Can Merrill Lynch's Thundering Herd--its army of stock brokers--survive under Bank of America? CEO Ken Lewis is betting that it will, but not everyone is so sure. The conventional wisdom as of late is that independent advisers have a marketing advantage now, given the woes of the traditional wirehouses. The reputations of the likes of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch's brokerage units may have suffered as the subprime crisis embroiled their parents. Merrill just reported its fifth straight loss. Some think the time is ripe for both clients and brokers to leave. So a few brows were raised when Merrill Lynch reported that its wealth management unit's assets under management fell to $1.5 trillion last quarter from $1.6 trillion. This as Charles Schwab managed to boost assets, reports the AP. But the number of Merrill brokers actually climbed a bit. It's way too early to tell if the brand has really suffered.

For more:
- here's the AP article

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