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Wealth Management

Comprehensive Wealth Management Starts with your Financial FingerprintTM

We spend the majority of our lives on a mission to build wealth. We accumulate a pool of funds and investments that allows our children to go to college, enables our families to travel the world, and prepares us to finally retire with confidence while leaving a legacy for our loved ones.

But it’s not enough to save, socking money away and earning bare-minimum interest. Your family’s financial future is best served by managing your hard-earned dollars with a plan designed to minimize your tax exposure and ensure your financial goals become financial realities.

At Meld Financial, we employ a team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERSTM, investment managers, tax consultants and legal specialists that have the cumulative skills to manage any situation that you could encounter. Our process starts when you meet with our team to develop your Financial FingerprintTM. Your Financial Fingerprint™ is a personal plan that is quick to assemble, easy to understand, and simple to modify as circumstances change.

Wealth Management Articles

A December calendar with the face of a clock overlaid
Important Year-End Dates for Employer Plan Sponsors

School of Employer Plans

Corporate retirement plan sponsors must complete these tasks in the fourth quarter to ensure their plan remains compliant.

An investor overwhelmed by too many retirement account statements
Do You Have Too Many Retirement Accounts? A Case Study

School of Saving and Investing

A couple came to Meld with nearly 20 retirement accounts. We created a unified plan that provided simplicity and peace of mind.

A person looking at a chalkboard filled with complex mathematical calculations. This is meant to represent calculating provisional income or combined income.
How to Calculate Provisional Income (a.k.a. Combined Income)

School of Social Security & Medicare

Your provisional income determines if Social Security benefits are taxable, so it is important to know how to calculate this figure.

We Bring It All Together For You

financial fingerprint logo

Comprehensive Wealth Management starts with a 90-minute meeting where you and a CFP® will develop your Financial Fingerprint™ together.

A Financial Plan Customized for Your Situation

To effectively manage your finances, you need a plan. Most people already know this. However, what you may not know is financial plans are not created equal. The quality of your financial plan depends greatly on the quality of your financial planner and the resources they have at their disposal.

Just like financial plans, not all financial planners are created equal. At Meld, our financial planners carry the CFP® designation (short for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™). While the CFP® designation is not a silver bullet, it does require applicants to have a minimum level of education, several years of experience and the competence to pass a rigorous exam. This means you can rest assured that your planner has the proper foundation of education and experience to assist you in developing a robust financial plan.

But having a CFP® is not enough for most situations. To give you the best chance at meeting your financial goals, you need a team of wealth management professionals that can counsel you on matters ranging from estate planning to tax issues and legal matters. This helps to ensure your savings are growing in the most effective fashion. That’s why, at Meld, we’ve developed a process to determine your Financial Fingerprint™.

At its core, your Financial Fingerprint™ analyzes interactions between the three key components to a successful retirement: income, spending, and savings – together defining the rate of return your savings need to generate. Your Financial Fingerprint™ helps us to understand your unique situation in detail, so we can deploy our team of financial and legal professionals to optimize your financial future.

Financial Planning Articles

A piggy bank and stack of coins beside a sign that says “2025”
IRA Contribution Limits in 2025

School of Saving and Investing

The IRS recently announced tax year 2025 contribution limits for traditional and Roth IRAs as well as SIMPLE and SEP IRAs.

A scale with a money bag on one side and icons of a retired couple on the other
2025 Social Security COLA Announced

School of Social Security & Medicare

The Social Security Administration recently announced the 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustment, better known as the annual COLA.

A retiree selecting a health insurance plan represented by a button with a medical cross surrounded by other healthcare icons.
Health Insurance for Early Retirees

School of Social Security & Medicare

Health insurance is one common barrier to early retirement. Fortunately, you have options to bridge the gap until Medicare begins.

A Meld Financial CFP® will help you:

organize icon

ORGANIZE your current financial situation, needs and concerns.

define icon

CLEARLY DEFINE where you stand regarding retirement.

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PROVIDE UNDERSTANDING of the MELD philosophy on retirement planning, managing investments and limiting risk.

Get your Financial FingerprintTM today.

