Top Wealth + Best-in-State · rank 1 · Columbia, South Carolina · listed firm: Merrill Private Wealth Management
Identity & firm
- Firm — Merrill Private Wealth Management (Ellison Kibler) (high)
- “Rick began his career with Merrill in 1994. He is a Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor at Ellison Kibler, serving affluent individuals, families, corporations, endowments, and foundations nationwide.” — firm_official
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Parent company — Bank of America (high)
- “From our offices in Columbia, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina, our team brings you the breadth of Merrill and Bank of America on a boutique-like and customized level.” — firm_official
- Firm type — wirehouse (high)
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Team name — Ellison Kibler (high)
- “Ellison Kibler was formed in 1983 with the goal of providing a superior wealth management experience and unsurpassed client service to affluent families, corporations, endowments and foundations.” — firm_official
- Team size — 41 (medium)
- “Richard Migliore, CIMA®, CPFA®, CRPC™ Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor 803.733.2126 Get in touch View bio Gordon Whittaker, CFP®, SE-AWMA™ Managing Director, Wealth Management Advisor 704.339.2128 Get in touch V” — firm_official
- CRD — 2497322 (high)
- “RICHARD MIGLIORE” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Years experience — 31 (high)
- “With 31 years of experience, he focuses on financial strategies for high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans, and endowments and foundations.” — firm_official
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Designations — CIMA, other:CPFA, other:CRPC (high)
- “Rick holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® CIMA®, Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor® CPFA®, and Certified Retirement Planning Counselor™ CPRC™ designations.” — firm_official
Book of business
- Team AUM ($M) — 11500 (high)
- “Team Assets (Custodied): $11.5B” — forbes_shook
- “Today, the team that Hagood and Bud helped build oversees more than $12 billion in client assets (as of 9/30/25) and continues to grow, guided by the leadership they instilled and the values they championed.” — firm_official
- Account minimum ($M) — 4 (high)
- “Minimum Account Size for New Business: $4M” — forbes_shook
- Typical client net worth ($M) — 10 (high)
- “Typical Net Worth of Relationships: $5-15M” — forbes_shook
- Client niche — affluent families plus corporations, endowments and foundations (institutional/retirement plans) (high)
- “With 31 years of experience, he focuses on financial strategies for high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans, and endowments and foundations.” — firm_official
- “The clients we work with come from all walks of life: they are business owners, professionals, corporate executives and philanthropists.” — firm_official
- Custodians — gap: not_applicable
- Fee model — fee_plus_commission (medium)
- “MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
Positioning & marketing
- Website url — https://advisor.ml.com/sites/sc/columbia-sc/ek (high)
- “"@type":"Organization","name":"Ellison Kibler","telephone":"(803) 733-2130","image":"https://a.mktgcdn.com/p/brrVWhs3fGRscEbD8Iw8EpqwXDn6yAXRCZTbeOoFVkA/3853x1284.jpg","url":"https://advisor.ml.com/sites/sc/columbia-sc/e” — firm_official
- Value proposition (verbatim) — Ellison Kibler was formed in 1983 with the goal of providing a superior wealth management experience and unsurpassed client service to affluent families, corporations, endowments and foundations. From our offices in Columbia, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina, our team brings you the breadth of Merrill and Bank of America on a boutique-like and customized level. Through our core principles of teamwork and trust, we strive to enhance the financial lives of our clients to achieve their desired personal and financial outcomes. (high)
- “Ellison Kibler was formed in 1983 with the goal of providing a superior wealth management experience and unsurpassed client service to affluent families, corporations, endowments and foundations. From our offices in Colu” — firm_official
- Differentiators — More than 600 years of combined team experience, navigating markets since 1983, Breadth of Merrill and Bank of America delivered on a boutique-like, customized level, Dedicated four-person wealth management team per client, each with a specific role, Founded 1983 as one of the first dedicated wealth management teams within Merrill Lynch, Risk management within the portfolio as a key driver of long-term performance, using probabilistic modeling (high)
- “Ellison Kibler wealth managers and financial advisors bring together more than 600 years of combined experience. We have navigated the markets since 1983 and can apply the collective wisdom from that experience to our gu” — firm_official
- “As a client, you will have a dedicated four-person wealth management team, with each member having a specific role and skill set. You will be served by a wealth management advisor, a financial advisor or investment assoc” — firm_official
- Content marketing — none (medium)
- “Insights|Beyond the page: How a successful writer pursues financial security|Four for the Quarter: Top questions investors are asking right now|Stay ahead of student scams|Inside the American wallet: What's fueling consu” — firm_official
- Has podcast — no (medium)
- “In his free time, Rick enjoys being outdoors and on the water.” — firm_official
- Books published — 0 (medium)
- “Rick graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor's degree in finance. He has served on numerous charitable boards including Habitat for Humanity, the Cutler Jewish Day School, the Humane S” — firm_official
- Linkedin url — https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-migliore-96811044 (high)
- “"c_linkedInURL":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-migliore-96811044","c_marketingName":"Richard Migliore"” — firm_official
- Social presence — linkedin_active (low)
- “"c_linkedInURL":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-migliore-96811044","c_marketingName":"Richard Migliore"” — firm_official
- Press awards — Barron's "Top 1,500 Financial Advisors" 2026 — #1 in South Carolina, Barron's "Top 250 Private Wealth Management Teams" 2026 — Ellison Kibler ranked #18 nationwide (also 2024, 2025), Barron's "Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams" 2022-2023 (team) (high)
- “Ellison Kibler announced that the firm has been ranked #18 in the nation on the Barron's "Top 250 Private Wealth Management Teams" 2026 list, published on May 8, 2026. Rankings were based on data as of December 31, 2025.” — professional_press
- “Barron's "Top 250 Private Wealth Management Teams", 2024-2026 (Published annually in May. Years pre-dating 2024, published as Barron's "Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams" list annually March - April. Rankings based” — firm_official
Visual brand
- Has distinct logo — no (medium)
- “"@type":"Organization","name":"Ellison Kibler","telephone":"(803) 733-2130","image":"https://a.mktgcdn.com/p/brrVWhs3fGRscEbD8Iw8EpqwXDn6yAXRCZTbeOoFVkA/3853x1284.jpg","url":"https://advisor.ml.com/sites/sc/columbia-sc/e” — firm_official
- Logo url — gap: not_found_after_search
- Visual brand notes — Merrill corporate template: navy/white with gray neutrals (brand-primary/secondary/gray tokens), clean corporate sans typography, formal posed headshots and a wide staircase group photo. No team-specific mark or palette. (medium)
- “