The Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch

The Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch
Making complex decisions simple and essential tasks easy
for retirement, benefit, and executive plan managers and their employees
Merrill Lynch is committed to being a trusted advisor —— both to our plan
sponsor clients and the employees that work for them. Our integrated suite
of benefit solutions provides the services our clients want in the manner that
works best for them. We put the total resources of Merrill Lynch to work,
offering access to an open architecture investment platform coupled with
holistic advisory and consultation programs to help our clients mitigate risk
and manage their fiduciary responsibility.
Our approach is simple and time-tested. We work with our clients to design
programs that meet their specific needs and deliver innovative solutions to
enable them —— and their employees —— to make educated choices that help
ensure financial success and the ability to “Achieve Life.”
Focusing on your plan and the needs of your employees
Simplifying the Plan
The Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch partners
with businesses to help individuals achieve
financial success. We make complex decisions
simple and essential tasks easy —— even automatic
—— for both employers and employees.
The Retirement Group is a team of benefit
professionals focused on your needs. We take
the time to get to know you, your company and
your employees. Then we bring together great
ideas and bright people to work with you in
crafting solutions —— a team of professionals to
help you create, monitor and manage any or all
of your retirement, benefit, executive and equity
compensation programs.
Looked at another way, the Retirement Group is
like getting several exceptional service providers
all rolled into one. Often, getting exemplary
products, services and access to a broad range
of investments means working with multiple
providers. At Merrill Lynch, we’re proud to offer
comprehensive solutions for:
Defined Contribution Plans —— 401(k),
Profit Sharing, SEP and SIMPLE Plans.
Defined Benefit Plans —— Traditional and
Cash Balance Plans.
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans.
403(b) and 457 Programs (Available through
our MLConnect and alliance partners).
Equity Award Services.
Executive Services.
Institutional Trust, Custody and Pension
Payment Services.
Rollover, Traditional and Roth Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Health Savings Accounts.
Section 529 College Savings Plans.
• The Merrill Lynch Participant Service Center has been certified for providing
“An Outstanding Customer Service Experience” for five years in a row
(2005 – 2009) by J.D. Power and Associates.1
• Our retirement plan participant statements consistently receive the Dalbar Seal
of Excellence. The Defined Contribution statement has been rated “Excellent” for
the past 10 years and the Total Retirement statement for the past three years.2
• For four years in a row (2005 – 2008), almost 90 percent of our clients said they
would recommend the Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch as a provider.3
2
Sponsor’s Job
We help plan sponsors:
Show employees the value of all their
retirement, benefit and compensation program
related benefits —— by offering information and
modeling tools that demonstrate how various
plans work together to increase the likelihood
of financial success.
Meet fiduciary requirements and reduce
litigation exposure —— by providing helpful
guidance and drafting many required filings for
your review and signature.
Enhance the effectiveness of your plans ——
by providing regular analysis of your programs
and personal advice to executives regarding
their investments, equity awards and deferred
compensation.
Choose investment menus and funding
mechanisms —— from a wide array of options,
for all types of plans.
Focus on key issues —— by handling day-to-day
plan services and employee questions for you,
then keeping you abreast of the latest trends and
best practices in the industry.
Administer the complexities of equity award
programs —— including stock options, restricted
stock, stock appreciation rights and
performance awards.
Meet the financial reporting obligations
associated with equity awards ——
by providing you with robust tools to help
you comply with FAS 123(R).
Facilitate the trading strategies of
your executives —— through the use of
Rule 10b5-1 plans.
Meet SEC reporting requirements —— by offering
same-day communication of company stock
sales for Section 16 officers and directors.
Measure performance —— from the return on
investments, to call center service levels, to the
effect of communications on plan participation.
In brief, we make your job easier and enhance
understanding, utilization and perceptions of the
benefits offered by your organization.
1
For certification status, a call center operation must perform within the top 20 percent of customer service,
based on J.D. Power and Associates’ cross industry customer satisfaction research. For J.D. Power and
Associates Certified Call Center Program information, visit www.jdpower.com.
2
DALBAR, Inc., a leading financial services research firm, annually reviews Defined Contribution and
Total Retirement statements from a variety of financial services providers.
3
Ratings are based on results from plan sponsors who replied to the annual PLANSPONSOR DC Survey
questionnaires. For additional survey details, please refer to the November issues of PLANSPONSOR
Magazine or visit www.plansponsor.com. PLANSPONSOR is a registered service mark of Asset
International, Inc.
