Form CRS — Client Relationship Summary
Introduction
Meridian Wealth Partners, LLC ("Meridian," "we," or "us") is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser. Brokerage and investment advisory services and fees differ, and it is important for you to understand these differences. Free and simple tools to research firms and financial professionals are available at Investor.gov/CRS, which also provides educational materials about broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investing.
What investment services and advice can you provide me?
We offer investment advisory services to retail investors, including discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, retirement planning, tax-aware investment strategies, and estate and legacy planning coordination.
Monitoring
As part of our standard investment advisory services, we monitor client portfolios on an ongoing basis. We typically review client accounts no less than quarterly, with formal client review meetings at least annually.
Investment Authority
We typically manage client accounts on a discretionary basis, which means we make purchase and sale decisions in your account without obtaining your prior consent for each transaction. The scope of our discretionary authority is set forth in the investment advisory agreement you sign with us. You may also choose to engage us on a non-discretionary basis, in which case we make recommendations and you make the final decision on each transaction.
Limited Investment Offerings
We do not limit our advice to a proprietary or limited menu of products. We invest client assets primarily in publicly traded securities, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, fixed income securities, and certain private investments for qualified investors. We do not sell our own proprietary products.
Account Minimums
We generally require a minimum portfolio size of $1,000,000 for full-service wealth management engagements. We may waive this minimum at our discretion.
Conversation Starters. Ask your financial professional:
- Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not?
- How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
- What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education, and other qualifications? What do these qualifications mean?
For additional information about our services, please see our Form ADV Part 2A (Items 4 and 7), available at meridianwealthpartners.com/form-adv or on the SEC's IAPD database at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
What fees will I pay?
Asset-Based Fees
Our principal fee for investment advisory services is an asset-based fee calculated as a percentage of assets under management, billed quarterly in advance based on the market value of your account on the last business day of the prior quarter. Our standard fee schedule is tiered:
- First $2,000,000: 1.00%
- Next $3,000,000: 0.85%
- Next $5,000,000: 0.70%
- Over $10,000,000: negotiable
Because our fee is based on the value of assets in your account, we have an incentive to encourage you to increase the assets in your account.
Other Fees and Costs
In addition to our advisory fee, you will pay other fees and costs related to our investment advisory services and investments, including:
- Custodian fees and account maintenance fees charged by your account custodian
- Transaction costs, including brokerage commissions and bid-ask spreads
- Fund-level expenses charged by mutual funds, ETFs, and other pooled investment vehicles (these are paid out of fund assets, not separately billed to you)
- Wire transfer and similar service fees
You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying.
Conversation Starter. Ask your financial professional:
- Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?
For additional information about our fees, please see our Form ADV Part 2A (Item 5).
What are your legal obligations to me when acting as my investment adviser? How else does your firm make money and what conflicts of interest do you have?
When we act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide you. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means.
- Asset-based fee: Because our fee is based on the value of your account, we have an incentive to recommend that you increase your investment account balance (for example, by transferring assets from another adviser, contributing additional capital, or maintaining a higher equity allocation).
- Use of affiliated services: Where we recommend or use services provided by our affiliates, conflicts may arise. We currently do not maintain affiliated broker-dealer or product manufacturing relationships.
- Third-party arrangements: Custodians used by our clients may provide research, technology, and other services to us at no charge. The availability of these services creates an incentive to recommend or maintain those custodian relationships.
Conversation Starter. Ask your financial professional:
- How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?
For additional information about our conflicts of interest, please see our Form ADV Part 2A (Items 10, 11, 12, and 14).
How do your financial professionals make money?
Our financial professionals are compensated through a combination of base salary and discretionary firm performance-based bonuses. Compensation is not directly tied to product sales or specific transactions. Some of our financial professionals are also equity owners of the firm, and as a result they benefit from the firm's overall profitability, which is influenced by the level of fees we collect from clients.
Do you or your financial professionals have legal or disciplinary history?
No. Neither the firm nor any of our financial professionals has any legal or disciplinary history of the kind required to be disclosed in this Form CRS. Visit Investor.gov/CRS for a free and simple search tool to research us and our financial professionals.
Conversation Starter. Ask your financial professional:
- As a financial professional, do you have any disciplinary history? For what type of conduct?
Additional Information
You can find additional information about our investment advisory services on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database at adviserinfo.sec.gov. You may request a copy of this Client Relationship Summary, our Form ADV Part 2A, or our Form ADV Part 2B by contacting our compliance department at (860) 555-0100 or compliance@meridianwealthpartners.com.
Conversation Starter. Ask your financial professional:
- Who is my primary contact person? Is he or she a representative of an investment adviser or a broker-dealer? Who can I talk to if I have concerns about how this person is treating me?