Company History Timeline 

1940
Merrill Lynch reacquires its retail brokerage business by merging with E. A. Pierce & Cassatt, and reverts to a partnership.

The first partners and managers meeting is held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Charles Merrill maps out the guidelines of the modern Merrill Lynch — giving all clients "a square deal" and putting their interests first.

Merrill Lynch opens its first foreign office in Havana, Cuba. The office is closed in 1961.

1941
Merrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce & Cassatt publish an annual report for the fiscal year 1940. The firm is the first on Wall Street to publish such a report.

Charles Merrill publishes the Declaration of Policy, which includes the nine precepts formulated at the partners and managers meeting the previous year. The first states, "The interests of our customers MUST come first" and others expound on Merrill's belief in "Investigate — then Invest."

Merrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce & Cassatt merge with Fenner & Beane, a securities firm originally based in New Orleans. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane becomes the world's largest securities house, with offices in 93 cities and memberships in 28 exchanges.

1943 
MLPF&B assigns the first woman to work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, 18-year-old Helen Hanzelin.

1945
The firm establishes the industry's first training school for account executives, now known as Financial Advisors. To date, the training program remains one of the industry's most rigorous.

1947 
Merrill Lynch prints the first issue of We the People , an internal publication "for and about the employees of Merrill Lynch."

1948
Demonstrating our continuing interest in investor education, Merrill Lynch publishes "What Everyone Ought to Know About This Stock and Bond Business," an advertisement that explains the securities industry and defines such terms as "stocks" and "bonds" for the general public. It is a resounding success, generating 6,000 requests within six months of its publication.

1949
The firm's San Francisco office offers an investment seminar for women. Eight hundred women form a line around the block waiting for the doors to open. Similar forums are subsequently held around the country.

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