Eric Wiegand and Rebecca Stevenson Named to the 2024 Power List for Banking, Finance, Accounting and Wealth Management

Eric Wiegand, Senior Vice President & Lehigh Valley Market Leader, was named to Lehigh Valley Business’ 2024 Power List for Banking, Finance, Accounting and Wealth Management. Additionally, Rebecca Stevenson, Chief Client Officer & Managing Partner, was named to the same list published by the Central Penn Business Journal.

Rebecca was also interviewed by the Central Penn Business Journal and the below article was published in the July 19, 2024 issue.

A CONVERSATION WITH REBECCA STEVENSON Chief Client Officer and Managing Partner, River Wealth Advisors

Merchant Investment Management purchased a minority stake in River Wealth Advisors in 2021; looking over the first three years of that partnership, what has it brought to your firm and to your clients?

• By partnering with Merchant Investment Management (Merchant), River Wealth Advisors was able to remain an independent registered investment advisor (RIA) firm. Merchant takes a passive investment interest in growing registered investment firms and does not get involved in any aspect of the operations of our firm. This was incredibly important to my business partner, Ed O’Gorman, and me.

  By partnering with Merchant, we were not only able to execute an internal leadership succession plan, but also it allowed us to provide continuity for our clients and team members as well as affording us the opportunity to invest back into our business. The greatest value the Merchant partnership has brought to us is having an equity partner aligned with and supportive of our interests of growth and a focus on being the best we can be for our clients and our people.

How has your marketing and communications background shaped your role as chief client officer with RWA?

• Building trust and delivering on expectations are critical to relationships in most industries, but particularly in ours. I recognize we have clients at all levels of financial sophistication, and so messaging to clients needs to be understandable, informative, credible and timely. At the end of the day, the ability to listen actively and to be driven by the desire to help others are more effective than focusing on what you want to say. We have a team that lives by these values, so all I need to do is to be there to guide, share our perspective, support our team, and be an advocate for each of our clients.

Part of your focus is elevating the client experience- what goes into that?

• There are a couple critical components that go into shaping the client experience we want to deliver. One is making sure we have talented and committed team members. We have implemented a comprehensive talent management program which allows each of our team members to grow in their careers while bringing unique talents to our clients. The second is recognizing the great responsibility we have to each of our clients in our ability to help them achieve their life goals. We are a firm focused on continual improvement and looking at our role from the client’s perspective. We ask ourselves, “what did I do today to help a client or help a colleague help a client?” While we have deep expertise in financial planning and investing, it is how we treat our clients that defines who we are as a firm.

The individuals noted above have been included in a ranking list published by the Lehigh Valley Business Journal (“LVBJ”) or the Central Penn Business Journal (“CPBJ”), which focuses on banking and finance professionals. Please note that this ranking is not an objective or unbiased assessment. The inclusion on this list does not imply a guarantee of future performance or that River Wealth Advisors is necessarily the best choice for any investor. The ranking methodology used by LVBJ and CPBJ may involve subjective criteria, which may include factors such as nominations, self-reporting, or other non-objective considerations.

This ranking is not intended to serve as a comprehensive or independent evaluation of River Wealth Advisor’s investment services. Investors are encouraged to conduct their own research and due diligence when selecting an investment advisor, and to consider factors beyond rankings, such as specific financial goals, risk tolerance, and the advisor's expertise.

River Wealth Advisors and its employees do not pay to be included on this list, nor does it have any control over the ranking process. Inclusion in the list should not be interpreted as an endorsement or recommendation from LVBJ or CPBJ.

For additional information on River Wealth Advisor’s qualifications, services, and performance, please refer to our official disclosures, including Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/173767.