Joel Phillips
Director
Joel Phillips | Partner, Merit Financial
Joel Phillips is a Partner and Shareholder at Merit Financial ($25B AUM) and the head of the firm’s ESOP Practice. A specialist in complex business transitions, Joel has run lead on over 50 transactions totaling $1.8B in assets.
Beyond his corporate leadership, Joel works with a limited clientele of families with significant business ownership and real estate holdings. He specializes in family governance and generational stewardship, helping families establish the frameworks—such as family councils and mission statements—necessary to manage wealth across multiple generations. By integrating trust and estate planning with formal governance, Joel ensures that both the financial assets and the family’s core values remain intact as they pass from one generation to the next. Joel holds an MBA and a BS in Economics.