Merrill Lynch's Fee-Based Advisory Assets Hit Record $1.9 Trillion
BAC is trading near its 52-week low of $46.115 (11% above the low) on elevated volume (2.1× avg).
Summary
Bank of America's wealth management division posted record Q3 results, with revenue up 13% to $7.1 billion and net income up 22% to $1.5 billion. Fee-based advisory assets reached a record $1.9 trillion, and total client assets grew 9% to $4.2 trillion. The unit added 5,000 net new high-net-worth accounts and saw $20 billion in asset inflows, though that was down from $23.5 billion a year earlier. Loan balances in the wealth division hit $283 billion, with Merrill's portion up 10% to $174 billion. This strong segment performance contrasts with the overall bank's Q3 earnings, which were dragged down by a $1.2 billion AML penalty that cut EPS by 17 cents to $0.91, below consensus. The wealth results highlight the bank's successful pivot toward fee-based advisory and lending relationships, even as regulatory costs weigh on the broader franchise.
At the time of this announcement, BAC was trading at $51.10 on NYSE in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $357.3B. The 52-week trading range was $46.12 to $65.23. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.