Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Names Bruce E. Wolfe Head of Global Strategy

Business Wire, Nov 7, 2000

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2000

Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) today said Bruce E. Wolfe has been appointed managing director of global strategy for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM).

Mr. Wolfe joins Merrill Lynch from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, where he served as director of strategic planning and product development. In this new role, he will work closely with MLIM's executive committee to refine and execute its business strategy.

"Bruce is a major addition to Merrill Lynch's global asset management team," said Jeffrey M. Peek, executive vice president of Merrill Lynch and president of MLIM. "These are exciting times for both MLIM and the asset management industry as a whole, and Bruce will play a critical role in developing and expanding our position as the world's first truly global asset manager."

Mr. Wolfe, who reports directly to Mr. Peek, is responsible for devising a business strategy that will accelerate financial growth and further integrate MLIM's global capabilities. To attract and retain clients, the business strategy must set clear achievement goals for geographic markets, investment products, distribution channels and ecommerce capabilities.

"Refining our business priorities will help us better align our organizational structure, decision-making capabilities and resource allocation to meet our long-term goals," Mr. Peek said. "We have made great strides in these areas in the past years, and the addition of Mr. Wolfe drives us further along the road to being the world's pre-eminent investment manager."

In the past several years, Merrill Lynch's asset management capabilities have undergone significant transformation. The firm acquired Hotchkis and Wiley, a largely institutional asset manager based in Los Angeles, in 1996 and the following year acquired London-based Mercury Asset Management, one of the world's most respected investment managers serving primarily corporate and institutional clients. The acquisitions complemented Merrill Lynch's existing asset management business - Merrill Lynch Asset Management - which was comprised primarily of retail mutual funds.

During the past year, all facets of the firm's asset management businesses have been combined into a single organization and under one brand name: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Today, MLIM is one of the world's largest investment managers, with more than $570 billion under management. It offers a full array of equity and fixed-income, active and passive products to broad retail and institutional client bases around the globe.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 44 countries and total client assets of about $1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. For more information on Merrill Lynch, go to www.ml.com.

Note to editors:

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Wolfe also worked at Price Waterhouse Management Consulting Services (1993-1996); New York Consulting Partners (1991-1993); TRW (1986-1989); and Raytheon Company (1985-1986). He received a bachelor's of science degree in materials science engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in 1985 and an MBA in production and operations management from Columbia Business School in 1991.