Top Wealth + Best-in-State + Barron's 100 · rank 1 · Atlanta, Georgia · listed firm: Merrill Private Wealth Management
Identity & firm
- Firm — Merrill Private Wealth Management (The Westmoreland Group) (high)
- “John R Westmoreland (Rod) - Investment Adviser at MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Parent company — Bank of America (high)
- “Access to Merrill investment insights and Bank of America banking solutions” — firm_official
- Firm type — wirehouse (high)
- “John is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and RR (Registered Representative) and started their career in finance in 1979.” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Team name — The Westmoreland Group (high)
- “The Westmoreland Group provides an unparalleled experience to exceed expectations in pursuit of deep, long-term relationships that allow our clients to focus on what matters most to them in life.” — firm_official
- Team size — 28 (medium)
- “Approximately 28 team members listed, including 2 Managing Directors and multiple Senior Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents” — firm_official
- CRD — 862872 (high)
- “John R. Westmoreland (Rod) has CRD# 862872 and is currently employed by and registered with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated located at 3455 Peachtree Road NE in Atlanta, GA 30326 (CRD# 7691).” — sec_finra_regulatory
- Years experience — 47 (medium)
- “Rod started his wealth management career in 1978, and his entire tenure has been with Merrill in Atlanta.” — firm_official
- Designations — gap: not_found_after_search
Book of business
- Team AUM ($M) — 5700 (high)
- “Team Assets (Custodied): $5.7B” — forbes_shook
- Account minimum ($M) — 2.5 (high)
- “"Minimum account size for new business":"$2.5M"” — forbes_shook
- Typical client net worth ($M) — 60 (high)
- “"typical_net_worth_mil":60” — professional_press
- “Typical Net Worth of Relationships: $25-200M” — forbes_shook
- Client niche — private business owners and entrepreneurs pre/post-liquidity, and their multigenerational families (high)
- “Rod focuses on servicing the complete needs of current and former private business owners and their families.” — forbes_shook
- “Company Founders, Private Business Owners & Entrepreneurs; Intergenerational Family Wealth; Women; Family Offices; Corporate Executives; Professional Athletes” — firm_official
- Custodians — gap: not_applicable
- Fee model — fee_plus_commission (medium)
- “John is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and RR (Registered Representative) and started their career in finance in 1979. John has passed the Series 66, Series 65, Series 63, SIE, Series 5 and Seri” — sec_finra_regulatory
Positioning & marketing
- Website url — https://advisor.ml.com/sites/ga/southeast-pwm/westmorelandgroup (high)
- “Westmoreland Group - Financial Advisor in Atlanta, GA 30326 | Merrill” — firm_official
- Value proposition (verbatim) — The Westmoreland Group provides an unparalleled experience to exceed expectations in pursuit of deep, long-term relationships that allow our clients to focus on what matters most to them in life. (high)
- “The Westmoreland Group provides an unparalleled experience to exceed expectations in pursuit of deep, long-term relationships that allow our clients to focus on what matters most to them in life.” — firm_official
- Differentiators — Goals-based planning as the foundation of the financial strategy, Collaborative team-of-specialists philosophy, Resources and insights of a global financial institution, Multigenerational strategies for current and future generations, Simplifying the complexity that comes with significant wealth (high)
- “We believe your unique goals should be at the center of all of your financial decisions and form the foundation of your financial strategy.” — firm_official
- “Our philosophy celebrates collaboration. Working with a team of specialists, we draw on the resources and insights of a global financial institution to create strategies that reflect your aspirations for yourself and cur” — firm_official
- Content marketing — none (low)
- “The page does not include a detailed bio paragraph with years of experience for Rod Westmoreland. Only his title is listed: "Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor" with recognition badges” — firm_official
- Has podcast — no (low)
- “Rod Westmoreland is a prominent Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor at Merrill Private Wealth Management in Atlanta, Georgia.” — firm_official
- Books published — 0 (low)
- “Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor” — firm_official
- Linkedin url — https://www.linkedin.com/in/rod-westmoreland-rod-72183999/ (medium)
- “Rod Westmoreland (Rod) - Merrill Private Wealth Management | LinkedIn” — social_or_third_party_db
- Social presence — gap: not_found_after_search
- Press awards — Barron's Top 100 Financial Advisors, 2007-2026, Barron's Top 1,200 Financial Advisors: State-by-State, 2009-2022, Barron's Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams, 2019-2022, Financial Times 400 Top Financial Advisers, 2013-2022 (high)
- “recognition badges (Barron's Top 100, 2007-2026; Forbes Best-in-State, 2018-2026)” — firm_official
- “Barron's "Top 100 Private Wealth Management Teams" (2019-2022)” — forbes_shook
Visual brand
- Has distinct logo — no (medium)
- “Westmoreland Group - Financial Advisor in Atlanta, GA 30326 | Merrill” — firm_official
- Logo url — gap: not_found_after_search
- Visual brand notes — Standard Merrill corporate template: white background, dark-gray body text, blue accent links, serif/sans mix, formal advisor headshot grid; no team-specific palette or imagery. (medium)
- “Professional serif/sans-serif mix; dark gray text (#646464) on white background; blue accent links; minimal color palette consistent with financial services branding.” — firm_official