Merrill has expanded the premium services available to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices, launching the Direct Markets Coverage Group to provide institutional‑quality capital markets coverage and trade execution for clients with at least $50 million in assets.
The DMC Group gives clients direct access to a specialized team of trading experts that manages complex, high‑touch orders involving equities, options, derivatives and other advanced strategies, Merrill announced Monday, noting the new offering acts as an extension of clients' existing advisor team.
Clients will receive tailored market insights, real‑time market color and execution guidance, including daily updates and insights informed by the chief investment office and other Merrill and Bank of America services.
"This doesn't change the core advisory relationship at all. It enhances it," Liam O'Neil, business development head at Merrill Private Wealth Management, told ThinkAdvisor.
"Our advisors will remain responsible for the full client relationship, including planning and lending and alternatives and overall strategy, estate planning, all of the things that our advisors are known for," he added. "But to the extent that it delivers a better client service and in some cases actually returns capacity to them, they will hand over the trading responsibilities for these active trading-oriented clients to our team."
There will be no new or additional fees for DMC Group, with charges the same as if the client's core advisor team was handling the work. The new group operates on a commission‑based model, with pricing determined by the overall client relationship and scope of engagement.
"The economics are reflective of the (core) advisor being at the center of the relationship. The advisors who are covering these clients on the desk are not paid on production. I think that that's an important distinction. Any kind of revenue that's generated, the vast, vast majority of that accrues to originating advisor, the sponsoring advisor," O'Neil said.
"This is for our clients who have non-advisory and purely transactional needs," he added. "It's designed to support those advisors that have those relationships, by no means supplanting that advisor team because the advisors retain complete visibility across the client's accounts. They continue leading all of the strategy and planning and wealth management conversations."
The group will serve clients who want to call, talk about a trade and execute the trade on the phone, he explained, adding, "many of our clients are financial principals or retired financial principals who are used to trading-desk-style execution."
Merrill is introducing the group now given that UHNW clients represent the fastest growing segment in wealth, and client expectations for specialized market support has risen, O'Neil said. "And so this group will help us serve these existing clients better, while also attracting new relationships and new advisors who will see this as a differentiating capability for us."
Key members on the five-person DMC team include Ted Skowronski, lead advisor, and Kim Pino, who has both an advisory and institutional equity background, according to O'Neil. A sixth hire, from outside the firm, is coming soon, he said.
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