Atealem Ford provides personalized investment advice for individuals, families, non-profit and for-profit organizations and businesses.
Atealem Ford holds an undergraduate degree from Seattle Pacific University and a Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) Degree from the University of Maryland – UC for which she earned a 4.0 GPA. She was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society which recognizes graduate students who rank in the top 10% of their class.
As a financial advisor, Atealem’s primary focus is to ensure that every client’s financial life is enhanced. She seeks to make the financial lives of others better by placing an emphasis on goals-based advice and investing, tax minimization strategies, mitigating risk and employing a long-term approach to success. She aims to reduce financial stress in the lives of her clients by ensuring that they are well-informed, that they receive the highest level of care and attention and that they are connected to timely resources. In addition to providing traditional advice and guidance, as a Portfolio Advisor, Atealem helps clients pursue their investment objectives by recommending individual or any combination of Merrill approved third-party investment managers’ strategies, funds or portfolios. Atealem holds the Series 7 FINRA Registration and the Series 66 FINRA Registration and is a registered agent for Life, Health and Long Term Care. In addition, Atealem is registered under the National Mortgage Licensing System in order to assist her clients with mortgage and lending needs.
Atealem has traveled extensively throughout the world and enjoys learning about different cultures. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, baking, gardening, football games, reading about the markets but most of all, she enjoys spending time with her family – her husband and two teenage children.
NMLS# 1796346 Atealem is also very involved in her community, volunteering as leadership and staff for organizations such as the Annapolis Rotary and many others.
Placing the investor at the center of the wealth management process is my goal in helping clients through financial transitions and decisions that occur in their lives. Your unique goals should be at the center of your financial decisions and form the basis of your financial strategy. I start by getting to know you, your family, your business and financial situation, helping me understand your most important priorities for the present and the future. From there, I'll help you design a customized wealth management approach, drawing upon the investment insights of Merrill, working with a team of specialists, and access to the banking convenience of Bank of America. I aim to help bring simplicity and transparency to the complexities of wealth management; making the task of planning for the future an exciting journey of managing and helping you reach your goals.
While we have seen strong market performance for the first half of the year, the CIO's outlook for the coming months have more of the characteristics of a buffalo than a true bull. In the simplest of terms, they see this "buffalo" market being potentially heavier, tending to roam for a period of time, and likely getting tired after a strong run, but is still in the "bull" family.
Join us for the latest presentation, 'Home on the Range: Roaming with the Buffalo Market', where we will discuss the Chief Investment Office's outlook on market trends, focusing on:
- Dispelling some of the recent negative headlines and looking at market fundamentals
- A closer look at some of the factors that are likely to drive market performance
- The latest thoughts about a wide range of asset classes from the Chief Investment Office
- And how we can work together to implement our best thinking and help you maintain investment discipline as you pursue your goals
Hosted and Presented by:
Atealem "At" Ford, CFP®, CPFA™, CRPC™
Senior Financial Advisor
Please RSVP here
Virtual Event: Participant cameras will not be on. After you RSVP, please add the event to your personal calendar.
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.
