The encyclopedia · Finance & Accounting · Financial decision · 1999–2001
Merrill Lynch modeled client behavior to price its answer to online brokers
Merrill's models showed $200M–$1B revenue at risk from online brokers; Integrated Choice added $22B net new assets and won the 2001 Edelman Award.
Merrill Lynch
the move
In late 1998 Merrill Lynch and other full-service brokers were under assault: electronic trading and commoditized commissions threatened the advice-and-guidance model. Merrill could either defend its old pricing or offer investors real choices.
A cross-functional team built two models to evaluate alternative product structures and prices, simulating how individual clients would behave under each. The models showed revenue at risk ranging from $200 million to $1 billion, which quantified what a wrong move would cost and what the new offering needed to capture.
Merrill launched Integrated Choice, the resulting tiered offering. By year-end 2000 the new offer held $83 billion in client assets, brought in $22 billion in net new assets, and added $80 million in incremental fee and margin revenue — and INFORMS gave the analysis the 2001 Franz Edelman Award.
why it works
- Modeling client response priced the escape route before Merrill committed to it.
- The $200M–$1B risk figure made the strategic case at the top of the firm.
- Tiered pricing let clients choose online convenience or advice — and kept both in the firm.
what transfers
When a business model is threatened, model the customers' choices and price the way out before you launch — a quantified risk range turns a defensive scramble into a deliberate strategy.
what came after
Integrated Choice became Merrill's standard offering: by year-end 2000 it held $83 billion in client assets and produced $22 billion in net new assets and $80 million in incremental revenue. The 2001 Edelman Award cited it for changing the financial services landscape and seizing the marketplace initiative.
references
- Pricing Analysis for Merrill Lynch Integrated Choice (Interfaces abstract via IDEAS/RePEc)
- Merrill Lynch — 2001 Franz Edelman Award winner citation
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