other than you may require an accounting or bring any action against us with respect to this agreement or our actions as Custodian.

We reserve the right to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for judicial settlement of our accounts, for determination of any questions of construction which may arise or for instructions. You shall be the only necessary party defendant to such action except we may, if we so elect, bring in as a party defendant any other person or persons.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Section References are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

PURPOSE OF FORM

Form 5305-A is a model custodial account agreement that meets the requirements of section 408(a). However, only Articles I through VII have been reviewed by the IRS. A Traditional individual retirement account (Traditional IRA) is established after the form is fully executed by both the individual (Depositor) and the custodian. To make a regular contribution to a Traditional IRA for a year, the IRA must be established no later than the due date of the individual’s income tax return for the tax year (excluding extensions). This account must be created in the United States for the exclusive benefit of the Depositor and his or her beneficiaries.

Do not file Form 5305-A with the IRS. Instead, keep it with your records.

For more information on IRAs, including the required disclosures the Custodian must give the Depositor, see Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), and Pub. 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

The Depositor has assigned the custodial account the sum indicated on the application. The Depositor and the custodian make the following agreement:

 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

RIGHT TO REVOKE YOUR IRA

You have the right to revoke your IRA within seven (7) days of the receipt of the Disclosure Statement. If revoked, you are entitled to a full return of the contribution you made to your IRA. The amount returned to you would not include an adjustment for such items as sales commissions, administrative expenses, or fluctuation in market value. You may make this revocation only by mailing or delivering a written notice to the IRA Administrator, Apex Clearing Corporation, 350 N. St. Paul Street 1300, Dallas, TX 75201.

If you send your notice by first class mail, your revocation will be deemed mailed as of the date of the postmark, or if sent by certified or registered mail, it shall be deemed to be mailed as of the date of certification or registration. If mailed, the written notice of revocation shall be mailed in the United States in an envelope, or other appropriate wrapper, first-class mail with the postage prepaid.

If you have any questions about the procedure for revoking your IRA, please call the Custodian at the telephone number listed on the attached Application.

REQUIREMENTS OF AN IRA

1. Cash Contributions – Your contribution must be in cash, unless it is a rollover contribution.

1. Maximum Contribution – The total amount you may contribute to an IRA for any taxable year cannot exceed the lesser of 100 percent of your compensation or $5,500 for 2017 and 2018, with possible cost-of-living adjustments each year thereafter. If you also maintain a Roth IRA (i.e., an IRA subject to the limits of Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC Sec.) 408A), the maximum contribution to your Traditional IRAs is reduced by any contributions you make to your Roth IRAs. Your total annual contribution to all Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs cannot exceed the lesser of the dollar amounts described above or 100 percent of your compensation. Deposits received by us without an IRA Contribution Form will be deposited and reported to the IRS in accordance with the following policy:

1. Any deposit we receive below the IRS Annual Contribution Limit for your account will be deposited and reported to the IRS as Current Year Contributions (CYC). We will not aggregate deposits, and multiple deposits below the IRS limit will all be reported to the IRS as CYC and could result in an over-contribution in your account.

2. Deposits we receive above the IRS Annual Contribution Limit for your account will be deposited and reported to the IRS as Rollover Contributions.

1. Contribution Eligibility – You are eligible to make a regular contribution to your IRA if you have compensation and have not attained age 70½ by the end of the taxable year for which the contribution is made.

1. Catch-Up Contributions – If you are age 50 or older by the close of the taxable year, you may make an additional contribution to your IRA. The maximum additional contribution is $1,000 per year.

1. Nonforfeitability – Your interest in your IRA is nonforfeitable.

1. Eligible Custodians – The custodian of your IRA must be a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or a person or entity approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.

1. Commingling Assets – The assets of your IRA cannot be commingled with other property except in a common trust fund or common investment fund.

1. Life Insurance – No portion of your IRA may be invested in life insurance contracts.

1. Collectibles – You may not invest the assets of your IRA in collectibles (within the meaning of IRC Sec. 408(m)). A collectible is defined as any work of art, rug or antique, metal or gem, stamp or coin, alcoholic beverage, or other tangible personal property specified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, specially minted United States gold and silver coins, and certain state-issued coins are permissible investments. Platinum coins and certain gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion (as described in IRC Sec. 408(m)(3)) are also permitted as IRA investments.

1. Required Minimum Distributions – You are required to take minimum distributions from your IRA at certain times in accordance with Treasury Regulation 1.408-8. Below is a summary of the IRA distribution rules.

1. You are required to take a minimum distribution from your IRA for the year in which you reach age 70½ and for each year thereafter. You must take your first distribution by your required beginning date, which is April 1 of the year following the year you attain age 70½. The minimum distribution for any taxable year is equal to the amount obtained by dividing the account balance at the end of the prior year by the applicable divisor.