3
Get information online, by phone, or by automated response
The AssistanceYou Want,
Merrill Lynch’s integrated approach to retirement,
benefit and compensation programs means our
Web site, service representatives and participant
communications all work together to give you,
and your employees, complete and concise
information about every plan we serve ——
defined contribution, defined benefit, equity or
deferred compensation.
And, most importantly, you —— and your employees
—— get the level of assistance you want, when
you want it, using your preferred method of
communication.
Merrill Lynch is committed to providing faster
and safer ways for participants to receive their
statements, confirmations and prospectuses
through online delivery channels.
4
The Benefits OnLine® Web site ——
In one secure location, virtually all
Merrill Lynch benefits accounts can be
accessed, transactions made, savings plans
created, tools utilized, and comprehensive
investment and educational information
viewed. Individuals can also access integrated
information and statements for all their
employer-sponsored plan accounts. As plan
sponsor, you can view individual accounts,
analyze overall plan statistics and access
standardized and custom e-reports.
When You Want It
Our speech-enabled Interactive
Voice Response system —— featuring
Participant Service Center
representatives —— available from 8 a.m.
Virtual Hold RendezvousTM and Virtual Hold
ConciergeTM functionality,4 responds to
simple voice commands —— or choices made
using the telephone keypad. Participants can
obtain balances, get quotes or investment
information, access information about all their
employer-sponsored plans, and for most plans
—— perform transactions in their accounts. Using
Concierge and Rendezvous, our latest offerings,
participants can even request a call back from a
representative during peak call volumes instead
of holding on the line, or schedule a time to
speak with a representative at a later date.
to 7 p.m. (ET) on all days the New York Stock
Exchange is open, providing personal service to
your employees. Staffed with approximately 300
Series 7 and Series 63 licensed professionals,
these highly trained specialists stand ready to
serve you and your employees. We even feature
a dedicated team of Retirement Education
specialists who specialize in assisting employees
with analyzing distribution options and/or making
rollover decisions. Our facility leverages the latest
call center technology and desktop functionality,
resulting in consistent, high-quality service.
At Merrill Lynch, we are committed to continually providing faster and safer ways for participants to
receive their statements, confirmations and prospectuses through online delivery channels. As the
plan sponsor, you have the option to choose online delivery as the default for your entire plan, or
for a select population. And participants may make delivery elections quickly and easily via Benefits
OnLine virtually 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In either case, you can rest assured that employees
have secure access to their information when they want it —— and how they want it.
And of course, our financial advisors and dedicated relationship managers are also available to help
with investment strategies, educating your employees, and decision making. No matter what plan or
access point they choose, your participants will receive comprehensive, integrated information and
guidance.
With our innovative, all-encompassing “Merrill@Work” program, you can provide
employees holistic advice, education and assistance, not only with their company
benefit and compensation programs, but with personal finance issues like budgeting,
asset management, debt management and saving for college.
4
Virtual Hold Rendezvous and Virtual Hold Concierge are trademarks of Virtual Hold® Technology.
5
A full range of investment offerings and services
Extensive Choices
Merrill Lynch offers an extensive array
of mutual funds, collective trusts,
and other investment options
from leading investment
management firms,
providing maximum flexibility
in investment menu design.
6
... Flexible Solutions
We offer a comprehensive range of investment
solutions tailored to the needs of your business,
your plan and your employees —— from Fortune
500 corporations to small businesses.
Merrill Lynch offers an extensive array
of mutual funds, collective trusts and other
investment options from leading investment
management firms and an open architecture
investment policy, allowing for maximum
flexibility in investment menu design.
Our proprietary funds are managed by BlackRock,
one of the world’s largest investment management
firms. BlackRock provides a range of investments
including mutual funds, collective trusts, and
individually tailored portfolio strategies.
With our expansive lineup of proprietary
and non-proprietary options to choose from,
you can create a full range of investment
offerings and services tailored to your needs
and those of your employees.
Offered through a partnership with an
independent registered investment advisor,
The Newport Group, our MenuAdvisor®
service can help you simplify the investment
menu selection process. MenuAdvisor
offers professional advice and assistance
with analyzing your plan menu, creating
an investment policy statement, choosing
appropriate plan investments and monitoring
and managing your investment menu.
7
Practical, unbiased answers to employee questions
Helping Your Employees
Defined Contribution Solutions
Less than 20 percent of American workers say they are “very confident” about having enough money
for retirement.5 Making it easy to enroll, change contribution levels, choose investments and make good
decisions is an essential part of our strategy for any participant-directed plan. At Merrill Lynch we embody
this approach with a comprehensive array of information, education and advice tools.
We offer investor education and targeted communications through our Achieve Life program, which
encourage employees to take action using hard-hitting campaigns. The messages are aimed toward
those who need to make a decision or take steps that may better prepare them for retirement. Our
targeted campaigns use a combination of eye-catching graphics, memorable messages, and multiple
impressions to get results.
Important messages are reinforced through written and on-line communications, worksite meetings and
posters, recorded presentations and pod casts. Information is also provided in person or by phone through
a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor, and special assistance is available for employees who are transitioning
to retirement or to a new employer.
Employees are
kept informed via
printed and online
communications,
worksite meetings
and posters,
recorded messages
and pod casts.
5
6
8
Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 18th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey (2007).
Merrill Lynch Targeted Communication Campaigns, March 2007.
“Achieve Life”
Targeted campaigns
have encouraged employees
to save more ——
12% of targeted employees
increased their contributions.
The average contribution
rate increased from
2.8% to 6.5%.6
9
Simple-source investment solutions
We offer simple-source investments that allow employees to diversify and regularly rebalance their 401(k)
with just one decision.
Merrill Lynch Advice Access provides specific, unbiased savings and investment recommendations
to each 401(k) participant. This unique service answers employee questions like, “How much should
I save?” and “What investments should I choose?”. Recommendations are developed by an independent
investment expert, Ibbotson Associates, based on information provided by you, the plan sponsor.
Recommendations can be further personalized based on input from the participant. And Merrill Lynch
stands behind the advice given by accepting fiduciary responsibility for delivery of the service.
Merrill Lynch helps your participants make the
investment decisions that best suit
their goals and risk tolerance.
10
Helping participants diversify and rebalance
PersonalManagerSM, offered through Merrill Lynch Advice Access, chooses investments for the
employee, then regularly and automatically rebalances and reallocates the employee’s account.
Designed for those who prefer to have their 401(k) professionally managed, PersonalManager is also an
excellent default investment, quickly assisting those who fail to make an initial investment decision.
Over 80% of participants using Merrill Lynch Advice Access are using PersonalManager. And,
approximately half of the plans offering Merrill Lynch Advice Access are using PersonalManager
as a default investment.7
The GoalManagerSM Portfolio Rebalancing Service offers both risk based and target date
portfolio models. Employees can use the tools we provide to assess their personal risk tolerance,
and then choose an appropriate risk based portfolio model. Or, they can simply select their planned
retirement date, and then invest in the corresponding target date portfolio model. Either way, their
diversified investment will regularly and automatically be rebalanced, ensuring employees stay on the
right track. Target date portfolio models are also automatically refined to reduce risk as the employee
approaches retirement. Both types of GoalManager portfolio models use the plan’s underlying funds, for
which you regularly perform due diligence, to create a diversified8 investment alternative.
PersonalManager and GoalManager can both be Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIAs),
which can help provide your firm important fiduciary protection. Merrill Lynch also offers a wide
array of additional QDIA-eligible target date, balanced and managed account options.
Target date investments, offered through 20 of our fund alliance partners, provide another asset
allocation solution. These investments, which generally consist of proprietary funds from the investment
company managing the overall fund, adjust the mix of investments to become more conservative as the
employee approaches the selected target retirement date.
The Merrill Lynch Self-Direct BrokerageSM service accommodates those employees who may
want to choose from a much wider range of mutual funds or trade individual stocks, bonds and even
more sophisticated investments within their company-sponsored plan. With self-direct brokerage, you
can provide more choice to those who need it, as well as access to investment experts, while keeping
your core investment menu simple.
7
8
Merrill Lynch plan data as of December 31, 2008.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss.
11
Making it easy or making it automatic
Automatic Programs—— People don’t
always act in their own best interest ——
sometimes lacking the inclination or the skill to
take necessary steps to prepare for retirement.9
Additionally, employees who lack the time to plan
for retirement often pass up valuable benefits
by failing to take action. Recent regulatory and
legislative changes have made the time ripe for
“automated” programs. As part of your defined
contribution plan, Merrill Lynch can help you
implement:
Automatic enrollment.
