Courtesy of SiRiCa Wealth Management Group
Team Name: SiRiCa Wealth Management Group
Firm: Merrill Wealth Management
Senior Members: Todd Silaika, Erick Richardson, Scott Calhoun, Lee Wilson, James Coker
Location: Clifton Park, NY
Team Custodied Assets: $3.3 billion
Background: Todd Silaika took a nontraditional path to advising. Raised in Schenectady, N.Y., he worked full-time at a convention center while attending Hudson Valley Community College, then graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Albany’s business school in 1992—paying his own way through a recession. After persuading a firm executive who was visiting the convention center he worked at to give him a shot—“if you don’t ask, the answer’s always no,” Silaika says—he entered the industry in 1996 at Ayco (now part of Goldman Sachs). He joined Merrill in 2006. What began as a solo practice with a part-time assistant in 1997 has since grown to 17 team members today. The team now works with around 1,000 households spanning business owners, founders, executives and creatives.
Client Relationships: In addition to regional client events, the team runs an ongoing call/webinar series, drawing 150–250 attendees per call. Topics range from market updates to cybersecurity to a pre-Thanksgiving “Turkey Topics” roundtable covering rates, taxes, gifting and estate changes. “It lets clients hear the same message at once—and see the whole team on camera,” says Silaika. Community work is baked in; he currently serves on three boards. Internally, the culture is built around ownership. “Every team needs a leader and a vision—but everyone must have a voice,” Silaika says. This year he asked each colleague to write a five-year vision for the practice. “When you treat people as owners, they act like owners—and clients feel that.”
Competitive Edge: “We are the same as our clients—most of us grew up middle class and paid our own way,” says Silaika. “Our clients are almost all sweat-equity wealth—so we respect the dollars they built and we build worry-free retirements in return.”
Investment Strategy: The team doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Portfolios are anchored to Merrill/Bank of America’s asset-allocation models, emphasizing true diversification rather than what Silaika calls “token diversification.” A typical long-term portfolio might contain roughly 50% equities (primarily separately managed accounts and ETFs with limited mutual funds), 30% fixed income (individual bonds, bond ladders, some ETFs and funds), and 15%–20% in alternatives (private credit, private equity, real assets, private real estate, hedge funds) when appropriate. “We have a top-tier due-diligence playbook,” says Silaika. “Our job is to fit the play to the client—dialing income or growth up or down as needed. We’re swinging for singles and doubles, not home runs.”
Best Advice: Two frameworks drive the guidance. First, the team asks clients tough questions around end of life and other contingency planning. Second, they focus on the client’s core—the most important people in their world—and educate them on basics like Roth vs. traditional 401(k)s, mortgages and cash-flow habits. “You add more value solving for family priorities than trying to out-guess sectors,” says Silaika. His evergreen reminder: turn down the noise and watch the signals.
