{"url":"https://nivawealth.com/firms/merrill-lynch-pierce-fenner-and-smith-7691","iapdUrl":"https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/7691","regulatoryAum":1781568171479,"crd":"7691","secFileNumber":"801-14235","legalName":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated","displayName":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith","website":"https://www.merrill.com","linkedinUrl":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/bank-of-america-merrill-lynch","founded":null,"organization":"Delaware corporation","fiscalYearEnd":"December","headquarters":{"street":"One Bryant Park","city":"New York","state":"NY","stateName":"New York","country":"United States","postalCode":"10036"},"tradeNames":[],"registration":{"secApproved":"8 December 1978","noticeFilings":null,"latestNoticeFiling":null},"staff":{"employees":32960,"advisory":25721,"brokerDealerReps":26599,"insuranceAgents":11262,"promoters":2},"aum":{"discretionary":441302071156,"discretionaryAccounts":713174,"nonDiscretionary":1340266100323,"nonDiscretionaryAccounts":2540091,"wrapProgram":1743195587098,"nonUsClientsPct":1,"nonAumClients":16844},"clientTypes":[{"label":"Individuals (other than HNW)","clients":1269968,"regulatoryAum":313526151491},{"label":"High-net-worth individuals","clients":521763,"regulatoryAum":1227514988596},{"label":"Pension and profit-sharing plans","clients":17422,"regulatoryAum":58949419940},{"label":"Charitable organizations","clients":6759,"regulatoryAum":43032050220},{"label":"Insurance companies","clients":246,"regulatoryAum":5947336753},{"label":"Corporations and other businesses","clients":22807,"regulatoryAum":131162037399},{"label":"Other","clients":19,"regulatoryAum":1436187080}],"fees":[],"feeNotes":[],"feePrograms":[],"brochureCoverage":{"scope":"known_documents","status":"not_processed","checkedAt":null,"documents":[]},"custodians":[{"name":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated","shortName":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith","location":"New York, NY","smaAssets":1759628311569}],"custodyNote":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith has custody of $1842.73B for 1,841,665 clients.","otherCustodians":[],"leadership":[{"name":"Eric A Schimpf","title":"Director & Chief Executive Officer, State Designated Principal","crd":"2494318"},{"name":"Sara Rathbone Mooney","title":"Chief Financial Officer","crd":"7616382"},{"name":"Susan F Axelrod","title":"Chief Compliance Officer","crd":"6949587"},{"name":"Nancy Monir Fahmy","title":"Director","crd":"2689751"},{"name":"Lindsay Denardo Hans","title":"State Designated Principal & Director","crd":"4429443"},{"name":"David Carleton JR Heaton","title":"Chief Legal Officer","crd":"5972432"},{"name":"Vincent C. Santanna","title":"Chief Operations Officer & FINOP","crd":"5290525"},{"name":"David C Tyrie","title":"Director","crd":"1740255"}],"ownership":[{"label":"Bac North America Holding Company","detail":"Shareholder in the 75% or more ownership band and a control person, since January 2015."},{"label":"Bank of America Corporation","detail":"Indirect owner: a shareholder of NB Holdings Corporation in the 75% or more band and a control person, since October 1998.","parent":"NB Holdings Corporation"},{"label":"NB Holdings Corporation","detail":"Indirect owner: a shareholder of Bac North America Holding Company in the 75% or more band and a control person, since October 2008.","parent":"Bac North America Holding Company"}],"branchOffices":null,"filedOffices":{"otherThanPrincipal":3910,"privateResidences":0},"listedOfficeAddresses":26,"officesByState":[{"state":"Arizona","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"2555-2595 West Chandler BLVD","city":"Chandler"}]},{"state":"California","offices":4,"addresses":[{"street":"800 E Colorado BLVD","city":"Pasadena"},{"street":"520 Newport CTR DR","city":"Newport Beach"},{"street":"2049 Century Park E","city":"Los Angeles"},{"street":"555 California ST","city":"San Francisco"}]},{"state":"District of Columbia","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"1800 K ST NW","city":"Washington"}]},{"state":"Florida","offices":2,"addresses":[{"street":"701 Brickell Ave","city":"Miami"},{"street":"9000 Southside BLVD","city":"Jacksonville"}]},{"state":"Georgia","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"3455 Peachtree RD Ne","city":"Atlanta"}]},{"state":"Illinois","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"110 N Wacker DR","city":"Chicago"}]},{"state":"Maryland","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"11333 McCormick RD","city":"Hunt Valley"}]},{"state":"Massachusetts","offices":2,"addresses":[{"street":"45 Williams ST.","city":"Wellesley Hills"},{"street":"100 Federal ST","city":"Boston"}]},{"state":"Michigan","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"39577 Woodward Ave","city":"Bloomfield Hills"}]},{"state":"New Jersey","offices":3,"addresses":[{"street":"115 W Century RD","city":"Paramus"},{"street":"1100-1800 American Boulevard","city":"Pennington"},{"street":"100 Campus DR.","city":"Florham Park"}]},{"state":"New York","offices":4,"addresses":[{"street":"One Bryant Park","city":"New York","headquarters":true},{"street":"225 Liberty ST - 2 World Financial Center","city":"New York"},{"street":"75 Rockefeller PLZ","city":"New York"},{"street":"300 Broadhollow RD","city":"Melville"}]},{"state":"North Carolina","offices":1,"addresses":[{"street":"620 S Tryon ST","city":"Charlotte"}]},{"state":"Texas","offices":2,"addresses":[{"street":"1 Cowboys Way","city":"Frisco"},{"street":"800 Capitol ST","city":"Houston"}]},{"state":"Washington","offices":2,"addresses":[{"street":"401 