# Meridian Investment Advisors Meridian Investment Advisors is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in Little Rock, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust - **Headquarters:** Little Rock, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Indianapolis, IN, United States - **Founded:** 1994 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** www.meridianinvest.com - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/meridian-investment-advisors ## Regulatory record - **CRD number:** 110216 - **SEC file number:** 801-13452 - **Registration status:** Registered - **Reports private funds:** No - **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/110216 ## About Richard L. Johnson established Meridian Investment Advisors in 1994 in Indianapolis, anchoring the firm in a city that sits at the crossroads of Indiana's manufacturing, insurance, and healthcare wealth. The practice grew by serving individuals, high-net-worth families, and business entities across the state, operating as a fee-only registered investment advisor. Johnson structured the firm to avoid the product-sales incentives common in bank-affiliated wealth groups, positioning Meridian as an independent fiduciary since its founding. Meridian's investment strategy centers on discretionary portfolio management across publicly traded equities, fixed income, and exchange-traded funds, with allocations to mutual funds where manager selection adds alpha. The firm constructs portfolios for taxable investors with direct attention to tax-loss harvesting and municipal bond exposure — a structural necessity for Indiana-based business owners with concentrated state ties. Its advisory work extends into comprehensive financial planning, covering retirement income, estate coordination, and cash-flow modeling for families with illiquid operating-company holdings. The geographic footprint concentrates in Indiana and the broader Midwest, where Meridian's counselors sit across the table from clients. Meridian operates from a single Indianapolis office with a deliberately compact team structure. The firm registers with the SEC as an investment adviser, filing Form ADV disclosures that detail its discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management. In September 2023, Meridian maintained its independent advisory charter, continuing to serve families and business entities without institutional capital or commingled fund vehicles. The absence of proprietary funds distinguishes its model from larger Midwestern wealth platforms that layer in-house mutual fund or ETF suites onto client accounts. Meridian's structural differentiator lies in its fiduciary architecture: as an independent RIA, it faces no cross-sell mandates from a parent bank or insurance company, a common constraint among Indiana's wealth-management competitors tied to regional banking charters. Succession remains the key governance question for a firm of Meridian's vintage and founder-led profile, with no publicly disclosed next-generation leadership transition plan. ## Questions ### Is Meridian Investment Advisors a bank trust department or an independent RIA? Meridian operates as an independent registered investment advisor. Richard L. Johnson founded the firm in 1994 outside any bank or insurance company structure, which distinguishes it from the trust-department wealth managers common in the Indiana market. The firm's Form ADV filings with the SEC confirm its independent fiduciary status. ### Does Meridian manage proprietary investment products or commingled funds? No. Meridian does not offer proprietary mutual funds, ETFs, or commingled investment vehicles. The firm selects third-party securities and fund strategies for client portfolios, a structural choice that avoids the inherent product-distribution incentives present in bank-affiliated and insurance-owned wealth platforms. ### How does Meridian source its client relationships in the Midwest? Meridian's client base has historically grown through referrals within Indiana's business and professional communities. The firm serves individuals and business entities that concentrate in Indianapolis and broader Indiana, with wealth tied to regional manufacturing exits, medical practices, and multi-generational real estate holdings. ### What is Meridian's known posture on alternative investments? Meridian's investment strategy centers on publicly traded securities — equities, fixed income, ETFs, and mutual funds. There is no public evidence that the firm allocates client capital to private equity, hedge funds, or direct real estate investments, keeping the portfolio construction firmly within liquid public markets. ## Related profiles - [Meridian Financial Group](https://altss.com/profile/meridian-financial-group) - [Meridian Investment Counsel](https://altss.com/profile/meridian-investment-counsel) --- Last updated: 2026-08-10T16:07:01.704Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/meridian-investment-advisors Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology