Richard E. Widmer
Professional summary
Richard E Widmer, who also goes by Richard Edward Widmer, is a registered financial advisor currently at MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED located in Lincroft, New Jersey.
Richard is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and started their career in finance in 2023. Richard has worked at 3 firms and has passed the Series 66, Series 7TO and SIE exams.
Question & Answer
Aliases
Other business activities
CRS (Client Relationship Summary) - RIA
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED - Registered Investment Advisory firm
Version Date: Fri Mar 22 2024Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (Merrill or we) is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. We are a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (www.sipc.org). Our subsidiary Managed Account Advisors LLC (MAA) is also an SEC-registered investment adviser.
Fees and Costs:
You pay us an IA Program fee that covers investment advisory services, trade execution and custody at Merrill. The IA Program fee is based on the value of the assets in your account and the fee rates listed below:
IAP: If you work with an Advisor, the Merrill fee rate you agree to with your Advisor (max 1.75%) or, if you work with an MFSA, the set Merrill fee rate (max 1.10%). If you select a managed strategy, your IAP fee will include a strategy manager fee based on the rate set by the manager, which is paid to them.
SPA: The SPA rate you agree to with your Advisor (max 1.50%) for Merrill services. You will also pay a SPA manager fee based on the rate set by the manager, which is paid to them.
MAS: The MAS rate you agree to with your Advisor (max 1.80%) for Merrill services. You will also pay a MAS manager fee based on the rate set by the manager, which is paid to them.
MGI with Advisor and MEAA: 0.85%.
MGI: 0.45%.
IIC: The rate you agree to with your Advisor (max 0.45%).
The Merrill fee component of the IA Program fee for IAP, SPA, MAS and IIC are negotiable. Depending on the IA Program, the fee is paid monthly or quarterly. The relevant IA Program brochure provides more detail about the fees and costs you may incur.
The more assets there are in your IA Program-enrolled account, the more you will pay in fees, giving us a financial incentive to encourage you to increase the assets in your account.
ADDITIONAL FEE INFORMATION
Advisors and MFSAs may discount or waive certain brokerage fees based on our discount or waiver requirements. FSAs are not permitted to discount or waive fees. You may qualify for a discount or waiver according to applicable reward and rebate programs.
Certain products have built-in fees and expenses (described in their offering materials) that the product manager or sponsor charges for services, portions of which may be paid to us.
You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you’re paying.
Questions to ask your Professional:
- Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?
Conflicts of Interest:
When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the ways we and our affiliates make money create some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the recommendations and investment advice we provide you. Here are some examples of conflicts to help you understand what this means:
Affiliate benefits. Our affiliates receive compensation and/or economic benefits in connection with certain of the services provided and certain investment products that we recommend or make available to you.
Third-party payments for services. We receive compensation from certain product sponsors for the sub-accounting and shareholder services we provide them. We also have agreements with certain product sponsors to pay us marketing support and other revenue sharing payments under certain circumstances. Certain product sponsors participate in financial advisor and client conferences, meetings and events and pay for the eligible expenses related to these events, including costs for those financial professionals attending.
Principal trading. Some of your securities transactions will be executed with our affiliate BofAS. It makes money when executing your securities transactions as well as when acting as an underwriter for new issue offerings of securities offerings for corporate issuers.
For more conflict information, please review our Best Interest Disclosure Statement and/or our IA Program brochures by clicking the highlighted links in this CRS.
Questions to ask your Professional:
- How might your conflicts of interest affect me and how will you address them?
How do your financial professionals make money?
Our financial professionals are compensated based on their offering of brokerage services and transactions in investment products, providing IA Program services and making referrals to Affiliates. Compensation payments present a conflict of interest. For brokerage services, the conflict arises based on the type and frequency of transactions in your Account. For IA Programs, the conflict arises based on the compensation we make due to your enrollment in a fee-based program and the fee that you agree to or are charged.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMPENSATION
For providing investment advisory services, Advisors are primarily compensated based on the IA Program fee charged for the account. MFSAs and FSAs receive compensation in the form of salary and performance-based incentive compensation.
OTHER COMPENSATION INFORMATION
Advisors and MFSAs receive incentive and strategic growth awards for asset gathering efforts, for growth in banking, lending and IA Program services and meeting performance goals during the year. They can also qualify for referral payments for the referrals of certain business to Merrill affiliates. FSAs receive incentive compensation based on meeting performance-based goals and for referrals.
Advisors who join Merrill from other firms receive additional payments in connection with that move, and the amounts paid are generally based to a large extent on the size of the business at their prior firm and on assets that transfer including from the Advisor’s prior firm.
Certified licenses
Experience
March 3, 2026 - Present
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED
Office #1: 2 Middletown Lincroft Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738June 20, 2025 - November 4, 2025
WEALTH QUARTERBACK LLC
June 5, 2023 - June 3, 2025
WORLD INVESTMENTS, LLC
Primary Firm SEC Registration
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED
CRD#: 7691 / SEC#: 801-14235, 8-7221
State Registrations and Notice Filings
Listed states reflect where the advisor is authorized to serve clients under state regulations.
Highlighted states indicate IAR registrations
(3/3/2026)
Exams
Series 7TO
Date: 6/5/2023
General Securities Representative ExaminationCurrent Firm
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED
CRD#: 7691 / SEC#: 801-14235, 8-7221
Contact information
SEC notice filing (49 States and Territories)
FINRA licenses (53 States and Territories)
Documents
Part 2 Brochures
Direct owners and executive officers
| Name | Position | CRD# |
|---|---|---|
| BAC NORTH AMERICA HOLDING COMPANY | SHAREHOLDER | |
| AXELROD, SUSAN F | CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER | 6949587 |
| FAHMY, NANCY MONIR | DIRECTOR | 2689751 |
| GELLENE, MATTHEW THOMAS | DIRECTOR | 1977160 |
| HANS, LINDSAY DENARDO | STATE DESIGNATED PRINCIPAL & DIRECTOR | 4429443 |
| HEATON, DAVID CARLETON JR | CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER | 5972432 |
| MOONEY, SARA RATHBONE | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | 7616382 |
| SABBIA, LORNA ROSE | DIRECTOR | 1873495 |
| SANTANNA, VINCENT C. | CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER & FINOP | 5290525 |
| SCHIMPF, ERIC A | DIRECTOR & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STATE DESIGNATED PRINCIPAL | 2494318 |
Regulatory assets under management
| Total Number of Accounts | 3,085,811 |
| AUM (Assets Under Management) | $ 1,511,090,925,436 |
Disclosures
| Regulatory Event | 610 |
| Civil Event | 4 |
| Arbitration | 878 |
Accountant surprise examination report
| Filing Date | Form ADV-E Cover | Form ADV-E Report |
|---|---|---|
| 12/15/2025 | ||
| 11/25/2024 | ||
| 08/24/2023 |
Red Flags
Disclosures can be potential red flags, including customer disputes, regulatory fines, employer terminations, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, or certain criminal activities.
Check for any disclosures as part of your thorough research when choosing an advisor.
