Designations and Licenses

Derek is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ and has life, accident and health insurance licenses in Michigan.

Experience and Education

Derek provides personalized and complex wealth planning solutions for high-net-worth families, business owners, executives and retirees to help them achieve their financial and legacy goals. He advises clients on investment management, tax and estate planning, cash flow analysis, wealth transfer strategies and the sale of family-held businesses.

Derek also works with C-suite executives on advanced estate planning strategies to maximize equity compensation while managing risk and tax implications. He believes in educating his clients and prides himself on understanding their complete financial picture, which ranges from sophisticated tax planning with their CPA to specific characteristics within their taxable estate.

Prior to joining Mariner, Derek was a financial advisor and senior portfolio advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. There, he provided comprehensive wealth management to a select group of executives, business owners and affluent families. He also worked with attorneys, CPAs and advisors to help coordinate estate and succession planning.

Derek has a BSBA and MBA, both from Wayne State University, and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Personal Interests

Away from the office, Derek enjoys spending time with his wife, Jalila, and their daughter, Genevieve, weight training and serving at his church. He is the director of Our Children Hold the Key Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to decreasing childhood obesity. He is an estate planning attorney in good standing with the State Bar of Michigan.