Union ST.","city":"Seattle"},{"street":"10400 Ne 4th ST.","city":"Bellevue"}]}],"advFacts":{"source":{"file":"ia100226.zip","asOf":"2 October 2026"},"telephone":"800-637-7455","stateRegisteredReps":25721,"otherAdviserReps":0,"compensation":["A percentage of assets under management","Fixed fees (other than subscription fees)","Commissions"],"activities":["Portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses","Portfolio management for businesses (other than small businesses) or institutional clients","Pension consulting services","Selection of other advisers (including private fund managers)","Educational seminars/workshops","Other"],"financialPlanningClients":null,"assetMix":[{"label":"Exchange-traded equity securities","percent":37},{"label":"Non-exchange-traded equity securities","percent":1},{"label":"U.S. government/agency bonds","percent":4},{"label":"U.S. state and local bonds","percent":6},{"label":"Investment grade corporate bonds","percent":2},{"label":"Non-investment grade corporate bonds","percent":1},{"label":"Securities issued by registered investment companies or business development companies","percent":15},{"label":"Securities issued by pooled investment vehicles (other than registered investment companies)","percent":30},{"label":"Cash and cash equivalents","percent":4}],"privateFunds":0},"sources":{"adv1FilingDate":"24 September 2026","adv1Url":"https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/7691/PDF/7691.pdf","brochureDate":null,"brochureUrl":null,"iapdCompiledDate":null,"retrievedDate":"15 October 2026","retrievedOn":"2026-10-15","adv1Pages":{},"brochurePages":{}},"otherBusiness":[],"faq":[{"question":"How many clients does Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith have?","answer":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith has 1,838,984 clients and manages $1781.6 billion for them, as of September 2026. They include 1,269,968 other individuals, 521,763 high-net-worth individuals and 22,807 corporations and other businesses.","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Items 5.D and 5.F, filed 24 September 2026","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"employees"}},{"question":"What services does Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith offer?","answer":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for institutions, pension consulting, selecting other managers, educational seminars and other activities.","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Item 5.G, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"employees"}},{"question":"Which custodians does Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith use?","answer":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith’s separately managed account assets are held at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (New York, NY), with $1,759,628,311,569. Only custodians holding at least a tenth of those assets are named.","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Schedule D, Section 5.K.(3), filed 24 September 2026","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"custodians"}},{"question":"How many financial advisors does Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith have?","answer":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith has 25,721 investment adviser representatives registered with state securities authorities, out of 32,960 employees, and 25,721 perform investment advisory functions. 26,599 are registered representatives of a broker-dealer and 11,262 are licensed insurance agents.","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Items 5.A and 5.B, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"employees"}},{"question":"What does Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith invest in?","answer":"At the end of its last fiscal year, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith’s separately managed accounts held 37% exchange-traded equities, 30% pooled vehicles (private funds and similar), 15% registered funds (mutual funds, ETFs, BDCs), 6% state and local bonds, 4% U.S. government and agency bonds, 4% cash and equivalents, 2% investment grade corporate bonds, 1% non-exchange-traded equities and 1% high-yield corporate bonds. It advises no private funds of its own.","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Items 5.K.(1) and 7.B, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"employees"}},{"question":"Who owns Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith?","answer":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith is owned through a chain of holding companies by Bank of America Corporation. Its direct owner is Bac North America Holding Company (75% or more).","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Schedules A and B, filed 24 September 2026","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"scheduleA"}},{"question":"How does Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith get paid?","answer":"Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith is paid through a percentage of assets under management, fixed fees and commissions. Its Form ADV lists no performance-based fees among how it is paid.","source":"Form ADV Part 1A, Item 5.E, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file","sourceRef":{"doc":"adv1","section":"employees"}}],"holdings":null,"notice":"Compiled from public SEC Form ADV filings on the dates in `sources`. Facts as filed; not a rating, ranking, or recommendation. Niva Wealth is not affiliated with this firm. Disciplinary history is deliberately not included here or on the page; the SEC publishes the complete record at the `iapdUrl` above."}