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For clients who know him well, Rick’s ability to enhance their wealth and wellbeing reflects his desire to improve the lives of people he doesn’t even know. Rick believes that employing his financial and personal skills is time very well spent – on behalf of clients in the U.S. and deserving individuals around the world.

In 1999, Rick was a young entrepreneur who had created and sold five companies. Intrigued by market dynamics, he joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management that year. Today, he enjoys sharing his insights with a loyal circle of traditional and non-traditional client families for whom a distinct level of attention and acumen are required and appreciated. Not surprisingly, Rick serves fellow entrepreneurs, as well as physicians and other professionals whose visions are as bold as his. Most clients are based in California, Oregon, Washington, and across the nation.

“Clients have become my close friends,” Rick points out. “And helping friends achieve meaningful goals is the greatest reward of all. Some came to me seeking better investment advice. Others didn’t want to be involved in investment decisions, but needed the comfort of a clearly defined strategy. While diverse in passions and purposes, clients can always benefit from a deeper level of real-world financial acumen and attention.”

Characterizing Rick’s approach is his devotion to systematic communications and disciplined investing. Using Merrill due diligence and a select group of managers he’s worked with for years, Rick typically diversifies clients’ investments across asset classes, sectors and borders – in accordance with their preferences. When appropriate, he also calls upon U.S. Trust specialists and coordinates with clients’ CPAs and attorneys. Rick believes that face-to-face meetings with clients carry great importance. Whether making “house calls” or hosting events at racetracks or golf courses, Rick finds value in connecting with clients on many levels and enabling them to connect with others
|“I’m so proactive in talking to clients that they tend not to call very often. In fact, when a client has surgery or a spouse passes, I’m at the hospital long before other family members. Being plugged in to clients’ lives and livelihoods is important to me. And I believe that holds immeasurable value to people who want a level of trust with an advisor that extends beyond dollars and cents.”

PERSONAL PROFILES

“My late father-in-law was a lieutenant colonel. The first time that I met him, I was three minutes late. He told me that in his family, ‘If you’re late, you’d better be dead’. Taking his warning to heart, I’ve been diligent in becoming highly organized, disciplined and communicating in timely fashion. If a client doesn’t know where they stand and what I think, I’m not doing my job.”

Rick sees a world in which one person can certainly make a difference. For years, he participated in efforts to “de-mine” areas ravaged by war. Together with a respected non-profit, he flew back and forth to help arrange an agreement between Israel and The Palestinian Authority to remove land mines in the fields of Bethlehem – something Rick considers one of his greatest accomplishments. In Vietnam, Rick also traveled with a non-profit that removed landmines from farm fields and fitted amputees with prosthetics.

In 2016, Rick traveled to Peru with a U.S. non-profit that supplies medical equipment and medicine to impoverished people. That was one of many trips Rick has made to South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Rick is proud to have 18 nieces and nephews and skis with all of them. Not limited to the slopes, Rick’s energy extends to road biking (50 and 60 miles at a time), hiking, playing golf, and working out three days a week. A former polo player, Rick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Golden Gate University. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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

    Golden Gate University

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.

Sonny Chan

Wealth Management Lending Officer

Bank of America, N.A.

NMLS #693456

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

Every relationship begins 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.

Capabilities

Merrill’s process is designed to help deliver a customized, comprehensive experience to assist you not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments. Providing you with access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help you manage all of the pieces of your financial life. Working one-on-one with a Merrill advisor means you have a single point of contact to help you with potential strategies for transferring wealth to the younger generation.

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. Whether you’re planning your retirement, saving to buy a home or funding a child’s education, the process begins by getting to know you and how you feel about the following:

  • 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

Success will be measured by the amount of progress you are making toward reaching your goals, making thoughtfully considered adjustments as events and conditions warrant.

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. Calculating how to manage 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? It all starts with a plan intended to help you manage, grow, and preserve your wealth today, while also considering the impact it can have for years to come. With access to the investment insights of Merrill and banking solutions from Bank of America, I will work with you to develop an approach designed to help address your financial needs.

Welcome

My mission, first and foremost, is to understand you and what matters most to you. Armed with that information I can ask thoughtful questions -- listening carefully, then understanding in detail where your wealth stands today and where you’d like it to be tomorrow. I help you design and implement a personalized plan intended to help you and your family pursue financial goals while helping manage investment risk. My approach is to focus on potential solutions that can 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.

    #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 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.

      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.