Women’s superpower: Investing

Watch our experts share ways to tap into your ability to build a more secure financial future.

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Women’s superpower: Investing

Watch our experts share ways to tap into your ability to build a more secure financial future.

Watch now

Merrill Lynch

The Smith Group

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Merrill Lynch
Wealth Management

We have a proud heritage of delivering enlightened financial strategies to good people.
The quality and longevity of our client relationships remind us
of the roles we play and the trust we’ve earned.

Welcome

At The Smith Wealth Management Group, we take a distinctive, multi-generational approach to wealth management. We expect you’ll find that it is more personal, more comprehensive, and more meaningful than what you may have found elsewhere. 

You see, we believe our job is not just about managing your money. It’s about managing your decisions around money. While the first certainly creates value, our ability to successfully help inform your financial decisions can unlock multiples of value – throughout your life.

Operating on multiple cylinders to address our clients’ specialized financial needs, we’ve come to assist active and retired physicians, corporate executives, consultants and three and four generations of their families. Many come to us with significant wealth and goals that extend to family members and charitable causes. Others simply wish for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement – free from financial worries and uncertainty. 

With no cookie-cutter clients, we do not employ cookie-cutter strategies. Instead, we see each client as a puzzle with dozens of pieces that need to fit snugly, in order to brighten financial picture. To serve individuals who demand an uncompromised measure of acumen and attention, we focus on clients’ priorities and passions. Our planning-based approach is a hallmark of our offering, which is why we talk frequently with clients. Equally important is working closely with both spouses and clients’ adult children, when possible.

Given Barry Jr.’s former career as a CPA and high level of tax awareness, we have a natural ability and commitment to identify, optimize and maintain a client’s tax efficiencies, on a regular basis. In addition to Barry’s skills, we typically work in concert with your CPA and tax attorney – directing their implementation of the strategies we help formulate. This enables us to align financial and tax minimization strategies designed to benefit generations of your family.

*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.

Boutique-Like Attention

At The Smith Wealth Management Group, we have built a reputation for offering engaging and memorable experiences to clients. By doing our jobs well, we can give you the confidence that comes from sophisticated, risk-managed investing and the tax-efficient preservation and transfer of wealth.

Experience tells us that you – like each of our clients – is a puzzle with a unique blend of circumstances, preferences, achievements and ambitions. It is incumbent on us to fully appreciate what makes you, you. Only then can we deliver attention that is meaningful, proactive and ongoing.

Our advisors’ efforts are complemented by those of our client associates’, both who’ve spent more than 20 years in financial services. As a highly collaborative team, we live by the motto that “everything is everyone’s business.” We cannot afford for any matter to fall through the cracks, and neither can you. We are well aware that our performance can determine yours.

If your expectations have been shaped by a previous or existing advisory relationship, we feel privileged to offer something different. Rather than call you when the calendar tells us to, we believe in talking to you more frequently, to discuss a variety of topics – your family, tax situation, cash flow and income, the markets, and potential opportunities. When you call, we will recognize your voice and, more importantly, remain mindful of our previous conversation

Having served dozens of clients with situations that may be similar to yours, we have become a repository of knowledge. This is not our first rodeo. As a smaller group with fewer households, we can be more granular in our approach and more personal with each client. 

Finally, as a multi-generational team, we are well equipped to work with you, your parents, children and grandchildren. We will be here for years to come – delivering a seamless transition of knowledge, know-how and passion. Anything less is less than you deserve.

Risk-Managed Investing

Having earned our stripes in the worlds of accounting and institutional investing, The Smith Wealth Management Group offers you extensive knowledge and an uncommon perspective. In our quest to drive positive and wide-ranging financial outcomes, we are driven to help you build and preserve solid, long-lasting wealth. 

When it comes to investing, we listen to you and the markets. For many clients, our financial strategies are inspired by their personal goals for retirement. Sharing our calculations with them, we show numbers and explain nuances in what we propose – so that they understand what they own and why. We find that better-informed investors enjoy a higher level of comfort. Regardless of how we design each portfolio, a client’s “sleep at night” factor is a key consideration. 

A good number of clients come to us with stock awards and concentrated stock positions, especially in the energy sector. To help manage that risk, our diversification strategies often include assets not correlated to movements in the major markets – alternative investments such as private equity and hedge funds, in addition to mutual funds and ETFs.

Using Merrill for macro research, we carefully screen and select our own managers and build our own investment models. Your portfolio will be formulated just for you – with a blend of assets based on their risk tolerance, timeline, need for liquidity, objectives and personal preferences.

