Best-in-State · rank 90 · Birmingham, Alabama · listed firm: Merrill Wealth Management
Logo asset (hotlink-protected, view at source): https://www.ml.com/
Identity & firm
- Firm — Merrill Wealth Management (high)
- “Chad Richey works with Merrill Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama, and is associated with Richey, Price, Sawyer & Associates.” — firm_official
- Parent company — Bank of America (high)
- “Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America.” — firm_official
- Firm type — wirehouse (high)
- “Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. was a publicly traded American investment bank that exists as a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.” — professional_press
- Team name — Richey, Price, Sawyer and Associates (high)
- “Richey, Price, Sawyer and Associates is a financial advisory firm serving successful business owners and serial entrepreneurs in the health care, technology and manufacturing sectors, physicians and healthcare administra” — firm_official
- Team size — gap: not_found_after_search
- CRD — gap: not_found_after_search
- Years experience — 25 (high)
- “Chad entered the financial services in 2001 – first in banking. He has 25 years of experience as a financial advisor in the industry.” — social_or_third_party_db
- Designations — CFP, CPFA (high)
- “Chad holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification and the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor® (CPFA®) designation.” — firm_official
Book of business
- Team AUM ($M) — 697 (high)
- “Team Assets (Custodied): $697M” — forbes_shook
- Account minimum ($M) — 0.5 (high)
- “Minimum account size for new business: $500K” — forbes_shook
- Typical client net worth ($M) — 2.5 (medium)
- “Typical Net Worth of Relationships: $1-5M” — forbes_shook
- Client niche — business owners, healthcare professionals, attorneys, retired military executives, multi-generational families (high)
- “The firm serves successful business owners and serial entrepreneurs in the health care, technology and manufacturing sectors, physicians and healthcare administrators, attorneys, retired military executives and couples, ” — firm_official
- Custodians — not_applicable (high)
- “Merrill Wealth Management is a registered broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America.” — firm_official
- Fee model — aum_fee (medium)
- “Financial Advisors at Merrill Lynch charge up to 1.75% AUM-based fee.” — professional_press
Positioning & marketing
- Website url — https://advisor.ml.com/sites/al/greater-alabama/richey-price-sawyer-and-associates/chad_richey (high)
- “Chad Richey profile page at Merrill Wealth Management advisor directory.” — firm_official
- Value proposition (verbatim) — Goals-based advisor who has always put clients' objectives and concerns at the center of his highly personalized approach. (medium)
- “Chad describes himself as a 'goals-based' advisor before it was a popular expression. He works in wealth management at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, indicating that his value proposition centers on a goals-based appro” — social_or_third_party_db
- Differentiators — Goals-based approach, Long-term client retention through market volatility, Banking background informing balance-sheet optimization, Diverse clientele expertise, Senior Resident Director oversight (medium)
- “Chad has managed clients' wealth and emotions amid the volatility of 2001, 2008, 2020, 2022, and now 2025, with virtually all of those clients remaining with him.” — social_or_third_party_db
- “His banking background continues to inspire him today, as he recognizes the importance of enhancing both sides of clients' balance sheets (assets and liabilities).” — firm_official
- Content marketing — none (medium)
- “No published blog, newsletter, or market commentary found under Chad Richey's or Richey, Price, Sawyer and Associates' name in recent searches.” — firm_official
- Has podcast — no (medium)
- “No podcast hosted by Chad Richey or Richey, Price, Sawyer and Associates identified in web search.” — general_press
- Books published — 0 (low)
- “No published books authored by Chad Richey found in search results.” — general_press
- Linkedin url — https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-richey-935b253/ (high)
- “Chad Richey LinkedIn profile as Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.” — social_or_third_party_db
- Social presence — linkedin_active (medium)
- “Chad Richey maintains an active LinkedIn profile with 500+ connections as Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.” — social_or_third_party_db
- Press awards — Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2023-2026, Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams 2026 (high)
- “He has been recognized as a Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors from 2023-2026 and as part of Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams for 2026.” — forbes_shook
Visual brand
- Has distinct logo — no (high)
- “Richey, Price, Sawyer and Associates operates under the Merrill Wealth Management branding and uses the Bank of America Merrill logo rather than a distinct team-specific logo.” — firm_official
- Logo url — gap: not_found_after_search
- Visual brand notes — Uses parent firm Merrill branding: minimalist geometric mark with clean wordmark, representing Bank of America's 2019 rebrand. No distinct team visual identity. (medium)
- “The current Merrill logo presents a minimalist geometric mark paired with a clean wordmark, representing Bank of America's 2019 rebrand that simplified the historic Merrill Lynch identity.” — professional_press