(August 8 – 15:45 ET) – Merrill Lynch is abandoning financial plan quotas for brokers to qualify for its sales clubs in the United States, according to the Wall Street Letter.
It says that Merrill has placated brokers by dropping its requirement that they must sell a minimum quantity of financial plans to high net worth clients before qualifying for one of its four groups of top performers: executive club, president’s club, chairman’s club and the circle of excellence.
WSL says the policy, “was widely reviled by brokers who resented being pressured by the firm to hawk the product”. Brokers also resented the US$250 fee charged to the client, although they would often eat the fees themselves. “They think it’s a lot of money to pay for this information, especially since they think they can get it elsewhere for free,” one broker is quoted as saying, “and a lot of brokers either can’t or don’t know how to convince them otherwise.”
Another Merrill employee, identified only as an “official” said that the policy ticked off brokers to such a degree that it “created a dysfunctional organization.” A Merrill spokesman said the firm is dropping the requirement, “to place more emphasis on quality and the implementation of the process and less emphasis on the number of plans completed.”
Membership in Merrill’s U.S. clubs promises a variety of perks, including two free tickets for Merrill’s yearly trip, an expense account, and deferred compensation bonuses.
-IE Staff