<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> ML.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Merrill Lynch Wealth Management is an American wealth management division under the auspices of Bank of America . Along with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the investment banking arm, both firms engage in prime brokerage and security dealings . The firm is headquartered in New York City, and occupies the entire 34 stories of 250 Vesey Street, part of the Brookfield Place complex, in Manhattan . Merrill Lynch employs over 15,000 financial advisors and manages $2.2 trillion in client assets . </P> <P> The firm has its origins in Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. which, prior to 2009, was publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MER . Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be acquired by Bank of America on September 14, 2008, at the height of the 2008 Financial Crisis . The acquisition was completed in January 2009 and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. was merged into Bank of America Corporation in October 2013, although certain Bank of America subsidiaries continue to carry the Merrill Lynch name, including the broker - dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith . </P> <P> The company was founded on January 6, 1914, when Charles E. Merrill opened his Charles E. Merrill & Co. for business at 7 Wall Street in New York City . A few months later, Merrill's friend, Edmund C. Lynch, joined him, and in 1915 the name was officially changed to Merrill, Lynch & Co . At that time, the firm's name included a comma between Merrill and Lynch . In 1916, Winthrop H. Smith joined the firm . </P>

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