Our Philosophy
We believe your unique goals should be at the center of all of your financial decisions and form the foundation of your financial strategy. Because significant wealth requires customized goals-based financial strategies, we believe in building lasting relationships with a limited number of clients, taking the time to understand your most important priorities for today, tomorrow and your long-term future. Our philosophy celebrates collaboration. Working with a team of specialists, we draw on the resources and insights of a global financial institution to create strategies that reflect your aspirations for yourself and current and future generations of your family. Finally, we believe that while significant wealth brings complex challenges, our experience, passion and perspectives can help you simplify your life.
Our Approach
We appreciate that every client is unique because significant wealth requires customized goals-based financial strategies. We believe in building lasting relationships with a limited number of clients, taking the time to understand your most important priorities for today, tomorrow and the future.
Families like yours with significant wealth face multiple demands and competing priorities such as maintaining your current lifestyle, preparing the rising generation, seeking meaningful philanthropic opportunities, and taking advantage of new tax laws, all while keeping your capital prudently invested. We pride ourselves on being the right team for an impressive circle of discerning, self-made individuals and generations of their families.
We know the value of being nimble in order to adjust to the changes that life inevitably deals each family over time. We consider the optimal relationship between advisor and client is not exclusively rooted in the financial metrics of investments, but rather is blended with an understanding of what matters most to clients on a personal level.
We take pride in the fact that we are constantly seeking out new information and methods to better benefit you, the client. To illustrate, one of our team members is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, CEPA designee. Through this certification, we have a profound understanding of not only what is required to facilitate a successful transition, but also the knowledge and tools to help you better position your business before the transition begins, resulting in maximum value. We want to help you to pursue superior outcomes in any way we can.
Put simply – we make life easier for you and your family from the moment we meet and for generations after.
Investment Approach
We’ve helped people like you many times before, so we know what you should consider, and what you should avoid. We ask the questions that you wouldn’t know to ask. Our goal is to help you capitalize on the advantages and avoid the consequences of managing your hard-earned wealth. Moreover, to prepare you for the change both financially and mentally as you enter the next stage of your life.
Our investment approach includes:
- Designing efficient portfolios that maximize return for a given level of risk.
- Tracking risk through a range of measures including volatility, downside volatility, value-at-risk, peak-to-trough drawdown, downside market capture and scenario analysis.
- Maximizing after-tax returns through strategic asset allocation, tactical overlay and manager selection.
- Promoting diversification across size, style, geography, manager and asset class.
- Examining upcoming economic themes, macro market movements, and correlation statistics to enhance portfolio performance.
- Considering hedge funds and private equity as potential portfolio components.
- Re-evaluating the portfolio regularly in order to identify gaps and rebalance allocations.
*Some or all alternative investments may not be in the best interests for certain investors. Certain alternative investments carry significant risk and are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as mutual funds and other traditional investments. For these reasons, access to alternative investments may be limited to investors who are designated as sophisticated, high-net-worth investors.
Our Services
Our holistic approach goes beyond traditional banking and investments to help clients with what matters most to them and their families including:
- Wealth preservation and transfer strategies
- Pre-transaction planning: outright sale, recap or IPO
- Implementing Investment Policy Statements
- Determining an appropriate asset allocation: an important early step in the investment process
- Investment management: traditional and alternative investment selection
- Liquidity and cash management
- Banking and Lending Solutions (i.e. Cash Management, Securities Based Lending, Home, Yacht, Aircraft and Art Financing)
- Tailored lending and liability management
- Hedging and monetization of concentrated equity and stock option positions
- Philanthropy: integrated charitable plans, family foundations and donor advised funds
- Client education: financial boot camps, tailored programs and individual access to specialists
We recognize the value of collaboration. Working with a team of specialists, we draw on the resources and insights of a global financial institution to create strategies that reflect your aspirations for yourself and current and future generations of your family.
*Some or all alternative investments may not be in the best interests for certain investors. Certain alternative investments carry significant risk and are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as mutual funds and other traditional investments. For these reasons, access to alternative investments may be limited to investors who are designated as sophisticated, high-net-worth investors.
*Banking products and services provided by Bank of America, N.A.
Company Founders, Private Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
When you have built your own business, your personal finances and the life of your company are closely intertwined. You may be thinking about how to invest in your company’s growth while also deciding how best to use your personal assets. Helping ensure the future of your business likely involves employee benefits, retirement plans and succession planning. Helping secure your family’s legacy could entail wealth transfer strategies, trusts and philanthropy. Whatever your specific needs, we at Merrill Private Wealth Management can help entrepreneurs and business owners balance their personal financial lives with their life’s work. We are dedicated in providing the experience and resources to help support your ongoing success.
Corporate Executives
We understand the complexities that come with your executive position and the extreme demands on your time. We can help you develop a customized strategy that your finances and compensation require. We can help with risk management strategies for your concentrated stock position while navigating complex SEC rules, trading restrictions and reporting requirements. If you’ve just been promoted and would like help evaluating your new compensation plan, or if you’re looking to develop a long-term financial strategy for you and your family — designed to enable you to live life as you want it, with reliable access to cash — we can help simplify your financial life, as well as develop new strategies as your career and goals evolve.
Intergenerational Family Wealth
As a family that spans multiple generations, you have needs that go beyond preserving assets, tax minimization strategies and designating heirs. Your goals also likely include passing on values and helping the next generation become effective stewards. We can help with personalized wealth transfer strategies, family wealth education and developing and implementing philanthropic visions. In working with you to create an approach that reflects your family’s intentions and helps ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes, we proceed in a manner that recognizes the complexities of your life challenges and the unique nature of your goals. Our extensive experience working with other families of significant wealth helps us to see and share best practices to help you achieve them.
Family Offices
As private wealth advisors with Merrill Private Wealth Management, we work with prominent families to help them manage the ongoing complexities they face. Our deep experience with family offices enables us to tailor a range of services to help meet your specific needs. We can provide access to Merrill for investment and wealth management strategies, and to Bank of America for governance, asset custody and administration, as well as assisting in the financial education of younger family members. In working with you to create and implement plans reflecting your specific intentions, our goal is to help your family enterprise succeed, and that your knowledge and values are passed along to the next generation. Together, we will focus on strategies that recognize the unique nature of your family’s mission, history and goals.
A Commitment to Service
Merrill Private Wealth Management is committed to providing a select group of clients with highly personalized one-on-one service. When you work with us, our knowledgeable, rigorously trained private wealth advisors will gain a deep understanding of your goals, help you develop a multigenerational wealth strategy, and help you update your strategy as needed. We are committed to providing you access to the investment insights of Merrill and the banking convenience of Bank of America, and Merrill will continue to invest in client tools and new technology to enhance your overall experience as you and your private wealth advisor pursue what’s most important to you.
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