Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of the Bank of America. It employs over 15,000 financial advisors and holds $2.2 trillion in client assets. It is currently the world’s largest brokerage firm.
It was on this day, January 6th, in 1914 that Charles Merrill opened up Charles Merrill & Co. on Wall Street.
A few months after the opening, Merrill was joined by his friend Edmund Lynch, and they formed Merrill Lynch in 1914. Merrill was a successful investor. He was responsible for creating the Safeway grocery store chain through a merger, and he also predicted the Stock market crash of 1929 to be able to avoid significant personal damage from the Great Depression.