David James Free

CRD 2224826 · Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated · Chicago, IL

IA RegisteredBroker

Also appears in the source record as: David J Free

Registration & licensing

As recorded in SEC IAPD / FINRA BrokerCheck

Broker-dealer registration: Active
Investment adviser registration: Active
Exams passed (7): Series 66Series 63Series 6TOSIESeries 7Series 3Series 6
Registered states (1): Illinois
Years in the industry (source record): 34
Professional designations: Not yet retrieved from the source record

Disclosures

Copied from the official record

No disclosure events are flagged in the source record as of Aug 20, 2026.

This reflects our copy of the record on that date only. Confirm the current position on FINRA BrokerCheck ↗ or SEC IAPD ↗.

Current firm

From the firm record

Firm: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
Firm CRD: 7691
SEC number: 801-14235
Assets under management: $1.8T as of Jun 29, 2026
Website: www.merrilledge.com/GUIDED-INVESTING ↗
Phone: 800-637-7455
Firm location: New York, NY, 10036

Employment history (8)

From the source registration record · current first

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith IncorporatedCurrent
Chicago, IL · IA capacity

Jun 14, 2023 → present
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith IncorporatedCurrent
Chicago, IL · BC capacity

start not retrieved → present
Russell Investments Implementation Services, LLC
BD capacity

Jun 15, 2016 → Jul 22, 2022
Russell Financial Services, Inc., Part Of Russell Investments
BD capacity

Jan 1, 2008 → Jun 15, 2016
Russell Institutional Services Inc., Part Of Russell Investments
BD capacity

Dec 21, 2005 → Jan 1, 2008
Northern Trust Securities, Inc.
BD capacity

Feb 6, 1996 → Nov 21, 2005
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
BD capacity

Jun 3, 1992 → Jan 19, 1994
Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, Inc.
BD capacity

Jun 3, 1992 → Jan 19, 1994

Source & corrections

Where this page comes from

Advisor registration data on this site is reproduced from the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) system and FINRA's BrokerCheck. Those systems are the official records; this site is not. We do not alter the factual content of the records we reproduce.

SEC IAPD record for CRD 2224826 ↗ FINRA BrokerCheck record for CRD 2224826 ↗ BrokerCheck Terms of Use ↗ Report a data error on this page →

Data compiled Aug 20, 2026. Source: IAPD_SEARCH. Your use of BrokerCheck data reproduced here is subject to FINRA's Terms of Use.

Preview release — partial coverage. This is a public-records lookup tool, not investment advice, not a recommendation, and not an endorsement of any advisor. Registration status shown here is a copy of a government record and may be out of date; always confirm against SEC IAPD and FINRA BrokerCheck before acting.