DFX Intelligence
RIA Intelligence
Registered investment advisers, the advisors registered through them, the capital they report, the private vehicles they run and the people who own them, as a graph with a filing date behind every number. RAUM is what the adviser filed, a move is two registration dates, and a class is a rule you can read.
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SEC-registered adviser
M••••• R••••••••• P•••••••
Legal name E•••• R••••••••• P•••••••• L••
Latest filing Mar 30, 2026
First filing on the tape Mar 27, 2020 · 16 filings
SEC status approved since Apr 27, 2020
RAUM
$569M
reported, Item 5.F
Discretionary
100%
of RAUM
Private clients
100%
$566M individuals and HNW
Advisors
14
registered through the firm on IAPD
RAUM per advisor
$40.6M
derived; firm RAUM over IAPD count
Employees
30
10 advisory (5.B.1)
Offices
0
beyond the principal office
Private funds
0
reported on Schedule D
History
16 filings and snapshots on the tape
RAUM$569M as of Mar 30, 2026
Mar 15, 2021$186M then
HNW client RAUM$200M as of Mar 30, 2026
Mar 15, 2021$59.8M then
State-registered IARs (5.B.3)12 as of Mar 30, 2026
Mar 15, 20217 then
Employees (5.A)30 as of Mar 30, 2026
Mar 15, 202117 then
Private funds: no history
RAUM +33% over the last fiscal year+30% a year over threeIARs 14 to 12
Practice profile
derived from the filing of Mar 30, 2026; every figure names its basis
Archetypes, each a printed rule
- Mass-affluent RIA · private-client share at least 50 percent, non-HNW individuals at least 60 percent of private-client RAUM
- Wrap program sponsor · sponsors a wrap fee program (5.I) with at least $100M of wrap assets
- RAUM per advisor
- $40.6MderivedRAUM over IAPD advisors; not a book size
- Clients per advisor
- 73derivedindividual and HNW clients (5.D) over advisors
- Average HNW client
- $696,567derivedHNW RAUM over HNW clients
- Average account
- $196,418derivedRAUM over accounts (5.F.2.f)
- Discretionary
- 100%derivedof RAUM
- Institutional
- 0.0%derivedpensions, charities, corporations, government, insurance, banks, other advisers
- Employees per advisor
- 2.1derivedItem 5.A over advisors
- Advisors per office
- 14.0derived1 offices incl. principal (1.F.5)
- RAUM growth, one year
- +33%derivedbetween the last two annual amendments
- Advisor growth, one year
- -14%derivedItem 5.B.3 between annual amendments
- Client growth, one year
- +23%derived
- Compensation
- percentage of assets, hourly, fixed feesreportedItem 5.E
- Advisory activities
- financial planning, portfolio management for individuals, selection of other advisers, publications, educational seminarsreportedItem 5.G
- Wrap fee program
- $1.1BreportedItem 5.I
- Ownership
- no PE, bank or public-company owner found on Schedule Aderived
- Advisor book size
- not public; not estimatedreported
Also answered yes on Form ADV
- is an insurance broker or agent (6.A.6)
- buys or sells securities as principal to or from clients (8.A.2)
- has discretionary authority over which securities are bought or sold (8.C.1)
- receives research or other products from a broker-dealer, soft dollars (8.E)
- compensates persons for client referrals (8.G.1)
- marketing includes testimonials (5.L.1.c)
- marketing includes hypothetical performance (5.L.3)
Where the RAUM sits
Form ADV Item 5.D, latest filing
- Individuals$366M64%
- High-net-worth individuals$200M35%