2. The applicable divisor generally is determined using the Uniform Lifetime Table provided by the IRS. If your spouse is your sole designated beneficiary for the entire calendar year, and is more than 10 years younger than you, the required minimum distribution is determined each year using the actual joint life expectancy of you and your spouse obtained from the Joint Life Expectancy Table provided by the IRS, rather than the life expectancy divisor from the Uniform Lifetime Table.

We reserve the right to do any one of the following by April 1 of the year following the year in which you turn age 70½.

1. a) Make no distribution until you give us a proper withdrawal request

1. b) Distribute your entire IRA to you in a single sum payment

1. c) Determine your required minimum distribution each year based on your life expectancy calculated using the Uniform Lifetime Table, and pay those distributions to you until you direct otherwise

If you fail to remove a required minimum distribution, an additional penalty tax of 50 percent is imposed on the amount of the required minimum distribution that should have been taken but was not. You must file IRS Form 5329 along with your income tax return to report and remit any additional taxes to the IRS.

3. Your designated beneficiary is determined based on the beneficiary(ies) designated as of the date of your death, who remain your beneficiary(ies) as of September 30 of the year following the year of your death.

If you die on or after your required beginning date, distributions must be made to your beneficiary(ies) over the longer of the single life expectancy of your designated beneficiary(ies), or your remaining life expectancy. If a beneficiary other than an individual or qualified trust as defined in the Treasury Regulations  is named, you will be treated as having no designated beneficiary of your IRA for purposes of determining the distribution period. If there is no designated beneficiary of your IRA, distributions will commence using your single life expectancy, reduced by one in each subsequent year.

If you die before your required beginning date, the entire amount remaining in your account will, at the election of your designated beneficiary(ies), either

1. a) be distributed by December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of your death, or

1. b) be distributed over the remaining life expectancy of your designated beneficiary(ies).

If your spouse is your sole designated beneficiary, he or she must elect either option (a) or (b) by the earlier of December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of your death, or December 31 of the year life expectancy payments would be required to begin. Your designated beneficiary(ies), other than a spouse who is the sole designated beneficiary, must elect either option (a) or (b) by December 31 of the year following the year of your death. If no election is made, distribution will be calculated in accordance with option (b). In the case of distributions under option (b), distributions must commence by December 31 of the year following the year of your death. Generally, if your spouse is the designated beneficiary, distributions need not commence until December 31 of the year you would have attained age 70½, if later. If a beneficiary other than an individual or qualified trust as defined in the Treasury Regulations is named, you will be treated as having no designated beneficiary(ies) of your IRA for purposes of determining the distribution period. If there is no designated beneficiary of your IRA, the entire IRA must be distributed by December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of your death.

A spouse who is the sole designated beneficiary of your entire IRA will be deemed to elect to treat your IRA as his or her own by either (1) making contributions to your IRA or (2) failing to timely remove a required minimum distribution from your IRA. Regardless of whether or not the spouse is the sole designated beneficiary of your IRA, a spouse beneficiary may roll over his or her share of the assets to his or her own IRA.

If your beneficiary fails to remove a required minimum distribution after your death, an additional penalty tax of 50 percent is imposed on the amount of the required minimum distribution that should have been taken but was not. Your beneficiary must file IRS Form 5329 along with his or her income tax return to report and remit any additional taxes to the IRS.

85. Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts and RMDs – A qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC) is a deferred annuity contract that, among other requirements, must guarantee lifetime income starting no later than age 85. The total premiums paid to QLACs in your IRAs must not exceed 25 percent (up to $125,000) of the combined value of your IRAs (excluding Roth IRAs). The $125,000 limit is subject to cost‐of‐living adjustments each year.

When calculating your RMD, you may reduce the prior year end account value by the value of QLACs that your IRA holds as investments.

For more information on QLACs, you may wish to refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF ESTABLISHING AN IRA

1. IRA Deductibility – If you are eligible to contribute to your IRA, the amount of the contribution for which you may take a tax deduction will depend upon whether you (or, in some cases, your spouse) are an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you (and your spouse, if married) are not an active participant, your entire IRA contribution will be deductible. If you are an active participant (or are married to an active participant), the deductibility of your IRA contribution will depend on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) and your tax filing status for the tax year for which the contribution was made. MAGI is determined on your income tax return using your adjusted gross income but disregarding any deductible IRA contribution and certain other deductions and exclusions.

Definition of Active Participant. Generally, you will be an active participant if you are covered by one or more of the following employer-sponsored retirement plans.

1. Qualified pension, profit sharing, 401(k), or stock bonus plan
2. Qualified annuity plan of an employer
3. Simplified employee pension (SEP) plan
4. Retirement plan established by the federal government, a state, or a political subdivision (except certain unfunded deferred compensation plans under IRC Sec. 457)
5. Tax-sheltered annuity for employees of certain tax-exempt organizations or public schools
6. Plan meeting the requirements of IRC Sec. 501(c)(18)
7. Savings incentive match plan for employees of small employers (SIMPLE) IRA plan or a SIMPLE 401(k) plan

If you do not know whether your employer maintains one of these plans or whether you are an active participant in a plan, check with your employer or your tax advisor. Also, the IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement that you receive at the end of the year from your employer will indicate whether you are an active participant.

