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Giovanni A Bernetti, CRPC

Senior Vice President
Senior Financial Advisor
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Merrill Lynch
Wealth Management

Accessible, knowledgeable and experienced, I am committed to building and maintaining a strong relationship with you. I am passionate about what I do and I bring that passion to helping you and your family make what may be the most important financial decisions of your lives.

Profile

Giovanni Bernetti brings a relaxed and dedicated approach to the financial services industry. First and foremost, he believes that it is all about you and your goals. For those individuals that are new to him he wants to get to know them. Learning their backgrounds and what they already have been doing, helps Giovanni and the individual select each other to ensure that it is a good working match. Giovanni’s experience and approach encourages a great developed relationship with clients. These are based on foundational clarity. He is continually building their relationship with trust and complete satisfaction as Giovanni provides a high quality of service, advice and attention to details.
Giovanni is based out of the Bloomington branch of Merrill and has clients throughout Central Illinois as well as many states. The majority of clients are local individuals and families that are business owners, business executives and professional people in several fields. Because of high client satisfaction, it only seems to make sense that his service model is based on referrals from friends and families of existing clients. As Giovanni says, “My primary responsibility is to make sure clients are realistic in their goals; which are established before our relationship starts.” His service is based on the individual needs of each client. To track the progress of a client’s wealth management plan, Giovanni meets with clients quarterly, either in person or by phone.

Giovanni has completed the exams for the Series 7, 63 and 66 FINRA registrations and the State of Illinois Health and Life Insurance licenses. He holds the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, CRPC® designation, which will enable him to employ Wealth Management strategies at a higher level throughout his wealth management process. He received his Bachelors degree from Illinois State University in 1994.

Giovanni is married to Genevieve and resides in Bloomington, IL. They have a daughter Gianna and a son Lorenzo. He enjoys running, snow skiing, wake boarding, golfing, biking, traveling, cooking and relaxing with some wine. After growing up in the Chicago suburb of Palos Park and graduating from Illinois State, Giovanni continues to enjoy living in Central Illinois. He has a close relationship with his mother, three sisters and eight nephews and nieces. He has a puppy named Jasmine and two cats Twixie and Fennekin. When he has the time, he enjoys vacationing to Vail, Colorado where the skiing is plentiful!


Dena Harris, Registered Wealth Management Client Associate, has been with Merrill since 1998 and is responsible for all administrative matters. Dena is committed to and delivers the highest level of client satisfaction.

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 & Italian

  • EDUCATION

    Illinois State University

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 High-Net-Worth Individuals and Business Owners

I offer clients a breadth of potential solutions, premier customer service and financial tools based on their unique circumstances. No matter what your goals may be, the process begins by defining and prioritizing your financial goals based on 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 and giving to charities
  • Work: Working in retirement, selling or starting a business
  • Finance: Bringing it all together; defining your financial goals
The team’s industry knowledge and experience helps them provide you with:
  • Potential risk management strategies
  • Trust and estate planning services
  • Tax-minimization strategies
  • Access to Bank of America for your credit and banking needs
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

One of the reasons I chose to become a Merrill financial advisor was my passion for educating clients about investing. I want to help you understand planning for your wealth, as well as the challenges and possibilities presented by the markets, and the impact this greater understanding can have on your full financial life.

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.