Tune out the noise: Wealth planning for the year ahead

Hear from a panel of experts as they explore how rising interest rates, high inflation and increased volatility are impacting the economy, how family dynamics are changing estate planning and hear some actionable strategies for investors to consider in 2023.

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Jerry Au, CPFA, CFP, CRPC

Senior Vice President
Wealth Management Advisor
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Merrill Lynch
Wealth Management

Understanding your life priorities is an important part of how I work with the clients I serve. It’s not just about markets and returns, it’s about what matters most to you. I welcome the opportunity to show you how we can work together to create a financial approach designed around you, your goals and your aspirations.

Profile

Jerry Au is a Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor with The Kevin Hanley Group, and practicing CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP ® certificant, a designation awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. He focuses on 401(k) plans, Estate and Retirement Planning Services, Financial and Cash Management strategies for businesses and high net worth individuals.

Jerry joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2002 after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Mathematics Economics and a minor in Computing. While there, he studied Game Theory under Economics Nobel Laureate Dr. Lloyd Shapley and Competitive Equilibrium under Dr. Bryan Ellickson. He completed an Executive Program at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business. In 2004, he earned his Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM designation from the College for Financial Planning. He attained his CFP® certification in 2006.

The Kevin Hanley Group was founded by Kevin Hanley, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor with over 40 years of experience in Wealth Management. The team consists of Kevin, Jerry, and their client associates Kristie Rivera and Claudia Iribe.|Kevin P. Hanley, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor, joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 1983 after graduating from the University of California at San Diego. Kevin has earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation awarded by the Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute), taught in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business. Kevin has completed Executive Programs at Harvard University, the Wharton School of Business & the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and, since 2007, holds the Chartered Market Technician® (CMT®) designation. Kevin recently completed the Merrill Longevity Training Program offered by the University of Southern California (USC) Davis School of Gerontology.

Leading Operations and Administrative Services is Kristie Rivera-Loya, Registered Senior Wealth Management Client Associate, with over 40 years at Merrill including important roles in management.

Claudia Iribe, Registered Senior Wealth Management Client Associate, has over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry including at Wells Fargo and JP Morgan. Claudia leads the Client Services responsibilities for the team.

The team's investment philosophy focuses on helping achieve financial goals while minimizing risk by:

- Establishing objectives
- Defining a customized strategy
- Identifying and Implementing recommendations
- Reviewing progress on a regular basis

The team prides itself on superior service and dedication to their client's goals.



*Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) is the owner of the certification marks CIMA® and Certified Investment Management Analyst®.  Use of CIMA®, and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst® signifies that the user has successfully completed the Institute’s initial and ongoing credentialing requirements for investment management professionals.
 
* CMT® and Chartered Market Technician® are registered trademarks owned by CMT Association.

I follow the deep-seated Merrill tradition of participating in the communities we serve. This drives my interest in spending time volunteering with organizations in our community.

  • LANGUAGES

    English

  • EDUCATION

    University of California Los Angeles

Where do we begin? It starts with you.

At Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, your financial advisor focuses on the things you care about most- family, goals and priorities - even as they change over the years.

Understanding Your Life

Approach

I begin every relationship with a conversation, helping you identify and prioritize which goals matter most to you. Whether it's transferring wealth to the next generation, customizing your financial approach to help you pursue your passions, or providing advice and guidance to help you stay informed, I start by listening to learn more about you and your family.

Drawing upon research in the field of behavioral finance, Merrill developed the Investment Personality Assessment to help me get to know you better as an investor and help you refine your investing preferences. Together, I can help customize your investment approach. Using an understanding of your priorities and investment personality as a foundation, I help you access the full breadth of resources from Bank of America’s banking products and services and Merrill’s investment insights to address all aspects of your financial life.

Capabilities

My process is designed to help deliver a customized, consistent experience to assist clients not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments. My ability to provide access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking convenience and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help clients manage all of the pieces of their financial lives. I view myself as a financial resource, helping clients with potential solutions for transferring wealth to the younger generation.

Trust and fiduciary services are provided by Bank of America Private Bank, a division of Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”).

Focus On Individuals, Families and Small Businesses

I believe that financial success can be achieved when you’re able to make investment-related decisions and trade-offs that can help you reach personally meaningful goals. So whether you’re planning your retirement, saving to buy a home or fund a child’s education, I start by getting to know you and how you feel about the following seven life priorities.

  • Health: Managing healthcare expenses, now and in the future
  • Home: Upsizing, downsizing, remodeling or buying a vacation home
  • Family: Taking care of your family and other people in your life
  • Leisure: Spending your free time in meaningful ways
  • Giving: Volunteering, mentoring others and giving to charities
  • Work: Working in retirement, selling or starting a business
  • Finance: Bringing it all together and defining your financial goals

This material should be regarded as general or educational information on healthcare or Social Security considerations and is not intended to provide specific healthcare or social security advice. If you have questions regarding your particular situation, please contact your legal or tax advisor.

Your approach to investing

Drawing upon research in the field of behavioral finance, Merrill developed the Investment Personality Assessment to help us get to know you better as an investor and potentially help you refine your own investing preferences. By gaining a deeper understanding of how you think and feel about investing through this assessment, we can customize the financial approach we develop together to help you pursue what matters most to you. Our Investment Personality Assessment is one of the ways to help us get to know you - to understand your goals and priorities. These questions will help us provide you with additional insights and resources.

Understanding your goals and priorities

Your life and goals change. We have tools to help you keep track of these changes so they can be reflected in your financial approach.

Philosophy

I believe the best financial approach is the one that helps you pursue your goals. That's why, from the start, we talk about your aspirations and encourage you to ask questions about issues that matter most to you. Worried about managing future health care expenses? College on the horizon? Considering the sale of a business or purchase of a home? Preparing to pass your wealth to future generations? With access to the investment insights of Merrill and the banking convenience of Bank of America, I will work with you to develop an approach designed to help address your financial needs.

Welcome

My mission is to understand you and what matters most to you. To take the time, to ask hard, smart questions and to listen carefully, then to understand, in great detail, exactly where your wealth stands today, and where you’d like it to be tomorrow. I help you design and implement a customized wealth management approach that helps you and your family pursue your personal financial goals while helping manage investment risk. My wealth management approach is about using wealth to help turn goals into reality.

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.

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      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 I can help you create a financial approach that reflects your personality. Only then can I 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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      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.

      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.