Bank of America Merrill Lynch seems bent on creating a stronger, more laden crop of young brokers. This seems like an inevitable way to grow your ranks, as recruiting fully formed brokers has proven prohibitively expensive. And the concept makes sense, as long as the novices stick with the firm.

Merrill Lynch is "adding a new training-focused manager in each of the brokerage's 16 regions. ... The regional managers for the training program, called Practice Management Development, should help to ensure a consistent approach across the country and are expected to all be in place by June," notes Dow Jones.

The company "also is adding more staff to attract, screen and hire trainees and is adding basic and advanced classes to the training curriculum."

Developing home-grown advisors is not easy, as not that many make it through training. But the opportunity is there. In the wake of the financial crisis, recall that Merrill Lynch sharply reduced the number of trainees it took on and then revamped the program in the second half of 2009.

The company has been hiring at a rate of about 1,500 to 2,000 advisers per year since then, and expects to hit that level again in 2011, according to Dow Jones. Merrill Lynch ended 2010 with about 15,500 financial advisers, up from 15,000 a year earlier. It ranks second behind Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which has 18,000 advisors.

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