Personalized advice from a dedicated financial advisor.
We get to know you and your family, your financial situation and what matters most to you.
Price Group
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Merrill Lynch
Wealth Management
We are committed to understanding your values and what you want to accomplish with your assets. We believe that one-on-one conversations help us get to know who you are and what you and your family want for your lives and allow us to concentrate on helping you pursue your life goals and plan for your legacy.
Price Group
Welcome
Our team works with retirees, busy professionals, and families who have significant assets, but lack the time or inclination to focus on the many details involved in managing them. We simplify the complex aspects of their financial lives, providing them with personal attention and outstanding service. We provide a wide range of services including portfolio construction, discretionary portfolio management, asset allocation, tax minimization strategies, retirement income strategies, college planning, estate planning services, and wealth transfer strategies.
Combining my investing experience with the vast resources available at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, we develop a strategy that is tailored specifically to each client’s unique needs and goals. We implement a plan and review every detail regularly to help make sure you stay on track and adjust to any changes in your life. Though each client’s situation is different, our overall goal is to preserve and grow your assets, minimize the effects of taxes and inflation, and avoid costly mistakes.
After a long, long time, we’re getting used to being back in the office, and it has been great to be back working together and catching up with old friends. As for our personal lives, it’s kids and family all the time as usual. Though the last two years have been a series of ups and downs, we are thankful for the many blessings that came along with the challenges. We definitely grew a lot in love and patience. There is always so much to be grateful for.
Here’s a little bit of what we’ve been up to…
Brooke and Bella at our new home
Jake on the mound at a baseball tournament
Luke at one of his Basketball Games
Luke helping load mulch for the yard
Hannah at CASMEC (All State Band in February 2023)
Ava at Year End Band Concert and Floating Lab Field Trip
Spring Break at Disneyland and CA Adventure
Bring your family to work day and on my birthday (Dexter, Christyn, Hannah, Ava, and Cristina!
We appreciate you taking the time to get to know us, and we look forward to our next conversation!
Our Philosophy centers on a few core principles…
Focus on the things we are able to control. When it comes to investing, there are many things that are out of our control…the markets, interest rates and the Federal Reserve, tax rates, unexpected news stories, quarterly earnings (whether bad or good), talking heads on CNBC…and many more. On the other hand, we are in control of how we allocate our portfolio across different asset classes, sectors and investments, how much we save and spend, and how we behave during periods of market turmoil. We strongly believe that focusing specifically on these things is the way to get the best outcomes for our clients, and that is where we concentrate our efforts.
Get to know you, Plan and Prepare. We believe in having a detailed understanding of your goals so that we can create a strategy to get you there. Buying a new home. Paying for a college education. Retiring at the age you desire. Gifting to charities, children or grandchildren. There are many events in life that we plan on, and we have tools at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management that help us make sure you are on track to achieve them. Of course there are also unexpected events, so we believe in preparing for those events too with appropriate cash reserves or short term investments.
Be aware of fees and taxes and their impact on investment returns. Research shows that reducing fees is one of the best ways to improve investment returns. We believe in using low cost investments such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and we discuss fees with our clients so that they can truly understand what they pay directly as well as what their internal investment expenses are. We also use tax advantaged investments such as municipal bonds, and we work with your tax advisor to help make sure we are making the best recommendations in that area on your behalf.
*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.
OUR PROCESS
1. Assessment and Review
• Get to know you and your family.
• Quantify your needs and goals.
• Review existing investments/income/spending/liabilities/insurance/account titling/beneficiaries.
2. Analysis and Planning
• Retirement/Cash Flow Analysis Report – How much should you save? How much can you spend?
• Determine an overall asset allocation and agree on an investment plan.
3. Implementation and Tracking
• Implementation of the investment plan.
• Regular review of investment vehicles and portfolio rebalancing.
• Responsive service model. Team members either available or responsive in a timely fashion.
4. Evaluation and Updates
• Quarterly or semi-annual portfolio reviews depending on your preference.
• Annual update of Retirement/Cash Flow Analysis Report to make sure you are on track.
• Updates to asset allocation/investments/beneficiaries/overall plan based on changes in your life.
• Performance tracking and investment vehicle due diligence.
*Merrill Life Agency's California License Number 0522776
*Merrill Life Agency's California License Number 0522776
Investment Management
Portfolio Construction
Asset Allocation and Diversification
Rebalancing
Performance Tracking
Retirement Account Services
Required Minimum Distributions
Traditional vs. Roth IRA Discussions
Inherited IRA Management
Account Administration
Personalized Account Service
Account Activity Questions
Fraud Assistance
Coordination with your External Advisors
Tax Planning with your CPA
Trust Planning with your Estate Attorney
Working with your Real Estate Professionals
Banking Services *
Checking and Savings
Cash Management
Rewards Credit Cards
Wealth Transfer
Revocable Living Trusts
Estate Settlement
Family Dynamics
Education for Children/Grandchildren
Budget Planning
Financial Literacy Classes
Philanthropic Planning
Charitable Gifting from IRAs
Donor Advised Funds
Credit and Liquidity *
Primary Residence Mortgages
Vacation/Investment Property Financing
Securities Based Lending
Auto Financing
Retirement Planning
Detailed Retirement Analysis Reports
Future Cash Flow Planning
Social Security Timing Discussions
Tax Minimization
Municipal Bond Investing
Tax Loss Harvesting
Strategic Investing
Estate Settlement
Historical Pricing
Account aggregation
Lost Dividend Checks
Insurance **
Term Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance
Long Term Care Insurance
Professional Trust Services ***
Assistance for Family Trustees
Corporate Trustee Services
Business Services
Business Banking/Cash Management
Lines of Credit
Business Valuation
Investment Banking/Sale of Business
Education Planning
529 College Savings Accounts
* Banking and Lending Services are through Bank of America, N.A.
** Merrill Life Agency's California License Number 0522776
*** Trust Services provided by Bank of America Private Bank
Get To Know Us
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.
Additional Resources
The following specialists do not make securities recommendations. Please contact your Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisor if you have questions about how a specialist might be able to assist you.
Lafo Kaapana
Wealth Management Banking Specialist
Merrill
Create a plan that is all about you.
Merrill Personal Wealth Analysis™ can help us build and document a personalized plan, centered on your goals and focused on what you want to achieve.
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.
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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.
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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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 AdvisorTM
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.
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