Very professional company - Analyst Merrill Employee Review

4.0
20 Jul 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Joining the company went very smoothly, as the HR was very professional and responsive. They are very clear in communicating requirements, compensation benefits, etc. If I needed anything from them, there's an HR Live Chat feature I could use to reach out and connect to them, and I usually get a response very fast. If I ever had IT problems, there's a 24-hour hotline with very knowledgeable and helpful staff. The company also cares about social service--it has a budget for CSR.

Cons

Although there are many good points about HR and its efficiency and effectiveness, there is no feeling of personal touch. I never really had an HR meet me and walk me around the building premises. There's no person to turn to. There was a delayed effort in getting HR from HK introduced to us and getting our feedback on career progress. There were efforts on helping/guiding staff on internal role changes, but the process does not seem easy. There's no family day or Christmas/Chinese New Year parties and no general feeling of camaraderie among the colleagues. The only way I met colleagues from other departments was from the time I had spent at the public area and from volunteer efforts. It's not a very flexible company. There are too many strict compliance regulations--that are good but some aren't very practical. There are too many mandatory online training on compliance.

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5.0
23 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great work life balance, benefits, and compensation package in my opinion

Cons

Advisor Development Program could use some tweaks to make the program smoother for people in the last phase.

2.0
16 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You’ll get a decent salary for about 18 months.

Cons

The MFSA role is not great if you are trying to do real financial planning. For the amount of work it takes to build a business from scratch, the pay and grid are mediocre. If you are willing to do the hard work of sourcing and finding clients, you are better off taking the independent route by opening your own practice or joining a small boutique RIA where your profit sharing will likely be much higher than what Merrill wants to give you. They are also notoriously known for moving the goalposts. Recently they raised the threshold from $250K to $500K for assets that qualify for payout. That means you no longer get paid on inflows between $250K and $500K, which is crazy. I see it as more of a stepping stone job. But if you are going to put in the effort to bring in assets and build relationships, you might as well work in the RIA or independent model where you keep more of the revenue you generate. They are extremely focused on bringing in money. Yet when you ask to pursue designations like the CFP or CFA, they often push back. The MFSA position is really designed to bring in assets. And if you eventually fail to bring in the $25M needed to graduate from the ADP program, they will either move you into the academy, shift you into a CSA role, send you back to Merrill Edge, or ask you to leave.

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