Automatic investment selection.
Automatic contribution increases.
Automatic investment management
in retirement.
Like cruise control on an automobile, these
automatic features are designed to assist
employees in reaching their retirement
“destination.” As the plan sponsor, you can decide
to add any or all of these features to your plan,
and your employees are free to use them, or not.
It’s your decision —— and theirs. Each of these
features is designed to help your employees on
their way to a financially successful retirement.
And, by providing the opportunity to increase
participation at all levels of your organization,
automated programs may help you meet certain
regulatory and fiduciary obligations.
9
12
2007 Department of Labor National Compensation Survey.
The “make it easy or make it automatic”
philosophy also guides our service model for
defined benefit plans, equity plans, executive
plans, rollovers and more.
Our professionals help make it easier for
you to assess, refine and manage all your
benefit programs in an integrated fashion.
We can help you evaluate the performance
of investments in your pension plan, or
choose the best funding mechanism for
your nonqualified plan.
Our trading and reporting platforms make
it easier for issuers and executives to
properly track, execute and report equity
awards and stock sales.
We do our best to simplify every instance
of decision-making and implementation for
employers and employees, no matter what type
of plan or savings vehicle is being utilized.
Easing the burden on plan sponsors and employees
Defined Benefit Plans
Whether you’re looking for a bundled solution,
individual services, or administration of a “frozen”
plan, we can ease the burden of managing your
defined benefit program. Through an alliance
with Milliman, a leading provider of actuarial
consulting and an innovator in recordkeeping
technology, we offer:
Administration and recordkeeping.
Actuarial services.
Trust, custody and pension payment services.
Government reporting and compliance services.
Merrill Lynch’s experienced professionals
will work closely with you to help you
evaluate investment alternatives, including:
More than 4,500 mutual funds from more
than 133 fund families.
Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs).
The Merrill Lynch Consults® service ——
offering you the expertise of investment
managers prescreened by Merrill Lynch
and performance measurement through
the Asset Information and Measurement
Service (AIM®).
The Merrill Lynch Strategic Portfolio
Advisor Program® (SPA) —— providing you
a comprehensive package of consulting,
investment and account services, as well as
performance measurement through AIM.
Merrill Lynch also offers non-discretionary trust
services through nine regional trust companies
located throughout the United States. Merrill
Lynch Bank & Trust Co., FSB can serve as trustee
for your plan and provide complete employee
benefit trust services.
Our participant services are diverse and are
available online and by phone. And, information
on all your plans is fully integrated, so employees
can clearly see how their 401(k), pension, equity,
nonqualified deferred compensation and other
benefits work together.
Benefits OnLine, our integrated Web site,
allows employees to:
Enroll online.
Generate a pension benefit calculation.
Establish or change beneficiaries.
Review and print information, including a
“plan highlights” brochure and summary plan
description.
View and print special forms.
Use retirement planning and modeling tools.
Review current market value of accounts.
Additionally, registered representatives in our
Participant Service Center are available by phone,
toll-free, to answer questions and assist your
employees.
We do our best to simplify every instance of decision-making and
implementation for employers and employees.
13
Meeting the needs of your top executives
Executive Services That
At Merrill Lynch, we understand that board
members and top executives have high
expectations and that outstanding service is
essential. We have the people, the processes
and the technology to ensure the needs of
these key constituents are met. We also make
it easier for both plan sponsors and participants
to meet complex regulatory and reporting
requirements associated with deferred
compensation and equity award plans.
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
Financing the liability and managing the cash
flow required is critical to your deferred
compensation plan. We’ll help you review
your financing options and explore the
plan’s overall effectiveness. Our investment
consultants can provide the data and insights
you need to make a final decision based
on your company’s specific situation.
Working in partnership with Merrill Lynch,
your company will be in a position to better
predict cash flow requirements, or the
value of informal funding solutions, such as
Corporate Owned Life Insurance (COLI). We
can also work with you to develop financing
strategies to address pre-tax or after-tax
liabilities. And, our investment consultants
can provide the insights, experience and data
you need to make a final financing decision
based on your company’s specific situation.
14
We also provide:
A single point of contact and integrated
service experience for all plans ——
Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit,
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
and Equity.
A designated team of registered
representatives in our Participant Service
Center who are available to answer questions,
conduct detailed analyses of various options,
and execute distribution elections.
Web-based enrollment and
distribution management.
