Automated investing for the self-employed
A steady paycheck,invented froman unsteady one.
Meridian smooths irregular income into a monthly salary, sets tax aside before you can spend it, and invests what’s left in a portfolio it rebalances for you. No payroll department required.
Projection explorer
Projection explorer · ages 30–65
A model, not a promise. Median and band come from a lognormal approximation of market returns ($11k/yr contributed, growth mix, net of fund fees). Markets don’t owe anyone the median.
Three moves, on repeat.
You already earn enough. It just arrives in the wrong order. Meridian re-orders it.
Connect your income
Invoices, platform payouts, one-off deposits. Meridian reads the rhythm of your income — the feast months and the famine months — and learns your baseline.
Set your salary
Pick the monthly amount you want to live on. Good months overfill the buffer; lean months draw it down. Tax is skimmed first, automatically, every time.
Invest the overflow
Anything above your buffer target flows into a low-fee ETF portfolio matched to your risk level — rebalanced automatically, never on a hunch.
The smoothing engine.
Twelve chaotic months go in. A salary, a tax pot and a cash buffer come out. That line in the middle is the meridian.
Tax first
A quarter of every dollar lands in the tax pot the moment it arrives — so quarterly estimates are a transfer, not a scramble.
Salary second
Your salary leaves the buffer on the 1st, every month, in the same amount — the boring, load-bearing kind of predictability.
Overflow invested
Past three months of runway, cash stops idling. The surplus moves into your portfolio the same week it clears.
Where the overflow goes.
Six plain ETFs, weighted to your risk level. Change the level — the portfolio, the projection up top, and the fee all update together.
About 80% stocks. Built for decade-plus horizons; expect some ugly quarters on the way.
| Fund | Ticker | Weight | Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| US total market | VTI | 44% | 0.03% |
| Developed international | VEA | 20% | 0.05% |
| Emerging markets | VWO | 8% | 0.08% |
| US aggregate bonds | BND | 14% | 0.03% |
| Short-term TIPS | VTIP | 4% | 0.04% |
| Real estate | VNQ | 10% | 0.13% |
| Blended fund fee | ≈ 5 bps / yr | ||
Illustrative funds and weights. Rebalanced automatically when any sleeve drifts more than 3% from target — checked daily, traded rarely.
Honesty note: Meridian is a design concept — these figures describe the demo model, not a live brokerage. Nothing on this page is financial advice.
Priced like an index fund, not a hedge fund.
One management fee. No trade commissions, no transfer fees, no minimums with an asterisk.
Meridian Core
0.25% / yr on invested assets
For freelancers getting their footing.
- Income smoothing & salary autopay
- Automatic tax pot (federal + state estimates)
- Automated ETF portfolio, rebalanced daily
- First $10,000 managed free
Meridian Total
$12 / mo + 0.25% / yr
For full-time independents with real volume.
- Everything in Core
- Quarterly tax filings, exported and pre-filled
- Solo-401(k) with employer-side contributions
- A human review of your plan, once a year
Your income is already enough. It’s just arriving in the wrong order.
Set a salary, pick a risk level, and let the meridian sort the rest. Five minutes to set up; a payroll department’s worth of calm.
Start free — no minimums