- Corporations and businesses$2.7M0.5%
- Charitable organizations$12,6240.0%
- Individual clients
- 728reported
- HNW clients
- 287reported
- Pension plan clients
- n/areported
- Charitable clients
- 1reported
- Accounts
- 2,896reported
- Financial planning clients
- 1-10reported
- Wrap fee programs
- $569M sponsored, $569M managedreported
- Custody of client assets
- noreported
- Compensation
- % of AUM, fixed, hourlyreported
- Class basis
- private_client_share=1.0 fund_share=0.0 institutional_share=0.0 related_bd=false related_bank=false bd_reps=0.0derived
Advisors registered through the firm
14 on IAPD today, longest tenure first
| Name | Branch | Here since | In industry | Prior firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L•••• J•••• M•••••Certified Financial Planner | Grimes, Ia | Aug 20, 2018 | 27 y | 3 |
| C•••• F•••••• H•••••• | Grimes, Ia | Jul 11, 2019 | 12 y | 2 |
| H•••• L••••• D••••••• | Grimes, Ia | Jan 10, 2020 | 11 y | 0 |
| A•••••• E•••••••• M•••••• | Grimes, Ia | Jan 15, 2020 | 10 y | 0 |
| M•••••• A•• G••• | Grimes, Ia | May 10, 2021 | 12 y | 0 |
| A••••• L•••• M••••• | Grimes, Ia | Sep 17, 2021 | 10 y | 0 |
| R••• N••••••• B••••• | Grimes, Ia | May 2, 2022 | 12 y | 0 |
| C•••• S•••••• H••••••• | Grimes, Ia | Jul 1, 2022 | 14 y | 0 |
| K••••• A•• H••••• | Grimes, Ia | Nov 22, 2022 | 12 y | 0 |
| K•••••••• B••••••• | Grimes, Ia | Dec 5, 2022 | 11 y | 0 |
| B•••• M• A•••••• | Grimes, Ia | Mar 17, 2023 | 10 y | 0 |
| J••••• A••• L•••• | Grimes, Ia | Aug 15, 2023 | 19 y | 7 |
| S••••• L••• P•••••• | Grimes, Ia | Jun 20, 2025 | 13 y | 0 |
| N•••• D•••••••• N•••••••• | Grimes, Ia | Aug 21, 2026 | 10 y | 0 |
Advisor movement
1 left, 0 joined in 12 months
net -1 in 12 months0 left in 90 days0 joined in 90 daysdeparture rate 7.1% of current headcount1 left over 36 months
Left, latest
- N••••• G••• B•••••••• to F••••• G••••• I•••Feb 4, 2026 · RIA to RIA
- E••• N•••••• C••• to A••••••••• I•••Nov 5, 2020 · RIA to affiliated broker-dealer or bank
- J•••• M•••• W•••• to W•••• F•••••••• G••••• L••Apr 3, 2019 · RIA to a state-registered adviser
Joined, latest
- J••••• A••• L•••• from J• L•••• C••••••Aug 15, 2023 · Other
- E••• N•••••• C••• from C•••••••• I••••••••• R••••••• A•••••••• I•••Aug 1, 2019 · Affiliated broker-dealer or bank to independent RIA
- C•••• F•••••• H•••••• from R•• F•••••••• N••••••Jul 11, 2019 · RIA to RIA
- J•••• M•••• W•••• from G••••• F•••••••• P•••••• C••••••• I•••Aug 20, 2018 · Affiliated broker-dealer or bank to independent RIA
- L•••• J•••• M••••• from G••••• F•••••••• P•••••• C••••••• I•••Aug 20, 2018 · Affiliated broker-dealer or bank to independent RIA
Private funds
No private fund reported.
Owners and control persons
Schedule A and B, latest filing
- M•••••• L••••• J•••• · Chief Compliance Officercontrolsince 04/2019 · owns less than 5%
- M•••••• L••••• J•••• · Director, Vice President And Treasurercontrolsince 06/2018 · owns 75% or more of M•• H•••••••• I•••
Entity owners
- M•• H•••••••• I••• · Member And Direct Ownerdirect · owns 75% or more
Related persons
Schedule D 7.A
- M•• I••••••••• L••real estaten
Office movement
IAPD branch city; joins and departures in 12 months
| Office | Advisors | Joined | Left | Teams out | Forming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grimes, Ia · principal | 14 | 1 | 1 |
Offices
Schedule D 1.F, the 25 largest
No branch office listed.