Asset allocation and rebalancing to
meet informal funding requirements.
Monthly asset and liability reporting to
facilitate accounting and financial reporting.
Class year accounting.
Tracking and reporting of vesting schedules
and beneficiary information.
Executive and Equity Compensation
When you choose Merrill Lynch as the service
provider for your equity compensation program,
you’re getting more than just brokerage and
recordkeeping expertise. We take it a step
further by partnering with you to help your
executives understand their total portfolio and
make decisions designed to protect, diversify
and monetize their holdings.
Exceed Expectations
Our dedicated and experienced corporate
service teams and financial advisors can
help your company executives with:
Managing equity awards.
Designing and implementing a
Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Creating individual investment portfolios
and financial strategies.
Executing transactions.
Properly reporting officer and director stock
purchases and sales for insider transactions.
Merrill Lynch’s AwardChoice® program
provides an equity compensation solution for your
company, combined with Merrill Lynch’s service
and brokerage capabilities for your employees.
AwardChoice supports a variety
of equity awards, including:
Nonqualified and incentive stock options.
Restricted stock.
Restricted stock units.
Dividend equivalent units.
Performance shares.
Performance units.
Stock appreciation rights
(net settled options).
Whether you prefer to recordkeep your equity
compensation program in-house or outsource the
recordkeeping to Merrill Lynch, our AwardChoice
program offers a solution to meet your needs:
Full-Service —— a fully integrated and automated
solution for plan sponsors and participants,
including access to FAS trak(r)®, our webenabled financial reporting solution, powered
by Equity Analytics LLC (also known as
Equity Methods), an indirect, wholly-owned
subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Linked Execution —— your company retains
responsibility for managing and recordkeeping
your equity award program, while taking
advantage of Merrill Lynch’s robust
support channels for your participants.
Direct Execution —— your company manages
and recordkeeps your program in-house, while
giving participants access to experienced
Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors.
15
Solutions for small businesses and individuals
Individual Retirement
Small Business Solutions
Retirement Income Service
For businesses with fewer than 100 employees,
we offer a range of plan design, administrative
and investment solutions —— from managed
accounts to our extensive list of alliance partners.
Options include Owner-only 401(k) plans for
business owners and their spouses, plus SEP,
SIMPLE, Profit-Sharing, 401(k), 403(b) and
Defined Benefit Plans.
The Merrill Lynch Retirement Income Service® is
a comprehensive retirement income management
solution that helps individuals plan for, generate,
and manage the income needed to realize
their retirement vision. Our service simplifies
the complexities of income planning and cash
management and integrates customized income,
investment and portfolio withdrawal plans with
long-term retirement objectives and day-today cash flow management needs. With the
Retirement Income Service, individuals get
quarterly and annual progress reports to help
them stay on track and achieve their retirement
goals.
Individual Savings Solutions
Merrill Lynch offers both traditional and
Roth IRAs, which your employees may use to
supplement their employer-sponsored plan
savings or utilize to consolidate accumulated
assets from previous employer-sponsored
programs.
Health Savings Accounts
A Merrill Lynch Health Savings Account is a trust
or custodial account that offers participants a
Federal tax-free way to pay for current and future
health expenses and invest for retirement. If you
offer a high-deductible health plan, health savings
accounts may be appropriate for your employees.
Merrill Lynch offers other plans and services to help your
participants achieve the life they dream about.
16
and Savings Programs
529 College Savings Programs
Merrill Lynch-offered Section 529 college
savings programs provide a tax-advantaged
way to invest for the higher education expenses
of a designated beneficiary. These programs,
administered by states, allow any U.S. resident,
regardless of age, income or state of residence,
to establish an account. Parents, grandparents,
other relatives or even a family friend can do
so. Participants can change beneficiaries at
any time to another family member (certain
restrictions apply).
Before you invest in a 529 plan, request an
official statement and read it carefully. The
official statement contains more complete
information, including investment objectives,
charges, expenses, and risks of investing
in the 529 plan, which you should consider
carefully before investing.
17
Integrated benefits for your company and your employees
The Retirement Group
Partnering with businesses to help
individuals achieve financial success.
Through our nationwide network of financial
advisors, Merrill Lynch provides a broad range of
savings and investment programs to employers
and individual investors. As a firm, Merrill Lynch
manages more than $300 billion in retirement
and educational savings assets in the U.S.10
The Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch handles
more than 37,000 corporate retirement plans
and more than 6.1 million individual accounts.
