Filed under: Forecasts , Consumer experience , Competitive strategy , Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW) , Merrill Lynch (MER) This post is part of my series featuring established companies and the smaller, more aggressive or innovative rivals that may eventually succeed them. The expression was good for decades: "Wall Street to Main Street," as Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER ) was indeed the nation's premier brokerage firm to individual investors. That mantle is in serious jeopardy as "Mother Merrill" has encountered a horrible period in its illustrious history. Many wonder if Merrill Lynch will be able to survive as an independent company or be acquired by a larger bank. Merrill Lynch replaced inept CEO Stanley O'Neal back in October 2007 "after one bad quarter." One rule of investing is there is rarely just one bad quarter for a troubled company and Merrill is proving this. The company actually lost over $10 in earnings per share in 2007, and 2008 will be lucky to break even. The subprime mortgage and other riskier credit strategies have been the undoing of Merrill Lynch. Coming up fast and preparing to take the title of "Main Street's firm" for individual investors is Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW ). This San Francisco-based firm has stayed true to its business model since its founding in 1971 by Charles Schwab. He firmly believed then and still does, that investors need choices and a low price of execution. Schwab offers several investment produ ...
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Filed under: Forecasts , Consumer experience , Competitive strategy , Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW) , Merrill Lynch (MER) This post is part of my series featuring established companies and the smaller, more aggressive or innovative rivals that may eventually succeed them. The expression was good for decades: "Wall Street to Main Street," as Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER ) was indeed the nation's premier brokerage firm to individual investors. That mantle is in serious jeopardy as "Mother Merrill" has encountered a horrible period in its illustrious history. Many wonder if Merrill Lynch will be able to survive as an independent company or be acquired by a larger bank. Merrill Lynch replaced inept CEO Stanley O'Neal back in October 2007 "after one bad quarter." One rule of investing is there is rarely just one bad quarter for a troubled company and Merrill is proving this. The company actually lost over $10 in earnings per share in 2007, and 2008 will be lucky to break even. The subprime mortgage and other riskier credit strategies have been the undoing of Merrill Lynch. Coming up fast and preparing to take the title of "Main Street's firm" for individual investors is Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW ). This San Francisco-based firm has stayed true to its business model since its founding in 1971 by Charles Schwab. He firmly believed then and still does, that investors need choices and a low price of execution. Schwab offers several investment produ ...