Merrill Lynch is raising its minimum asset level for client households to $250,000 from $100,000 this year, the Bank of America unit said in early January. The move, experts suggest, appears to be one more way for the unit to boost results of its high-end wealth-management business while carving out an expanding market for its mass-affluent Merrill Edge operations.
Merrill Lynch will not change payouts tied to existing household relationships of under $250,000 but will now pay out 20 percent on new accounts in this category. Plus, if an advisor has more than 20 percent of his or her book tied to relationships in which the household has assets of under $250,000, there will be no payouts for new household clients with asset levels of this size.
“Moving said minimum from $100,000 to $250,000 sends a loud message of what the firm values,” said Chip Roame, head of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, in an interview. “And it makes being an FA more challenging.”