Your Career at Merrill Lynch

1. Top brokerage house in the world
You'll be empowered working for a global powerhouse at the center of the financial universe.
For the sixth year in a row, Merrill picked up the top brokerage house of the year honors in 2004 from SmartMoney, which lauded the firm for its proprietary research. And for the fourth year in a row, Merrill Lynch was named the top wealth manager in the U.S. by Barron's magazine. Merrill's 50,000 employee workforce is one of the largest on Wall Street and includes nearly 15,000 financial advisors in the firm's global private client group, who together manage more than $1 trillion in client assets.

2. Top 5 in I-banking
Work with some of the best minds in the business and raise your own game.
Merrill is one of the five firms on the Street that make up the prestigious investment banking bulge bracket, and nearly all of its I-banking departments are at the top of their respective league tables. In 2004, Merrill kept its No. 3 spot on Thomson Financial's global equity and equity-related underwriting league table. Merrill also maintained its No. 5 position in global announced M&A transactions and No. 4 ranking in global completed M&A deals. For the second year in a row, Merrill took the No. 4 spot in global common stock underwriting. It also landed in the No. 4 spot in disclosed fee volume.

3. Great culture, great people
You can trust Merrill Lynch and its people to do the right thing for the client and the community.
Merrill's employees laud the firm for its "down-to-earth" and "more-collegiate-than-competitive" culture. Insiders say the people at Merrill are "nicer than at other banks" and still "driven" and "extremely deal- and client-focused." The firm has a well-deserved reputation as a good corporate citizen because of its generous philanthropic initiatives and volunteer activities, globally and in local communities.

4. Firm on an upswing
Merrill Lynch is great at running its businesses, and at the firm, you'll share in the success of a winning team.
2004 was a banner year for the firm, with the highest net earnings in its history. Merrill reported net earnings of $4.4 billion, up 16 percent from $3.8 billion in 2003. Net revenues were $22.0 billion, the highest since its peak revenue year in 2000 and up 11 percent from the $19.9 billion generated in 2003.

5. Can't beat the brand name
With its history of innovation and reputation as a pacesetter, Merrill Lynch is a company you can be proud of.
In BusinessWeek/Interbrand's 2004 ranking of the world's most valuable brands, Merrill Lynch placed No. 26, ahead of competitors Morgan Stanley (No. 27), J.P. Morgan Chase (No. 30) and Goldman Sachs (No. 37.).