I was made an offer to move my book from my current place of business to Merrill Lynch BAC. Does anyone have any experiences with MLBAC? Overall, what is the market's perception? I have been out of the major B/D area in PE. I know they have a strong IB division. TIA. God Bless. BTHO Mississippi State.

It's Bank of America. I have several friends and acquaintances that have been there for years, all million dollar + producers, they can't stand BAC.

So, you're saying...?

If you don't mind working for a big bank, go for it. If you want to work for a broker, there may be better choices.

If you have a book, why do you want to give a BD 60% of your gross?

experiences with MLBAC? Overall, what is the market's perception? I have been out of the major B/D area in PE. I know they have a strong IB division.


Just an aside ( not a deflection but just for fun).... There are more acronyms used per capita on threads on the business forum than on any internet forums ANYWHERE ! I don't understand 75% of the threads on my own "Houston we have a problem " thread due to the massive use of industry specific shorthand. AND I'm IN THE DAMN INDUSTRY !! Must be the new age version of a "my *&^% is bigger than your #^@*# " type thing !

MLBAC = Merrill Lynch Bank of America. A product of the financial crises. B/D means securities broker/dealer. PE means private equity, and IB means investment banking.

Thank you, if it were you, all things being equal, would you take Barclay's, Merrill Lynch, or team up with co-workers at the current house, and open without a large named BD backing you? The breadth of products is what has us looking a MLBAC. ML metrics off revenue and prod credits. We should easily exceed both.

I guess the question Renegade is what do you think would be best for the work/life balance? We have one and another on the way. After years of being at work from 7am - 10 PM, and then at working every Saturday and Sunday, the luster of IB has worn off. Heck, the ONE weekend I had off was this weekend. We bought tickets to the game, we were going to make a family road trip for our son's first game, and then at 4PM yesterday, a new deal got dropped on us that needs to be finished by Monday, so the plans are cancelled.

I know that is the business, but it isn't fair to my family. If we make the switch, there will be an obvious paycut, but how do you value sanity and time with your family? The biggest mistake we've made was paying off our house, moving to a city where property values are skyrocketing, renting while the made the transition, and now wondering if we were better off staying in a paid off house in a lower level market vs. renting it out, renting ourselves at a higher rate, but being in a larger market. Damn hindsight being 20/20.

Working for yourself is wonderful. Just sayin"!

Aggiewes '87

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MLBAC = Merrill Lynch Bank of America. A product of the financial crises. B/D means securities broker/dealer. PE means private equity, and IB means investment banking.

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TYS. Thank you sir
IATT. I appreciate the translation!

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Thank you, if it were you, all things being equal, would you take Barclay's, Merrill Lynch, or team up with co-workers at the current house, and open without a large named BD backing you? The breadth of products is what has us looking a MLBAC. ML metrics off revenue and prod credits. We should easily exceed both.

I guess the question Renegade is what do you think would be best for the work/life balance? We have one and another on the way. After years of being at work from 7am - 10 PM, and then at working every Saturday and Sunday, the luster of IB has worn off. Heck, the ONE weekend I had off was this weekend. We bought tickets to the game, we were going to make a family road trip for our son's first game, and then at 4PM yesterday, a new deal got dropped on us that needs to be finished by Monday, so the plans are cancelled.

I know that is the business, but it isn't fair to my family. If we make the switch, there will be an obvious paycut, but how do you value sanity and time with your family? The biggest mistake we've made was paying off our house, moving to a city where property values are skyrocketing, renting while the made the transition, and now wondering if we were better off staying in a paid off house in a lower level market vs. renting it out, renting ourselves at a higher rate, but being in a larger market. Damn hindsight being 20/20.

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I have debated going independent so I could work less, but if that is what independents work, then I will stick with my 30-40 hour work week.. Why do you do that? I have refrained from getting with a team because I don't want to work as many hours as they may want to.

I worked at UBS for a couple of years and most didn't put in more than 40 hours per week, so maybe there is something for you to look forward to.

I think working less is a wise thing for you to do, but wonder if you will. Most hard workers are driven and can't turn it off.

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After years of being at work from 7am - 10 PM, and then at working every Saturday and Sunday, the luster of IB has worn off. Heck, the ONE weekend I had off was this weekend. We bought tickets to the game, we were going to make a family road trip for our son's first game, and then at 4PM yesterday, a new deal got dropped on us that needs to be finished by Monday, so the plans are cancelled.

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Gosh... I hope you make insane amounts of money.

Time to get out & spend some time with your family.

U5 turned in, the team is starting 10/19. First "vacation" longer than 2 days since 2012. Whoop! #BTHOMississippiState

I'll let everyone know how it goes. ~30% pay cut, but a better situation long term for the family, and growth potential.

Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne Cuvee Belle Epoque 2004, and a glass of Pappy 23 neat to celebrate. Thank you for all the advice.

Curious what % your upfront is and how long you are locked in.

Seems like BAC has really done a number to the culture. I hear the BAC lenders are constantly coming to the branches and annoying the ML advisors by asking for leads from their clients. Just from what I hear if you're a top producer you are treated great but if you're not then there has been a big decrease in satisfaction since BAC took over.

Always thought this article was funny: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-the-master-who-teaches-the-merrill-herd-to-graze-on-wheatgrass-and-chia-2014-11.

The most recent JD Power Advisor Satisfaction Survey, once again, had Merrill near the bottom. http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-financial-advisor-satisfaction-study

Run from BAC.

do NOT go to Barclays (or CS or DB). sinking ship

Barclays IB branch is great. My BIL works there in NY, and loves it. So, I'm not quite sure why you have such a negative opinion. Ive never had ay bad experiences with them. The Private Wealth Mgmt Division of Barclays is now SN. It isn't under Barclays anymore.

One thing I've learned: there are bad apples everywhere. Goldman to Edward Jones, and everywhere in between.

Which office do you interact with? Downtown Houston?

My comments were directed towards the wealth management group only. Stifel deal hasn't closed yet, but in terms of prestige the former Lehman unit continues to dwindle. My interactions were with the leadership based in Dallas, which runs both markets (Houston). Also good insights can be found on Advisor HUB.

So the garden leave provision that looks like it's coming in next year's comp plan doesn't have you concerned? AdvisorHub As my team recruits in the industry that's going to change the landscape completely for those advisors.

It's a game changer for everyone.

Edited to add: I do not work at Merrill BoA

Merrill Lynch advisors have emailed us with questions about the garden leave provision that could make its way into their 2016 comp grid and newly minted employment contracts. We've been reporting for several weeks now on the all-but-certain addition and what it could mean for advisors' careers. One source that we spoke to made it clear that the large majority of advisors simply are unaware of what we are talking about when we use the phrase 'garden leave'.

"The reason you haven't heard much from their [Merrill Lynch] FAs is that the VAST majority have no idea what Garden Leave is it's never been a term in their existence.. certainly not for Merrill legacy. It would be interesting to see what reaction you get if you create a posting explaining what Garden Leave provision means and the timing.. because if BofA/Merrill institutes it Jan 1, 2016, FAs only have till FINRA closes for the year on Dec 12 to move the licenses.. else they wake up Jan 2 and Garden Leave could be there. Most likely BofA/Merrill wouldn't want to announce this until December in order to ensure no one can do anything about it."

We'll hereby make no more assumptions. Garden leaves protect firms and isolate advisors. What it boils down to is a line item restriction that prevents defecting advisors from the firm from immediately calling their clients when they exit. This is paramount to advisors successfully transitioning. The restriction will typically incapacitate an advisor for 1-3 months. 1-3 MONTHS!!! That's how long you would have to wait to make calls while every broker in your former office calls your clients and attempts to win them over while criticizing you behind your back.

The most successful example of a garden leave that we know of (from a firm's perspective) is JP Morgan. This causes them to bank on their ability (pun intended) to retain assets. One of their brokers wrote in to expose how little the firm values the advisors, knowing that it will retain many of their assets should an advisor defect. This is largely because of the garden leave. Merrill is looking to tie up the assets they have and ensure future fees for themselves. The advisors that see that are pissed.

An advisor at Merrill Lynch who has stuck it out for the last 8 years, "this would be beyond the pale. It would be the final salvo from a bank who seeks to treat us as bank tellers and nothing more. It will quickly tear down the partnership facade and become an employer/employee hard line that some of us have been trying to ignore for a while. It is a shame as the firm seems to have gotten back onto its feet and the chatter about culture has slowed down. This kind of move would take it back to a deafening level.

Where do you work?

I work for a financial services firm.... Have you not heard of this coming?

Yes. Concerned, but not concerned.

Not concerned? Really? Jan 1 of 2016 the value of your book/practice/business is violently altered and you are not concerned? Good luck too you then!

make sure your attorney reads that contract. I say that as a fellow Ag.

I'm just going to say thank you. I learned along time ago when you know enough about something, all the chicken little in the world can be of fire screaming, and it isn't your job to chase them around and put them out.

I am not worried. I would tell you why, but I don't care to waste my time.

In regards to having an attorney read it, I did, my wife did, and FIL did.

No worries. I was referring to the new one for 2016. That's the one I was referencing that should have the garden leave language in it. Good luck to you and your practice.