Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
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Overview
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc operates as a financial advisor company headquartered in New York, New York. The company manages $962.1 billion in assets across 2.5 million customer accounts, making it one of the biggest investment advisory firms in the United States by assets under management (AUM). The company has a very large group of 36,383 employees, of which 26,968 are financial advisors. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc is not a registered broker-dealer, meaning it is not able to buy and sell securities for its accounts and those of its customers and instead must go through a broker-dealer firm to do so. Securities are tradable financial assets such as options, bonds and stocks.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc administers 778,387 of the firm's accounts in a discretionary manner. Discretionary management signifies that a portfolio manager has the discretion to make buy and sell choices without requiring client approval. The firm also has 1,750,782 non-discretionary accounts with a total of $672.9 billion in assets under management. The advisory firm's average account size is $380,383. The average advisor at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc oversees around 94 client accounts.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc's main office is at One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036. It is legally allowed to serve customers across 48 U.S. states and territories.
Assets Under Management
Number of Advisors
Disclosures
Office Location
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc by the Numbers

$962.1 billion

36,383

2,529,169

$380.4 thousand
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Products and Services
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc provides multiple services, which can include financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, portfolio management for institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers and other services. In the last financial year, the company provided 101-250 of its clients with financial planning services. It does sell products or offer services apart from investment advice to its customers. It is also affiliated with one or more other service providers in the financial services industry, including with a broker-dealer or securities dealer, banking or thrift institution, trust company, insurance company or agency, pension consultant and commodity pool advisor.
Core Advisor Services
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Offered by 45% of firms
Financial Planning Services
This is the process of planning for your financial future, including for events such as retirement, your child's college education or estate succession.
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Offered by 62% of firms
Portfolio Management
This is the selection and management of an investment mix and portfolio strategy for individuals and small businesses.
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Market Timing Services
This is the practice of attempting to make short-term profits on investments by buying low and selling high.
Other Services
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Offered by 23% of firms
Selection of Other Advisors
This is the firm's assistance with choosing other advisors to work with who may have different specialties.
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Publication of Periodicals
This is the publication of various financial education materials.
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Educational Seminars/Workshops
This is the hosting of seminars or workshops to educate investors on financial concepts.
Fee Structure
Financial advisory fees are based on which services the firm provides the client. However, fee types billed by the company may include any combination of the following fee types: asset-based, fixed or commission-based. Wrap fee programs, or the practice of bundling services for a single fee, are provided by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.
Available
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Offered by 74% of firms
Percentage of Assets
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Offered by 2% of firms
Commissions
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Offered by 40% of firms
Fixed
Unavailable
Types of Clients
The firm manages money for a number of different clients. It works with retail investors, high net worth investors, banking institutions, pension plans, charitable organizations, insurance companies and corporations. Out of its 2,529,169 clients, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc's largest client by number of accounts is retail investors, although it also caters to 90,134 high-net-worth individuals. The SEC defines a high-net-worth individual as an individual who has at least $750,000 under management or a net worth of at least $1.50 million or who counts as a "qualified purchaser" (a standard met by having at least $5 million in investments). Just 1% of its clients are represented by non-U.S. persons.
- High-Net-Worth Individuals* - 6.72%
- Other Individuals - 90.29%
- Corporations - 2.62%
- Charitable Organizations - 0.37%
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines a high-net-worth individual as someone who has at least $750,000 under management.
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Disclosures
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc does not have any disclosures.
Please visit its Form ADV for more details.
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Financial Advisors at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
Chandler, AZ
Henderson, NV
Pennington, NJ
Concord, CA
New York, NY
Vero Beach, FL
Holly Springs, NC
Chandler, AZ
Reno, NV
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The content in this profile was updated by SmartAsset on 08/06/2020 using publicly available data compiled from the SEC and FINRA. To report any data inconsistencies or errors, please contact profile-compliance@smartasset.com. The named financial professional and firm have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this profile and are not responsible for its accuracy. Profile content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named financial professional and firm, and financial professionals and firms having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s profiles.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.