Women’s superpower: Investing

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Debra Karns Klinger, ChFC

Vice President
Financial Advisor
Learn more about an advisor's background on
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Merrill Lynch
Wealth Management

Whatever your personal goals may be, I will work together with you, one-on-one, to develop a personalized financial strategy designed to help you pursue your long-term goals.

Profile

Debra Karns Klinger joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management as a Senior Financial Advisor and Portfolio Advisor in October 2020.  Debby has over 40 years of financial industry experience with Mellon Trust Services and Citizens Financial Wealth Management Group.  She has been guiding and directing her clients to their goals for four decades and looks forward to many more years with Merrill.

Debby's primary aspiration as a Financial and Portfolio Advisor has always been to connect with her clients personally and financially. She provides a disciplined comprehensive approach to managing wealth that begins with getting to know each client; their family; financial situation and what matters most to them. Debby holds her ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant designation) which has provided her with the education and tools to address her clients life changes.  She is grateful that she can secure a safe space for her clients to share their dreams/concerns and to provide sound financial advice for each of their personal situations. 

In her personal life, Debby enjoys a passion for Horses, Great Danes and Cooking. Her private time is spent reading, classic and non-fiction books, Yoga/Pilates and spending time with family and friends. Although Debby has resided most of her life in Mechanicsburg, PA and is involved in her community, she also is an avid traveler, enjoying trips to many US states along with all of Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Prague, Nova Scotia, Finland and most recently Belgium. She believes that these experiences contribute to her overall understanding of the financial world and allows her to share this knowledge with her clients. 

Debby is proud to be a part of Merrill and with the talent and expertise of her team of colleagues, she has the potential to grow her business and provide her clients with world class products and services.  She looks forward to working with you.

  • EDUCATION

    Harrisburg Area Community College

Professional Staff

Supported by the global resources of Merrill, my 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.

Marjorie Gefner

Regional Lending Specialist

Bank of America, N.A.

NMLS #16270

Bryan T Heim

Wealth Management Banking Specialist

Merrill

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Women

While virtually all investors can receive help pursuing their unique financial goals, my primary focus is on working with women investors. Whether you’re contemplating retirement, deciding on a career change, wondering if you can afford to fund a child’s education or care for an aging parent, the process begins by getting to know you and understanding how prepared you may be to pursue your financial journey.

Your goals, your family and your finances are interrelated, and your financial future and that of your family can be shaped by the decisions you make. Listening carefully to your priorities the team can help you take the steps necessary to move forward. We can help you with strategies for healthcare costs (even if you’re decades away from retirement), and help you evaluate whether your income is sufficient to meet living expenses without having to make lifestyle adjustments. With a dedicated advisor at your side you can gain personalized investment strategies from Merrill, with access to the extensive banking capabilities of Bank of America.

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.

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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    #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.

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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.


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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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      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.