Stephanie Saghy is a Vice President and Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Columbus, Ohio. With more than 15 years of industry experience, she serves a broad spectrum of clients across the country. Many are young professionals raising families, accumulating wealth, and planning their financial futures. The majority are ultra-high-net-worth families with generational wealth who are focused on asset protection and legacy planning. The deep relationships she forms are based on her broad experience and unwavering commitment to putting her client’s needs first.

Business owners rely on Stephanie’s in-depth understanding of the issues that can impact their financial lives. She assists with succession planning, exit strategies and structuring ownership interests to help achieve their legacy planning objectives.

Stephanie prides herself on listening and understanding the nuanced needs of her clients, many of whom are women actively involved in their household finances. She is experienced in offering strategies to help them take greater control of their long-term financial success. Stephanie counsels women with commitment and compassion as they undergo financial transitions as sole or primary earners, during career changes, family planning, life events or relationship changes.

Client’s personal and family values are woven into Stephanie’s approach as she helps them evaluate investment options that align with their Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)* criteria. She helps clients document and communicate these values to future generations. Stephanie provides fiduciary services through Merrill’s Investment Advisory Program. She further supports the values of her clients and embraces Merrill’s principal of responsible citizenship by pledging to donate a portion of her annual earnings to charities of her clients’ choosing.

Stephanie is supported by a team of experienced specialists throughout Merrill and Bank of America to help clients achieve their financial objectives, while giving them the freedom to focus on what is most important in their lives. Her process begins by uncovering their earliest memories of money, their feelings about where they are financially and where they hope to be in the future. Linking these human elements together forms the foundation for the strategies she recommends to help achieve their goals.
 
A native of Liberty Center, Ohio, Stephanie worked in the Chicago area for a decade before returning to her home state in 2018. Prior to joining Merrill, she spent 13 years as a client advisor at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. She began her career with Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. in Beachwood, Ohio.
 
Stephanie deeply values education. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst^® (CFA^®) and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA^®) designations. Stephanie is a member of the CFA^® Institute, the Exit Planning Institute and participates in the Find a CFP^® Pro program.

Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Finance and Management from Ohio Northern University. She currently serves as an advisory board member for the Dicke College of Business at her alma mater. In 2022, Stephanie was selected to receive the Ohio Northern University William L. Robinson Young Alumni Award – recognizing her passion and loyalty towards her profession, community and alma mater.

Stephanie and her husband, Kevin, are raising their daughter and son in Delaware, Ohio. In addition to spending time with her family, she enjoys cooking and traveling.


*Impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values-based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating.