NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bank of America today announced that it has added 40 new model portfolios to its investment platform, providing clients and advisors greater choice and flexibility when developing personalized portfolios aligned to each client’s unique goals. Available exclusively to Merrill Lynch Wealth Management clients, the new model portfolios have been created and are managed by BlackRock, JP Morgan, Franklin Templeton and Natixis Investment Managers.
Since launching model portfolios under its Chief Investment Office (CIO) in 2017, the company has expanded its suite of offerings with CIO asset allocation guidance to more than 165 active, passive, hybrid and sustainable impact investing portfolios – 125 of which are managed by its CIO team of investment professionals.
“The focus of investing has begun to shift from product selection to portfolio construction, with the true value of advice for clients being the ability to customize unique paths toward reaching their goals,” said Keith Banks, head of the Investment Solutions Group at Bank of America. “Through the expansion of our model portfolio offerings, we’re further integrating investment managers into our strategy, while diversifying options and viewpoints to the benefit of our clients.”
The new model portfolios introduced today are:
- Immediately available, giving clients and advisors access to 40 new model portfolios – 10 from each of the four investment managers. These multi-asset, multi-manager, hybrid portfolios are made up of a mix of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, and are available across investor profiles – from conservative to aggressive – and tax approaches.
- Informed by the CIO strategic asset allocation as the policy benchmark. Within the models, investment managers have the flexibility to implement their own tactical views. These views may be based on their market outlook and investment processes, including potential changes to use passive and active investments and by increasing, decreasing or using additional asset categories within the equity or fixed income allocation. These variations offer advisors more choice when selecting the appropriate portfolio for clients.
- Exclusively available through the Merrill Lynch Investment Advisory Program, with a minimum initial investment of $50,000.
Platform and processes built around the value of advice
Within its Investment Solutions Group, the CIO serves as a differentiator for Bank of America Corporation, bringing together 120 investment professionals from across the organization to provide a consistent, end-to-end, institutional-quality investing process that includes investment viewpoints, guidance, portfolio solutions, due diligence and insights. Within its flexible framework, advisors and their clients can determine the level to which they want to incorporate CIO views into their practice and portfolios. CIO model portfolios and those provided by third parties enable advisors to customize and personalize solutions for clients at all wealth levels.
“Our advisors are at the center of the investing process, with the value of their advice rooted in a deep understanding of what their clients want and need,” said Keith Glenfield, head of investment products for Bank of America. “Access to a wide range of products and platforms, combined with our robust specialist organization, gives our advisors a competitive advantage to develop personalized approaches when helping clients pursue their goals.”
Today, nine out of 10 Merrill advisors use at least one CIO model portfolio, and 25 percent of them manage one-quarter or more of the assets in their practice in CIO portfolios.
According to Bank of America Chief Investment Officer Chris Hyzy, “By leveraging our CIO team as an extension of their practice, advisors have the potential to deliver more consistent outcomes and a better experience for clients, and to gain back time to focus on aspects of wealth management that clients value most.”
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management, and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial centers, including approximately 2,400 lending centers, 2,600 financial centers with a Consumer Investment Financial Solutions Advisor and 1,900 business centers; approximately 16,600 ATMs; and award-winning digital banking with nearly 38 million active users, including approximately 29 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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