WELCOME TO MERTZ WEALTH STRATEGIES, A FINANCIAL ADVICE CENTER.
We believe great advice comes from individuals, not large companies.
14 year Five Star Wealth Manager*award winner.
Mertz Wealth Strategies Inc. is a comprehensive retirement planning firm. We combine our knowledge of investments with our knowledge of the income tax laws to look for ways that help protect and grow your money efficiently.*
"It is not what you earn, but what you keep that matters."
Click here for Monthly articles
Our mission is to help create and maintain wealth for our clients through long-term, effective, asset management. We will build client relationships based on trust, competent professional service, continual communication, and prompt personal service. We will assist our clients in setting financial goals, monitoring these goals, and keeping them informed of the process and achievement of the goals.
We have equipped our business with quality financial services technology and utilize our capabilities to the fullest. These investments in our business have allowed us to give our clients intensely personalized asset analysis, asset allocation, and investment services. Our success is based on research and personalized service. It is for these reasons that new clients come to us and current clients stay with us.
Thank you for visiting our virtual office. If you’d like a face-to-face, no-obligation appointment to see what we can do for you, please give us a call at 952-831-5660 or contact Jim at Jim@mertzwealth.com.
*The FIVE STAR Wealth Manager list is created by Crescendo Business Services LLC. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 4,789, 624, 13%, 2023: 4,080, 633, 16%, 12/1/22, 3/14/22 - 10/18/22; 2022: 4544, 622, 14%, 12/1/21, 3/29/21 - 10/8/21; 2021: 4004, 630, 16%, 12/1/20, 3/30/20 - 10/23/20; 2020: 3606, 589, 16%, 12/1/19, 3/1/19 - 10/25/19; 2019: 3504, 671, 19%, 12/1/18, 3/23/18 - 10/23/18; 2018: 2622, 591, 23%, 12/1/17, 2/23/17 - 10/13/17; 2017: 2304, 836, 36%, 11/1/16, 2/25/16 - 10/14/16; 2016: 2083, 854, 41%, 11/1/15, 4/17/15 - 10/14/15; 2015: 2673, 825, 31%, 12/1/14, 4/17/14 - 10/14/14; 2014: 1931, 844, 44%, 12/1/13, 4/17/13 - 10/14/13; 2013: 2151, 863, 40%, 12/1/12, 4/17/12 - 10/14/12; 2012: 1256, 624, 50%, 11/1/11, 4/17/11 - 10/14/11.
Award candidates are identified by one of three sources; firm nomination, peer nomination or prequalification. Wealth managers were evaluated across ten criteria: (a) Credentialed as an investment advisory representative or a registered investment advisor; (b) Actively employed as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years; (c) Favorable regulatory and complaint history review; (d) Fulfilled their firm review based on internal firm standards; (e) Accepting new clients; (f) One-year client retention rate; (g) Five-year client retention rate; (h) non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; (i) Number of client households served. (j) Educational and professional designations. Favorable and unfavorable evaluations are included in the score.
Each wealth manager is reviewed for regulatory actions, civil judicial actions, and customer complaints. A favorable regulatory and complaint history is defined by Five Star Professional to mean that the wealth manager has not: *Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; *Had more than a total of three settled or pending customer complaints filed against them with any regulatory authority or through Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process; *Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority; *Filed for personal bankruptcy; *Been convicted of a felony. Five Star Wealth Managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. Scores reflect an average of all respondents and are not representative of any one client's evaluation.
The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth managers’ future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients’ assets. Working with a FIVE STAR Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by Five Star Professional or the magazine. Five Star Professional is not an advisory firm. For more information on the Five Star award and the research/selection methodology, go to: fivestarprofessional.com.
Helpful Content
Protection Against Uninsured Drivers
You’re hit by an uninsured driver. Now what? Are you protected against financial losses?
Stay Safe with a Business Owner's Policy
Learn the advantages of Business Owner's Policies with this highly educational and fun animated video.
What is the Value of Your Business?
Ascertaining the value of your business is important for a variety of reasons.
The Great Debate Continues: Active vs. Passive
In investments, one great debate asks the question, “Active or Passive Investing: Which Is Better?”
Five Most Overlooked Tax Deductions
Five overlooked tax deductions to help manage your tax bill.
Retirement Questions That Have Nothing to Do With Money
Things to consider before retirement.
Will Power
Preparing for the eventual distribution of your assets may not sound enticing. But a will puts the power in your hands.
Yours, Mine, and Ours: Estate Strategies for Second Marriage
Second marriages are a trigger event to revisit any existing estate strategies.
A Brief History of Estate Taxes
Federal estate taxes have long been a source of funding for the federal government.
View all articles 
Inflation & Retirement
See how inflation over time could affect the purchasing power of your retirement income.
Comparing Investments
Compare two different scenarios side by side to see how they stack up over time.
Wedding Budget Calculator
Estimate total wedding costs and see how different choices affect your overall budget.
Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator
Calculate your debt-to-income ratio to understand how lenders may view your financial health.
Historical Inflation
See how the purchasing power of a dollar has changed over time due to inflation.
Simple 401k
See how increasing your 401(k) contributions today could affect your balance at retirement.
View all calculators 
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Lifestyle inflation can be the enemy of wealth building. What could happen if you invested instead of buying more stuff?
When Do You Need a Will?
When do you need a will? The answer is easy: Right Now.
Estate Management 101
A will may be only one of the documents you need—and one factor to consider—when it comes to managing your estate.
When Special Care Is Needed: The Special Needs Trust
A special needs trust helps care for a special needs child when you’re gone.
The Rule of 72
Do you know how long it may take for your investments to double in value? The Rule of 72 is a quick way to figure it out.
The Power of Tax-Deferred Growth
Why are 401(k) plans, annuities, and IRAs so popular?