If you are an active participant, are single, and have MAGI within the applicable phase-out range listed below, the deductible amount of your contribution is determined as follows. (1) Begin with the appropriate phase-out range maximum for the applicable year (specified below) and subtract your MAGI; (2) divide this total by the difference between the phase-out maximum and minimum; and (3) multiply this number by the maximum allowable contribution for the applicable year, including catch-up contributions if you are age 50 or older. The resulting figure will be the maximum IRA deduction you may take.  For example, if you are age 30 with MAGI of $63,000 in 2017, your maximum deductible contribution is $4,950 (the 2017 phase-out range maximum of $72,000 minus your MAGI of $63,000, divided by the difference between the maximum and minimum phase-out range limits of $10,000, and multiplied by the contribution limit of $5,500).

If you are an active participant, are married to an active participant and you file a joint income tax return, and have MAGI  within  the applicable phase-out  range  listed below, the deductible amount of your contribution is determined as follows. (1) Begin with the appropriate phase-out maximum for the applicable year (specified below) and subtract your MAGI; (2) divide this total by the difference between the phase-out range maximum and minimum; and (3) multiply this number by the maximum allowable contribution for the applicable year, including catch-up contributions if you are age 50 or older. The resulting figure will be the maximum IRA deduction you may take. For example, if you are age 30 with MAGI of $103,000 in 2017, your maximum deductible contribution is $4,400 (the 2017 phase-out maximum of $119,000 minus your MAGI of $103,000, divided by the difference between the maximum and minimum phase-out limits of $20,000, and multiplied by the contribution limit of $5,500).

If you are an active participant, are married and you file a separate income tax return, your MAGI phase-out range is generally $0–$10,000. However, if you lived apart for the entire tax year, you are treated as a single filer.

Tax Year 2011:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $90,000 – $110,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $56,000 – $66,000

Tax Year 2012:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $92,000 – $112,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $58,000 – $68,000

Tax Year 2013:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $95,000 – $115,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $59,000 – $69,000

Tax Year 2014:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $96,000 – $116,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $60,000 – $70,000

Tax Year 2015:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $98,000 – $118,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $61,000 – $71,000

Tax Year 2016:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $98,000 – $118,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $61,000 – $71,000

Tax Year 2017:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $99,000 – $119,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $62,000 – $72,000

Tax Year 2018:

  * Joint Filers Phase-Out Range*:  $101,000 – $121,000

  * Single Filers Phase-Out Range*: $63,000 – $73,000

*MAGI limits are subject to cost-of-living adjustments each year.

The MAGI phase-out range for an individual that is not an active participant, but is married to an active participant, is $186,000–$196,000 (for 2017) and $189,000–$199,000 (for 2018). This limit is also subject to cost-of-living increases for tax years after 2018. If you are not an active participant in an employer- sponsored retirement plan, are married to someone who is an active participant, and you file a joint income tax return with MAGI between the applicable phase-out range for the year, your maximum deductible contribution is determined as follows.

1. Begin with the appropriate MAGI phase-out maximum for the year and subtract your MAGI;
2. divide this total by the difference between the phase-out range maximum and minimum; and
3. multiply this number by the maximum allowable contribution for the applicable year, including catch-up contributions if you are age 50 or older.

The resulting figure will be the maximum IRA deduction you may take.

You must round the resulting deduction to the next highest $10 if the number is not a multiple of 10. If your resulting deduction is between $0 and $200, you may round up to $200.

1. Contribution Deadline – The deadline for making an IRA contribution is your tax return due date (not including extensions). You may designate a contribution as a contribution for the preceding taxable year in a manner acceptable to us. For example, if you are a calendar-year taxpayer and you make your IRA contribution on or before your tax filing deadline, your contribution is considered to have been made for the previous tax year if you designate it as such.

If you are a member of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone, hazardous duty area, or contingency operation, you may have an extended contribution deadline of 180 days after the last day served in the area. In addition, your contribution deadline for a particular tax year is also extended by the number of days that remained to file that year’s tax return as of the date you entered the combat zone. This additional extension to make your IRA contribution cannot exceed the number of days between January 1 and your tax filing deadline, not including extensions.

1. Tax Credit for Contributions – You may be eligible to receive a tax credit for your Traditional IRA contributions. This credit will be allowed in addition to any tax deduction that may apply, and may not exceed $1,000 in a given year. You may be eligible for this tax credit if you are

* age 18 or older as of the close of the taxable year,

* not a dependent of another taxpayer, and

* not a full-time student.

