Philosophy

We live in a world that's constantly changing. Markets can fluctuate frequently. Potential investment opportunities can arise daily. Regulations are amended. That's why we believe that you and your situation are the best starting points from which to help plan your financial future: where you are today, where you want to be tomorrow, and what you want to accomplish along the way. Because by understanding you and your priorities, we can more effectively offer our experience and resources and help you build a financial framework that is rooted in the unique complexities of your life.

Approach

Helping you pursue your goals starts with getting to know you. We will work together to create a financial approach that reflects your investment personality and is built around your life priorities. Our process offers a flexible framework we can call upon to help you identify and prioritize your personal and professional financial goals, including areas such as education funding or your lifestyle in the future. We offer potential solutions to provide the “fit” that may best serve your objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon and liquidity needs. We help you understand fees and expenses associated with your accounts.

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.

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.

Capabilities

Using the broad investing resources of Merrill, we can also assist with potential solutions for income management, education funding, retirement income planning, and guidance for executives with concentrated stock positions, traditional and alternative investments, wealth transfer and estate planning services. And with your permission we can also work closely with your other professionals, such as attorneys, accountants and specialists, to help you pursue your goals.

DISCLOSURE: Some or all alternative investments may not be appropriate for certain investors. Certain alternative investments carry significant risk and are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as mutual funds and other appropriate investments. For these reasons, access to alternative investments may be limited to investors who are designated as sophisticated, high-net-worth investors.

Focus On High-Net-Worth Individuals and Business Owners

We  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, we begin by helping you define and prioritize your financial goals based on the following seven areas:

• 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

• Potential risk management solutions
• Trust and estate planning services
• Potential wealth management solutions
• Access to Bank of America for your credit and banking needs