Patrick N Cunningham

Advisor at Merrill — Beaufort, SC Bay St

Updated today

Credentials

Series 66

Experience

16 years

Location

Beaufort, SC 29902

Merrill logo

Merrill

Institution

Total advisors

25,588

Across 3,189 offices

Clients per advisor

70 Very Low

Avg AUM per client

$860,085 Very High

HNW client ratio

29% High

About

Patrick Cunningham is a Senior Financial Advisor and Senior Vice President on the Cunningham Team at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Based in Beaufort, South Carolina, he leads a second-generation wealth management group serving clients in over 25 states. Since 1995, the Cunningham Team has worked with multiple generations of clients to simplify their financial lives through structured planning, disciplined investment management, and access to banking and lending solutions offered by Bank of America. The team has been recognized on the Forbes Best in State Wealth Management Teams list from 2024 to 2026.

Patrick has been listed on several Forbes advisor rankings, including Best in State Wealth Advisors for 2022 through 2026, and Best in State Top Next Generation Wealth Advisors (under 40) for 2022 to 2024, being named #1 in South Carolina for 2024. Previously, he served on Merrill's Next Gen Leadership Council, contributing perspectives from clients and employees under the age of 40 to the firm's strategic conversations.

A Beaufort native, Patrick graduated from The Citadel with a Bachelor's Degree and holds the Personal Investment Advisor (PIA) designation. His past community involvement includes serving on St. Peter's Catholic Church Finance Council, acting as President of the Beaufort Chapter of The Citadel Alumni Association, and graduating from Leadership Beaufort. Patrick lives on Lady's Island with his wife Becky and their twin boys.

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

Demographic focus

Mid-Career Professionals Established Professionals Parents

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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

Beaufort, SC Bay St

700 Bay St

Beaufort SC 29902

Advisors at this office

7

Most active in

Florida · South Carolina · Texas

Work history

16 years of industry experience

Bank Of America, N.a.

2009 - Present • 17 years

Jacksonville, FL

Merrill

2007 - Present • 19 years

Jacksonville, FL

Disclosures

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

Business activities & affiliations

user avatar

Jack W

CFP®, Series 63

Beaufort, SC

Carolina Planning Group LLC

Jack Worrell is a CFP® with 17 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Carolina Planning Group LLC in Beaufort, SC. His prior work includes three years at Woodbury Financial Services Inc. and over two decades at Kinghorn Insurance Agency. In addition to his advisory role, he is active as an insurance agent specializing in property and casualty sales. Carolina Planning Group provides personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and entities such as pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, and charitable organizations. The firm uses a strategic asset allocation approach emphasizing passive, multi-factor investments and primarily recommends Dimensional Fund Advisors mutual funds for core portfolio exposure.

Factor investing / smart beta Passive / index investing
user avatar

Robert G

ChFC®, Series 63

Beaufort, SC

BG Financial Advisors, LLC

Robert Green is the principal advisor at BG Financial Advisors, LLC in Beaufort, SC, with 24 years of industry experience. He holds the ChFC® and Series 63 designations and has been operating his advisory business since 1988. Green is also a licensed attorney, though he is not currently practicing law, and he spends a small portion of his time involved in insurance sales. BG Financial Advisors serves individual clients by providing financial planning and investment management focused on retirement strategies. The firm employs discretionary portfolio management using asset-allocation model portfolios through SEI Private Trust, supplemented with customized allocations, and coordinates planning with clients’ tax and legal advisors.

General retirement planning Income planning General tax planning College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Approaching retirement Established Professionals
user avatar

Kent T

Series 63

Beaufort, SC

Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC

Kent Thune is a financial advisor at Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC with 22 years of industry experience. He has held his current role since 2006 and previously worked at American Pensions, Inc. from 2000 to 2006. He holds a Series 63 designation. Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC is a fee-only registered investment adviser serving individuals, corporate clients, and pension, 401(k), and profit-sharing plans. The firm emphasizes pension consulting and manages client portfolios on a non-discretionary basis using no-load and load-waived mutual funds and ETFs, with regular reviews and rebalancing.

Wealth management
user avatar

Gay W

Series 63, Series 65, Series 66

Beaufort, SC

Jemma Financial Services

Gay Wagner is a financial advisor at Jemma Financial Services with 11 years of industry experience. Wagner holds Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses and has worked at Jemma Investment Advisors since 2021, following seven years at Brown Advisory and a year at Merrill. Jemma Financial Services advises individual investors—including high-net-worth clients—as well as pension plans, charities, and other entities, managing approximately $140 million across five advisors. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management based on five risk-targeted model portfolios and integrates financial planning into its portfolio services using MoneyGuidePro.

Income planning Retirement withdrawal strategies Real estate investing
user avatar

Richard W

Series 63

Bluffton, SC

Walls Investment Management Company

Richard Walls is a financial advisor at Walls Investment Management Company in Bluffton, SC, with 30 years of industry experience. He has worked at Walls Investments since 1998 and holds a Series 63 designation. Walls Investment Management provides personalized investment management and financial planning services to individual and institutional clients, including pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm uses a mix of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to construct portfolios focused on liquid instruments, and it offers discretionary portfolio management with regular account reviews.

General retirement planning Income planning Options & derivatives strategies
user avatar

Matthew V

Series 66

Bluffton, SC

Van Grouw Advisors, LLC

Matthew Van Grouw is a financial advisor at Van Grouw Advisors, LLC with three years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at several firms, including IBN Financial Services, Inc. and Guardian Industries. In addition to his advisory role, he is employed as a staff accountant at James L. Van Grouw LLC, an accounting firm. Van Grouw Advisors, LLC provides discretionary asset and portfolio management services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and estates. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and technical analysis across various strategies, including derivatives and margin use, and conducts regular portfolio reviews with tailored investment approaches.

Active portfolio management Options & derivatives strategies
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