Privacy Policy.

Who this notice covers

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected by:

• Stellar Wealth Management LLC, a state-registered investment adviser in Alaska (CRD 342926).
• Stelmaszek Company Ltd, a Colorado limited liability company qualified to transact business in Alaska, operating the firm's Enrolled Agent tax practice.
• This website at stellarwm.com and its subdomains.

Both entities are wholly owned by Matthew Stelmaszek and share data-handling practices described in this notice. Where a practice differs between the two entities, the difference is called out below.

Information we collect

From clients during engagement

When you engage either entity, we collect information necessary to deliver the service and meet our regulatory obligations. This typically includes:

• Identifying information (name, date of birth, address, phone, email)
• Tax-identifying information (Social Security Number, ITIN, EIN)
• Financial information (income, assets, liabilities, account statements, prior tax returns, employer information, retirement-account contributions)
• Household information where relevant to the engagement (spouse, dependents)
• Information about your goals, risk tolerance, and financial situation
• Source documents you provide (W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, brokerage statements, closing documents, etc.)

This information is collected through written engagement documents, the client portal, encrypted email, secure document transfer, or verbal conversation memorialized in our notes.

From prospects via the contact form

When you submit the contact form on this website, we collect the information you provide directly: name, email, the service you are interested in, your situation as you describe it, and any optional information about your background (federal firefighter, military, federal employee, self-employed, other). The contact form does not request and should not be used to transmit Social Security numbers, account numbers, or other sensitive identifiers.

From visitors via the website

When you visit this website, we and our service providers automatically collect technical information including IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, and time on page. This information is used for security, analytics, and improving the website. The third-party services we use for these purposes are described below.

How we use the information we collect

• To deliver the services you engage us for (preparing your tax return, building your financial plan, etc.)
• To communicate with you about your engagement, including scheduled check-ins and material changes that affect your plan
• To respond to inquiries submitted through the contact form
• To meet our regulatory obligations (Form ADV reporting, Circular 230 due diligence, records retention)
• To send the Taxing Matters newsletter to subscribers who opt in
• To analyze website performance and improve user experience
• To detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, security incidents, and abuse

We do not sell, rent, or otherwise commercialize client or prospect information. We do not use client information to advertise or market services from third parties.

How we share information

We share personal information only as necessary to deliver the engagement or as required by law. Specifically:

Within the two entities

If you are a client of one entity and engage the other entity, the two firms share information necessary to coordinate the combined relationship. This sharing is operational, not a sale.

With service providers

We use the following service providers, each of which is contractually obligated to protect the information we share with them:

The firm reviews each service provider for adequacy of security controls and contractual protection of client information. The firm maintains the right to add, remove, or change service providers; material changes are reflected in updates to this Privacy Policy.

With regulators and as required by law

We share information with regulators (the State of Alaska Division of Banking and Securities, the IRS, FinCEN, the SEC where applicable) in response to subpoena, examination, audit, or other lawful process. We may share information to comply with a court order or legal requirement, or to protect the firm, our clients, or the public from imminent harm.

What we do not share

• We do not sell personal information.
• We do not share personal information with marketing partners.
• We do not share personal information with affiliated broker-dealers (we have none).
• We do not provide client information to data brokers, mailing-list compilers, or advertising networks.

Your rights under Regulation S-P

Regulation S-P generally applies to consumer relationships with financial institutions. Because Stellar Wealth Management LLC does not share nonpublic personal information with non-affiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes, the standard Reg S-P opt-out right is not triggered. To the extent any future sharing would trigger an opt-out, the firm will provide you with notice and a reasonable opportunity to opt out before the sharing occurs.

Your rights under Alaska law (AS 45.48)

The Alaska Personal Information Protection Act (AS 45.48) requires that we maintain reasonable security measures, that we promptly notify Alaska residents of a breach of unencrypted personal information that creates a reasonable likelihood of harm, and that we comply with state requirements regarding disposal of personal information.

If you believe your information has been compromised, contact the firm through the contact form on this site. We will investigate and provide notification consistent with AS 45.48 if a breach has occurred.

Cookies and tracking technologies

This website uses cookies and similar technologies for three purposes:

• Necessary cookies set by Cloudflare to deliver the website, prevent abuse, and protect against denial-of-service attacks. These cannot be disabled and do not require consent.
• Analytics cookies set by Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics to measure website performance (page views, session duration, traffic source). Analytics cookies are subject to your consent through the cookie banner displayed on first visit.
• Functional cookies set by the Taxing Matters newsletter signup if you choose to subscribe, recording your subscription preference.

You may decline analytics cookies through the banner or your browser's privacy settings. Declining analytics cookies does not affect site functionality.

Sensitive information and secure document exchange

The contact form on this website is for general inquiries only. Please do not submit Social Security numbers, account numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information through the contact form. For sensitive intake, we use the TaxDome client portal, which provides encryption in transit and at rest. We can also provide an encrypted email channel for documents that cannot be uploaded to the portal.

Children's privacy

This website is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information promptly.

Data retention

We retain client and engagement records for the longer of (a) the time required by applicable law and our books-and-records retention schedule, (b) the time necessary to deliver the service and respond to follow-up inquiries, or (c) the time required by our professional liability insurance. Investment adviser records are retained for at least five years per Rule 204-2. Tax-engagement records are retained per IRS recommendations and our internal policy. Prospective-client records from contact-form submissions are retained for the period necessary to evaluate whether to engage.

Data security

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These include:

• HTTPS for all website pages with current TLS certificates
• Multi-factor authentication on firm administrative accounts
• Encryption of client documents in the TaxDome portal
• Background-checked principals; no employees with access to client information beyond Matthew Stelmaszek as the firm's sole principal
• Service providers contractually obligated to maintain commercially reasonable security controls
• An incident-response plan and breach-notification procedure consistent with AS 45.48 and Reg S-P

No security control is perfect. The firm cannot guarantee that any communication will be free from interception or unauthorized access, especially over the open Internet.

Third-party links

This website includes links to third-party sites (the SEC's IAPD website, the FINRA-recognized MQFP designation, the TaxDome client portal, the Cloudflare Worker handling contact and newsletter submissions, and others). When you follow a link to a third-party site, that site's privacy policy governs your interaction with it. The firm does not control and is not responsible for the practices of third-party sites.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated to reflect changes in our practices, our service providers, or applicable law. Material changes will be reflected here within 30 days of the change and, where the change affects active clients, will be communicated directly to those clients per the firm's distribution practice. The "Effective date" at the top of this page reflects the date of the most recent material revision.

Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy, requests for the firm's full Code of Ethics, or concerns about the handling of your personal information should be directed to:

Send the firm a note through the contact form on this site and address it to the attention of Matthew Stelmaszek, Chief Compliance Officer. The firm will respond within a reasonable timeframe.