Click here to learn more about our financial professionals by visiting FINRA's BrokerCheck.

8100 Penn Avenue South
Suite 175
Bloomington, MN 55431

Jim Mertz

(952) 831-5660

 
When Markets React Behavioral Finance Should You Tap Retirement Savings to Fund College? Should You Ever Retire?

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

When Should You Take Social Security

When Should You Take Social Security

Monthly Social Security payments differ substantially depending on when you start receiving benefits.

How Will the Economy React to AI?

How Will the Economy React to AI?

What do concerns or uncertainty about AI mean for your future and your financial strategy?

Impact Investing or Philanthropy

Impact Investing or Philanthropy

This fun piece can help your clients explore the benefits of impact investing versus founding a philanthropy.

 

When to Self-Insure

Choosing to bear the financial burden of an adverse event is called self-insuring. Do you know what that entails?

Please Leave Home Without It

Concerns over identity theft continue to grow, especially with data breaches at major companies and financial institutions.

Five Most Overlooked Tax Deductions

Five overlooked tax deductions to help manage your tax bill.

Three Key Questions to Answer Before Taking Social Security

When to start? Should I continue to work? How can I maximize my benefit?

Spotting Credit Trouble

The wise use of credit is a critical skill. These 10 questions will help you assess your skill level.

Pickleball in Retirement

Learn about the latest sport to sweep the nation with this informative article.

View all articles arrow

How Much Do I Need To Retire?

How much is enough to retire? It depends on your lifestyle, timeline, and more. Use this calculator to get a personalized est

Should I Buy or Lease an Auto?

Compare the true costs of buying versus leasing a vehicle to find the better fit for you.

How Compound Interest Works

Explore how compound interest can grow your money over time with this interactive tool.

Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator

Calculate your debt-to-income ratio to understand how lenders may view your financial health.

What Is My Net Worth?

Get a snapshot of your overall financial picture by calculating your total net worth.

Roth 401(k) vs. Traditional 401(k)

Compare Roth and traditional 401(k) options to see which may work better for your situation.

View all calculators arrow

Bursting the Bubble

Tulips were the first, but they won’t be the last. What forms a “bubble” and what causes them to burst?

What Can a Million Dollars Buy You?

$1 million in a diversified portfolio could help finance part of your retirement.

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?

Choosing a Mortgage

Selecting a mortgage isn't an easy process. Get a better understanding of how professionals make the right decisions.

Acres of Diamonds

In life it often happens that the answers to our most pressing questions are right in our own backyards.

4 Elements of an Estate Strategy

Learn about the importance of having an estate strategy in this helpful and informative video.

View all videos arrow