Our focus on tax management extends well beyond capital gains. Mindful of short- and long-term tax consequences, we will examine how your wealth is structured – in order to develop tax minimization, legacy planning and estate planning strategies that can account for your current and future needs. Working diligently, we can better position you to help achieve objectives that you deem meaningful – for you family, finances and business.

*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.
*Some or all alternative investment programs may not be in the best interest of certain investors. No assurance can be given that any alternative investment’s investment objectives will be achieved.
 *Any information presented in connection with BofA Global Research is general in nature and is not intended to provide personal investment advice. The information does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific person who may receive it. Investors should understand that statements regarding future prospects may not be realized. BofA Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofAS”) and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. BofA Global Research does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision.

What Clients Can Expect

At The Smith Wealth Management Group, we have helped generations of clients preserve wealth and explore its purpose. While there are several aspects to providing superior wealth management, we believe it begins by helping to simplify what are often complex and emotional decisions. 

As our client, you can also expect that we will:

• Explain what actual outcomes look like. Going beyond spreadsheets and simulations, we will illustrate alternate, real-world scenarios and discuss them with you. We are here to act as a responsible steward of your wealth and wishes, not show how much we know.

• Build your financial strategy once we have a clear understanding of your experience with investing, comfort with risk, need for liquidity, vision for the future, current expenses and cash flow needs. As part of our disciplined investment process, we focus on minimizing risk, costs and tax consequences. As long-term investors, we do not look to hit “home runs” with speculative opportunities. 

• Regularly review your progress toward mutually agreed-upon goals with adjustments driven by changes in your life and the financial markets. By explaining our rationales and the purpose of specific investments, we can also help you understand your holdings – to help smooth your nerves during periods of volatility.

• Collaborate with your accountant and attorney. Barry Jr. is a proactive advisor and a CPA who can orchestrate and align the actions of your other trusted advisors. In addition to examining and looking to mitigate tax consequences throughout the year – not just at tax time – he can save you the time of coordinating the efforts of your CPA and attorney.

• Add levity, when possible, to our interactions with you. We love what we do and, especially, the clients we serve. Rather than follow a calendar, we will initiate and encourage casual and frequent conversations with you. Like many of our clients, we expect that you will enjoy visiting our office. By sharing our own experiences and hearing yours, we can be better prepared to offer advice and guidance that is appropriate to you – and you alone.

*Barry does not provide tax advice in his current role with Merrill.

Meet the Team

Supported by the global resources of Merrill, our team is comprised of talented and experienced individuals committed to building strong client relationships based on trust and personalized service.

Staying on Track

We understand that both your life and the financial markets can change over time. By checking in to discuss changes in your life and revisiting your financial approach, our goal is to help you stay on track to achieve what's most important to you.



Reviews to help you
stay on track

We’ll meet with you to review your goals and the progress you’ve made toward reaching them. We’ll also discuss any adjustments needed to your financial approach to help you stay on course.



    Changes in your life
    and to your goals

    Your life and goals change. As these changes occur, we can update your approach to reflect them.

    #DigitalMerrill

    MyMerrill is your online destination for access to your financial information, secure communications, and a robust offering of tools and capabilities.

    Your advisor is a click away within our site or mobile apps

    You can manage account security with our customizable security capabilities such as touch ID, one time passcode, and other security features

    Access to your complete financial life is available with My Financial Picture, Merrill’s asset aggregation tool

      Let’s Have a Conversation

      Helping you reach your goals starts with getting to know you personally. Through understanding what matters most to you, together we can help you create a financial approach that reflects your personality. Only then can we offer an approach that is built around your life priorities and the advice you need to help you address fluctuations in the market and changes in your life. Let’s work together to help you achieve your goals.

      Why Merrill?

      As Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisors, we will sort through the financial complexities of your life, helping you build a customized investment approach to address your needs and pursue your goals.


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      We put you first, every day.
      Learn more about the dedicated one-on-one relationship you can have with a Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisor.

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      Transcript of Video 

      No question too big or moment too small
      For every question you have, every decision you make and every answer you need, we are with you to listen and help guide you along the many paths your life can take. Watch this video to see some questions we can address together.


      The Power of the Right Advisor®
      Working with a dedicated Merrill advisor means you get personalized investment strategies from Merrill plus access to comprehensive financial solutions only Bank of America can deliver.

      Personalized advice from a dedicated financial advisor.

      We get to know you and your family, your financial situation and what matters most to you.

      A comprehensive approach, built around your life’s priorities.

      Drawing from our experience and the best thinking of Merrill, together we will design an approach that reflects your unique needs, priorities and financial situation.

      Adjusting your investment approach as your life and the markets change.

      We will work to help you stay on track, regardless of what the markets are doing.