WealthManagement.com reported on 12 November that Patrick Trousdale, founder of The Daily Upside, and veteran financial planner John Freemire have launched Briardale Wealth, a registered investment adviser aimed at clients with $1 million to $7 million. The report describes that target range in terms of both net worth and investable assets, so readers should note which measure applies to any given reference.
According to the report, Freemire joins Briardale as managing director and founding advisor. WealthManagement.com also described him as a former Mercer Advisors adviser. Mercer's own biography places him in the firm's Boulder, Colorado office and says he joined in 2024 and is a shareholder, while his regulatory record lists Mercer Global Advisors as his current RIA from December 2024. The sources do not reconcile those descriptions, and this article does not resolve them.
Briardale opens without any existing clients. WealthManagement.com reported that Freemire is bound by non-solicitation agreements from his prior role, and such agreements typically restrict contact with former clients. The firm plans to build its client base through content marketing, including newsletters and campaigns on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Trousdale said he does not believe in client acquisition databases or referral software.
According to the report, Freemire intends to target two audiences: mid-career professionals whose pay includes equity awards, and retirees turning their savings into income. Freemire has also laid out a planning schedule: portfolio reviews in the first part of the year, insurance and estate work in summer, and tax planning as the year ends. Trousdale said he chose the Briardale name to signal authority and a legacy feel.
Trousdale founded The Daily Upside in 2019, according to a Dartmouth Career Design blog post, and previously worked in investment banking at Guggenheim Securities and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to an AV.vc blog post. A 2025 profile by Finfluential put the publication's readership at about 1 million subscribers. The Rebooting newsletter reported that Motley Fool acquired a stake in The Daily Upside through a partnership. Crunchbase lists the company as a private New York digital media business with 11 to 50 staff.
Trousdale has since stepped back from day-to-day operations. Talking Biz News, citing Adweek, reported in July that COO McKay Murphy had taken over as CEO and that Trousdale remains involved as an advisor while starting an adjacent advisor-media project. WealthManagement.com says Trousdale stepped down as CEO in July and named Murphy to the role then, while Talking Biz News says the change came earlier this spring. The sources differ on timing.
Freemire is described as a CFP and wealth advisor in Mercer's biography, which says he previously worked at Motley Fool Wealth Management, Fidelity and Charles Schwab, beginning in 2015. His regulatory record shows Motley Fool Wealth Management from 2018 to 2020, TMF Investments from 2021 to 2024, and Fidelity entities from 2015 to 2018.
Mercer Advisors was founded in 1985 in Santa Barbara by Kendrick Mercer, a tax and estate attorney, and is headquartered in Denver, according to InvestmentNews. As of November 2025, InvestmentNews put Mercer's assets at $95 billion spread across more than 110 locations, and the same outlet named Oak Hill Capital, Atlas Partners and Genstar Capital as its parent companies. Regulatory data cited by AdvisorCheck shows about $60.3 billion in regulatory assets under management and 99,044 accounts for Mercer Global Advisors. The two asset figures differ, and the sources do not reconcile them. InvestmentNews also reported that Mercer acquired Beach Freeman Lim & Cleland, a Southern California tax firm with 20 professionals, in 2025.
The launch follows a familiar pattern in which an advisor starting a new practice begins with a blank client list and relies on marketing and new relationships to grow. The firm's progress against its stated $1 million to $7 million target will be the measure to watch.