(March 13 – 11:25 ET) – Merrill Lynch is segmenting its retail sales force in the U.S., according to U.S. trade paper Registered Rep.
The New York-based brokerage giant is dividing its 16,000 retail brokers into three categories designed to serve three different market segments. This is in addition to the call centre service it has introduced for small-ticket clients.
The comprehensive Financial Consultants tag is being dropped. In it’s place are:
- Financial Advisors, who will serve clients with less than US$1 million in assets;
- Wealth Management Advisors, who will serve clients with between US$1 million to US$10 million in assets; and
- Private Wealth Advisors who will serve clients with over US$10 million in assets.
The new look for the U.S. sales force was unveiled by U.S. Private Client Group president Stanley O’Neal during Merrill’s “Investor Day 2001” presentation yesterday in New York. “Our objective is to gain market share in every segment, especially at the high end,” said O’Neal.
Low-end clients, those with less than $100,000 to invest will be served by Merrill’s call centre, once known as the Investor Services Group, which becomes the Merrill Lynch Financial Advisory Center. O’Neal said Merrill has also launched a program to transition clients back to full-service brokers in the branches once their assets reach a certain level.
O’Neal also revealed that Merrill branch managers will get more control over branch spending, with four priorities in mind: adding assets, growing local market share, boosting profitability, and grooming a new generation of corporate leaders. “In the wealth management space, the firm with the best people wins,” he said.