Stephen Cole Frank
Cole Frank is a Financial Advisor with Merrill in Peoria, Illinois. He began his career with Merrill as a Client Associate before becoming a Financial Advisor, driven by a desire to help people work toward the lives they want.
Before entering financial services, Cole worked in the manufacturing industry, where he learned the importance of planning, consistency and attention to detail. Today, what he enjoys most about being an advisor is getting to know his clients, building meaningful relationships and seeing their goals come to fruition.
Cole is originally from Kosciusko, Mississippi, and earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA from Millsaps College in Jackson. He and his fiancée, Haleigh, moved to Illinois to be closer to her family and now call the area home. Outside of work, Cole enjoys hunting, classic cars, spending time with Haleigh and their dog, Murphy, and has recently embraced becoming a Chicago Bears fan.
From client service to digital innovation, Merrill consistently earned national and global recognition as a leader in the financial services industry.
1. WealthBriefing WealthTech Americas Awards, February 2025. The judging process is guided and assisted by a panel of independent experts, each of whom has been actively involved in the family office and wealth management industry for many years and have an in-depth knowledge of the WealthTech sector.
2. The Digital Banker Digital CX Awards, April 2025. Nominees are selected on the qualitative and quantitative depth of their nominations. The Digital Banker research team will shortlist four institutions or individuals per category, which will then be put to our impartial panel of expert judges who will undertake a rigorous audit type process to carefully select the winners.
3. Bank of America employs Ipsos, in conjunction with Qualtrics to continuously measure Merrill Lynch Wealth Management client satisfaction via an online survey. Results quoted are from surveys conducted June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025, with a total sample of 40,742 clients randomly drawn from the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management client base after eligibility (minimum $100,000 in household assets, advised relationships) and privacy exclusions (deceased, in litigation, bad email address, etc., and had they been included percentages may be different). When asked how satisfied the client was with their primary financial advisor, 95% rated them a 9 or 10; 4% a 6–8; and 1% a 1–5.
4. Money Management Institute (MMI) / Barron's Industry Awards, October 17, 2024. Winners were selected by a specially appointed MMI Industry Awards Steering Council. The Steering Council consists of representatives from all segments of the MMI membership. After carefully reviewing the nominations submitted, the Steering Council determined a slate of finalists in each award category. The primary contacts at each of MMI's member firms were eligible to vote to determine the winners.