Merrill (company)

This article is about the wealth management division of Bank of America. For the investment banking division of Bank of America, see BofA Securities. For the historical independent corporation Merrill Lynch before acquisition by Bank of America, see Merrill Lynch & Co. For the footwear company, see Merrell. For the Pokémon, see Marill.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
Merrill
Company typeDivision
IndustryFinancial services
FoundedJanuary 6, 1914; 110 years ago (1914-01-06)
Founders
Headquarters250 Vesey Street,
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
ServicesInvestment management
RevenueUS$13.8 billion (2012)[1]
−2,300,000,000 United States dollar (2012) Edit this on Wikidata
290,000,000 United States dollar (2012) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets603,000,000,000 United States dollar (2012) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
15,100 (Financial Advisors as of 2010)
ParentBank of America
Divisions
  • Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
  • Merrill Private Wealth Management
  • Merrill Guided Investing
  • Merrill Edge
Websitewww.merrill.com

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment banking arm, both firms engage in prime brokerage and broker-dealer activities. The firm is headquartered in New York City, and once occupied the entire 34 stories of 250 Vesey Street, part of the Brookfield Place complex in Manhattan. Merrill employs over 14,000 financial advisors and manages $2.8 trillion in client assets ($3.4 trillion for Global Wealth and Investment Management).[2] The company also operates Merrill Edge, a division for investment and related services, including call center counsultancy.

Prior to 2009, the company was publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be acquired by Bank of America on September 14, 2008, at the height of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the same weekend that Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail. The acquisition was completed in January 2009[3] and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. was merged into Bank of America Corporation in October 2018, with certain Bank of America subsidiaries continuing to carry the Merrill Lynch name, including the broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.[4][5] In 2019, Bank of America rebranded the unit to "Merrill".[6]

Merrill Lynch rose to prominence on the strength of its network of financial advisors, sometimes referred to as the "thundering herd", that allowed it to place securities it underwrote directly.[7] In contrast, many established Wall Street firms, such as Morgan Stanley, relied on groups of independent brokers for placement of the securities they underwrote.[8] It was once known as the "Catholic" firm of Wall Street[9] and most of its executives were Irish Catholics.[10]

  1. ^ "Bank of America Corporation Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Bank of America Corporation. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Become a financial advisor with Merrill". Merrill Lynch.
  3. ^ Jan 2009 – see Crash of the Titans by Greg Farrell
  4. ^ Campbell, Dakin (October 1, 2013). "Bank of America Finishes Merger of Merrill Lynch Into Parent". Bloomberg L.P.
  5. ^ "Bank of America Simplifies Corporate Structure" (Press release). Bank of America Corporation. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Back, Aaron (February 25, 2019). "Merrill: What's in a Name?". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660.
  7. ^ Perkins, Edwin J. (1999). Wall Street to Main Street: Charles Merrill and Middle-Class Investors. Cambridge University Press.
  8. ^ Chernow, Ron (1990). The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance. Touchstone Books. ISBN 9780802198136.
  9. ^ Stewart, James B. (1992). Den of Thieves. Touchstone Books. ISBN 9781439126202.
  10. ^ MCLEAN, BETHANY; NOCERA, JOE (November 2010). "THE BLUNDERING HERD". Vanity Fair.