The credit is based upon your income (see chart below), and will range from 0 to 50 percent of eligible contributions. In order to determine the amount of your contributions, add all of the contributions made to your Traditional IRA and reduce these contributions by any distributions that you have taken during the testing period. The testing period begins two years prior to the year for which the credit is sought and ends on the tax return due date (including extensions) for the year for which the credit is sought. In order to determine your tax credit, multiply the applicable percentage from the chart below by the amount of your contributions that do not exceed $2,000.

2017 Adjusted Gross Income*

Applicable Percentage of 50%

  * Joint Return: $1 – 37,000

  * Heads of a Household: $1 – 27,750

  * All Other Cases: $1 – 18,500

Applicable Percentage of 20%

  * Joint Return: $37,001 – 40,000

  * Heads of a Household: $27,751 – 30,000

  * All Other Cases: $18,501 – 20,000

Applicable Percentage of 10%

  * Joint Return: $40,001 – 62,000

  * Heads of a Household: $30,001 – 46,500

  * All Other Cases: $20,001 – 31,000

Applicable Percentage of 0%

  * Joint Return: Over $62,000

  * Heads of a Household: Over $46,500

  * All Other Cases: Over $31,000

 2018 Adjusted Gross Income*

Applicable Percentage of 50%

* Joint Return: $1 – 38,000

* Heads of a Household: $1 – 28,500

* All Other Cases: $1 – $19,000

Applicable Percentage of 20%

* Joint Return: $38,001 – 41,000

* Heads of a Household: $28,501 – 30,750

* All Other Cases: $19,001 – $20,500

Applicable Percentage of 10%

* Joint Return: $41,001 – 63,000

* Heads of a Household: $30,751 – 47,250

* All Other Cases: $20,501 – $31,500

Applicable Percentage of 0%

* Joint Return: Over $63,000

* Heads of a Household: Over $47,250

* All Other Cases: Over $31,500

*Adjusted gross income (AGI) includes foreign earned income and income from Guam, America Samoa, North Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. AGI limits are subject to cost-of-living adjustments each year.

1. Excess Contributions – An excess contribution is any amount that is contributed to your IRA that exceeds the amount that you are eligible to contribute. If the excess is not corrected timely, an additional penalty tax of six percent will be imposed upon the excess amount. The procedure for correcting an excess is determined by the timeliness of the correction as identified below.

1. Removal Before Your Tax Filing Deadline. An excess contribution may be corrected by withdrawing the excess amount, along with the earnings attributable to the excess, before your tax filing deadline, including extensions, for the year during which the excess contribution was made. An excess withdrawn under this method is not taxable to you, but you must include the earnings attributable to the excess in your taxable income in the year in which the contribution was made. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be avoided.
2. Removal After Your Tax Filing Deadline. If you are correcting an excess contribution after your tax filing deadline, including extensions, remove only the amount of the excess contribution. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be imposed on the excess contribution for each year it remains in the IRA.  An excess withdrawal under this method will only be taxable to you if the total contributions made in the year of the excess exceed the annual applicable contribution limit.
3. Carry Forward to a Subsequent Year. If you do not withdraw the excess contribution, you may carry forward the contribution for a subsequent tax year. To do so, you under-contribute for that tax year and carry the excess contribution amount forward to that year on your tax return. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be imposed on the excess amount for each year that it remains as an excess contribution at the end of the year.

You must file IRS Form 5329 along with your income tax return to report and remit any additional taxes to the IRS.

1. Tax-Deferred Earnings – The investment earnings of your IRA are not subject to federal income tax until distributions are made (or, in certain instances, when distributions are deemed to be made).

1. Nondeductible Contributions – You may make nondeductible contributions to your IRA to the extent that deductible contributions are not allowed. The sum of your deductible and nondeductible IRA contributions cannot exceed your contribution limit (the lesser of the allowable contribution limit described previously, or 100 percent of compensation). You may elect to treat deductible IRA contributions as nondeductible contributions.

If you make nondeductible contributions for a particular tax year, you must report the amount of the nondeductible contribution along with your income tax return using IRS Form 8606. Failure to file IRS Form 8606 will result in a $50 per failure penalty.

If you overstate the amount of designated nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, you are subject to a $100 penalty unless reasonable cause for the overstatement can be shown.

1. Taxation of Distributions – The taxation of IRA distributions depends on whether or not you have ever made nondeductible IRA contributions.  If you have only made deductible contributions, all IRA distribution amounts will be included in income.

If you have ever made nondeductible contributions to any IRA, the following formula must be used to determine the amount of any IRA distribution excluded from income.

(Aggregate Nondeductible Contributions X Amount Withdrawn) / Aggregate IRA Balance = Amount Excluded From Income

NOTE: Aggregate nondeductible contributions include all nondeductible contributions made by you through the end of the year of the distribution that have not previously been withdrawn and excluded from income. Also note that the aggregate IRA balance includes the total balance of all of your Traditional and SIMPLE IRAs as of the end of the year of distribution and any distributions occurring during the year.

