Scott Buss

Scott Buss, Senior Financial Advisor,  C(k)P, CRPC, CRPS, CPFA, Retirement Benefits Consultant

With more than 32 years of client-focused investment experience (all with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management), Scott brings a distinct level of financial insight and devotion to a select circle of affluent clients in the Fresno area and throughout California.

To do more for fewer clients, Scott has limited the size of his client base to:

• Successful business owners and their 401(k) and retirement plans

• “Blue collar” entrepreneurs and investors (many in ag-related ventures)

• Pre-retirees and retirees who are active members of their communities.

“The people I serve work hard for themselves, their families and charitable causes. Rather than splurge, they save. They want to make wise financial decisions and someone to look out for them. It’s fulfilling to educate and guide people who appreciate being on the right financial path thanks to solid choices,” Scott explains.

Through Scott’s planning-based approach, he helps clients find new ways to look at their wealth and put it to work. “From supporting philanthropies to helping loved ones get started in business, many clients want their wealth to bring meaning to others,” Scott points out.

Managing portfolios to help satisfy client needs for income, growth or a blend, Scott believes that transparency is at the core of each trusted relationship. “I want clients to understand what they own and why. I also want them to see me as an ‘available’ resource that brings value well beyond their investments. Frequently, I coordinate with Bank of America Private Bank, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and with clients’ CPAs and attorneys to build tax minimization and estate planning strategies that align with the overall interests.”

Unlike many financial advisors, Scott prefers to visit clients in their homes and offices – especially when their businesses help define their motivations and concerns. “Spending time to cultivate solid relationships is important to clients and critical to me. The more I know, the better I can serve people, not just their portfolios,” he adds.|In addition to earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Fresno State University, Scott starred on its baseball team as an All-American and was eventually drafted by the Seattle Mariners. After five years of playing professional baseball, Scott joined Merrill in 1989.

Scott is a Portfolio Manager who can help clients pursue their objectives by managing on a discretionary basis his own personalized or defined strategies, which may incorporate individual stocks and bonds, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management model portfolios, and third-party investment strategies.

Scott is one of a select group of Merrill advisors that has earned the designation of Retirement Benefits Consultant (RBC), allowing him to focus on defined contribution plans and the unique needs of such plans.

In addition to working closely with loyal clients and many who’ve been referred to him, Scott remains an active member of the Fresno community. Scott and his wife, Susan, are proud parents of two sons – Zack and Connor.
I follow the deep-seated Merrill tradition of participating in the communities we serve. This drives my interest in spending time volunteering with organizations in our community.