Best-in-State · rank 45 · Phoenix, Arizona · listed firm: Merrill Wealth Management
Identity & firm
- Firm — Merrill Wealth Management (high)
- “firm: Merrill Wealth Management” — forbes_shook
- Parent company — Bank of America (high)
- “Merrill Wealth Management is a division of Bank of America” — firm_official
- Firm type — wirehouse (high)
- “Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated registered as broker-dealer with SEC” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Team name — The King Group (high)
- “Team Name: The King Group” — firm_official
- Team size — 4 (high)
- “Team Roster: Brian King (Managing Director), Hunter Long (Financial Advisor), Kathryn Price (Wealth Management Client Associate), Sarah A Villanueva (Vice President, Registered Wealth Management Client Associate)” — firm_official
- CRD — 5843956 (high)
- “CRD #5843956 — Brian J King at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Phoenix, Arizona” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Years experience — 14 (high)
- “Years of Experience: 14+ years (joined financial services industry in 2007)” — firm_official
- Designations — CFP, CEPA (high)
- “Designations: CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®), Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®)” — firm_official
Book of business
- Team AUM ($M) — 583 (high)
- “Team Assets (Custodied): $583M” — forbes_shook
- Account minimum ($M) — 1.0 (high)
- “Minimum account size for new business: $1M” — forbes_shook
- Typical client net worth ($M) — 12.5 (high)
- “Typical Net Worth of Relationships: $5-20M” — forbes_shook
- Client niche — business owners and high-net-worth families (high)
- “For business owners specifically, his positioning includes expertise in: Tax-efficient strategies, Stock concentration management, Exit planning and business succession, Estate planning, Retirement income strategies” — firm_official
- Custodians — not_applicable (high)
- “Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated operates as wirehouse broker-dealer” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Fee model — gap: not_public
Positioning & marketing
- Website url — https://advisor.ml.com/sites/az/phoenix-az/king_group (high)
- “The King Group - Merrill team page” — firm_official
- Value proposition (verbatim) — a personalized financial strategy designed to help you pursue your long-term goals (high)
- “a personalized financial strategy designed to help you pursue your long-term goals” — firm_official
- Differentiators — Exit planning and business succession expertise (CEPA designation), Tax-efficient wealth strategies, Stock concentration management, Collaborative planning across healthcare, family, and charitable goals, 14+ years tenure in financial services (high)
- “Collaborative planning that addresses healthcare, homeownership, family needs, leisure, charitable giving, and business considerations. For business owners: Tax-efficient strategies, Stock concentration management, Exit ” — firm_official
- Content marketing — none (high)
- “No dedicated blog, newsletter, or podcast under Brian King's name was found” — firm_official
- Has podcast — no (high)
- “No dedicated podcast under Brian King's name was found” — firm_official
- Books published — gap: not_found_after_search
- Linkedin url — gap: not_found_after_search
- Social presence — — (high)
- “No dedicated LinkedIn profile or active social media presence (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) identified under Brian King's name” — firm_official
- Press awards — Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2026 (Rank 45), Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2025, Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2024, Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2023, Forbes Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors Best-in-State 2024, Forbes Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors Best-in-State 2023, Forbes Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors Best-in-State 2022 (high)
- “Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors: 2023, 2024, 2025. Forbes Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors Best-in-State: 2022, 2023, 2024. 2026 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors Ranking: #45” — forbes_shook
Visual brand
- Has distinct logo — no (high)
- “No specific team logo or custom visual branding for The King Group (Phoenix) was identified. The team operates under Merrill Lynch's corporate branding” — firm_official
- Logo url — gap: not_applicable
- Visual brand notes — Merrill Lynch corporate branding; The King Group operates under parent firm visual identity with no distinct team mark (high)
- “The team operates under Merrill Lynch's corporate branding at advisor.ml.com” — firm_official