1. Income Tax Withholding – Any withdrawal from your IRA is subject to federal income tax withholding. You may, however, elect not to have withholding apply to your IRA withdrawal. If withholding is applied to your withdrawal, not less than 10 percent of the amount withdrawn must be withheld.

1. Early Distribution Penalty Tax – If you receive an IRA distribution before you attain age 59½, an additional early distribution penalty tax of 10 percent will apply to the taxable amount of the distribution unless one of the following exceptions apply.

1. Death. After your death, payments made to your beneficiary are not subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

2. Disability. If you are disabled at the time of distribution, you are not subject to the additional 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. In order to be disabled, a physician must determine that your impairment can be expected to result in death or to be of long, continued, and indefinite duration.

3. Substantially equal periodic payments. You are not subject to the additional 10 percent early distribution penalty tax if you are taking a series of substantially equal periodic payments (at least annual payments) over your life expectancy or the joint life expectancy of you and your beneficiary. You must continue these payments for the longer of five years or until you reach age 59½.

4. Unreimbursed medical expenses. If you take payments to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed a specified percentage of your adjusted gross income, you will not be subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. For further detailed information and effective dates you may obtain IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS. The medical expenses may be for you, your spouse, or any dependent listed on your tax return.

5. Health insurance premiums. If you are unemployed and have received unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks under a federal or state program, you may take payments from your IRA to pay for health insurance premiums without incurring the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

6. Higher education expenses. Payments taken for certain qualified higher education expenses for you, your spouse, or the children or grandchildren of you or your spouse, will not be subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

7. First- time homebuyer. You may take payments from your IRA to use toward qualified acquisition costs of buying or building a principal residence. The amount you may take for this reason may not exceed a lifetime maximum of $10,000. The payment must be used for qualified acquisition costs within 120 days of receiving the distribution.

8. IRS levy. Payments from your IRA made to the U.S. government in response to a federal tax levy are not subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

9. Qualified reservist distributions.  If you are a qualified reservist member called to active duty for more than 179 days or an indefinite period, the payments you take from your IRA during the active duty period are not subject to the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax.

You must file IRS Form 5329 along with your income tax return to the IRS to report and remit any additional taxes or to claim a penalty tax exception.

1. Rollovers and Conversions – Your IRA may be rolled over to another IRA of yours, may receive rollover contributions, or may be converted to a Roth IRA, provided that all of the applicable rollover and conversion rules are followed. Rollover is a term used to describe a movement of cash or other property to your IRA from another IRA, or from your employer’s qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan, or federal Thrift Savings Plan. The amount rolled over is not subject to taxation or the additional 10 percent early distribution penalty tax. Conversion is a term used to describe the movement of Traditional IRA assets to a Roth IRA. A conversion generally is a taxable event.  The general rollover and conversion rules are summarized below. These transactions are often complex. If you have any questions regarding a rollover or conversion, please see a competent tax advisor.

1. Traditional IRA to Traditional IRA Rollovers. Assets distributed from your Traditional IRA may be rolled over to the same Traditional IRA or another Traditional IRA of yours if the requirements of IRC Sec. 408(d)(3) are met. A proper IRA‐to‐IRA rollover is completed if all or part of the distribution is rolled over not later than 60 days after the distribution is received. In the case of a distribution for a first‐time homebuyer where there was a delay or cancellation of the purchase, the 60‐day rollover period may be extended to 120 days.

Effective for distributions taken on or after January 1, 2015, you are permitted to roll over only one distribution from an IRA (Traditional, Roth, or SIMPLE) in a 12‐month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own. A distribution may be rolled over to the same IRA or to another IRA that is eligible to receive the rollover. For more information on rollover limitations, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

2. SIMPLE IRA to Traditional IRA Rollovers. Assets distributed from your SIMPLE IRA may be rolled over to your Traditional IRA without IRS penalty tax provided two years have passed since you first participated in a SIMPLE IRA plan sponsored by your employer. As with Traditional IRA to Traditional IRA rollovers, the requirements of IRC Sec. 408(d)(3) must be met. A proper SIMPLE IRA to IRA rollover is completed if all or part of the distribution is rolled over not later than 60 days after the distribution is received.

Effective for distributions taken on or after January 1, 2015, you are permitted to roll over only one distribution from an IRA (Traditional, Roth, or SIMPLE) in a 12‐month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own. A distribution may be rolled over to the same IRA or to another IRA that is eligible to receive the rollover. For more information on rollover limitations, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

3. Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan to Traditional IRA Rollovers. You may roll over, directly or indirectly, any eligible rollover distribution from an eligible employer-sponsored retirement plan. An eligible rollover distribution is defined generally as any distribution from a qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan (other than distributions to non-spouse beneficiaries), or federal Thrift Savings Plan unless it is part of a certain series of substantially equal periodic payments, a required minimum distribution, a hardship distribution, or a distribution of Roth elective deferrals from a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), or federal Thrift Savings  Plan.

