Who can participate?

Practice Management
Development (PMD) Program
What is the Practice Management Development Program?
The PMD program is the first phase of gaining a wealth management career at Merrill Lynch. Individuals who
are accepted into the program participate in a tailored 43-month curriculum designed to help them develop the
critical skills and knowledge necessary for acquiring clients, enhancing relationships, providing solutions and
building a successful wealth management practice.
Who can participate?
Many of Merrill Lynch’s most successful Financial Advisors
have come from fields outside of financial services. In
fact, only 15.3% of our Financial Advisors were financial
advisors when they joined the Firm. Men and women
who have benefited from Merrill Lynch’s PMD program
have come from careers outside the financial services
industry, including:
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Sales professionals
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Attorneys
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Bankers
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Entrepreneurs
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Accountants
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Insurance agents
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Fundraisers
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Community leaders
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Educators
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Military
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Advanced educational offerings for Top Performers
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Continued professional development opportunities
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The prestige of working with Merrill Lynch
Financial Advisors
The powerful brand recognition that comes with
Merrill Lynch and Bank of America
Who does the training and coaching?
One of the most dynamic parts of the program is that the
people who guide participants through the various steps
are successful Financial Advisors from local offices and
complexes. They share a commitment to the Firm’s growth
and to new Financial Advisors, helping them launch their
careers through numerous business plan reviews, face-toface meetings, team meetings and client meetings. The
program consists of proprietary Merrill Lynch content and
courses, as well as customized content and solutions
developed with industry leaders such as Top Producer and
FranklinCovey. Merrill Lynch’s scale enables the Firm to
provide this exceptionally valuable combination.
What resources are included in the training?
Why Merrill Lynch?
Everything necessary for top performance is supplied to
participants, including a competitive base salary as they
work to build their businesses. Resources include:
Merrill Lynch has a long and proud history of hiring,
training, developing and successfully graduating some of
the most talented Financial Advisors in the world. In fact,
Merrill Lynch has been formally training and coaching new
FAs since 1946 and is recognized as an industry leader
in financial services.
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Coaching on skill development, best practices,
consultative sales techniques
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Facilitators who manage progress within the curriculum
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Online Participant Guide and printed Participant Journal
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Skill assessments that offer personalized feedback from
senior leadership
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Two CFP® courses
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Access to salesforce.com contact management system
Today, Merrill Lynch has over 16,000 Wealth Advisors
worldwide and has been recognized by Barron’s as the
number one wealth manager in the U.S. for eleven
consecutive years, 2001–2011 (Barron’s, September 19,
2011)1. Many of these Financial Advisors were, at one time,
new to the business, and began through the Merrill Lynch
training program, similar to the opportunity presented to you.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC, and other
subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.
Investment products:
Are Not FDIC Insured
Are Not Bank Guaranteed
May Lose Value
How does the PMD program work?
There are five distinct stages of professional
development, beginning with the Training Stage, which
takes approximately four months (actual length can vary
depending on participant’s level of registration and prior
financial experience). That’s followed by a three-month
Development Stage, and twelve-months each for Stage 1,
Stage 2 and Stage 3.
Each stage includes specific goals and assessments:
Training Stage
First four months
rientation
O
Series 7 and Series 66
registrations
n Investment process
and Client Portfolio
Solutions
n Activity-based goals
for client acquisition
n Business development
training
n Wealth Management
Workstation essentials
n Salesforce CRM
essentials
n Skill Assessment 1
n
n
Development Stage
Next three months
errill Lynch production
M
number assigned
n Client acquisition
skills training
n Marketing strategy
and resources
n Consultative sales skills
training
n Activity-based
sales training
n Wealth Management
Process and Tools
training
n Insurance license
n Skill Assessment 2
n
Stage 1
Months 1 – 12
P ipeline management
Client Portfolio
Solutions positioning
n Wealth Management
Snapshot Tools
n Client Service
Model training
n Client Review Center
n CFP® financial
planning course
n CFP® investments
course
n Optimal Practice
Model introduction
n Skill Assessment 3
n
n
What are the core values2 you will be expected
to embrace?
Deliver for our customers, clients and shareholders—
We share a passion for winning and serving the financial
needs of individuals, corporate clients, and institutional
investors. We believe that disciplined execution will lead
to sustainable and long-term performance.
Trust in our team—We work together around the globe to
deliver the entire franchise to all our constituents. We strive
to be consistent and straightforward in our interactions.
Stage 2 *
Months 13 – 24
A dvanced Wealth
Management
Workstation training
n Advanced Salesforce
CRM training
n Wealth Management
Tools and Wealth
Structuring
n Advanced Consultative
sales skills training
n Training on the
functional roles of the
Optimal Practice Model
n Skill Assessment 4
n
Stage 3
Months 25 – 36
A dvanced Client
Servicing training
n Advanced Wealth
Management Tools
training
n Advanced Wealth
Structuring training
n Advanced Training
on the functional roles
of the Optimal Practice
Model
n Attitudinal aspects
around life balance,
fulfillment and nutrition
n Business plan review
n Program graduation
n
Embrace the power of our people—We value our
differences—in thought, style, cultures, ethnicity, and
experience—understanding that diversity and inclusion
is good for business and makes our company stronger.
Act responsibly—We are aware that our decisions and
actions affect people’s lives every day. We hold ourselves
accountable for the disciplined management of risk and
for doing the right thing.
Promote opportunity—We are committed to helping each
other achieve our potential in order to build a better future
for ourselves and the customers, clients, communities
and shareholders we serve.
How can you get started?
For more information or to begin the assessment process, go to: http://www.ml.com/careers
*Full salary through month 12 of Stage 2. Reduced quarterly thereafter. Starting salary correlates to performance hurdle path. Additional awards are
based on meeting the performance hurdle and actual production numbers.
1
Ranked by assets under management in accounts of $5 million or more as of June 30.
2
These are the Bank of America Corporation core values.
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Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and the Bull Symbol are trademarks of Bank of America Corporation.
CFP is a registered service mark of the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, Inc.
© 2011 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
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