December 21, 2009
--- Bank
of America Merrill Lynch is rolling out internal designation programs for
financial advisers specializing in the sales and servicing of corporate defined
contribution plans. ---
The Designated Defined Contribution FA is an adviser that has been designated to work with new clients that have defined contribution plan assets of $50 million or greater. At launch, there are about 80 to 100 advisers that will qualify for this program, noted Kevin Crain, head of institutional relationships, though he hopes that number will grow over time as the program develops.
Criteria for the designation include:
- Experience working with mid-sized to large corporate clients
- A minimum of five years relevant retirement services industry experience within Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management (MLGWM) or relationship management. For those advisers who have not been with BofA Merrill Lynch for a minimum of five years, Crain said that the company can credit an adviser that has been elsewhere and has a book of business that shows experience in that area.
- Industry engagement, which to BofA Merrill Lynch is a track record of attending industry conferences or forums annually (such as those from PLANSPONSOR, ASPPA, SPARK, etc.). Advisers must attend a minimum of one per year. “We want the advisers to be visible,” Crain said, “and to continue to grow and develop.”
- An adviser must hold the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional (PRP) certification or Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS) certification and either the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) Certification or Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. As the service model evolves, this list will likely continue to change, as the company evaluates what designations are valuable for advisers and their clients, said Crain.
- Successful completion of the relevant panel assessment including key leaders from Retirement & Philanthropic
Services (RPS) and MLGWM. Although Crain said he doesn’t want this part of the process to take away from the quantitative measures, this element of the criteria is to ensure than advisers are thinking about their future of the business and how they will continue to grow their practices. The only way to evaluate that is through committee, he noted.