The McLaughlin Group
Merrill Private Wealth Management
800 S. Gay Street
Suite 2200
Knoxville, TN 37929
(865) 521.8805
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Mission Statement
We support successful families and business owners, addressing key decisions in their financial lives. We understand wealth and its complexities, collaborating with discretion and care to nurture multiple generations as families and business owners clarify their financial identities.
Welcome

Managing your wealth begins with a deep understanding of your full financial picture. Based on what matters most to you, we can help create a strategy as flexible as today's changing market conditions, and we can provide access to the investment insights of Merrill and the banking convenience and lending solutions of Bank of America. We will work to help you pursue your goals through personalized wealth management strategies.

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Selling Your Business
Recognition
Dugan McLaughlin
Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor
Barron's "America's Top 1200 Financial Advisors State-by-State", 2014-2019, 2022-2023
(Published annually in March. Rankings based on data as of September 30 of prior year.)
Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Advisors", 2018-2019
(Published annually Jan – April. Rankings based on data as of June 30 of prior year.)
The McLaughlin Group
Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams", 2023
(Published on January 12, 2023. Rankings based on data as of March 31, 2022.)
Our Approach
Our Philosophy

We believe your unique goals should be at the center of all of your financial decisions and form the foundation of your financial strategy. Because significant wealth requires customized goals-based financial strategies, we believe in building lasting relationships with a limited number of clients, taking the time to understand your most important priorities for today, tomorrow and your long-term future. Our philosophy celebrates collaboration. Working with a team of specialists, we draw on the resources and insights of a global financial institution to create strategies that reflect your aspirations for yourself and current and future generations of your family. Finally, we believe that while significant wealth brings complex challenges, our experience, passion and perspectives can help you simplify your life.

Meet Our Team
Dugan McLaughlin
Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor
865.521.8805
Michael Mickey Johnson,

CFP®

Senior Vice President, Private Wealth Advisor
865.521.8813
Reid Mclaughlin
Vice President, Senior Financial Advisor
865.521.8801
Kimberly Jill Whitted
Assistant Vice President, Private Wealth Associate
865.521.8815
Bryan J Kagarise,

AWMA™

Vice President, Private Wealth Investment Management Specialist
865.521.8846
Phebe Peake Starkey
Private Wealth Client Associate (FP)
865.521.8864
Ashley Martin Zarif
Officer, Private Wealth Client Associate
865.521.8817
Frank Orrico
Private Wealth Client Associate (FP)
865.521.8838
Additional Resources
The following specialists do not make securities recommendations. Please contact your Merrill Private Wealth Management Advisor if you have questions about how a specialist might be able to assist you.
Jana Hunter
Alternative Investments Regional Specialist
Bank of America, N.A.
Michael Duffy
Private Wealth Strategies Advisor
Merrill Lynch Logo
Valerie Galinskaya
Head of Merrill Center for Family Wealth
About Private Wealth

Looking at your wealth from every angle
Navigating complex wealth requires more than making investing decisions. It takes a trusted confidante who can help you step back and see the big picture. Your Merrill Private Wealth advisor is that steadfast guide — advocating for you, your family, and the people and causes you care about. Working together, we can help with strategies designed to grow, sustain and transfer your wealth to amplify the impact at every step of life's journey with insight, simplicity, perspective and solutions. Find out what it's like to work with us.

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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and the CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
Accredited Wealth Management Advisor™, AWMA™, and the AWMA™ logo certification marks or registered certification marks of The College for Financial Planning Institutes Corp. in the United States.