Our Team
Steven C. Merrell, CFP®, MBA
Steven Merrell is a principal and co-founder of Monterey Private Wealth, Inc. An investment management professional since 1986, Steve is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Brigham Young University.
Prior to establishing Monterey Private Wealth, Inc., Steve was the founder and chief investment officer of Willow Ridge Capital Advisors, a wealth management firm recognized as one of the top 500 wealth managers in the nation by Wealth Manager Magazine.
Before Willow Ridge, Steve was a senior portfolio manager at American Express where he managed institutional portfolios with assets totaling over $7 billion. His primary fund, the IDS Life Special Income Fund, was recognized by Lipper as the number one fund in its category during the 1990s. Steve’s other significant responsibilities at American Express included leading the fixed income emerging markets team. He also worked as a derivatives specialist for JP Morgan in London and First Interstate Capital Markets in Los Angeles.
While responsible for American Express' fixed income efforts in the emerging markets, Steve was able to meet and plan with government and business leaders around the world, including the President of Hungary, the former Prime Minister of Russia, finance ministers and central bankers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Kenya, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea
Steve and his wife Jeanne have five children. They enjoy family activities, serving in their church, backpacking, cycling and scuba diving. Steve is based in Monterey, California, and currently serves as treasurer and member of the board of directors for the Hospice Foundation and is a board member for the Monterey Bay Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America. He is active in Rotary.