John Ng

In 1915 Charles Edward Merrill founded Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) with Edmund C. Lynch in Baltimore, Maryland. The modern Merrill Lynch was formed in 1940 through mergers with E.A. Pierce & Cassatt and, soon after, Fenner & Beane. In 1973, Merrill Lynch adopted a holding company format, with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. as the parent and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith as the operating subsidiary. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. (MLAM) was created as an integral business unit in the Merrill Lynch family in 1976. Fund Asset Management, doing business as Mercury Asset Management, was acquired in December 1997. In 2000, MLAM and Mercury were combined under the name Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. MLAM manages the Merrill Lynch family of mutual funds, as and acts as sub-advisor to other mutual funds.

BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (BFM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a direct subsidiary of BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BFM manages assets for institutional and high net-worth clients, separate accounts, pooled investment vehicles, private investment funds and US registered investment companies.