Top Wealth + Best-in-State + Barron's 100 · rank 17 · Santa Monica, California · listed firm: Merrill Private Wealth Management
Identity & firm
- Firm — Merrill Private Wealth Management (high)
- “Richard has been providing investment advisory services to high net worth individuals, foundations and endowments since 1980. Richard held tenures with J.P. Morgan and Bank of America before joining Merrill Lynch Wealth ” — firm_official
- Parent company — Bank of America (high)
- “Backed by Merrill's deep investment platform and Bank of America's integrated banking capabilities, we deliver a seamless, family office–style experience—combining personalized service with global scale and innovation.” — firm_official
- Firm type — wirehouse (high)
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Team name — Jones Zafari Group (high)
- “"@type":"Organization","name":"Jones Zafari Group"” — firm_official
- Team size — 43 (high)
- “"@type":"ItemList","name":"Meet Our Team","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Jones","jobTitle":"Private Wealth Advisor"” — firm_official
- CRD — 3081949 (high)
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Years experience — 46 (high)
- “Richard has been providing investment advisory services to high net worth individuals, foundations and endowments since 1980.” — firm_official
- Designations — other:PIA (Personal Investment Advisor), other:SE (Sports & Entertainment) (high)
- “"c_designations":[{"abbreviation":"PIA","date":"2014-03-17","name":"Personal Investment Advisor"},{"abbreviation":"SE","date":"2022-12-01","name":"Sports & Entertainment"}]” — firm_official
Book of business
- Team AUM ($M) — 98400 (high)
- “As of December 31, 2025, clients have entrusted us with $98.4 billion in assets—reflecting enduring trust in our insight, stewardship, and discretion.” — firm_official
- “Team Assets (Custodied): $77.4B” — forbes_shook
- Account minimum ($M) — 10 (high)
- “Minimum Account Size for New Business: $10M” — forbes_shook
- Typical client net worth ($M) — 125 (high)
- “Typical Net Worth of Relationships: $75M-2B” — forbes_shook
- Client niche — ultra-affluent multigenerational families, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 executives, sports and entertainment professionals, and nonprofits/endowments (high)
- “With partners in Los Angeles, San Diego, Palo Alto, and Dallas, our team provides sophisticated wealth solutions for ultra‑affluent individuals and families, as well as corporations, endowments, and foundations.” — firm_official
- “Our clients include entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 executives, sports and entertainment professionals, and nonprofit organizations.” — firm_official
- Custodians — gap: not_applicable
- Fee model — not_public (medium)
- “Backed by Merrill's deep investment platform and Bank of America's integrated banking capabilities, we deliver a seamless, family office–style experience—combining personalized service with global scale and innovation.” — firm_official
Positioning & marketing
- Website url — https://advisor.ml.com/sites/ca/century-city-ca/joneszafarigroup (high)
- Value proposition (verbatim) — Our mission is to deliver highly personalized, boutique-style advice for individuals and families across generations. Powered by a multigenerational team, we offer tailored strategies and trusted guidance designed to grow, protect, and transition financial legacies with discretion and excellence. (high)
- “Mission StatementOur mission is to deliver highly personalized, boutique-style advice for individuals and families across generations. Powered by a multigenerational team, we offer tailored strategies and trusted guidanc” — firm_official
- Differentiators — Multigenerational advisory practice built for families with complex, long-term wealth, Family office–style sophistication with boutique-level attention, Bespoke, highly intentional approach designed around each family's goals and values, $98.4B in client assets across LA, San Diego, Palo Alto and Dallas partners, Merrill investment platform plus Bank of America integrated banking (high)
- “The Jones Zafari Team is a multigenerational advisory practice built for families with complex, long‑term wealth. We pair deep experience with forward‑thinking perspective to help individuals and families preserve, grow,” — firm_official
- “Our approach is bespoke and highly intentional—designed around each family's goals, values, and evolving needs. Delivering family office–style sophistication with boutique-level attention, we provide curated strategies, ” — firm_official
- Content marketing — occasional (medium)
- “We meet complexity head on Growing and navigating wealth isn't a straight line. There are complexities and opportunities at every turn. That's why your Merrill team serves as mission control for your wealth, offering the” — firm_official
- Has podcast — no (medium)
- “Jones Zafari Group” — firm_official
- Books published — 0 (low)
- “Richard is a member of the board of the Los Angeles Opera, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, St. Barnabas Senior Services, and USC Thornton School of Music Board of Councilors.” — firm_official
- Linkedin url — https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-b-jones (high)
- “"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-b-jones"]” — firm_official
- Social presence — linkedin_active (low)
- “"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-b-jones"]” — firm_official
- Press awards — Barron's "Top 100 Financial Advisors" (2007-2025), Barron's "Hall of Fame" (2019), Barron's "America's Top Private Wealth Advisory Teams" (2020-2025), Los Angeles Business Journal "Leaders of Influence: Wealth Managers" (2026), Humanitarian Award, Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (2015) (high)
- “Barron's "Top 100 Financial Advisors"” — firm_official
- “In 2015, Richard received the Humanitarian Award from the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. In 2019, he was honored with the Luis Lainer Founder's Award from Bet Tzedek Legal Services.” — firm_official
Visual brand
- Has distinct logo — no (high)
- “"alternateText":"Stylized bull image"” — firm_official
- Logo url — https://a.mktgcdn.com/p/9Zo26GlhWQ1jEG_ufEIg59SHTJVmckFhvMheYnyKoI8/1920x1440.png (medium)
- Visual brand notes — Merrill corporate template: navy and white with gray rules and gold accents, clean sans-serif type, stylized bull mark, formal team and headshot photography. No team-specific identity. (high)
- “"c_heroColorScheme":"BLUE"” — firm_official