If you elect to receive your rollover distribution prior to placing it in an IRA, thereby conducting an indirect rollover, your plan administrator generally will be required to withhold 20 percent of your distribution as a payment of income taxes. When completing the rollover, you may make up out of pocket the amount withheld, and roll over the full amount distributed from your employer-sponsored retirement plan.

To qualify as a rollover, your eligible rollover distribution generally must be rolled over to your IRA not later than 60 days after you receive the distribution. In the case of a plan loan offset due to plan termination or severance from employment, the deadline for completing the rollover is your tax return due date (including extensions) for the year in which the offset occurs.  Alternatively, you may claim the withheld amount as income, and pay the applicable income tax, and if you are under age 59½, the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax (unless an exception to the penalty applies).

As an alternative to the indirect rollover, your employer generally must give you the option to directly roll over your employer-sponsored retirement plan balance to an IRA. If you elect the direct rollover option, your eligible rollover distribution will be paid directly to the IRA (or other eligible employer- sponsored retirement plan) that you designate. The 20 percent withholding requirements do not apply to direct rollovers.

4. Beneficiary Rollovers From Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans. If you are a spouse, non-spouse, or qualified trust beneficiary of a deceased employer- sponsored retirement plan participant, you may directly roll over inherited assets from a qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, or 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan to an inherited IRA. The IRA must be maintained as an inherited IRA, subject to the beneficiary distribution requirements.

5. Traditional IRA-to-SIMPLE IRA Rollovers. Assets distributed from your Traditional IRA may be rolled over to a SIMPLE IRA if the requirements of IRC Sec. 408(d)(3) are met and two years have passed since you first participated in a SIMPLE IRA plan sponsored by your employer. A proper Traditional IRA‐to‐ SIMPLE IRA rollover is completed if all or part of the distribution is rolled over not later than 60 days after the distribution is received. In the case of a distribution for a first‐time homebuyer where there was a delay or cancellation of the purchase, the 60‐day rollover period may be extended to 120 days.

You are permitted to roll over only one distribution from an IRA (Traditional, Roth, or SIMPLE) in a 12‐month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own. A distribution may be rolled over to the same IRA or to another IRA that is eligible to receive the rollover. For more information on rollover limitations, you may obtain IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

6. Traditional IRA to Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan Rollovers.  You may roll over, directly or indirectly, any taxable eligible rollover distribution from an IRA to your qualified retirement plan, 403(a) annuity, 403(b) tax- sheltered annuity, or 457(b) eligible governmental deferred compensation plan as long as the employer-sponsored retirement plan accepts such rollover contributions.

7. Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversions. If you convert to a Roth IRA, the amount of the conversion from your Traditional IRA to your Roth IRA will be treated as a distribution for income tax purposes, and is includible in your gross income (except for any nondeductible contributions). Although the conversion amount generally is included in income, the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax will not apply to conversions from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, regardless of whether you qualify for any exceptions to the 10 percent penalty tax. If you are age 70½ or older you must remove your required minimum distribution before converting your Traditional IRA.

8. Qualified HSA Funding Distribution. If you are eligible to contribute to a health savings account (HSA), you may be eligible to take a one-time tax-free qualified HSA funding distribution from your IRA and directly deposit it to your HSA. The amount of the qualified HSA funding distribution may not exceed the maximum HSA contribution limit in effect for the type of high deductible health plan coverage (i.e., single or family coverage) that you have at the time of the deposit, and counts toward your HSA contribution limit for that year. For further detailed information, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax Favored Health Plans.

9. Rollovers of Settlement Payments From Bankrupt Airlines. If you are a qualified airline employee who has received an airline settlement payment from a commercial airline carrier under the approval of an order of a federal bankruptcy court, you are allowed to roll over up to 90 percent of the proceeds into your Traditional IRA within 180 days after receipt of such amount, or by a later date if extended by federal law. If you make such a rollover contribution, you may exclude the amount rolled over from your gross income in the taxable year in which the airline settlement payment was paid to you. For further detailed information and effective dates you may obtain IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

10. Rollovers of Exxon Valdez Settlement Payments. If you receive a qualified settlement payment from Exxon Valdez litigation, you may roll over the amount of the settlement, up to $100,000, reduced by the amount of any qualified Exxon Valdez settlement income previously contributed to a Traditional or Roth IRA or eligible retirement plan in prior taxable years. You will have until your tax return due date (not including extensions) for the year in which the qualified settlement income is received to make the rollover contribution. To obtain more information on this type of rollover, you may wish to visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

11. Rollover of IRS Levy.  If you receive a refund of eligible retirement plan assets that had been wrongfully levied, you may roll over the amount returned up until your tax return due date (not including extensions) for the year in which the money was returned.

