Brian Pappalardo
Brian J. Pappalardo
Senior Vice President
Senior Financial Advisor
Portfolio Manager
B.J. began his career in financial services in 2000. In 2006, he began working at Merrill alongside his father, Brian, a veteran of the industry for nearly 50 years. Growing up in the business, a large number of his clients have known B.J. since he was very young. Many of these individuals have been with the team for more than three decades, and today those relationships span multiple generations of families. To B.J., the best part of his role as a financial advisor is developing deep, personal bonds with his clients and having a positive impact on their lives by helping them achieve their goals.
Over the past decades, B.J. has weathered both turbulent and booming markets and has learned that managing money requires a different mindset than in previous years. He helps clients remove the emotions associated with their finances so they can make smart decisions based on their needs and goals. By emphasizing a deliberate and conservative style to investing, he encourages clients to focus on long-term results rather than short-term market swings.
B.J. earned his bachelor’s degree from Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison. He and his wife, Julia, live in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Ice hockey has been a large part of B.J.’s life since he was a young boy and today he continues to play and coach his four children. When he’s not in the office or on the ice, B.J. enjoys gardening, cooking and traveling.
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.
With an excess of financial products, technology and information, attempting to manage your own investments in today's challenging economy can be an overwhelming and time-consuming task. The Pappalardo Group, strives to help take the stress and complexity out of your financial life. As your single point of contact, our goal is to offer objective advice and guidance, exceptional service and personalized attention for all of your wealth management needs.
Since every client has a unique financial outlook and differing feelings about risk and investing, we believe the key to a quality strategy is true customization. That's why we design and refine investment recommendations tailored just for you—and no one else. Our philosophy is based on managing risk first and returns second. Instead of relying on assumptions to pick the hottest stocks, we base our recommendations on a strict investment methodology to identify trends and help align your portfolios with your goals.
Over the past decades, we've built our reputation on the ability to understand risk at its deepest levels. Rather than taking research and information at face value, we delve deeply to uncover insights and identify sound investment decisions to help mitigate downside risk while simultaneously positioning your portfolio to take advantage of the potential for positive returns in the long run.
One of the reasons we believe clients enjoy working with us and choose to stay with us is that they feel a sense of connection. As clients go through various stages in their lives, they often discuss major financial decisions with us. These can involve such matters as changing jobs or careers, starting a business, getting divorced or remarried or caring for an aging parent. Sometimes clients just want us to give them an opinion on whether we think they're making sound financial choices. We look forward to helping you and your family bring all of the parts of your financial life together to implement a seamless, disciplined wealth management strategy to help you build, preserve and transfer your assets.
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.
