Reports
Revenues, Income Rise At BoA Merrill Lynch's Wealth Businesses
The wealth management businesses at the US lender reported stronger results across the board.
Bank
of America Merrill Lynch yesterday said its global wealth and
investment management arm’s net income rose 17 per cent
year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year to $742
million.
This part of the US-listed lender logged revenue of $4.7 billion
for the quarter, a gain of 7 per cent compared to 4Q 2016, driven
by higher asset management fees and net interest income, which
more than offset lower transactional revenue.
Assets under management flows reached a record $96 billion for
the year, driven by both strong client activity and continued AuM
shift from IRA brokerage accounts into managed relationships, the
firm said in a statement. In the quarter, there were AuM flows of
$18.2 billion, and $96 billion for the year.
The division reported a pre-tax margin of 26 per cent, up from 23
per cent in 4Q 2016, driven by solid revenue growth and expense
management. The total number of wealth advisors, at 19,238,
rose 3 per cent from the level in 2016.
US Trust
The US Trust business, which works with wealthy families and
ultra-high net worth clients, logged a 9 per cent year-on-year
gain in revenue, at $845 million, in Q4, and up 3 per cent from
the previous quarter.
The unit chalked up record client balances of $446 billion, a 3.6
per cent quarterly rise, and a 10 per cent rise on a year
before.
The pre-tax margin of this business was “industry-leading”, BoA
ML said. There were 382 private client advisors at US Trust at
the end of the year, a gain of 8 per cent from a year
earlier.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
The Merrill Lynch business “achieved another strong quarter,
assisted by solid client activity and continued momentum from the
market”, BoA ML said.
The business reported record client balances of $2.3 trillion, up
$60 billion from the previous quarter and up 10 per cent on a
year earlier, driven by higher market values and client flows
At Merrill Lynch Advisors, the number of advisors rose 2 per cent
on the year earlier in Q4, standing at 14,953 advisors at the end
of 2017. Financial advisors chalked up an average productivity of
$1.31 million per advisor, a gain of 1 per cent on the third
quarter of 2017.
