Merrill Lynch launches retail assault
Merrill Lynch is launching an onslaught into the Australian retail market with the launch of eight new products this month and the trebling of its sales team.
The new products are global equity funds and will include both large and small cap products. These will be followed up by a further six funds to be launched later this year. Among these will be a global technology fund as well as international healthcare, financial services and pacific equities funds.
Merrill Lynch Investment Managers head of retail Damien McIntyre says the launch of these funds means the company has to boost its sales team to increase its market share in the Australian market.
"The brand has been well accepted, and we are on most approved lists, but we want the individual planners to use us more," he says.
Merrill had $4.5 million of critical assets in Australia in 1997, but this has risen to $15 billion in 2000.
"We achieved growth of 45 per cent last year and 99 per cent of this came from advisers," McIntyre says.
To increase growth Merrill has expanded the sales team to 24, up from eight, and appointed state managers for the first time.
This move has seen the company establish a presence in the South Australian market by opening an office in Adelaide.
The expansion has also created a new management structure in the sales team. McIntyre is now responsible for the overall team, but business development managers (BDMs) now report to their respective state managers. However, Merrill has created another layer beneath the BDMs' business development associates. McIntyre says these will be the BDMs of the future.
The company has hired four staff to look after the back-office operations to ensure smooth support system for the field teams, he says.
"We have found the most effective way to talk to planners is face-to-face," McIntyre says.
"So we will have people to see the advisers as often as they want and we hope to create loyalty to our products by this method."
Merrill is spending more than $3 million supporting the new product launches with both print and electronic advertising.
"We will continue to invest in supporting the brand which is now well respected and on most master trusts throughout Australia," McIntyre says.
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