BofA sets Merrill a $135 billion fee-based flow goal

Bank of America wants Merrill Lynch to double fee-based client flows to $135 billion to $150 billion a year by 2028 to 2030, from $65 billion over the past 12 months.

Co-President Dean Athanasia said the unit expects to add a net $80 billion in fee-based assets for all of 2026. The target was set out in a Thursday presentation, part of a stated ambition to become the largest wealth manager in the country. "Obviously, we've got our work to do here," he said at a BancAnalysts Association of Boston conference. "We're on a great trajectory… We're tracking against that and we'll continue to grow. But we've got to double those from where we are today."

Merrill advisors will get a larger internal lead pool: 130,000 customers were referred between the wealth unit and the bank's other divisions, up 25% year over year. Athanasia said converting 1.5% to 2% of the 5 million high-net-worth customers at the consumer bank and other divisions would add $100 billion in fee-based flows. Co-President Lindsay Hans said 66% of Merrill clients have a banking or lending relationship, against a goal of 100%.

Morgan Stanley, the largest wirehouse by client assets, holds $6.6 trillion in its advisor-led business against about $4.2 trillion at Merrill, according to the presentation. It reported in October that it added a record $232 billion in client assets in the prior quarter, including $80 billion in fee-based flows in a single quarter.

Athanasia said Merrill has had one of its strongest years for hiring and that advisor attrition has reached a decade low. Wells Fargo Advisors hired advisors managing $750 million from rivals including Merrill Lynch last month, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported.

Athanasia also described expanding the unit's sales of alternative investments as another potential source of fee-based flows.