Miscellaneous
Protecting Your Retirement: Understanding the Cybersecurity Risks to Your Financial Future
Retirement should be a time of peace and enjoyment, a period to reap the rewards of decades of hard work. However, today’s digital age has introduced new challenges that can threaten individuals’ financial security. Cyber threats, particularly those targeting individuals close to or in retirement, are on the rise, with investment scams, phishing schemes aimed…
Read MoreStrong Cybersecurity Starts with Solid Cyber Hygiene
A Q&A with Chrissy Lee, Chief Operating Officer, Merit Financial Advisors, and Mark Hurley, CEO, Digital Privacy & Protection While families across the country are settling into fall with shorter days, cooler weather, and cozy weekend activities, October provides another reason for us to lean into our families by reassessing our cybersecurity habits. Shockingly, cybercrime…
Read MorePlan for the Best, Prepare for the Rest: Why Prenuptial Agreements Are Back, and Smarter Than Ever
By Baylee Bryant, Wealth Manager, CFP®, CDFA®, Partner, Merit Financial Advisors Few conversations test a couple’s communication like the idea of implementing a prenuptial (“prenup”) agreement. It can feel uncomfortable; maybe too practical, too pessimistic, or too soon. But avoiding the conversation doesn’t make the potential need for a prenup disappear. It only delays the…
Read MoreWhat Families with Unique Dynamics Need to Know About Financial Planning
By Kat Grier, CFP®, CPA, Wealth Manager, Merit Financial Advisors If you’re one of the many millions of Americans who consider themselves part of a unique family dynamic, you’re not alone. In the United States, same-sex couple households have grown to 1.3 million and forty percent of American families are now blended. While financial planning…
Read MoreSpecial Market Commentary: March Madness – Basketball Tournament or Tariff Policy
By Brian Andrew, CFA® – Chief Investment Officer Markets rallied on news that the proposed tariff plan was going to be scaled back before April 2nd, then the President made it clear that wasn’t his goal. We should know now that focusing on tariffs implemented not bantered about is the best way to determine policy…
Read MoreSpecial Market Commentary: Tough Talk On Tariffs
By Brian Andrew, CFA® – Chief Investment Officer Markets have been thrown into turmoil due to the tariff discussion dominating headlines. As the U.S.’ new Administration emphasizes the need for a much tougher tariff policy, on all of our trading partners (China, Europe, Mexico and Canada in particular), investors, originally sanguine about new policy, have…
Read MoreThree Rivers Bank of Montana Announces Strategic Alliance with Merit Financial Advisors to Launch Wealth Management Division
Kalispell, MT – January 6, 2025 – Three Rivers Bank of Montana is pleased to announce a strategic alliance with Merit Financial Advisors, a nationally recognized wealth management firm, to expand its financial service offerings. This partnership will enable the bank to provide comprehensive wealth management services to clients in the Flathead Valley, helping individuals,…
Read MoreGiving Thanks this Holiday Season-Merit Financial Advisors
As the year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks. On behalf of the entire team at Merit Financial Advisors, we are deeply grateful for your trust and partnership. It is your loyalty that drives our commitment to enrich the lives of those we serve. As we…
Read MoreMarket Commentary: 50x All Time High!
By Brian Andrew, CFA® – Chief Investment Officer Please join me in remembering our Veterans on this Veterans Day. At Merit we celebrate their contributions and especially appreciate their sacrifices. As we closed out election week, the S&P 500 Index price was almost at 6,000 and the DJIA almost 44,000. This was the 50th all-time-high…
Read MoreSpecial Market Commentary – Now What?
By Brian Andrew, CFA® – Chief Investment Officer While we are still waiting for the election outcome for the House of Representatives, we have a clear picture of who will be in the White House and in control of the Senate. Today’s market reaction is a continuation of the market’s pricing in a former President…
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