Merrill Lynch named best for europe broker sales and equity derivatives by 2001 Reuters/Tempest survey

MERRILL LYNCH NAMED BEST FOR EUROPE BROKER SALES AND EQUITY DERIVATIVES BY 2001 REUTERS/TEMPEST SURVEY LONDON, Jan 25 - Merrill Lynch was ranked the leading firm for Broker Sales by European fund managers and the top firm for Equity Derivatives by European corporations according to the Reuters/Tempest 2001 European Larger Company Survey. "These results confirm that the investments and resources we've dedicated to serving European clients are yielding strong results," said Sergio Ermotti, Merrill Lynch's head of equity markets for Europe, Middle East and Africa. "Our strengths in innovation and new ideas correspond well with our most important clients' needs for value-added ideas and advice." The recently released survey of equity research, sales and trading, and investment banking tracks the responses of 187 fund managers and 278 corporations across 14 European countries. Merrill Lynch ranked highly in many categories. Here are some points of note: * Merrill Lynch was named Best Broker Sales Team for the third consecutive year, extending the firm's lead slightly over last year. The firm's generalist and specialist sales teams both ranked number one with ratings improvements year over year. * In a new category this year, the firm was ranked overall Best Broker for Equity Derivatives according to 53 corporations representing $1.6 trillion of assets under management. Merrill Lynch was first or second in each of the five equity derivative subcategories, execution (OTC/Listed), sales (OTC/listed), and research. * Research and ideas remained the most important factor for clients choosing brokers. In this year's survey, which showed a divergence between institutional and corporate clients' research preferences, Merrill Lynch research emerged as consistent and balanced. The firm was the only house with a top three ranking in both overall research categories, moving to second according to corporations and retaining the third ranking according to fund managers. * The firm's sales trading desk was rated best overall. - MORE - 2 - ML Tops in Reuters/Tempest survey Notes to Editors 1. Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 44 countries and total client assets of approximately $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. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets. For more information on Merrill Lynch, go to www.ml.com. 2. Merrill Lynch is the top-rated financial research firm in the world, with over 800 analysts in 26 countries covering the performance of more than 3,700 companies worldwide. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Merrill Lynch has more than 200 analysts covering over 1,500 companies. # # # ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/01/25/20010125BIT01080/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/01/25/20010125BIT01080/bit0002.pdf