Merrill Lynch / Bank of America Changes Broker Bonus Payments for 2015

Posted on December 28th, 2014 at 6:40 PM

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law Offices:

Merrill Lynch has told its brokers that they will receive higher bonus payments in 2015 for attracting new clients and assets, but will eliminated pay for servicing clients with less than $250,000 in assets.

Merrill Lynch will pay brokers 0.1% of new assets clients use to obtain loans, banking and trust products, or to put into fee-based advisory accounts. The cash bonus - half paid at year end and half over eight years - doubles the 0.05% paid this year for such "strategic" money.

Brokers attracting over $10 million of such assets receive 0.2% and brokers reaching $50 million receive 0.23%. However, bonuses in 2015 are being halved for new money put into low-profit money-market or bank accounts.

Moreover, Merrill brokers who bring in at least two new eligible households will receive a bonus of 0.15 percent of the new assets next year - triple the 2014 bonus. If they combine two new households with new strategic assets above $10 million, they collect 0.3 percent of the assets.

Brokers' core pay is not changing in 2015. They will receive between 20 percent to 48 percent of the fees and commissions clients pay Merrill, with higher producers earning the higher payouts.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law Offices represent investors and advisers nationwide in securities and employment matters. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 50 years in delivering the highest quality legal services.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: Eccleston Law Offices, Eccleston Law LLC, James Eccleston, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

You were most helpful with my FINRA deposition. You are a good lawyer and a good person.

Dan B.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 4, 2025
Wells Fargo Faces $3.37 Million FINRA Award Over Alleged Elder Exploitation

A FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Wells Fargo Clearing Services and its advisor, Stephen L. Smith, to pay approximately $3.37 million in damages to the estate of Genell Mathis.

February 3, 2025
Bank of America Agrees to Consent Order Over Anti-Money-Laundering Deficiencies

Bank of America Corp. has entered into a consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to address deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance programs.

January 31, 2025
UBS Settles FINRA Claims Over Supervision of Short-Term Preferred Stock Trades

According to AdvisorHub, UBS Wealth Management USA’s broker-dealer has agreed to pay $3.5 million in sanctions over allegations of supervisory failures related to short-term trading of syndicate preferred stock.