E& R RESEARCH g the Puzzle togethe Merrill Lynch Co Survey Louis O. Constanti Merrill Lynch Co Marketing 310 December 4, 1998 Rayna Kella
Merrill Lynch Co. Survey Analysis E&R Research 524 Pebble Beach Cruces. NM December 4, 1998 rsYnc 5S. Telshor C-101 Las cruces, NM 88011 Dear Mr Co Enclosed is the market research report for Merill Lynch Co. that you requested. In your asked for a study on hess of the eq Priority Clients. The intended results were to be a recommendation as to whether or not you should continue producing the reports, and to whom it is appropriate to send them. This research study was approved on September 14, 1998 and is now completed The results from the survey data collected were very conclusive. We recommend that you determine on an individual basis which priority clients will be benefited by receiving a periodic equity research report The research projects results are very informative and should be considered when deciding how to determine which clients are suitable equity research report recipients We are grateful to you and Merrill Lynch& Co for giving us an opportunity to conduct a primary research study of Priority Clients. Feels free to contact us for clarification of the report, or if any questions arise. Please update us with your decisions after reviewing this report Sincerely Rayna Kellam
Merrill Lynch Co Survey Analysis STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS The intention of the research study is To contact Priority Clients having one or more equity positions. You are to provide those clients and contact information To structure a survey that would adequately measure the client's attitudes towards research reports, to measure their responsiveness to the reports, and the reports effectiveness To contact each client over the phone or by mail and conduct survey To analyze survey and prepare recommendations This statement of expectations serves as the contract for this study. All parties signed below acknowledge the above statements and accept them
Merrill Lynch& Co Survey Analysis TABLE OF CONTENTS MERRILL LYNCH &CO. PRIORITY CLIENT SURVEY RESULTS Letter of Transmittal Statement of Expectations Executive Summary Merrill Lynch Co Survey ntroduction Objectives =-“--“““·“” Methodology Comprehensive Results and Conclusions ge Group Desired Information Level of Involvement ++++- Competitor Researc Efficacy of Highlighting Continuity of Reports........-.- Recommendations- 334556781 Limitations and Probl Appendices Appendix A: Research Proposal Appendix B: Cover Letter ……13 Appendix C: Research Report Questionnaire. Appendix D: Frequency, Cross Tabulation, Bar Chart Summaries Appendix E: Frequency, Mode, Median Summaries Appendix F: Sample Research Report.... Illustrations Figure 2: Trading Activity in Eit her Account Figure 3: Types of Investors Figure 4: Positions Held Outside Merrill Lynch............ Figure 5: Receive Reports from Competitors 455667 Figure 6: Highlighting Satisfaction Figure 7: Preference of Reports
Merrill Lynch Co Survey Analysis EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Priority clients at Merrill Lynch Co. are a large part of the client base. A better term for this group of clients is Priority Household. This allows IRA, SEP, and 401(k) holders to be included under this umbrella. Merrill Lynch has more than one million Priority Clients worldwide, and $1.4 trillion in assets. there are 750,000 Priority Households nationwide, 4, 100 in New Mexico, and 700 in Las Cruces. In order to qualify as a priority client, one must have $250,000, cash and assets, held long with Merrill Lynch& Co or $5, 000 in revenues for business cash management clients. M 14 accounts. Eighty-six of those accounts are Priority Client accounts. Further investigation revealed that only 40 clients have equity positions on which there is a Merrill Lynch opinion and thus generate research reports. In this day and age most people invest in vehicles such as mutual funds. This is evidenced by the twenty-year trend toward diversified investing Being a Priority Client allows clients to receive a monthly statement that itemizes their transactions, investments, and returns in a neat and organized format. However, it is mainly an internal classification that provides a means for Merrill Lynch to gauge the productivity and value of client relations with their financial consultants(FCs). In any town in America, there is a need for investing. Las Cruces is one of them. FC's who can identify potential clients. prospect for this industry. Giving clients the status of Priority Client is a marketing strategy used by FCs 3 them and establish close binding relationships with them create an opportunity to succeed wi establish secure relationships with their clients. In fact, it is up to the stockbroker to determine whether a client can be classified as priority client without meeting the criteria mentioned above The equity research report mailed to Priority Clients with one or more equity positions in their portfolio are a means of reaffirming good will and a sense of reassurance to the clients from their FC. They serve two purposes To inform the client of the latest news of their holdings To continue to build the trust and confidence any financial planner needs to continue to serve the client Since the production of the reports are very labor intensive, the feasibility of the production is something that needed to be determined Several areas were identified when determining the boundaries of this study. Age groups, desired information, level of interest, continuity of the research reports, competitor reports, and the effectiveness of highlighting the reports are the factors the questions address. The research bjectives were to identify whether or not the equity research reports were serving the client in one of the two areas mentioned above Exploratory research was conducted in a census of 40 Priority Clients of Mr. live in the Las Cruces area, and others live in a variety of states across the nation and in other parts of the world. Mr. Co needed an inexpensive, exhaustive way to determine the effectiveness of the research reports, thus a telephone and mail survey was conducted with a one or more equity positions were eligible to participate in the survey. Of the 40 surveys h questionnaire consisting of 31 questions. People who are Priority Clients of Mr CO conducted, two refused to participate and eight never answered their phone or were never hom thereby reducing the number of actual participants to 30. This provides a participation rate of 75%. The surveys successfully answered were analyzed using the SPSS Statistical Analysis Computer Program As the research was conducted, the clients would seem to want to have conversations about the questions. The researchers followed the guidelines of not interpreting the questions of the clients. However, as a question initiated a discussion, the researcher would note what they were