Phil is a Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor at Merrill Private Wealth Management.  Phil has been a professional in the field of High Net Worth Client Management since 1994.  Prior to joining Merrill in 2000, Phil was a Vice President in the Private Client Services Group at Goldman Sachs. He is a Certified Private Wealth Advisor® professional, and has been trained at the Money, Meaning, and Choices Institute in San Francisco. He also served on the Board of the Coral Reef Alliance.

Phil is ranked among the Top 250 Advisors in America by Forbes/Shook for 2016-2022 (Published annually Aug – Oct. Rankings based on data as of Mar 31 – June 30 of current year); among the Forbes Best-in-State 2018-2022 (Published annually Jan – April. Rankings based on data as of June 30 of prior year); ranked among the Top 1200 Advisors in America, & Top 100 Advisors in California, by Barron's for 2012-2022 (Published annually in February-March. Rankings based on data as of September 30 of prior year); Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams in America in 2021 and 2022 (Published annually in April. Rankings based on data as of December 31 of prior year); and among the Top 400 Advisors in America by the Financial Times in 2016 (Published on March 30, 2016. Rankings based on data as of June 30, 2015).

Phil earned his PhD at the University of California at San Diego in Cellular and Molecular Biology.  His postdoctoral work was conducted at the University of California at San Francisco, where he was a Fellow of the Cancer Research Institute.  His graduate and postdoctoral works have been published in several journals including:  Science, The Journal of Cellular Biology and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.  Phil earned his B.S. in Biochemistry and his M.A. in Plant Biology from Binghamton University in New York.

Working with the Merrill Center for Family Wealth Dynamics and Governance™, Phil focuses on developing a tailored wealth & estate plan strategy for the client, based on the client’s core values around family, philanthropy and wealth. Phil currently holds his Series 3, 7, 63 and 65 FINRA registrations.
 

 

*Source: NEW Forbes “America’s Top Wealth Advisors” 2016-2022 list, published annually Aug - Oct. Rankings based on data as of Mar 31 - June 30 of current year.

Data provided by SHOOK® Research, LLC. America’s Top Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on inperson, virtual and telephone due diligence meetings and a ranking algorithm that includes: a measure of best practices, client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of Forbes and not representative nor indicative of any one client’s experience, future performance, or investment outcome and should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Rankings and recognition from Forbes are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.

*Source: The Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list, published annually Jan - April. Rankings based on data as of June 30 of prior year.

Data provided by SHOOK® Research, LLC. Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual, and telephone due diligence meetings to measure best practices; also considered are: client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.

*Source: The Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors: State-by-State” list, published annually in February-March. Rankings based on data as of September 30 of prior year.

 

The Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” ranking considered advisors with a minimum of seven years financial services experience and who have been employed at their current firm for at least one year. This is a list of the top advisors in each state, with the number of ranking spots determined by each state’s population and wealth. Other quantitative and qualitative measures include assets under management, revenues generated by advisors for their firms, and the quality of the advisors’ practices, regulatory records, internal company documents, and 100-plus points of data provided by the advisors themselves. Rankings and recognition from Barron’s are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Barron’s is a trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Source: The Barron’s “Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams” list, published annually in April. Rankings based on data as of December 31 of prior year.

The Barron’s “Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams” list is a ranking of wealth management teams that specialize in serving individuals and families. The teams are ranked on a variety of factors, including their size and shape, the regulatory records and credentials of their members and the resources they have at their disposal to serve their client bases. The Barron’s “Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams” ranking considered advisors with a minimum of seven years financial services experience and who have been employed at their current firm for at least one year. Quantitative and qualitative measures used to determine the advisor rankings include: client assets, return on assets, client satisfaction/retention, compliance records, and community involvement, among others. Rankings are based on the opinions of Barron’s and not representative nor indicative of any one client’s experience, future performance, or investment outcome and should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Barron’s does not receive compensation from advisors, participating firms and their affiliates, or the media in exchange for rankings. Rankings and recognition from Barron’s are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Barron’s is a trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Source: Financial Times “400 Top Financial Advisers” list, published on March 30, 2016. Rankings based on data as of June 30, 2015.

The Financial Times “400 Top Financial Advisers” (FT 400) is an independent listing produced by the Financial Times. The FT 400 was last awarded in 2020. The FT 400 is based on data gathered from firms and verified by broker-dealer home offices, regulatory disclosures, and the FT’s research. The listing reflects each adviser’s performance in six primary areas, including assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, experience, credentials and accessibility as identified by the FT. Neither the brokerages nor the advisers pay a fee to the Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 400. The ranking or ratings shown here may not be representative of all client experiences because they reflect an average or sampling of the client experiences. These rankings or ratings are not indicative of any future performance or investment outcome.

Eric M. Burns, CFA joined the Hartl Team at Merrill Private Wealth Management in 2021 as a Wealth Management Specialist, bringing with him a decade of experience in capital markets. As the team’s lead analyst, Eric leverages his background in institutional research and portfolio management to assist in the development of tailored strategies for clients.

Eric brings a unique perspective to the team and our clients, having spent the last several years at Sands Capital, a concentrated growth equity manager. As an associate on the Global Consumer team, Eric conducted in-depth fundamental research on innovative businesses with a particular focus on omnichannel apparel retailers and global hospitality & leisure brands. An integral member of the ESG & Stewardship team, Eric incubated a strategy with a focus on sustainable growth factors and best-in-class governance practices.

Prior to Sands Capital, Eric spent nearly five years at UBS as a senior associate where he advised middle-market business owners throughout the United States on tax mitigation strategies, including a §1042 tax-deferred sale to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Earlier in his career, Eric sat on the proprietary equity trading desk of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, a hedge fund located in New York, New York.  

A native of Virginia, Eric holds a BSBA with a concentration in finance from Christopher Newport University where he served as the co-captain of the school’s rugby team.  He was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2018.

*Impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating.

*Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

Lorgia Estrada joined The Hartl Group at Merrill Private Wealth Management in 2021 as a Senior Private Wealth Client Associate.  Lorgia has been a financial industry professional in operations and administration since 1993. She has served as an Operations Manager, Analyst, and Registered Client Associate at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management from 1993-2015, a Registered Client Associate at Wells Fargo from 2016-2017, and most recently before joining the Hartl Group, a Wealth Management Associate at Morgan Stanley. She holds Series 7 and 66 FINRA registrations.  Lorgia is a Los Angeles native, having attended both Venice High School and Santa Monica College. She is fluent in Spanish.  As with the rest of The Hartl Group, she is firmly committed to achieving high levels of client satisfaction.