SEC-registered wealth management firm Broker-dealer affiliated
Merit Financial Advisors
As of its Form ADV filed September 24, 2026, Merit Financial Advisors, an SEC-registered, broker-dealer affiliated wealth management firm in Alpharetta, Georgia, reported $23.9 billion in regulatory assets under management across 20,710 accounts, ranking #3 among all wealth firms in Georgia by assets.
Registration
- Main office
- Alpharetta, GA
- Registration
- SEC-registered, Approved
- CRD number
- 142457
- SEC file number
- 801-67462
- Registered since
- January 31, 2007
- Latest Form ADV filing
- September 24, 2026
- Legal name
- MERIT FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC
- Organized as
- Limited Liability Company
- Fiscal year ends
- December
- Other offices
- 65
Key figures
- Regulatory assets under management
- $23.9 billion
- Discretionary
- $23.9 billion (100.0%)
- Non-discretionary
- $5.4 million
- Accounts
- 20,710 (20,702 discretionary)
- Clients
- 20,714, approximate as reported
- Employees
- 470
- Advisory staff
- 229 performing investment advisory functions
- Average account
- $1.2 million
- Asset growth, 1 year
- 125.7% (from $10.6 billion a year earlier)
- Asset growth, 3-year annual rate
- 62.9% (from $5.5 billion three years earlier)
- Asset growth, 5-year annual rate
- 52.7% (from $2.9 billion five years earlier)
- Client growth, 1 year
- 43.5% (from 14,438)
Broker-dealer affiliated. The firm is itself a broker-dealer as well as an investment adviser (Form ADV Item 6.A(1)). It is ranked among all wealth firms, the directory's view that includes wirehouses and broker-dealer firms, not in the main lists of independent RIAs. How firms are classed.
Growth rates come from the SEC's yearly snapshots and are left blank when the years are not comparable.
Rankings
Among all wealth firms, including wirehouses and broker-dealer firms.
Assets over time
Data table
| As of | RAUM |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2010 | $81.5 million |
| October 3, 2011 | $316.7 million |
| October 1, 2012 | $329.7 million |
| October 1, 2013 | $457.9 million |
| October 1, 2014 | $525.5 million |
| October 1, 2015 | $559.6 million |
| October 3, 2016 | $698.3 million |
| October 2, 2017 | $849.5 million |
| October 1, 2018 | $1.3 billion |
| October 1, 2019 | $1.7 billion |
| October 1, 2020 | $2.3 billion |
| October 4, 2021 | $2.9 billion |
| October 3, 2022 | $3.7 billion |
| October 5, 2023 | $5.5 billion |
| October 1, 2024 | $7.3 billion |
| September 2, 2025 | $10.6 billion |
| October 2, 2026 | $23.9 billion |
Clients and services
Client mix
| Measure | Bar | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| High net worth individuals 4,344 clients | $11.3 billion | |
| Individuals (other than high net worth) 15,696 clients | $6.7 billion | |
| Pension and profit sharing plans 434 clients | $4.4 billion | |
| Corporations or other businesses 184 clients | $1.3 billion | |
| Charitable organizations 52 clients | $201.1 million | |
| Other investment advisers 1 client | $14,058 |
How the firm is paid
- A percentage of assets under management
- Hourly charges
- Fixed fees
- Other
Advisory services
- Financial planning
- Portfolio management for individuals or small businesses
- Portfolio management for businesses or institutional clients
- Pension consulting
- Selection of other advisers
- Educational seminars or workshops
Financial planning clients (Item 5.H): 1000.
Wrap fee program sponsor or portfolio manager: yes.
Other business, affiliations and custody
Other business activities (Item 6.A)
- Broker-dealer
- Registered representative of a broker-dealer
- Insurance broker or agent
- Accountant or accounting firm
Financial industry affiliations (Item 7.A)
- Broker-dealer
- Accountant or accounting firm
- Insurance company or agency
Custody (Item 9)
The firm reported custody of client cash or securities, $5.4 billion in total.
Investment adviser representatives
- IARs registered with the firm
- 296
- Also registered through a broker-dealer
- 195
- Employees who are IARs (Form ADV 5.B(3))
- 236
Designations held by the firm's IARs: CFP 85, CFA 12, ChFC 9, PFS 5.
Between 52 and 142 of the firm's 296 IARs are registered in jurisdictions that require IAR CE. The source counts registrations by jurisdiction, and many IARs are registered in more than one, so the exact number is not knowable from it. IAR CE requirements by state.
Counts only. AdvisorIQ does not list individual people.
Disclosures
On Form ADV Item 11 the firm answered yes to 0 disclosure questions. See the detail on IAPD.
Succession and acquired firms
On Form ADV Item 4 the firm did not report succeeding to another adviser's business.
Similar-sized firms in Georgia
| Firm | City | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| HB Wealth | Atlanta | $30.2 billion |
| Primerica Advisors | Duluth | $15.5 billion |
| Osaic Advisory Services, LLC | Atlanta | $15.5 billion |
| Advisory Services Network | Atlanta | $10.6 billion |
| Openarc Corporate Advisory, LLC | Atlanta | $10.1 billion |
The five wealth firms, broker-dealer affiliated firms included, nearest in regulatory assets with a main office in the same state.
Elsewhere
- Merit Financial Advisors on IAPD: Form ADV, brochures and disclosure detail.
- Firm website: www.meritfa.com
- Wealth management firms in Georgia
Firm data as of October 2, 2026, from ia100226.zip. Figures are as the firm reported them; corrections are made on Form ADV and appear after the next monthly reload.
Data as of October 2, 2026, from Form ADV. Sources: SEC registered adviser data (ia100226.zip) and IAPD compilation reports. How the directory is built.