NEW ADVISERS
Merrill lists 17; 143 first adviser registrations across firms
The complete registration window covers 09/30/2026. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated accounts for 17 records; selected examples also include registrants listed with Great Valley, J.P. Morgan and Strategic Advisers.
By Maya Chen·Edition ·3 min read
The records include 143 source-reported first adviser registrations in the selected window, which runs from 09/30/2026 through 09/30/2026. The largest named firm category is Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, with 17 people. The firm shown is the current source-listed affiliation; a first adviser registration does not establish a hiring date, first industry job or career start.
The full-period firm distribution
The complete distribution groups the 143 registrations into five chart categories: 17 at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated; seven at Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC; seven at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC; six at Strategic Advisers LLC; and 106 across all other firms. The last figure is a combined category, not a count for one firm. The named-firm counts are categories in the complete period, not a selected list of the entire roster.
Examples across the named firms
Two selected records list Pranav Garikapati and Vincent M. Papais with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Both have a first-registration date of 09/30/2026. Their records list Pennington, New Jersey, and Charlotte, North Carolina, respectively, as branch locations observed on 10/01/2026.
At Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC, Thomas E. McCrea and Bennett W. Miller are two selected examples with first-registration dates of 09/30/2026. Their listed branch locations are Denver, Pennsylvania, and Columbia, South Carolina, respectively; those location records were observed on 10/01/2026.
The selected J.P. Morgan Securities LLC examples are Matthew George, with Santa Cruz, California, listed as a branch location, and Victoria C. Buenner, with Plano, Texas. Both records give 09/30/2026 as the first-registration date, while the branch information was observed on 10/01/2026.
At Strategic Advisers LLC, Ethan Wells is listed with a Cumming, Georgia, branch and David Zappe with a Morristown, New Jersey, branch. Their first-registration dates are 09/30/2026; the branch records were observed on 10/01/2026. A listed branch does not establish a person's residence or only workplace, and the registration date does not show when someone was hired.
Selected records
| Person | Current source-listed firm | First-registration date | Branch location (observed 10/01/2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pranav Garikapati | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 09/30/2026 | Pennington, New Jersey |
| Vincent M. Papais | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 09/30/2026 | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Thomas E. McCrea | Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC | 09/30/2026 | Denver, Pennsylvania |
| Bennett W. Miller | Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC | 09/30/2026 | Columbia, South Carolina |
| Matthew George | J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | 09/30/2026 | Santa Cruz, California |
| Victoria C. Buenner | J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | 09/30/2026 | Plano, Texas |
| Ethan Wells | Strategic Advisers LLC | 09/30/2026 | Cumming, Georgia |
| David Zappe | Strategic Advisers LLC | 09/30/2026 | Morristown, New Jersey |
Complete record list
The full-period list contains 143 records. The homepage breakdown covers the complete list: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (17); Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC (7); J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (7); Strategic Advisers LLC (6); All other firms (106).
The list below includes all 143 source-reported first adviser registrations dated on 09/30/2026. The listed firm is the current source-reported affiliation, not necessarily the first registration firm. First adviser registration does not establish a hiring date or career start. Reported locations do not establish residence or sole workplace.
Showing rows 101–125 of 143. The CSV contains the complete table.
| Adviser | Individual CRD | Source snapshot date | First registration date | Firm in feed | Firm CRD | Adviser location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro M. V. C. Alves | 8271648 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Ssa Wealth Advisors | 161357 | Not reported |
| Pepper B. DeTuro | 8329514 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Blackrock Investment Management, LLC | 108928 | Atlanta, GA |
| Pranav Garikapati | 8319989 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | Pennington, NJ |
| Quinton P. Bowers | 8028893 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Wedbush Securities Inc. | 877 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Rafael R. G. Rodriguez | 8319954 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | Pembroke Pines, FL |
| Robert J. Fell | 8299561 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | United Capital Financial Advisors | 134600 | North Wales, PA |
| Robert L. Savage | 815336 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | B.B. Graham & Company, Inc. | 41533 | Oklahoma City, OK |
| Ruinian Kang | 7695581 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Transamerica Financial Advisors, LLC | 16164 | Alviso, CA |
| Ryan C. Fenniman | 7011286 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC | 19616 | Raleigh, NC |
| Ryan Kolenda | 8191453 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Eagle Strategies LLC | 110826 | Prince George, VA |
| Ryan N. Templeton | 7091087 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC | 123913 | Columbia, SC |
| Samantha J. Broas | 7093044 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | UBS Financial Services Inc. | 8174 | Buffalo, NY |
| Samuel R. Bahr | 8102959 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Cetera Investment Advisers LLC | 105644 | St. Louis, MO |
| Samuel T. Welch | 8279354 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | Chandler, AZ |
| Seth Boehmer | 8080674 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | Miamisburg, OH |
| Shemika L. Merphy | 6248311 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | PFS Investments Inc. | 10111 | New York, NY |
| Sophia K. DeRollo | 8106584 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | Boston, MA |
| Stephanie D. Bautista | 6426911 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Morgan Stanley | 149777 | Palm Desert, CA |
| Stephen Kitner | 8333271 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Osaic Wealth, Inc. | 23131 | St. Petersburg, FL |
| Stephen S. Schultz | 8347363 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Bastion Fiduciary | 333420 | Aberdeen, MD |
| Steven C. Choo | 8269450 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Vanguard Advisers, Inc. | 106715 | Charlotte, NC |
| Steven Francione | 6962984 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Guardian Wealth Partners, LLC | 310203 | Red Bank, NJ |
| Steven H. Richie | 8201641 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Arkadios Wealth Advisors | 288863 | Atlanta, GA |
| Susan P. McGuire | 2448950 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | LPL Financial LLC | 6413 | Westwood, MA |
| Sydney G. Webb | 8115387 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Strategic Advisers LLC | 104555 | Fort Worth, TX |