12. Written Election. At the time you make a proper rollover to an IRA, you must designate in writing to the custodian, Apex Clearing, your election to treat that contribution as a rollover. Once made, the rollover election is irrevocable. Deposits in excess of the annual contribution limits that are received without IRA Contribution Forms will be deposited and reported to the IRS as Rollover contributions. Please note that due to the IRS mandated correction filing deadline of July 31, requests to make changes to contribution coding must be received by the close of business on the 2nd Friday in July and accompanied by a completed IRA Contribution Form. Any correction that needs to be made after this reporting deadline will be the responsibility of the IRA Owner and must be handled directly with the IRS.

1. Transfer Due to Divorce – If all or any part of your IRA is awarded to your spouse or former spouse in a divorce or legal separation proceeding, the amount so awarded will be treated as the spouse’s IRA (and may be transferred pursuant to a court-approved divorce decree or written legal separation agreement to another IRA of your spouse), and will not be considered a taxable distribution to you. A transfer is a tax-free direct movement of cash and/or property from one Traditional IRA to another.

1. Recharacterizations – If you make a contribution to a Traditional IRA and later recharacterize either all or a portion of the original contribution to a Roth IRA along with net income attributable, you may elect to treat the original contribution as having been made to the Roth IRA. The same methodology applies when recharacterizing a contribution from a Roth IRA to a Traditional IRA. For tax years beginning before January 1, 2018, if you have converted from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA you may recharacterize the conversion along with net income attributable back to a Traditional IRA. The deadline for completing a recharacterization is your tax filing deadline (including any extensions) for the year for which the original contribution was made or conversion completed. However, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, you may not recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion.

LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

1. SEP Plans – Under a simplified employee pension (SEP) plan that meets the requirements of IRC Sec. 408(k), your employer may make contributions to your IRA. Your employer is required to provide you with information that describes the terms of your employer’s SEP plan.

1. Spousal IRA – If you are married and have compensation, you may contribute to an IRA established for the benefit of your spouse for any year prior to the year your spouse turns age 70½, regardless of whether or not your spouse has compensation. You may make these spousal contributions even if you are age 70½ or older. You must file a joint income tax return for the year for which the contribution is made.

The amount you may contribute to your IRA and your spouse’s IRA is the lesser of 100 percent of your combined eligible compensation or $11,000 for 2017 and 2018. This amount may be increased with cost-of-living adjustments each year. However, you may not contribute more than the individual contribution limit to each IRA.

If your spouse is age 50 or older by the close of the taxable year, and is otherwise eligible, you may make an additional contribution to your spouse’s IRA. The maximum additional contribution is $1,000 per year.

1. Deduction of Rollovers and Transfers – A deduction is not allowed for rollover or transfer contributions.

2501. Gift Tax – Transfers of your IRA assets to a beneficiary made during your life and at your request may be subject to federal gift tax under IRC Sec. 2501.

1. Special Tax Treatment – Capital gains treatment and 10-year income averaging authorized by IRC Sec. 402 do not apply to IRA distributions.

1. Prohibited Transactions – If you or your beneficiary engage in a prohibited transaction with your IRA, as described in IRC Sec. 4975, your IRA will lose its tax-deferred status, and you must include the value of your account in your gross income for that taxable year. The following transactions are examples of prohibited transactions with your IRA.  (1) Taking a loan from your IRA (2) Buying property for personal use (present or future) with IRA assets (3) Receiving certain bonuses or premiums because of your IRA.

1. Pledging – If you pledge any portion of your IRA as collateral for a loan, the amount so pledged will be treated as a distribution and will be included in your gross income for that year.

OTHER

1. IRS Plan Approval – Articles I through VII of the agreement used to establish this IRA have been approved by the IRS. The IRS approval is a determination only as to form. It is not an endorsement of the plan in operation or of the investments offered.

1. Additional Information – For further information on IRAs, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), or Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), by calling 800-TAX-FORM, or by visiting www.irs.gov on the Internet.

1. Important Information About Procedures for Opening a New Account – To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial organizations to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. Therefore, when you open an IRA, you are required to provide your name, residential address, date of birth, and identification number. We may require other information that will allow us to identify you.

1. Qualified Reservist Distributions – If you are an eligible qualified reservist who has taken penalty-free qualified reservist distributions from your IRA or retirement plan, you may recontribute those amounts to an IRA generally within a two-year period from your date of return.

