As Americans continue to regain confidence following the economic downturn, Bank of America’s latest Merrill Edge Report is showing that mass affluent investors are buckling down, making retirement a greater priority and cutting debt in favor of long-term investments.

When it comes to financial goals, achieving peace of mind is seven times more important than accumulating wealth (88 percent and 12 percent, respectively) to adults age 45 and older, according to a new Merrill Lynch study, conducted in partnership with Age Wave. The study found that retirement has been redefined – with people expecting to live and often work longer than any preceding generation, and taking different approaches to preparing for more...

Global investors are moderating their earlier exuberance in the face of somewhat lower conviction over global growth, though they remain positive towards equity markets overall, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for April.

Increasing confidence in the outlook for the U.S. dollar and U.S. equities is offsetting investors’ renewed concerns over China, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for March.

Bank of America today introduced Merrill Edge^® Roadmap™¹, a new way to help mass affluent clients pursue their financial goals through personalized advice and guidance from a licensed Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisor™. Merrill Edge Roadmap provides a simple way for clients to understand their current financial situation, document their financial goals, and create an action plan to help them pursue those goals. more...

Bank of America Merrill Lynch today unveiled Instinct Natural™, an enhancement to its alternative trading system (ATS) Instinct X, aimed at increasing opportunities to execute block trades while minimizing market impact.

Global investors have entered 2013 in buoyant but not yet exuberant mood, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for January. The new year sees asset allocators assigning more funds to equities than at any time since February 2011, while their confidence in the world’s economic outlook has reached its most positive level since April 2010.

Confidence in a recovering global economy is extending into 2013 as investor fears surrounding the fiscal cliff eased, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for December.

BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research today released its 2013 Year Ahead market outlook, saying that a cloud of uncertainty is likely to overhang the markets through a painful and protracted resolution of the U.S. fiscal cliff. However, global economic growth is expected to pick up steam in the second half of the year, ultimately surprising on the upside and pushing the S&P 500 Index to 1600, a new all-time high.

The global water services industry is set to double to $1 trillion in annual revenues by 2020 as companies address the growing problem of water scarcity, according to a new BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research report called “A Blue Revolution – global water” based on the collective views of 35 analysts, covering 60 companies from 18 countries.

Among wealthy households, average giving as a percentage of household income held steady at approximately 9 percent between 2009 and 2011, despite the challenging economic environment, according to the 2012 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth more...

The ongoing drought is the worst in the United States since at least 1956, with 63 percent of the lower 48 states suffering drought conditions at the end of August. While conditions are far from those in the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s, drought conditions are the new normal, according to “Global Drought – Opportunities and Risks,” a new BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research report. It follows thematic megatrend reports from BofA Merrill Lynch more...