Meridian is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based in Lexington, Kentucky. We are a limited liability company (LLC), formed under the State of Kentucky's laws. We have been providing investment advisory services since 2009. Gregory Wayne Couch is the principal owner of Meridian. The following paragraphs describe the services we provide and what we charge for those services. The term Investment Advisor Representative (IAR), as used in this Brochure, refers to an individual from Meridian who is an officer, employee, or individual providing investment advice on behalf of Meridian. Currently, we offer the following investment advisory services, personalized to each Client:
• Portfolio Management Services
• Financial Planning Services
• Retirement Planning Services Meridian no longer offers the Meridian Strategic Wrap Program, a wrap (or bundled) fee account. Clients currently in the Meridian Strategic Wrap Program will be transitioned into a non-wrap portfolio strategy aligned with their investment objectives, financial goals and risk tolerance. Portfolio Management Services Portfolio management refers to the management of money, including investments. Assets are held in what is called a portfolio. Determining the types and quantities of securities to hold in a portfolio is called portfolio management. Meridian offers discretionary and non‐discretionary portfolio management services to our Clients and prospective Clients. Discretionary portfolio management means we will make investment decisions and place buy or sell orders in your account without contacting you. These decisions would be made based upon your stated investment objectives. Non‐discretionary portfolio management means we will contact you before a trading decision is implemented. Our investment advice is tailored to meet our Clients’ needs and investment objectives. If you decide to hire Meridian to manage your portfolio, we will gather your financial information, assess your goals, and assess how much risk we recommend that would be appropriate for your investments. The information we collect will help us implement an asset allocation strategy specific to your goals, whether we are actively investing for you or simply providing you with advice. Meridian mainly uses equity securities, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, corporate securities, municipal securities, and U.S. government securities in its portfolio management programs. From time to time, and if appropriate, we also recommend that Clients invest in alternative investments, including, but not limited to, various limited partnerships offered by Flat Stone, I Capital and Blackstone Life Science. Annuities may also be utilized through a partnership with MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company. When we construct Clients’ investment portfolios, we will monitor the portfolio’s performance on an ongoing basis and rebalance the portfolio as we feel necessary, as changes occur in market conditions or financial circumstances, or both. As outlined above, discretionary portfolio management services mean that once the portfolio has been agreed upon, the portfolio's ongoing supervision and management will be Meridian's responsibility. This authority is granted to us by you in a written agreement. This authority allows Meridian to decide on specific securities, the quantity of the securities, and place buy or sell orders for your account without obtaining your approval for each transaction. This type of authorization is done using either the Investment Management Agreement you signed with Meridian, a limited power of attorney agreement, or trading authorization forms. You may limit this authority by setting a limit on the type of securities that can be purchased for your account. Limitations will be outlined in writing. The non‐discretionary portfolio management service means that we must obtain your approval before placing any transactions in your account. Delegation to Sub‐Advisors For those of our Clients who hire us for discretionary portfolio management services and who have signed an agreement with us to this effect, you should be aware that we have discretion to use one or more sub‐advisors to manage or assist in managing all or a portion of your account. All sub‐advisers that we retain or recommend to Clients must be registered as investment advisers with either the SEC or the appropriate state authority(ies). We will continuously monitor the performance of any accounts managed by the sub‐adviser. In a discretionary engagement, we will have the authority to hire or fire the sub- adviser at our discretion. The sub‐advisor(s) may use one or more of their model portfolios to manage your account. If we determine that it is in a Client’s best interest to engage a sub-adviser to manage or assist in managing all or a portion of your account, we will provide the Client with the sub-adviser’s relevant disclosure documents, including Form ADV 2A, CRS (if applicable), privacy policy and any other document necessary to provide a complete description of the sub-adviser’s May 21, 2024 5 services and fees. Please note that a sub-adviser’s fee billing structure may differ from ours, and that some sub-advisers charge a fee that is in addition to our advisor fees. We encourage Clients to ask questions to understand the fees associated with their investments and are available to answer Clients’ questions. Financial Planning Services We offer broad-based financial planning, including charitable gifting strategies, risk analysis, insurance analysis, estate planning, and retirement planning. Meridian strives to achieve Clients' long‐term financial goals by implementing a financial planning process that includes, but is not limited to, any or all the following steps:
• Assessing the Client's present financial situation by collecting information regarding net worth and cash flow statements,

tax returns, insurance policies, investment portfolios, pension plans, employee benefit statements, etc.
