Andy Seig has limited to zero credibility left with top tier Merrill advisors left at the firm. When he speaks, nobody listens. When he green lights a new initiative like ‘Project Thunder’ nobody listens. And when he speaks in corporate vague double talk… he’s quickly ignored.
His lack of influence was on display in the last ten days after the announcement of Project Thunder (who came up with that name?). Advisors we spoke to in every corner of the country simply rolled their eyes, while 90% ignored the details of the memo altogether.
Here are several quotes from Merrill advisors we spoke to in the past week:
“My partner and I thought it was laughable. There are no details, no increases to our bottom line in any way. And who came up with that name? It’s a clown show in the C-suite here. Stuff like this only proves it.”
“…it’s more like Tropic Thunder from that guy and his internal bank based PR folks. He’s a puppet of BofA.”
“Wake me up when they announce next year’s grid. If I had to guess, this is window dressing for more shenanigans to our comp, I’d even bet on it.”
“Nobody listens anymore. There is no trust. Zero culture. Using the term ‘Thunder’ as a marketing ploy is even more lame.”
It seems that cynical is the word of the day to describe the vibe at Merrill Lynch. And the proof remains in the pudding, or in this case, data. Large teams leave every week. Every single week.
And we hear, that teams that are in the fence are waiting for another shoe to drop with comp grid changes to give them the final push out the door. Based on recent history, you should probably bet on it.
