Merrill: 75% of trainees set to graduate this year

Merrill expects roughly three-quarters of participants in its revived advisor training program to graduate this year and estimates those graduates will manage about $64 million in client assets on average. The firm reports about 2,400 people are enrolled in the program it relaunched in 2021.

Merrill Head of Client Service John Towey said the firm is giving trainees faster access to products, pairing them with veteran advisors and providing added business support to boost completion rates. He described a new entry-level title, advisor development program client associate, that gives earlier exposure to client service and advisory operations. About 25 trainees now hold that designation.

After roughly 13 months, client associates can advance to advisor development program financial advisor, a role that grants full access to Merrill’s services and requires building plans to attract clients and assets. The firm allows trainees to remain at the intermediate designation for up to four years before they become full advisors.

Merrill has altered operations for new advisors, including earlier permission to use the firm’s product shelf, additional administrative and practice-management help, and options to work on teams with experienced advisors. The firm says those changes are meant to give trainees sooner client contact and clearer pipelines for building a book of business.

Recruiting and referrals from Bank of America branches are sources of clients for trainees. Louis Diamond, CEO of Diamond Consultants, noted many firms reduced training because newcomer failure rates were high and it is difficult for new advisors to build a durable client base. He pointed to Merrill’s direct link to Bank of America as an advantage for sourcing referrals to new advisors.

Merrill has also increased external recruiting. The firm recently hired a four-member team from Morgan Stanley that managed about $1.5 billion and generated $4.3 million in annual production. Recruiting costs have risen: Merrill reported outstanding recruiting loans increased 48% year over year in 2025 to $374.5 million. These loans are typically paid upfront and may be forgivable if advisors stay at the firm for a set period.

Towey said several thousand new client households have come to Merrill through the training program. Bank of America reported it added more than 6,000 clients with $500,000 or more in assets in the second quarter. Lindsay Hans, co-head of Merrill Wealth Management, declined to break out how many new households came specifically from training versus recruiting and said, “What we will say, all of those things contribute.”

Financial results for the wealth units were mixed in the quarter. Net new assets for Merrill and Bank of America’s private bank fell 4% year over year to $13.7 billion in the second quarter. Total client balances rose 12% to $4.9 trillion and assets under management increased 17% to $2.3 trillion, changes the bank attributed largely to higher market valuations.

The Global Wealth and Investment Management division reported revenue of $6.9 billion, up 16% year over year, with asset management fees of $4.4 billion, up 19%. Net income for the division was $1.4 billion, a 42% increase, and its efficiency ratio declined by about five percentage points to just over 72%.

Merrill previously paused broad training efforts before restarting them in 2021. The firm and its parent have stopped publishing advisor headcounts; the last public figure was about 18,000. Industry observers note that even after program completion many new advisors leave the profession if they cannot build sufficient client relationships.