Hi Suresh & Harry.....Free Research from MER........
askmerrill.com
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Monday November 2, 7:50 pm Eastern Time
Merrill puts free research on the Web site
NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. on Monday started to put free stock research on its
Web site for a four-month trial period, in a sign that the giant securities firm is starting to navigate
cyberspace.
The firm's Web site --http://askmerrill.com-- features research reports by Merrill's 700 analysts, covering 27 countries and 1,500
companies. The firm's stock research team recently was ranked first by financial publication Institutional Investor, the 17th time the
firm grabbed the top spot in the last 27 years.
Embracing the Internet, however, has not come naturally to the firm, which is the biggest full-service brokerage in the U.S.
One of Merrill's top executives, Vice Chairman John Steffens, has repeatedly railed against Internet trading, describing it as
''dangerous to Americans' financial health.'' Web-based research coupled with advice of Merrill's brokers --or financial consultants, as
the firm calls them-- however, is invaluable, according to a Merrill spokeswoman.
''What (Stephens referred to) was people who are furiously buying and selling while not having a long-term plan,'' said the Merrill
spokeswoman. ''The research is there to show people who are not clients what we have to offer.''
Merrill will start offering clients Internet trading before year's end, the spokeswoman said.
The move to make analysts' reports available to the public ends the monopoly Merrill's brokers had on the firm's research, which often
can move stocks. But brokers will still have an edge because they add value by sorting through the information, and because the
research is only offered for free for the limited four-month period, the spokeswoman said.
''This free research trial is a way of acknowledging the importance of the Internet to our clients,'' Steffens said in a statement on
Monday. ''It's more than a convenient service -- increasingly, it's becoming a vital link between Merrill Lynch, our financial
consultants, and our clients and has become a core part of our business strategy.'' |