1. Qualified Charitable Distributions – If you are age 70½ or older, you may take tax-free IRA distributions of up to $100,000 per year and have these distributions paid directly to certain charitable organizations. Special tax rules may apply. This provision applies to distributions during tax years 2012 and 2013 and may apply to subsequent years if extended by Congress. For further detailed information and effective dates you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.
2. Disaster Related Relief – If you qualify (for example, you sustained an economic loss due to, or are otherwise considered affected by, certain IRS designated disasters), you may be eligible for favorable tax treatment on distributions, rollovers, and other transactions involving your IRA. Qualified disaster relief may include penalty-tax free early distributions made during specified timeframes for each disaster, the ability to include distributions in your gross income ratably over multiple years, the ability to roll over distributions to an eligible retirement plan without regard to the 60-day rollover rule, and more. For additional information on specific disasters, including a complete listing of disaster areas, qualification requirements for relief, and allowable disaster-related IRA transactions, you may wish to obtain IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), from the IRS or refer to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Apex Clearing Corporation may charge your broker and/or investment advisor a fee. Please contact your broker and/or investment advisor for information regarding these charges.

Service Fees: We have the right to charge an annual service fee and other designated fees (e.g., a transfer, rollover or termination fee) in conjunction with your IRA. In addition, we have the right to be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses, including legal expenses, we incur in connection with the administration of your IRA. We may charge you separately for any fees or expenses, or we may deduct the amount of the fees or expenses from the assets in your IRA at our discretion. The full annual service fee attributable to the year in which you terminate your IRA, along with the termination fee, shall be due and payable upon termination of your IRA regardless of the date during the year in which you terminate your IRA. We reserve the right to charge any additional fee upon 30 days’ notice to you that the fee will be effective. Fees such as sub transfer agent fees or commissions may be paid to us by third parties for assistance in performing certain transactions with respect to this IRA.

Any brokerage commissions attributable to the assets in your IRA will be charged to your IRA. You cannot reimburse your IRA for those commissions.

The value of your IRA will be solely dependent upon the performance of any investment instrument chosen by you to fund your IRA. Therefore, no projection of the growth of your IRA can be reasonably shown or guaranteed. There are certain fees and charges associated with the investments you may select for your IRA. In the event this agreement is terminated or you transfer out of your existing IRA, a fee will apply. Additionally, brokerage commissions may apply according to your selection of investments. Questions relative to brokerage commission(s) should be discussed with your broker and/or investment advisor prior to executing any orders or you may refer to the prospectus which will describe the terms of the investment you choose.

You will select the type of investment for your IRA assets, provided, however, that your selection of investments shall be limited to any investment vehicle obtainable by us, that we are authorized by our charter, articles of incorporation, or bylaws to offer and do in fact, in our sole discretion offer for investment in IRAs. For example, investments may include but shall not be limited to common stocks, government and corporate bonds, mutual funds, the purchase of put options on existing positions and writing of covered listed call options and such other options strategies that we may, from time to time, in our sole discretion make available for IRAs and which strategies are approved for your account by your broker and/or investment advisor. Investments not generating confirmations must be accompanied by additional written instructions and such other documentation as we may, in our sole discretion, require. We shall act as a stockbroker or dealer whenever such services are required. We may, in our sole discretion, make available to you, additional investment offerings, which shall be limited to publicly traded securities, mutual funds, money market instruments and other investments that are obtainable by us  and that we, in our sole discretion, determine that we are capable of holding in the ordinary course of our business

While Facet will never charge additional fees for managing accounts, our custodians may charge fees that will be deducted from your account.  Apex miscellaneous fees include:

• Outgoing ACAT (account transfer, full or partial) $75.00 per transfer
• Outgoing Wire (domestic) $25.00 per wire
• Outgoing Wire (foreign) $50.00 per wire
• Overnight mail (domestic) $50.00 per mailing
• Overnight mail (foreign) $100.00 per mailing
• Paper Check (regular mail – domestic) $5.00 per check
• Paper Check (regular mail – international) $10.00 per check
• Paper Statements and Tax Forms $5.00 per statement or tax form
• Paper Confirmation $2.00 per confirmation
• Paper Prospectus Fee $5.00 per mailing
• Third-Party Distribution Notification $2.00 per notification
• Check Copies $15.00 per copy
• Returned ACH or Check $30.00 per return
• Stop Payments on Issued Checks $30.00 per stop payment

While Facet will never charge additional fees for managing accounts, our custodians sometimes charge fees that will be deducted from your accounts, including:

• Equity Trading Commissions (For orders up to 10,000 shares): $0 for full e-delivery enrollment, $4.95 if not enrolled for e-delivery
• Mutual Fund Trading Fee (Sell Orders): $0 for NTF funds, $30 for non-NTF funds such as Vanguard and DFA
• Unit Investment Trusts (Sell Orders): $30
• Precious Metals (Sell Orders): <$50k = 1.45%, $50k-$250k = 0.50%, >$250k = 0.38%
• Wire Fee = $30 Maximum
• Overnight Check Fee = $8
• IRA Closeout Fee = $125
• Non-Retirement Full TOA Fee = $75 (ACAT only)