"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!" ...Theodore Roosevelt
Our distinctive competitive advantage is that we are relevant in our clients' lives. We recognize portfolio assets transcend to a series of experiences in life such as family vacations, assuring healthcare, second homes or farms, college and/ or private education tuition, academic or athletic scholarship funding, securing the legacy of your family name through children or philanthropic giving or business succession, and even duck Blinds and backyard swimming pools to share with family and friends.
Richard Blankenship has been in the financial services industry since 1994. Richard re-joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in April of 2016. As a Wealth Management Advisor for Merrill, Richard offers purpose driven investment consulting and wealth management from an independent, objective, and unbiased perspective.
Richard graduated from the University of Missouri and from the Executive MBA Program at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Richard is a member of the Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) while earning his Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation. He also earned the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation through The College for Financial Planning Institutes Corp.
Richard is a native of Sikeston, MO and together with his wife Brenda have three daughters: Kristen, Courtney, & Jenny. Grandchildren are Oliver, Emmy, Charlotte, and Georgia.
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.
