Savvy Advisors Adds 3 Principal Wealth Managers

Savvy Advisors Inc., an investment firm based in New York, has added three new wealth managers. The expansion brings the firm’s total to 15 wealth managers, all focused on serving its high-net-worth client base.

The three advisers are:

Aaron Wiegman, based in Del Mar, California, who has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. In addition to his position at Savvy, Wiegman is currently serving on the board for the San Diego chapter of the Financial Planning Association. He was previously employed by Financial Sense Wealth Management and Saybrus Partners;

Arynton Hardy, based in Los Angeles, specializes in financial planning for clients with unique income streams, including professional boxers and organizational creators and founders who have exited their ventures. In 2019, he launched an independent advisory firm, Hardy Capital Investments, which he will maintain within Savvy’s adviser network;

Dustin Parson, based in Central Arkansas, joins Savvy after 13 years with Arvest Bank, providing services in banking, lending, investing and insurance. He started his financial career as a personal banker and transitioned to the role of client adviser for Arvest Wealth Management in 2017. His expertise is in advising those who have come into sudden wealth.

Merit Financial Advisors Partners With Viren and Associates

Merit Financial Advisors, a Georgia-based financial advisory firm that provides financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families and those navigating life transitions, announced it has acquired Viren and Associates Inc.

Viren, based in Spokane, Washington, will expand Merit’s existing presence in the region and increase its assets by more than $542 million. Founded by Paul and Beth Viren as a financial planning firm, Viren also specializes in retirement plans, life and disability insurance, and group employee benefits. Viren’s team of two additional financial planners and client support professionals will also join Merit.

“Merit’s commitment to excellence and providing world-class service to its clients is highly appealing and fully aligns with the brand that Viren has successfully built over the past few decades,” Paul Viren said in a statement.

This is Merit’s 25th acquisition since taking a minority investment in December 2020 from Wealth Partners Capital Group and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings platform, according to a release.

Uncategorized March 18, 2024

5th Circuit Stays SEC Climate Disclosure Rule

A case brought by three Republican-led states and the fossil fuel industry has successfully paused the recently finalized rule.

Reported by

Paul Mulholland

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued on March 15 an administrative stay of the climate disclosure rule finalized on March 6 by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The order did not elaborate on the basis for the stay, and the court does not have additional hearings scheduled at this time.

The SEC’s “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” has a staggered compliance schedule slated to start in 2025. Public companies will have to disclose, in their reporting for 2025, the climate risks material to their business; the companies’ strategies for reducing those risks and related costs; the processes the companies use for managing and identifying climate risks; and any losses from severe weather events. Larger companies will also have to disclose their direct greenhouse gas emissions and emissions from their power consumption, known as Scope 1 and 2 emissions, respectively, starting in 2026.

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The stay was granted in Liberty Energy v. SEC, brought by the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi (those in which federal cases are appealed to the 5th Circuit), along with two fossil fuel companies, two fossil fuel industry groups and the business advocacy group U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The rule also faces two separate challenges from Republican-led states in the 8th Circuit (Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota) and 11th Circuit (Alabama, Florida, Georgia).

The SEC argued that since the rule is not in effect—it goes into effect 60 days after it is published in the “Federal Register”—and no theoretical harm is imminent (no reporting will be required until March 2026 reporting for the 2025 year), it is premature to request an administrative stay. The regulator added that “the rules fit comfortably within the Commission’s long-standing authority to require the disclosure of information important to investors in making investment and voting decisions.”

The rule was singled out by Republican members of the House Committee on Financial Services during a Monday field hearing on the rule in Lebanon, Tennessee. Representatives present at the hearing characterized the rule as unlawful overreach on the part of the SEC to appease left-wing climate activists.

Representative Bill Huizenga, R-Michigan, said the rule will “significantly hurt our economy while serving as a boon for special interest groups and far left activists.” Representative Andy Ogles, R-Tennessee, argued that the rule is part of the SEC’s “obsession with the climate change religion, and that is what’s become: a religion.”