Bank of America wants to return Merrill Lynch's “Thundering Herd” of retail brokers to full strength by adding as many as 2,000 people to its global wealth management division over the next year, insiders said.
People close to the situation said that BofA's aggressive hiring target would be fulfilled largely by training rookie brokers rather than launching one of the costly price wars for talent that has often hit profits at US wealth management firms.
The decision to boost the ranks with younger, less experienced recruits underlines BofA's desire to keep pay expenses in check but could also make it more difficult for the company to service wealthy investors.