The Meridian blog

Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More

Welcome to the official blog of Meridian Financial Partners. We'd love to hear your comments as well as your questions. Oh, and our attorneys want you to read these disclosures.
Wishing You Happy Holidays
Family & Life Events

Wishing You Happy Holidays

We hope you have a wonderful holiday with family and friends. For this week’s blog, we wanted to share a couple of fun videos with you with our financial advisors team and our operations team.

Liz Witt-LeeLiz Witt-LeeDec 22, 2025
A woman shopping during christmas
Planning Basics

Tis the (Pricey) Season

Each holiday season, PNC does something entirely practical — by pricing out the ridiculous. The PNC Christmas Price Index tallies up what it would cost today to buy the gifts from “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” In 2025, that cost has climbed to $51,476.12 — up 4.5% from last yea

Sarah YakelSarah YakelDec 16, 2025
man and woman smiling outside
Meridian News

Meet the Team: Sarah Yakel & Nathan Gilbert

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

Liz Witt-LeeLiz Witt-LeeDec 9, 2025
Beautiful mountain view
Family & Life Events

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency: Risk Behind the Rally

Back in 2015, I was at a 4th of July party, and a friend of a friend was discussing that he had purchased a quarter of a bitcoin for his two-year-old nephew’s birthday. His comment was, “who knows, maybe that could be his college tuition.” Fast forward to today, when that child i

Kira TopekaKira TopekaDec 3, 2025
stock brokers monitoring the stock exchange
Investing & Markets

Why the S&P 500 Is No Longer a Truly Diversified Index

For decades, the S&P 500 has been held up as the gold standard of diversification. It’s the index that financial advisors recommend for beginners, the benchmark professionals use to measure performance, and the foundation of countless retirement portfolios. The idea is simple: by

Dan FortunatoDan FortunatoNov 25, 2025
split path in the forest
Investing & Markets

What Is a Stock Split?

With the recent Netflix stock split announcement, we thought it might be a good idea to address stock splits and the reasons companies decide to split their stock. If you aren’t already aware, Netflix (NFLX) announced a forward split at a rate of 10:1 last week. So, if you are a

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertNov 18, 2025
family smiling in portrait outside
Meridian News

Meet the Team: Hello, Sarah Irving

If you ask Meridian staff what the best part of working with Sarah Irving is, they will tell you it’s how she makes people feel. Coworkers and clients alike can count on Sarah for a warm smile and an authentic and caring conversation – and if you’re lucky she’ll make you laugh be

Liz Witt-LeeLiz Witt-LeeNov 11, 2025
Mind The Gap
Investing & Markets

Mind The Gap

We have friends who have lived in London for the past few years, and we have enjoyed visiting them over the last few years. While there, we took the London Underground frequently, and our kids found the announcements to “mind the gap” entertaining. A very little Ethan and Ben at

Sarah YakelSarah YakelNov 4, 2025
dogs in ghost costumes
Insurance & Risk

10 Essential Cybersecurity Tips Every Consumer Should Know

We are in week 43 of this year, it finally feels like fall, and Halloween is coming at the end of the week. Let the universal pondering about “where did the year go?” begin. Halloween – the fan-favorite, kids hyped up on lots of sugar, pursuit of the best costumes, day-of-fun – u

Liz Witt-LeeLiz Witt-LeeOct 29, 2025
woman smiling standing outside
Investing & Markets

Meridian Financial Partners’ Sarah Irving Named in InvestmentNews Rising Stars 2025

Meridian Financial Partners is proud to announce that Sarah Irving, Partner and Senior Financial Advisor, has been named to InvestmentNews’s Rising Stars 2025 list, which recognizes the nation’s top wealth management professionals and advisors under 40. The annual list highlights

Liz Witt-LeeLiz Witt-LeeOct 21, 2025
man and woman with sold sign in front of house
Family & Life Events

The (Real) Cost of Buying a Home

Ah, living the American Dream: buying a home. After years of the debate between continuing to rent or buying, I felt it was time to make the largest purchase of my life, a house. Through the process, I learned that the real cost of buying a home is more than just the down payment

Kira TopekaKira TopekaOct 21, 2025
woman smiling
Investing & Markets

Sarah Yakel Acclaimed in 2025 IN $100M Club Top Female Advisors

Meridian Financial Partners is proud to announce that Sarah Yakel, Founding Partner, has been recognized by InvestmentNews as one of the 2025 $100M Club Top Female Advisors. This inaugural list celebrates female advisors nationwide who demonstrate excellence in wealth management,

Liz Witt-LeeLiz Witt-LeeOct 9, 2025