Luke started his career with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management immediately following college graduation from Florida Atlantic University in 1998 as a planning specialist within the Merrill Financial Planning Division located in Denver, Colorado. While serving in this role, Luke focused primarily on developing financial strategies for the High Net Worth, Corporate Executive, Entertainer, and Professional Athlete client segment. It was during this time that his passion for providing individuals with goals-based planning and investment risk management began. Luke co-founded the Coughlin Haber & Associates Wealth Management Team in 2000, became the Resident Director in 2009, and today, Luke is Managing Director and Senior Resident Director.
He has been recognized every year by Barron’s Magazine as one of America’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors from 2019 to 2022(Published annually in March. Rankings based on data as of September 30 of prior year). He also has been recognized by Forbes as Best-in-State Wealth Advisors in 2020-2022(Published annually Jan – April. Rankings based on data as of June 30 of prior year). Luke is a qualified Portfolio Manager who, in addition to providing traditional advice and guidance, can help clients pursue their objectives by building and managing his own personalized or defined strategies, which may incorporate individual stocks and bonds, Merrill model portfolios, and third-party investment strategies. When servicing clients through the firm’s Investment Advisory Program, a Portfolio Manager may manage his strategies on a discretionary basis. Luke believes in a client-centric working relationship with particular emphasis on frequent communication and a structured and consistent review process. As a result, his typical client has a net worth of at least $1 million dollars.
Luke adheres to a disciplined wealth management process that, while customized for each individual client, is built around the fundamental principles of risk and liquidity management, portfolio monetization, and goals-based planning. His clientele exists throughout the United States and consists of individuals, senior-level executives, business owners, corporate pension plans, non-profit institutions, endowments, family trusts and estates. Luke focuses on leveraging a team of Merrill and Bank of America specialists ranging from estate, lending*, insurance, and retirement planners to work in conjunction with each client’s various advisors with the ultimate objective of achieving the client’s goals. Luke is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, a certification awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
Luke and his family reside in Daytona Beach. His passions include golf, The Boston Red Sox, and supporting local charities.
*Banking products and services provided by Bank of America.**Source: The Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors: State-by-State” list, published annually in February-March. Rankings based on data as of September 30 of prior year.
The Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” ranking considered advisors with a minimum of seven years financial services experience and who have been employed at their current firm for at least one year. This is a list of the top advisors in each state, with the number of ranking spots determined by each state’s population and wealth. Other quantitative and qualitative measures include assets under management, revenues generated by advisors for their firms, and the quality of the advisors’ practices, regulatory records, internal company documents, and 100-plus points of data provided by the advisors themselves. Rankings and recognition from Barron’s are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Barron’s is a trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
***Source: The Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list, published annually Jan - April. Rankings based on data as of June 30 of prior year.
Data provided by SHOOK® Research, LLC. Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual, and telephone due diligence meetings to measure best practices; also considered are: client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.
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.
My mission, first and foremost, is to understand you and what matters most to you. Armed with that information I can ask thoughtful questions -- listening carefully, then understanding in detail where your wealth stands today and where you'd like it to be tomorrow. I help you design and implement a personalized plan intended to help you and your family pursue financial goals while helping manage investment risk. My approach is to focus on potential solutions that can help turn goals into reality.
Bringing fresh perspectives to your financial life
The financial decisions you make today can help determine the future you build for yourself and your family. Carving a clear path forward starts with connecting your life and finances. A Merrill advisor provides access to the investing insights of Merrill and banking capabilities of Bank of America to help you make informed decisions as you pursue your goals.