Our financial advisors and other staff members
provide a local presence in communities
throughout the world. We work with firms of
all sizes, from sole proprietorships, to small
businesses, to multi-national corporations.
10
18
Merrill Lynch data as of December 31, 2008.
Defined Contribution Plans
Innovative investments, investment selection and
investment management, including separately
managed accounts and custom portfolios.
Comprehensive employee education, information
and advice solutions.
Investment menu design.
Integrated participant services, accessible
on the Web, through our Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) system, or through our
Participant Service Center.
Assistance with compliance and fiduciary
requirements.
Plan services and recordkeeping.
Defined Benefit Plans
Innovative investments, investment selection
and investment management.
Actuarial services.
Trust, custody and pension
payment services.
Integrated participant services, accessible
on the Web, through our Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) system, or through our
Participant Service Center.
Government reporting and compliance assistance.
Plan services and recordkeeping.
at Merrill Lynch
Nonqualified Deferred
Compensation Plans
Personalized advisory services
for executives.
Flexibility in asset management services
and solutions.
Tax-advantaged funding solutions.
Trust and recordkeeping solutions.
Integrated participant services, accessible
on the Web, through our Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) system, or through our
Participant Service Center.
Institutional Trust Services
Investments, investment selection and
investment management through experienced
Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors.
Performance measurement via AIM, delivered by
your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor.
Trust and custody services.
Pension payment services and tax reporting.
Securities trading and processing, market
valuations and proxy solicitation.
Corporate action monitoring and processing.
Income collection and remittance
on payable date.
Equity Award Services
Personal advice and assistance
for executives.
Innovative investments, investment selection
and investment management.
Integrated participant services, accessible
on the Web, through our Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) system, or through our
Participant Service Center.
Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans.
Class-year or account structure recordkeeping,
payroll coordination, tracking and reporting
services.
Plan consulting and recordkeeping services.
Small Business Solutions
401(k) and Owner-only 401(k) Plans
SEP and SIMPLE Plans
Profit-Sharing Plans
403(b) Plans
Defined Benefit Plans
Individual Savings Solutions
Traditional and Roth Individual
Retirement Accounts
Health Savings Accounts
Section 529 College Savings Plans
19
The Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch:
Helping you and your employees “Achieve Life.”
For more information about the retirement, benefit,
executive and equity compensation programs
offered through Merrill Lynch,
please contact your Merrill Lynch representative
or call toll free 1-888-550-7705.
The Merrill Lynch Advice Access service uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that
participants in the service may be able to achieve their stated goals and/or to identify a range of potential
wealth outcomes that could be realized. Additionally, the recommendations provided by Merrill Lynch
Advice Access do not consider an individual’s comfort level with investment risk, and may include a higher
level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly
advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance, and retirement horizon before accepting
any recommendations made by Merrill Lynch Advice Access. Participants should carefully review the
explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations, which is provided in the
Merrill Lynch Advice Access disclosure statement. It can be obtained through Benefits OnLine or through
your Merrill Lynch representative.
IMPORTANT: The projections or other information shown in the Merrill Lynch Advice Access service regarding
the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results
and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.
For more complete information on the investment options, including their management fees and other charges
and expenses, please consult the prospectuses and other comparable documents. Investors should carefully
consider the investment objectives, risk, charges and expenses before investing. This, and additional information
about the investment options, can be found in the prospectuses, which can be obtained by calling your Merrill
Lynch representative. Please read these documents carefully before investing.
Any information presented about tax considerations affecting client financial transactions or arrangements is
not intended as tax advice and should not be relied on to avoid any tax penalties. Neither Merrill Lynch nor its
Financial Advisors provide tax, accounting or legal advice. Clients should review any planned financial transactions
or arrangements that may have tax, accounting or legal implications with their personal professional advisors.
FOR PLAN SPONSOR USE ONLY
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is a registered broker-dealer and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation.
Merrill Lynch makes available investment products and services sponsored, managed, provided or distributed by companies that are affiliates
of or in which Bank of America Corporation has an economic interest, including Columbia Management, BlackRock, and Nuveen Investments.
Investment Products:
Are Not FDIC Insured
Are Not Bank Guaranteed
May Lose Value
Unless otherwise noted, registered service marks and service marks are the property of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
© 2009 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Member, Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
20081178