Learn how your Financial FingerprintTM brings clarity to your Retirement Plan

For most, the largest and most important segment of financial planning pertains to their retirement. While many financial planners are shooting for a specific dollar amount in retirement savings, we take a slightly different approach.

In developing your Financial Fingerprint™, we work to understand your exact needs in retirement. From that knowledge, we project your investment income and spending so we can understand exactly how much savings you will need – and at what time you will need it. We firmly believe there is no “one size fits all” retirement savings plan. So, rather than aiming for a set retirement number and hoping that amount will keep you happy in retirement, we understand and adjust your plan based on your real-world situation. This allows us to pinpoint not only how much you will need, but exactly when you expect to need it.

While it’s great to know exactly what you will need to retire comfortably, you also need an effective plan to get there. At Meld, our team of financial planners and investment managers will optimize your holdings to make sure you’re saving and investing effectively – now, to help make sure you have what you will need in retirement. And when something changes with your situation, that impacts your Financial Fingerprint™. As your Financial Fingerprint™ evolves, we will move swiftly to adjust your investments to reflect your ever-changing goals.

Retirement Planning Articles

A piggy bank and stack of coins beside a sign that says “2025”
IRA Contribution Limits in 2025

School of Saving and Investing

The IRS recently announced tax year 2025 contribution limits for traditional and Roth IRAs as well as SIMPLE and SEP IRAs.

A December calendar with the face of a clock overlaid
Important Year-End Dates for Employer Plan Sponsors

School of Employer Plans

Corporate retirement plan sponsors must complete these tasks in the fourth quarter to ensure their plan remains compliant.

An open blue notebook with the words Roth 401k and Traditional 401k written at the top of each page, and a ‘+’ and ‘-‘ under each to give the impression that someone is making a list of pros and cons.
Choosing Between Roth and Traditional 401(k) Contributions

School of Saving and Investing

Designated Roth accounts are a popular choice for savers with 401(k) plans, but they aren’t right for every situation.

Are You Ready?

financial fingerprint logo

In one meeting, you will learn if you are on track with your retirement.

A Meld Financial CFP® will help you clearly define your Financial FingerprintTM which will identify the path to your retirment goals.

Investments Selected for Your Unique Situation

It goes without saying: Investing is the backbone of every financial plan. At Meld, our in-house analysts and investment managers work with you to make sure your investments are a good fit for your situation. By consulting your Financial Fingerprint™, they match investments with your specific needs and goals. And as market conditions change, so will your investments.

We also believe that empowering you with knowledge is a win-win for everyone. So, we’ve created Meld University, a free offering to the public, which provides market updates and helpful online articles coupled with in-person and virtual events designed to help you meld our expertise with your unique situation.

Meld Financial’s clients understand that our relationship is not transactional. Our relationship operates as a partnership where our success is measured by your success. Our goal is to diminish your anxieties about your finances so that you can focus on what is most important to you – your job, your family, and reaching your goals.

Managing the costs of investing is critical. We have a variety of fee structures available and we work with you to determine the most cost effective means of delivering the services you need.

Investing Articles

A piggy bank and stack of coins beside a sign that says “2025”
IRA Contribution Limits in 2025

School of Saving and Investing

The IRS recently announced tax year 2025 contribution limits for traditional and Roth IRAs as well as SIMPLE and SEP IRAs.

HSA contribution limits represented by a piggy bank and jar labeled "HSA"
HSA Contribution Limits In 2025

School of Saving and Investing

After an annual inflation adjustment, the amount you can contribute to a health savings account will increase for tax year 2025.

A man holding two icons – one check mark and one “x” – signifying a choice
Should You Rollover Your 401(k) At Retirement?

School of Saving and Investing

At retirement, you’ll need to decide whether to keep your savings in your 401(k) or roll them into an Individual Retirement Account.

Why Meld Financial?

Meld Financial, Inc. is an independent wealth management firm located in Birmingham, AL.

We specialize in financial planning, investment management, employee benefits and executive benefits for individuals, families, trusts, foundations and institutions.

We provide independent and objective services melded with customer-driven financial goals.

Mark McGarvey - Founder - Meld Financial

“We will always recommend the same course of action we would choose for ourselves, given the same circumstances.”

-Mark McGarvey, Founder