References to "Merrill Lynch" are references to any company in the Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated group of companies, which are wholly owned by Bank of America Corporation.
Rule 606 of SEC Regulation NMS requires broker-dealers receiving non-directed client orders to publicly disclose, on a quarterly basis, the top execution venues to which such orders are routed for execution. Broker-dealers also must disclose material aspects of the relationships they maintain with the identified execution venues. The Rule 606(a) reports for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated are available for public review by
Where this communication constitutes a financial promotion it is issued and approved for distribution in the UK by Merrill Lynch International only to, and directed at, (a) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (b) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(1) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is only available to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. The UK compensation scheme and rules for the protection of private customers do not apply to the services provided or products sold by non-UK regulated affiliates.
In respect of U.K. investors, certain Merrill Lynch entities, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (MLPF&S), have no place of business in the U.K. and are not authorised or regulated by the UK. The U.K. rules for the protection of retail clients and the U.K. Financial Services Compensation Scheme do not apply to such business. As against such entities, the regulatory regime governing an investor's rights will be different to that of the U.K. Investors may, however, be entitled to similar protection in the jurisdiction in which the relevant entity is organised or resident.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). An investor brochure that describes the protections that may be provided by MSRB rules and how to file a complaint with an appropriate regulatory authority is available on the MSRB website at
In the interest of increasing transparency regarding Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated’s (“Merrill Lynch”) execution services in light of recent periods of extreme market volatility, we are providing you with additional information about our order handling procedures. Consistent with our duty of best execution, we handle your orders so as to obtain competitive execution prices, we regularly review the quality of our executions, we seek the most favorable terms reasonably available for your orders under prevailing market conditions, and we seek to execute your marketable orders fully and promptly. During volatile or extreme market conditions, we may determine to make changes to our order handling procedures when warranted, including cancelling orders or placing restrictions on your accounts, and we may do so without prior notice to you. If we determine to make changes to our order handling procedures, we will do so in a manner that is fair to our customers, consistent and reasonable, with a goal of preserving the continued execution of our customers’ orders consistent with our best execution obligations.
