Bank of America's wealth management business, which includes Merrill Lynch, finished the first quarter with a 3% decline in advisor headcount year-over-year. According to a senior Merrill executive, the reduction in headcount is likely attributable to a slow hiring market due to the pandemic. However, Merrill continues to project single-digit growth in advisor headcount over each of the next five years. Merrill intends to emphasize the retention of veteran advisors and selective hiring of talent as the firm focuses on its Accelerated Growth program, which supports advisors early in their careers. 

Specifically, Merrill is attempting to expand its presence in markets such as Florida, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. Merrill reported Q1 net clients flows of $18.2 billion, which increased from $7 billion in the past year. Additionally, the Merrill Edge business reported a strong quarter as clients opened at least 170,000 new accounts. In total, Bank of America announced that net income increased 101% year-over-year to $8.05 billion while earnings per share rose 115% to $0.86, both of which beat industry estimates. 

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