Christopher Brandon Combs

Advisor at Merrill — Chapel Hill, NC 1414 Raleigh Rd

Updated today

Credentials

Series 66

Experience

17 years

Location

Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Merrill logo

Merrill

Institution

Total advisors

25,448

Across 3,107 offices

Clients per advisor

70 Very Low

Avg AUM per client

$860,085 Very High

HNW client ratio

29% High

About

Christopher Combs is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He brings extensive experience serving active and retired business owners, senior executives in biotech and technology, and university faculty and administrators. Christopher focuses on developing goals-based financial strategies that address clients’ unique situations and motivations, emphasizing education planning, family wealth management, legacy planning, retirement income, and socially responsible investing.

Christopher is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certificant and holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ designation, as well as the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA) credentials. He earned his bachelor's degree from Duke University, where he also played football before his professional career in the NFL.

He is a member of the Durham-Orange Estate Planning Council and actively participates in his community through involvement with The Summit Church, where he serves as a small group leader, and has held board positions with various local organizations. Christopher resides in Durham with his wife and three children, enjoys coaching his children in sports, and participates with them in the YMCA Y Guides program.

Client services

Based on Merrill

Portfolio management Pension consulting Selection of other advisers Educational seminars or workshops
Performance measurement reports, allocation modeling, ips, research reports and services, see schedule d

Expertise

Wealth management Retirement income strategy General retirement planning Charitable giving & philanthropy College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.)

Occupation focus

Founder/Business Owner Biotech Professional Technology Professional University Employee

Demographic focus

Mid-Career Professionals Approaching retirement Parents Values-based investing SRI/ESG (Socially Responsible Investing/Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance)

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Fee options

Commissions

SEC-reported: Commissions on certain transactions, including foreign securities and fixed income; mark-ups, markdowns and dealer spreads may apply to some trades.

Location

See office

Chapel Hill, NC 1414 Raleigh Rd

1414 Raleigh Rd

Chapel Hill NC 27517

Advisors at this office

23

Most active in

North Carolina · Texas

Work history

17 years of industry experience

Bank of America, N.A.

2011 - Present • 15 years

Durham, NC

Merrill Lynch

2008 - Present • 18 years

Durham, NC

Disclosures

Exclamation point means they have disclosures of this type. Check mark means no disclosures of this type were found.

Business activities & affiliations

Michael K

CFP®, Series 63, Series 66, EA

Durham, NC

Wolfbridge Wealth

Michael Kothakota is a CFP® professional with 20 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Wolfbridge Wealth in Durham, NC. He has been associated with WolfBridge Financial Corporation since 2008. In addition to his advisory role, he lectures at Columbia University and serves as an adjunct professor at New York University. Wolfbridge Wealth provides discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, pension-plan consulting, business valuation, and equity research services to individuals—including high-net-worth clients—trusts, pension and profit-sharing plans, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes client education through webinars, white papers, and presentations, and integrates fundamental, technical, and macroeconomic analysis into its investment approach. Michael Kothakota developed Interdependent Integrative Financial Planning Theory. He has sa Masters in Predictive Analytics, and a Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University. He was also the inaugural Head of Research at CFP Board, the governing body of CFP(R) professionals.

Divorce financial planning Business ownership considerations College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Biotech Professional Educators, Teachers, and Academics Executive Founder/Business Owner Established Professionals
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Amber S

Series 63, Series 65, Series 7

Durham, NC

TARA Wealth

Amber Schiffert is a financial advisor and co-founder at TARA Wealth with eight years of industry experience. She holds Series 63, Series 65, and Series 7 licenses. TARA Wealth is a women-owned fiduciary advisory firm, bringing something unique to wealth management: advisors who share your perspective, understand your life transitions, and have no financial incentive other than helping you succeed. TARA Wealth was founded to set a higher standard — one built on trust, independence, and a genuine commitment to the women and families they serve. TARA Wealth financial advisors are happily located in San Diego, CA, and Raleigh, NC, and serve clients nationally.

General tax planning Wealth management Retirement income strategy Inherited wealth ESG / Sustainable investing Founder/Business Owner Approaching retirement Retired Widow/Widower Women Business Owners Women's Finance
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Amanda D

CFP®, Series 65

Durham, NC

TARA Wealth

Amanda DeCesar is a CFP® professional with 19 years of industry experience. She co-founded TARA Wealth in 2023 with Amber Schiffert. Her prior experience includes roles at MML Investors Services and J.P. Morgan Securities. TARA Wealth is an RIA serving individual and high-net-worth clients, couples, and businesses, providing Total Wealth Management, discretionary investment management, and comprehensive financial planning. The firm primarily uses a passive investment approach with index mutual funds and ETFs, delivering financial planning as an ongoing engagement and managing accounts both discretionarily and non-discretionarily.

Equity Recipients (RS/RSU, SOP, ESPP) Business ownership considerations Retirement income strategy General estate planning guidance Cash flow / budgeting Founder/Business Owner
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Raymond E

Series 65

Cary, NC

Eustace Advisors

Raymond Eustace is a financial advisor at Eustace Advisors in Cary, NC, holding a Series 65 designation with three years of industry experience. Prior to founding Eustace Advisors, he worked at ClearComm Technical Sales from 2003 to 2020 and operated Nadaje Holdings LLC from 2013 to 2022. Eustace Advisors is an independent, fee-only firm that provides advice-only financial planning and investment analysis to individuals and high-net-worth clients. The firm’s approach is based on Modern Portfolio Theory with a focus on long-term, passive investment strategies, and it offers services including financial plan development, project-based planning, ongoing planning, educational seminars, and optional tax return preparation.

General retirement planning Income planning Cash flow / budgeting College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) General tax planning
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Naveen Reddy G

Series 65

Morrisville, NC

gnrfunds LLC

Naveen Reddy Gollapally is the sole advisor at gnrfunds LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in Morrisville, NC. He holds a Series 65 credential and has four years of industry experience, including over a decade at Epsilon Data Management LLC prior to founding gnrfunds in 2021. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as treasurer for several day care centers planned to open in 2026 and 2027, and he is president of a UPS store, as well as a database administrator for a technology consulting firm. gnrfunds LLC serves individual investors, high-net-worth clients, and small businesses with discretionary portfolio management and retirement plan advice. The firm focuses on concentrated equity portfolios through fundamental analysis and employs various strategies including long/short positions and derivatives, offering performance-based fee arrangements to qualified clients.

Active portfolio management Concentrated stock management Options & derivatives strategies Executive
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Joseph S

PFS™, Series 65

Durham, NC

Reliance Financial Group, Inc.

Joseph Stover is a financial advisor at Reliance Financial Group, Inc. in Durham, NC, holding the PFS™ designation and Series 65 license with 22 years of industry experience. He has been with Reliance Financial Group since 1999. Reliance Financial Group is an independent firm providing discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting to individual investors, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. The firm emphasizes asset allocation and model-based portfolios, combining fundamental security analysis with long-term investment strategies and periodic rebalancing.

General retirement planning Cash flow / budgeting General tax planning Wealth management
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