• Identifying the Client's financial goals, personal goals, and objectives. Goals or objectives may include financing a child's college education, retirement planning, etc. The identified goals or objectives are specific, realistic, and measurable.
• Resolution of financial-related problems. Obstacles to achieving financial independence are identified so that possible resolutions may be found. Examples of problem areas can include too little or too much insurance coverage, inadequate cash flow, or lack of a tax plan.
• A written financial plan is prepared that includes recommendations and solutions to any financial-related problems.
• Implementation of the financial plan. Once the financial plan is finalized and agreed upon, the recommendations and solutions are executed to reach the desired goals and objectives.
• Evaluation of the financial plan is conducted periodically. The financial planning service provides periodic reviews and revisions of the plan to ensure that the financial goals are achieved. Financial plans are based on your situation and the information you provide to Meridian. If your financial situation, goals, objectives, or needs change, it is imperative that you notify us promptly. We also provide financial planning services that cover a specific area, such as retirement or estate planning. We offer consultative services where we make an appointment to meet with you for financial planning advice for an hourly fee. More information about the fees associated with our Financial Planning Services is in Item 5 of this Brochure. You may choose to accept or reject our recommendations. If you decide to proceed with our recommendations, you are under no obligation to implement them through us. Retirement Planning Services Meridian provides retirement planning-related services separately or in combination with our other services. While the primary Clients for these services will be pension, profit-sharing, 403(b), and 401(k) plans, Meridian also offers similar services, where appropriate, to individuals, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. Retirement Planning Services is comprised of four distinct services, discussed below. Clients may choose to use any or all of these services. Investment Policy Statement Preparation Meridian will meet with the Client (in person, over the telephone, or video conference) to assess the Client’s investment needs and goals. Meridian will then prepare a written Investment Policy Statement (IPS) stating those needs and goals and creating a policy to help achieve these goals. The IPS will also list the criteria for selecting investment vehicles and the procedures and timing intervals for monitoring investment performance. Selection of Investments Meridian will review various investments, consisting of one or all of the following: individual equities, bonds, other investment products, and mutual funds (both index and managed) to determine which of these investments are appropriate to implement the Client’s IPS. The number of investments recommended will be determined by the Client based on the IPS. Monitoring of Investment Performance Client investments will be monitored continuously, based on the procedures and timing intervals outlined in the Investment Policy Statement. Although Meridian will not be involved in any way in the purchase or sale of these investments, Meridian will monitor the Client’s portfolio and make recommendations to the Client as market factors and the Client’s needs dictate. Employee Communications For pension, profit-sharing, 403(b), and 401(k) plans where the individual account participant exercises control over assets in their account (from now own self‐directed plans), Meridian also provides educational support and investment workshops designed for the Plan participants. Meridian and the Client will determine the nature of the topics covered under the May 21, 2024 6 guidelines established in ERISA Section 404(c). The educational support and investment workshops will not provide plan participants with individualized, tailored investment advice or individualized tailored asset allocation recommendations. Other retirement planning services are available on request. All of our retirement planning services, whether general or customized, will be outlined in an agreement showing the services to be provided, as well as the fees that will be charged for those services. ERISA and Individual Retirement Accounts Disclosure When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal Revenue Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours. Under this special rule's provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment recommendations (give prudent advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making recommendations (give loyal advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is in your best interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest. Assets Under Management As of December 31, 2023, we had $2,905,556,042 in total assets under management. We manage $2,874,566,906 in Client assets on a discretionary basis, $30,989,136 in non-discretionary assets.