Merrill Lynch - Temporarily Unavailable (2024)

FAQs

What is the issue with Merrill Lynch? ›

Merrill Lynch has faced legal action about yields and interest rates on cash before. In 2019, a different client of Merrill Lynch and its parent, Bank of America, sued the company over what she termed the “paltry” yields in her sweep and checking accounts held at the firm.

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Significant losses were attributed to the drop in value of its large and unhedged mortgage portfolio in the form of collateralized debt obligations. Trading partners' loss of confidence in Merrill Lynch's solvency and ability to refinance money market obligations ultimately led to its sale.

Beyond that, advisors felt that Merrill's limitations, demands, and pressure to put clients in banking products that didn't make sense (read violation of Reg BI for which there are consequences) led to significant client attrition.

Merrill Lynch & Co. is the former name of a prominent Wall Street investment firm. Since its acquisition by Bank of America (BAC) in 2009, it has become known simply as “Merrill” and operates as a wealth management division of Bank of America.

Merrill Lynch did not go out of business after it was bought by Bank of America. However, Merrill Lynch did experience significant financial losses during the 2008 financial crisis and was acquired by Bank of America in a deal that was completed on January 1, 2009.

Any assets you hold in your Merrill Cash Management Account ® (CMA account) are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The SIPC provides up to $500,000 of account protection per client, inclusive of up to $250,000 for cash.

Merrill Lynch agrees to pay nearly $20 million to settle class action racial discrimination lawsuit. NEW YORK (AP) — Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accuses the Wall Street brokerage giant of racially discriminating against its Black financial advisers.

Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in late 2008 during the financial crisis. The $50 billion deal came as Merrill Lynch was within days of collapse, effectively rescuing it from bankruptcy.

U.S. Trust, Bank of America's private bank which caters to ultra-high net worth clients, will become Bank of America Private bank, and Merrill Lynch Private Banking & Investment Group will become Merrill Private Wealth Management, dropping the "Lynch." In the past, rebranding has faced some opposition.

Who is Merrill Lynch's biggest competitor? ›

The firms manage about the same amount of client assets — $1.4 trillion at Merrill compared with $1.5 trillion at Morgan Stanley — and have comparable revenue: $6.4 billion in the first half at Merrill and $6.2 billion at its competitor. They part ways on profit and revenue per broker.

Any assets you hold in your Merrill Cash Management Account ® (CMA account) are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The SIPC provides up to $500,000 of account protection per client, inclusive of up to $250,000 for cash.

Advisors with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management have received numerous awards for their performance and service in recent years. It placed over 600 advisors on the Forbes list of Best In-State Advisors for 2018, more than any other company.

That fell to a net decline of 703 financial advisors in 2022 and, last year, to a drop of 445, or less than half the amount seen two years earlier. At the end of last year, Merrill Lynch reported a total of 18,916 client-facing financial advisors across its various business models.

Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in late 2008 during the financial crisis. The $50 billion deal came as Merrill Lynch was within days of collapse, effectively rescuing it from bankruptcy.