Merrill Lynch has made its much-anticipated first move into distribu-tion by recruiting financial planners as part of a plan to reposition itself as a total financial solutions firm.
Merrill Lynch has made its much-anticipated first move into distribu-tion by recruiting financial planners as part of a plan to reposition itself as a total financial solutions firm.
Co-head of financial planning Peter Capp says the move is in line with Merrill’s drive to switch from being transaction-based to being fee-for-service based.
The group’s new initiative will trade as Merrill Lynch Private and will be launched on August 1.
Its target is high net worth clients and new business will be encour-aged through relationships with external providers such as accounting and legal firms.
In addition to domestic and international equity services, Merrill’s offering will include a master fund, a wrap account, US mutual funds and a host of other specialist products. These will be produced both inhouse and with other fund managers.
Merrill will use both new recruits and its existing consultants (bro-kers) to service customers. It plans to bring on board 16 new finan-cial planners by the end of 1999 and have a total of 36 in place by the end of 2000.
Capp says Merrill has already employed six planners, who are cur-rently undergoing an induction course. It will also hire one para-planner for each of its four state offices and hopes to build this up to a total of 8 to 10 nationally.
Previously Colonial Financial Planning’s general manager, Capp joined Merrill in January to assist co-head of financial planning Clark Morgan, establish the planning operations.
These operations will rely on Merrill’s existing information technol-ogy, compliance and administrative systems. They will also leverage off Merrill’s facilities in the US, including its research and IT.
However, because the US’s financial planning market and regulatory environment are different to Australia’s, Capp says Merrill will be operating independently here.
Merrill is the world’s third largest asset manager with funds of over US$500 billion under its management and over US$1.4 trillion in private clients assets.
