New Charlotte event series explores art investing and the parallels between financial planning and art planning
Charlotte, North Carolina, November 19, 2025 – Mercer Advisors, in collaboration with Arcadia Art Consultancy and the Village on Morehead, recently hosted a community event at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation that brought together financial advisors, art professionals, collectors, and local residents for a focused panel on art investing and the intersections between financial planning and art planning.
“We’re thrilled to engage with the Charlotte art community to explore how deliberate planning elevates both financial portfolios and art collecting,” said Merrick Estes, market leader for the Carolinas at Mercer Advisors, a national Registered Investment Adviser (“RIA”) serving clients in the Carolinas for over 35 years. “We know many people love art but aren’t always sure about the best way to purchase art, especially as an investment. We believe our new series of events will help educate and inspire individuals to support the arts in a thoughtful and deliberate way,” Estes said.
The catered event featured live music as well as a panel discussion on art investing with panelists:
- Nicole Brandon, wealth advisor, Mercer Advisors
- Kait McElwee, managing director, Arcadia Art Consultancy
- Stacy Gatto, executive director, the Village at Morehead
- Moderator: Merrick Estes, senior vice president, Mercer Advisors
“Our discussion highlighted practical tools to steward collections responsibly while contributing to cultural vitality,” said McElwee, of Arcadia Art Consultancy. “Charlotte has an amazing community of both artists and supporters of the arts, and we are happy to partner with Mercer Advisors to deepen our community’s commitment to art in Charlotte.”
The panelists discussed how thoughtful art collecting has many parallels to thoughtful financial planning, and is best approach with awareness of tax consequences, estate planning considerations, and risk management, such as having the right insurance, for one’s collection.
“This approach to art collecting mirrors the approach that Mercer Advisors takes to wealth management,” said Brandon of Mercer Advisors, which offers comprehensive, fee-based family office services, including financial planning, estate and tax planning, insurance solutions, and corporate trustee and trust administration services.
The event helps showcase the richness of the Charlotte area, reflecting the city’s identity as a dynamic cultural hub.
“Bringing neighbors, artists, and advisors together creates pathways for broader community participation in the arts,” said Gatto, of the Village at Morehead.
The McColl Center for Art + Innovation event is the first in a continuing series of conversations that connect the Charlotte financial community with local arts leaders and creators. The next event in
the series, planned for May, will be an “Art Crawl,” with participants visiting multiple art museums to learn more about the Charlotte art scene.
About Organizations
Mercer Advisors
Mercer Advisors, the #1 ranked RIA firm in the nation for two years in a row according to Barron’s 2024 and 2025 Top 100 Registered Investment Advisor Firms, was founded in 1985. For 40 years, Mercer Advisors has been trusted to help families amplify and simplify their financial lives. The company offers comprehensive, fee-based family office services, including financial planning, estate and tax planning, insurance solutions, and corporate trustee and trust administration services. Mercer Advisors Inc. is a parent company of Mercer Global Advisors Inc. and is majority owned by Oak Hill Capital, Genstar Capital, and Altas Partners. Mercer Global Advisors, Inc. is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is privately held, has over 1,400 employees, and operates nationally through more than 100 locations. Mercer Advisors has $90 billion in client assets. For more information, visit merceradvisors.com.
Important Information
Company statistics as of September 30th, 2025. Client assets refers to client assets under management (AUM) and client assets under advisement (AUA) as well as assets gained from recent acquisitions where the advisory agreements have been properly assigned to Mercer Global Advisors, but the custodial accounts have yet to be transferred and/or the accounts have yet to be migrated to Mercer Global Advisors’ portfolio management system.
Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning documentation preparation and other legal advice is provided through select third parties unaffiliated to Mercer Advisors. Tax preparation and tax filing are a separate fee from Mercer Advisors’ investment management and planning services. Trustee services are offered through select third parties with which a client would engage directly, as such additional fees may apply. Mercer Global Advisors has a related insurance agency. Mercer Advisors Insurance Services, LLC (MAIS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercer Advisors Inc. MAIS provides individual life, disability, long term care coverage, and property and casualty coverage through various insurance companies. Mercer Advisors is not affiliated with Arcadia Arts Consultancy, The Village on Morehead, or McColl Center for Art + Innovation.
Barron’s Top 100 RIA methodology
Mercer Advisors was ranked number 1 in non-mega RIA in 2024 and 2025. Advisors who wish to be ranked fill out a 100+ question survey about their practice. Barron’s verifies that data with regulatory databases and then Barron’s applies their rankings formula to the data to generate a ranking. The formula features three major categories of calculations: (1) Assets (2) Revenue (3) Quality of practice. In each of those categories Barron’s does multiple sub calculations including asset type, growth, client retention, technology spending, succession planning, diversity of their teams, charitable and philanthropic work and compliance records. No fee was paid for participation in the ranking, however, Mercer Advisors has paid a fee to Barron’s to use the ranking in marketing.
Arcadia Arts Consultancy
Arcadia Art Consultancy (AAC) is a boutique tangible asset management firm that provides advisory, appraisal, and collection management services for collections of fine art and jewelry, as well as other collection categories.
The Village on Morehead
The Village on Morehead is a premier luxury senior rental retirement community in Charlotte NC, thoughtfully designed and ideally located near the area’s most prestigious neighborhoods—Eastover, Myers Park and Dilworth—as well as the city’s top cultural attractions and world-class healthcare institutions. Merging architectural elegance with innovative technology, this 10-story community is perfect for active older adults seeking sophistication, comfort, and convenience.
McColl Center for Art + Innovation McColl Center for Art + Innovation is a nationally acclaimed artist residency and contemporary art space in Charlotte, North Carolina. Located in the former Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Uptown Charlotte, McColl Center houses individual artist studios, more than 5,000 square feet of exhibition space, and multiple common-use spaces, including a studio for large-scale sculpture fabrication. We invite artists to take risks in their processes and explore their ideas within the context of Charlotte, and we welcome the visiting public to connect with contemporary art and artists through exhibitions and public programs.
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