ADV anomalies
3 against comparable advisers; where to look, not conclusions
- affiliate changedChange between filings · filing Mar 30, 2026insurance affiliate (Item 7.A.10): no on the filing of 2026-01-13, yes on the filing of 2026-03-30peers: independent wealth managers, $500M to $1B (1,482)
- business activity changedChange between filings · filing Mar 30, 2026pension consulting (Item 5.G.6): yes on the filing of 2026-01-13, no on the filing of 2026-03-30peers: independent wealth managers, $500M to $1B (1,482)
- HNW share shiftChange between filings · filing Mar 30, 2026HNW share of RAUM moved from 68.0% to 35.0% between the annual amendments of 2025-03-31 and 2026-03-30peers: independent wealth managers, $500M to $1B (1,482)
What changed
consecutive filings, newest first
- Accounts · 2,475 to 2,896Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Advisory employees · 7 to 10Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Advisory activities · 6 to 5Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Corporate clients · 2 to 3Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- HNW clients · 258 to 287Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Individual clients · 565 to 728Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Pension plan clients · 38.0 to unsetJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Pooled vehicle clients · 0.0 to unsetJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- State-registered IARs · 14 to 12Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Discretionary RAUM · $429M to $569MJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- HNW RAUM · $292M to $200MJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Individual RAUM · $131M to $366MJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Pension RAUM · 3149481.0 to unsetJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Pooled vehicle RAUM · 0.0 to unsetJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- RAUM · $429M to $569MJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Related insurance company · false to trueJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Wrap assets (manager) · $0 to $569MJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Wrap assets (sponsor) · $417M to $569MJan 13, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026
- Accounts · 2,348 to 2,475Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Advisory employees · 5 to 7Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Charity clients · 0 to 1Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Corporate clients · 0 to 2Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- HNW clients · 150 to 258Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Individual clients · 761 to 565Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Pension plan clients · 0 to 38Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Employees · 16 to 30Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Financial planning clients · More than 500 to 1-10Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- State-registered IARs · 7 to 14Mar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Discretionary RAUM · $335M to $429MMar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- HNW RAUM · $168M to $292MMar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Individual RAUM · $166M to $131MMar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Pension RAUM · $0 to $3.1MMar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- RAUM · $335M to $429MMar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Wrap assets (sponsor) · $0 to $417MMar 25, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Accounts · 1,933 to 2,348Mar 19, 2023 to Mar 6, 2024
- HNW clients · 142 to 150Mar 19, 2023 to Mar 6, 2024
- Individual clients · 558 to 761Mar 19, 2023 to Mar 6, 2024
- Discretionary RAUM · $261M to $335MMar 19, 2023 to Mar 6, 2024
- HNW RAUM · $138M to $168MMar 19, 2023 to Mar 6, 2024
- Individual RAUM · $123M to $166MMar 19, 2023 to Mar 6, 2024
Signals
3 dated events
- M••••• R••••••••• P••••••• reported RAUM $568.8M, up 33% from $428.5M (2026-01-13 to 2026-03-30)Mar 30, 2026 · RAUM change · derived
- N••••• G••• B•••••••• left M••••• R••••••••• P••••••• for F••••• G••••• I••• (registered 2026-03-09)Feb 4, 2026 · Advisor changed firm · fact
- E•••• R••••••••• P•••••••• L•• filed its initial SEC registration (Form ADV)Mar 27, 2020 · First SEC registration · fact
Across DFX
shared identifiers only, never a name match
No identifier-backed link to the venture, private equity, family office or sponsor graphs.
How to reach
public business contact points only, each with its source
- Business phone
- 515-278-1006reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 15, 2026
- Business phone
- 866-611-9370reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 15, 2026
- Firm profile
- linkedin.com/company/merkleretirementplanning/aboutreportedpublic record, Form ADV, Sep 18, 2026
- Website
- merkleplan.comreportedpublic record, Form ADV, Sep 18, 2026
- Principal office phone
- 515-278-4110reportedpublic record, Form ADV, Mar 30, 2026
- Team page
- merkleretirementplanning.com/our-teamreportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 15, 2026
Provenance
- Form ADV
- SEC filing data 2011 to 2024 and the monthly roster 2025 onreportedadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Advisors
- IAPD individual compilation feed, dailyreportedadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Class
- Independent wealth managerderiveda rule over Items 5.D and 7.A
- RAUM per advisor
- $40.6Mderivedfirm RAUM over the IAPD count; not a book size
- Loaded
- Sep 14, 2026