Meridian Blog

Just a few years ago, Meridian’s year-end meeting was a lunch with four people. Now, founding partners Nathan Gilbert and Sarah Yakel are eternally grateful for all the clients who took a chance on them so many years ago, as they celebrate their December meeting with 9 employees at the table.

The yin-yang of business partners for sure, Nathan, a hometown kid who grew up helping on his grandfather’s farm and living for his free time on the golf course, and Sarah, an Army brat, with steady focus on her career path, collided as co-workers at a local Old Town Warrenton bank more than 20 years ago. Nathan worked selling investments, annuities, and insurance, while Sarah worked at the Trust Department.

Meridian Financial Partners came to life because this unlikely duo set out to do business differently. Believing that the industry they loved could do better, they designed their business around three basic tenets:

• They would be independent from any institution, so they could give unbiased advice.
• There would be no commissions from sales: they would be fee-only and be transparent about what was being charged.
• They would be fiduciaries: they would always act in the best interest of their clients.

The last 10 years have found them working harder than they ever had before, driven by providing meaningful, life-changing value to their clients and a true commitment to removing as much intimidation as possible, in an industry well known for just that.

All these years later, they can tell you who their first client was and the day they hit the meaningful milestone that meant they probably wouldn’t starve. Both Sarah and Nathan will also tell you that one of the best parts of their day is hearing about the cool things their clients are doing, and that they are so often inspired by their clients’ stories. And, most certainly, it means a lot to have clients who call them when the markets are rough, just to make sure they are doing ok.

Through this journey, they have been inspired by a community that cares about each other – clients, employees, and non-profit partners. In a world that feels fractured, that connection point is priceless.

In real life, both Sarah and Nathan are adventurers – Sarah’s adventures usually involve a plane trip, and Nathan’s involve the outdoors. Both have unusual talents – Nathan can juggle! And Sarah slips into different accents while traveling with her family. Both are quick-witted, if not downright hysterical. Both have spent the bulk of their career working within the 1-mile stretch of Main Street. Together, they run the different parts of Meridian’s business, leaning on each other and boosting each other’s strengths.

Away from Meridian, Nathan and Sarah love to spend time with their families.

The Gilbert Family

Nathan and his wife, Melissa (who will celebrate 20 years of marriage this New Year’s Eve!), have three kids: Coleman, Lila, and Molly. They enjoy playing golf as a family, cheering on the Caps at Hockey games and shaking their heads at the Commanders.

The Yakel Family

Sarah and her husband, Jonathan, also have three kids: Melanie, Ethan, and Ben. Melanie is in her second year of college, Ethan will graduate from high school this year, and Ben is a freshman in high school who is looking forward to being an only child next year (but will desperately miss Ethan driving him around and making him the cool kid at school). They also live with almost as many pets as people in their house, with one giant dog, two tabby cats, and a fat guinea pig named Ginger who may outlive them all.

Ginger

Without further ado, here’s the tea on these two:

What are your favorite hobbies?

• Nathan: Golf, all Washington sports teams, especially the Caps and the Commanders, crossword puzzles, and watching his son play hockey
• Sarah: Cooking a meal that comes together perfectly – most recently grilled chicken margherita with pesto, cherry tomatoes, grilled asparagus, and brown butter pasta.

What is your favorite book/movie?

• Nathan: Step Brothers with Will Ferrell
• Sarah: Anything with Will Ferrell in it – Elf is on repeat during the holidays

What was your first job?

• Nathan: Washing carts and picking up range balls at Prince William Golf Course
• Sarah: Placing orders of custom draperies for customers at Montgomery Wards at the Manassas Mall

What are your bucket list vacation spots?

• Nathan: New Zealand and Australia
• Sarah: US to Tokyo to Australia and then to Singapore to break up the long flight to Australia. (Sarah hates long car and plane rides).

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

• Nathan: From his grandfather when they started Meridian: “Sometimes the great is the enemy of good” – don’t screw things up in the pursuit of the great.
• Sarah: “Mistake means instant hustle” – if you make a mistake, you have to hustle extra hard to fix it or own it.