Second Half Financial Partners

Second Half Financial Partners

Second Half Financial Partners was founded in 2012 and operated as an independent wealth management practice in Sebring, Florida, until August 6, 2025, when the team merged into Merit Financial Advisors. The five-member group continues to serve the same client base from its existing local office, now with access to Merit's broader platform. The practice concentrates on retirement coordination for Florida's first responders, guiding clients through the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan, the FRS Investment Plan, City Deferred Retirement Option Program accounts, and municipal-specific pension systems. The team also advises private-sector individuals approaching or already in retirement. Service delivery combines investment management with hands-on completion of pension and DROP paperwork — a workflow that requires detailed knowledge of overtime calculations, union rules, early-retirement provisions and survivor benefits unique to Florida's public-safety workforce. No portfolio companies, fund commitments or direct investments are disclosed. The team comprises five professionals operating from a single Sebring location. It merged into Merit Financial Advisors effective August 2025, gaining access to Merit's technology stack, cybersecurity infrastructure and centralized resources while retaining its local client relationships. The merger reflects a structural choice common among small wealth management practices: preserving a specialized, relationship-driven model while attaching to a larger RIA for compliance, technology and succession continuity. The client base is unusually narrow — concentrated among Florida first responders navigating complex state and municipal defined-benefit systems — which distinguishes the practice from generalist financial planning firms.