Retirement Solutions

We’ll bring all the wisdom and resources of our enterprise to bear in helping you pursue your retirement plan goals.


A Relentless Pursuit of Financial Wellness 
All of our efforts revolve around helping your employees pursue better financial outcomes.  Isn’t that why you offer a retirement plan in the first place?  We believe that no other provider can match the resources we have nationwide to deliver plan services and financial wellness solutions to your company.

Fiduciary Advisory Services
We recognize the responsibility you have as a plan fiduciary helping participants invest in retirement and feel secure with their financial futures. The job of a plan fiduciary can be demanding, but you don’t have to manage it on your own. Through our Fiduciary Advisory Services we can help you construct and maintain an investment menu and act as an ERISA fiduciary for the investment advice provided.

A Legacy of Service Excellence
We dedicate all the resources and thought leadership from our enterprise to bear in helping you provide a strong, healthy and fully compliant program that runs smoothly, engages your employees and makes your job easier.

A Team That Shares Your Priorities
When it comes to your company’s benefits program, you want a provider team that shares your priorities and attention to detail.  You and your employees will have a team of deeply experienced and passionate advocates for service excellence and financial wellness on your side. 

We’d love to work with you

Investments

No matter what your priorities are, we offer advice to help you turn your ambition into action. We draw on many experienced investment professionals at Merrill to deliver insights that help you maintain a long-term focus while taking advantage of short-term opportunities. Through the Merrill Investment Advisory Program we offer custom strategies that deliver an appropriate balance of risk and reward, comprised of investment fund and manager offerings that have undergone a thorough evaluation process before they can be included in your portfolios. And all our actions are grounded in a deep understanding of what matters most to you and complemented with tracking and regular review. We believe this approach will give you the power to help you meet your goals.


Business financing, cash and treasury management

With the capabilities of Merrill and Bank of America, you have access to a comprehensive suite of resources. Bank of America can help you make the most of your business cash.  As your business grows, you may need to invest additional funds to increase working capital or finance expanded operations. Like many business owners, your company may be your most valuable asset. We believe you shouldn’t have to use your personal assets as collateral for business loans. That’s why we offer access to a range of options. 

 
Retirement and benefit plans

(see Retirement Plan tab on left)


Business protection, succession planning and wealth transfer strategies

At Merrill, we help protect business owners against the unexpected and transfer personal wealth out of the business by implementing strategies such as:

• Key person insurance

• Buy-sell agreement funding

• Selling the business outright

• Transferring ownership to children or heirs

• Selling the company to employees

Our goal is to minimize estate taxes while preserving the value of your business during any transfer to the next generation or sale to a third party. You have access to integrated financial strategies from across our enterprise through your Merrill advisors at O’Connor & Associates.
 

Health Care Practices

The financing services provided by Bank of America Practice Solutions Group can help you streamline operations while pursuing your most important initiatives —from new startups and acquisitions to expansions, relocations, sales and equipment financing. Contact us to learn more about Bank of America lending options for dentists, veterinarians and doctors.


Not-for-Profits, Foundations and Endowments

For these entities, O’Connor & Associates draw upon the extensive resources and expertise at Bank of America and the Nonprofit Consulting Services Team at Bank of America Private Bank.
 

Philanthropic services

Bank of America’s Institutional Investments & Philanthropic Solutions group delivers deep experience and a comprehensive suite of investment and management services. These include strategic advice and planning to help you pursue your mission more effectively, as well as assistance in simplifying your administrative burden.
 

Institutional asset management

Bank of America and Merrill deliver comprehensive wealth management strategies to individual and institutional clients worldwide. Services include:

• Customized asset allocation

• Portfolio construction and rebalancing

• Investment manager evaluation, selection and oversight

• Evaluation, management and liquidation of donated assets

Philosophy

We believe the best financial approach is the one that helps you pursue your goals. That's why, from the start, we talk about your aspirations and encourage you to ask questions about issues that matter most to you. Calculating how to manage future health care expenses? College on the horizon? Considering the sale of a business or purchase of a home? Preparing to pass your wealth to future generations? It all starts with a plan intended to help you manage, grow, and preserve your wealth today, while also considering the impact it can have for years to come. With access to the investment insights of Merrill and banking solutions from Bank of America, we will work with you to develop an approach designed to help address your financial needs.

Approach

Every relationship begins with a conversation, helping you identify and prioritize which goals matter most to you. Whether it's transferring wealth to the next generation, customizing your financial approach to help you pursue your passions, or providing advice and guidance to help you stay informed, we start by listening to learn more about you and your family.

Your approach to investing

Drawing upon research in the field of behavioral finance, Merrill developed the Investment Personality Assessment to help us get to know you better as an investor and potentially help you refine your own investing preferences. By gaining a deeper understanding of how you think and feel about investing through this assessment, we can customize the financial approach we develop together to help you pursue what matters most to you. Our Investment Personality Assessment is one of the ways to help us get to know you - to understand your goals and priorities. These questions will help us provide you with additional insights and resources.

Understanding your goals and priorities

Your life and goals change. We have tools to help you keep track of these changes so they can be reflected in your financial approach.

Capabilities

Merrill’s process is designed to help deliver a customized, comprehensive experience to assist you not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments. Providing you with access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help you manage all of the pieces of your financial life. Working one-on-one with a Merrill advisor means you have a single point of contact to help you with potential strategies for transferring wealth to the younger generation.

Focus On Individuals, Families and Small Businesses

We believe that financial success can be achieved when you’re able to make investment-related decisions and trade-offs that can help you reach personally meaningful goals. Whether you’re planning your retirement, saving to buy a home or funding a child’s education, the process begins by getting to know you and how you feel about the following:

• Health: Managing healthcare expenses, now and in the future
• Home: Upsizing, downsizing, remodeling or buying a vacation home
• Family: Taking care of your family and other people in your life
• Leisure: Spending your free time in meaningful ways
• Giving: Volunteering, mentoring others and giving to charities
• Work: Working in retirement, selling or starting a business
• Finance: Bringing it all together and defining your financial goals

Success will be measured by the amount of progress you are making toward reaching your goals, making thoughtfully considered adjustments as events and conditions warrant.

This material should be regarded as general or educational information on healthcare or Social Security considerations and is not intended to provide specific healthcare or social security advice. If you have questions regarding your particular situation, please contact your legal or tax advisor.