Merit Fund Advisors, LLC (Birmingham)

Merit Fund Advisors, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Birmingham. It manages $149.28 million of regulatory assets for 11 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2017 and has operated in the jurisdiction of Alabama.

Merit Fund Advisors provides portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles and portfolio management for closely-held company. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Merit Fund Advisors: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Merit Fund Advisors, LLC is $149.28 million, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 628% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $149.28 million in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $13.57 million each.

Investments

The firm invests in other assets the most. They account for 100% of the total AUM.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Merit Fund Advisors, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Merit Fund Advisors serves?

The firm provides services to pooled investment vehicles and corporations or other businesses. The largest group of clients of Merit Fund Advisors is pooled investment vehicles with 10 clients and $134.28 million of assets under management. Among the 11 most similar advisory firms, Merit Fund Advisors has the 3rd highest percentage of pooled investment vehicles out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $149.28 million for 11 clients. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Merit Fund Advisors also advises several private funds. Namely, six real estate funds and four private equity funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $0 to $90,000.

Careers at Merit Fund Advisors, LLC

The company employs 13 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 69 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Benny M Larussa Jr.	Chief executive officer & president	1 Apr 2017	Other	6073306
Tara Tribble Laechelt	Chief financial officer	1 Apr 2017	Other	6792997
Elizabeth Stewart	Chief operations officer	1 Apr 2017	Other	5371928
Colin George Moorhouse	Chief compliance officer	1 Apr 2017	Other	6792998
Inc. Sterling Capital Management	Sole member & manager	1 Apr 2017	75% - 100%	63-1057974

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 1 indirect owner.

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Benny M Larussa Jr.	Sole shareholder & director	1 Jan 1983	75% - 100%	6073306

Based in Birmingham

The principal office where Merit Fund Advisors, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 110 Office Park Drive, Birmingham, AL 35223 The mailing address of the firm is P.O. Box 530441, Birmingham, AL 35253 0914. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number (205) 313-4809 or by fax (205) 414 0914. The normal business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday - Friday.