Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research Hires Ethan Harris as Head of
North America Economics and David Bianco as Head of U.S. Equity Strategy;
NEW YORK, June 1 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Appoints Michael Hartnett Chairman of the Research Investment Committee
and Chief Global Equity Strategist
Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research today announced the hire
of Ethan Harris as head of North America Economics and David Bianco as head of
U.S. Equity Strategy.
Harris will join from Barclays, formerly Lehman Brothers, where he was the
chief U.S. Economist since 2003. Harris is highly recognized in his field and
most recently ranked No.1 in the 2008 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecasting
survey. He has also been named to the Institutional Investor All-America Fixed-
Income Research Team for the past six years, placing No.2 in 2007. Harris will
be responsible for formulating and communicating the North America economic
outlook and the Fed interest rate call, and will work in partnership with the
Rates Strategy Research team on longer term yield curve forecasts. Harris will
start in September.
Prior to joining Lehman in 1996, Harris worked at the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York for nine years. Previously, he worked for several years as an
international economist at J.P. Morgan. He is also the author of Ben Bernanke's
Fed: The Federal Reserve After Greenspan. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from
Columbia University, where he was a University Fellow.
Bianco will join from UBS where he most recently served as chief U.S.
Equity Portfolio Strategist and head of U.S. Valuation and Accounting Research.
Bianco is well known for his analytical rigor and is a highly ranked
Institutional Investor analyst in both U.S. Portfolio Strategy and Accounting
and Tax Policy. Bianco's key responsibilities will include the delivery of U.S.
Equity Strategy recommendations, including sector, industry, and size and
style, forecasting the S&P500 earnings outlook and authoring thematic research.
Bianco will start in July.
Prior to joining UBS in 2002, Bianco worked at Deutsche Bank as chief U.S.
Quantitative Strategist and at Credit Suisse First Boston as a senior equity
analyst. Bianco has also served on the FASB's Financial Accounting Standards
Advisory Council since 2005. He is a graduate of The Wharton School, at the
University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BS in Economics. He is also a CFA
charterholder.
Harris and Bianco will be based in New York and will report to Adam
Quinton, head of Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Global Macro
Research.
Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research also announced strategic
leadership changes in the structure of the Global Macro group designed to
produce high quality and detailed U.S. and global equity allocation strategies.
These include the appointment of Michael Hartnett as chairman of the Research
Investment Committee (RIC), which is responsible for identifying the best
investment ideas across the Global Research platform and will author the RIC
Report. In this role Hartnett will be supported by Joe Zidle, Global Wealth
Management Strategist. Hartnett was also named chief Global Equity Strategist,
initially tasked with developing a global equity allocation effort working with
senior regional equity strategists across the department.
"I am very pleased to have individuals of Ethan and David's caliber join
our Research team and I would like to thank Michael for agreeing to take on
these additional responsibilities," said Quinton. "All three professionals
bring extensive knowledge of the markets and economy and will instill the
appropriate levels of investment discipline, intellectual drive and client
focus necessary to ensure we create innovative investment ideas that meet the
desire of both individual and institutional clients to diversify their
portfolios and invest locally or globally."
The goal of Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research is to be the
premier global research franchise, providing clients with exceptional service,
value-added investment insights and alpha-generating investment
recommendations. Since January 2009, Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch
Global Research has hired more than 35 analysts globally. The Research team
provides recommendations on nearly 3,000 equity securities and 850 corporate
bond issuers. The group also provides economic forecasts for approximately 60
countries and recommendations on 40 currencies.
Bank of America
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Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies
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broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions
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innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves
clients in more than 150 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE:
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affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A.,
member FDIC. Securities, financial advisory, and other investment banking
activities are performed by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America
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Securities LLC, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, which
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products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May
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SOURCE Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research
CONTACT: Susan McCabe Walley, Bank of America, +1-212-449-0389
susan_mccabe@ml.com
(BAC)
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