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 126–143 of 143. The CSV contains the complete table.
| Adviser | Individual CRD | Source snapshot date | First registration date | Firm in feed | Firm CRD | Adviser location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tammy E. Valero | 7719640 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Thrivent Investment Management Inc. | 18387 | Slickville, PA |
| Thomas E. McCrea | 8098726 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Great Valley Advisor Group, LLC | 123913 | Denver, PA |
| Thomas Gaffney | 6979064 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Westport Advisory | 340749 | Jersey City, NJ |
| Thomas Mrotek | 8305520 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | East Brunswick, NJ |
| Thomas P. Lane | 8283001 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | O'DONNELL Wealth Management | 323384 | Cody, WY |
| Timothy P. Bayless | 8309547 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Brotherhood Retirement | 339151 | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Timothy R. Ackerman | 8309144 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | AE Wealth Management, LLC | 282580 | Mount Laurel, NJ |
| Timothy W. Machasio | 8326013 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Salio Capital LLC | 343806 | Tysons Corner, VA |
| Ty A. Helm | 8351795 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Willis Johnson Wealth | 119759 | Houston, TX |
| Tyler B. Smith | 8097171 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | CWM, LLC | 155344 | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Tyler Pike | 8248347 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated | 8158 | Evansville, IN |
| Victoria C. Buenner | 8318262 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | 79 | Plano, TX |
| Vincent Garcia | 7014674 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Florida Financial Advisors, LLC | 288811 | Tampa, FL |
| Vincent M. Papais | 8319988 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 7691 | Charlotte, NC |
| Vivian Bivens | 8187630 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | 79 | Plano, TX |
| Walter Lonergan | 7576322 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Cetera Investment Advisers LLC | 105644 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA |
| Wesley G. Upton | 7322738 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC | 6363 | Portland, OR |
| Yaohui Wang | 8349810 | 10/01/2026 | 09/30/2026 | Ambrosia Herb Tea, LLC | 288737 | Diamond Bar, CA |