Merrill, other BofA wealth units hit record revenue despite asset dip

Merrill and Bank of America’s other wealth management units saw their revenue surge to an all-time high in the first quarter even as the inflow of new assets dwindled slightly.

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Bank of America reported Wednesday that revenue for its Global Wealth and Investment Management business, which includes Merrill and its private bank, was up 11.6% year over year to a record of $6.71 billion in the first quarter. The bulk of that came from $4.2 million in fees charged on assets under management, a figure up 15% year over year. Net income for Bank of America’s wealth units was up 32% to $1.33 billion. 

The results came despite net asset inflows into the firm’s advisory accounts falling by roughly 15% year over year to $20.4 billion. Executives at Merrill have previously set a goal of bringing in between $135 billion and $150 billion in new assets a year.

In a call with analysts Wednesday, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the firm’s wealth management team is moving in the right direction and “driving those metrics to where they should go.”

Merrill underlines recruiting ambitions with $2.2B advisor pulled from JPMorgan

Doubling advisor recruiting from a year ago

Moynihan said Bank of America’s wealth divisions are seeing notable success in recruiting advisors, having brought roughly twice the number in the first quarter as they did in the same period a year ago. Bank of America has placed a new emphasis on recruiting in recent years after going through a period when it virtually ceased trying to pull advisors from industry rivals.

Moynihan said the firm is also seeing success with advisor retention. 

“The attrition of the advisors is down to a low level,” he said.

Even with the dip in net inflows, the wealth units’ assets under management were up 14% year over year to $2.1 trillion in the first quarter. Total client balances at Merrill, which include investments, deposits and loans, were up 9% to $3.8 trillion. And total balances at the private bank were up 13% to $757 billion.