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RIA / WealthAdvisordual registered (broker-dealer)10 years in industry

Paul Michael Ridley

Advisor at MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED

SYRACUSE, NY

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Search this name across graphsid dfx:ria:c5698f09-e181-dd6e-a2b9-227f8a3d421e

Data as of Sep 14, 2026 (this record's last observation) from federal regulator filings. Page built Sep 21, 2026, 12:06 AM UTC and rebuilt at most every 15 minutes.

Relationships: 4
Dated events: 3
On other graphs: 0
Observed: Sep 23, 2021 to Sep 14, 2026

Across DFX

This entity has not been resolved onto another DFX graph by a shared identifier. A name match elsewhere would be a candidate, never an identity, and none is recorded.

Facts

fact = as filed or announced; derived = computed by DFX; estimate = a band, never a point

Current firm: MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED
Current firm class: wirehousederived
Book size: not publicno per-advisor AUM is published by the SEC, FINRA or IAPD, and DFX estimates none
Industry start: Mar 1, 2016earliest registration or exam on IAPD
Years in industry: 10derivedfrom the industry start date
Years at current firm: 1derivedfrom the current registration's begin date
Prior firms: 3
Current registrations: 1
Registered states: 1
Exams: S66|S63
First exam: Aug 7, 2020
First registration: Sep 23, 2021
Dual registered: yes, broker-dealer
Other names: Paul Michael Ridley|Paul M Ridley
IAPD individual key: 4415464

Registration history

registration spans on IAPD; the basis says whether the span is a current registration or a prior employment record

Firm	Class	Began	Ended	Current	Branch	Basis
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED	Wirehouse	Jul 30, 2025	n/a	yes	SYRACUSE, NY	Current employment
THRIVENT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.	Bd affiliated wealth	Jun 27, 2024	Apr 23, 2025	no	LIVERPOOL, NY\|MINNEAPOLIS, MN	Previous registration
EXENCIAL WEALTH ADVISORS	Former SEC adviser	Apr 10, 2023	Feb 12, 2024	no	Old Lyme, CT\|OKLAHOMA CITY, OK	Previous registration
PRUCO SECURITIES, LLC	No RAUM reported	Sep 23, 2021	Sep 30, 2022	no	Syracuse, NY	Previous registration

Moves

a move is two registration dates; a bulk corporate re-registration is typed BULK_TRANSFER and is not a move

From	To	Left	Joined	Gap, days	Kind	Move type
THRIVENT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.	MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED	Apr 23, 2025	Jul 30, 2025	98	Firm change	Ibd to wirehouse
EXENCIAL WEALTH ADVISORS	THRIVENT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.	Feb 12, 2024	Jun 27, 2024	136	Firm change	RIA to ibd
PRUCO SECURITIES, LLC	EXENCIAL WEALTH ADVISORS	Sep 30, 2022	Apr 10, 2023	192	Firm change	Ibd to RIA

Relationships

Registered with (4)

→ MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATEDRegistered adviserregistration: current employment
Jul 30, 2025 to presentfactForm ADV
→ THRIVENT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.Registered adviserregistration: previous registration
Jun 27, 2024 to Apr 23, 2025factForm ADV
→ EXENCIAL WEALTH ADVISORSRegistered adviserregistration: previous registration
Apr 10, 2023 to Feb 12, 2024factForm ADV
→ PRUCO SECURITIES, LLCRegistered adviserregistration: previous registration
Sep 23, 2021 to Sep 30, 2022factForm ADV

Dated events

Occurred
Apr 23, 2025
Advisor changed firm
Paul Michael Ridley left Thrivent Investment Management Inc. for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (registered 2025-07-30)
Form ADVobserved 5 days ago
Occurred
Feb 12, 2024
Advisor changed firm
Paul Michael Ridley left Exencial Wealth Advisors for Thrivent Investment Management Inc. (registered 2024-06-27)
Form ADVobserved 5 days ago
Occurred
Sep 30, 2022
Advisor changed firm
Paul Michael Ridley left Pruco Securities, Llc for Exencial Wealth Advisors (registered 2023-04-10)
Form ADVobserved 5 days ago