Manitowoc, WI Office

Merit Financial Advisors is a multi‑team registered investment adviser with 264 advisors serving roughly 20,040 clients across 66 offices and managing about $23.9 billion in client assets. The firm provides coordinated wealth‑management services including asset management, financial planning, retirement plan advice and participant consulting, employee financial‑wellness programs, and educational workshops as described in its ADV brochure.

The firm’s investment approach centers on long‑term, diversified portfolios built from centrally managed “sleeves” and standard model allocations overseen by an internal Investment Management team and Investment Committee; advisors can customize models, use separate account managers, or manage accounts directly. Merit implements both discretionary and non‑discretionary authority, relies primarily on fundamental analysis (with technical and cyclical methods as supplementary tools), and uses third‑party platforms and an internally sponsored wrap program to support client account management and held‑away assets.

Noteworthy distinctions include that many of its investment advisor representatives are dually registered as broker‑dealer registered representatives and the firm maintains an affiliated broker‑dealer entity, arrangements the brochure highlights as creating potential conflicts between commission and advisory activities that are managed through supervisory and disclosure practices. The firm also offers specialized services less common among peers — including independent fiduciary and trustee services for ESOPs and other qualified plans, a defined wrap program available to legacy accounts, and disclosed business relationships (including a financial‑wellness provider and custodian referral arrangements) that the firm identifies and addresses in its compliance documents.