Merrill Lynch

Type: Public (NYSE: MER, TYO: 8675 )
Founded: 1914, as Charles E. Merrill & Co.
Headquarters: New York, NY, U.S.
Key people: Stan O'Neal: CEO and Chairman of the Board, Ahmass Fakahany: President and Chief Operating Officer
Industry: Finance and Insurance
Products: Financial Services, Investment Banking, Investment Management
Website: www.ml.com

General Information

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. The firm's global headquarters is located in New York City, and it is one of the most recognizable names in financial services. The company occupies the entire 34 stories of the Four World Financial Center building in Manhattan.

History

The company was founded on January 6, 1914, when Charles E. Merrill & Co. opened for business at 7 Wall Street in New York City. A few months later, Merrill's friend, Edmund C. Lynch, joined him, and in 1915 the name was officially changed to Merrill, Lynch & Co. At that time, the firm's name included a comma between Merrill and Lynch. In 1916, Winthrop H. Smith joined the firm. In 1940, the firm merged with E. A. Pierce & Co. and Cassatt & Co. and was briefly known as Merrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce, and Cassatt.

In 1941, Fenner & Beane joined the firm, and the name became Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane. On December 31, 1957, The New York Times referred to that name as 'a sonorous bit of Americana' and said 'After sixteen years of popularizing [it], Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Beane is going to change it—and thereby honor the man who has been largely responsible for making the name of a brokerage house part of an American saga,' Winthrop H. Smith, who had been running the company since 1940. At the start of the firm's fiscal year on March 1, 1941, the firm's name became Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.

Merrill Lynch rose to prominence on the strength of its brokerage network (15,000+ as of 2006), sometimes referred to as the 'thundering herd', that allowed it to place securities it underwrote directly. In contrast, many established Wall Street firms, such as Morgan Stanley, relied on selling groups of independent brokers for placement of the securities they underwrote. Until as late as 1970, it was known as the 'Catholic' firm of Wall Street. The firm went public in 1971 and has since become a multinational corporation with over US $1.8 trillion in client assets, operating in more than 40 countries around the world. In 1978, it significantly buttressed its securities underwriting business by acquiring White Weld & Co., a small but prestigious old-line investment bank. Merrill Lynch is best known for its Global Private Client services and its strong sales force.