Merrill Lynch Announces Relationship With Virtuoso® to Offer Clients Access to the World’s Leading Travel Advisory Network

Merrill Lynch today announced an exclusive relationship with luxury travel network Virtuoso® to provide clients with access to the world’s leading travel advisors. The relationship is part of Merrill Lynch Clear®, a pioneering approach to helping people navigate to and throughout retirement across seven life priorities – one of which is leisure – in order to achieve their desired outcomes.

“For many of our clients, traveling is the number one activity they look forward to in retirement,” said David Tyrie, head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “This relationship gives our financial advisors and their clients a terrific resource to broaden the retirement planning conversation and to help clients make the most of their free time.”

A by-invitation-only organization, Virtuoso now provides Merrill Lynch clients with high-touch travel services through a dedicated Virtuoso Affiliated Advisor who understands how travel and leisure fit within their broader life priorities. With a deeper level of knowledge about each client’s preferences and needs, these travel advisors can oversee all travel arrangements before, during and after the trip to help ensure a successful experience. Merrill Lynch clients also have access to Virtuoso’s exclusive benefits and specialty partners, including luxury resorts and unique experiences.

“Today’s retirees are traveling with more passion and a greater appetite for new experiences than ever, combining adventure and learning, and actively exploring destinations around the globe,” said Matthew Upchurch, chairman and CEO of Virtuoso. “Meeting their evolving travel goals requires thoughtful and inventive planning with trusted advisors. Working with Merrill Lynch to serve their clients seeking to stay active and live their lives to the fullest is a natural fit.”

Merrill Lynch Clear
Introduced in May 2014, Merrill Lynch Clear is a pioneering approach that offers a more comprehensive way of helping people navigate to and throughout retirement. The result of years of extensive research and thousands of hours of conversations with people about what matters most during this stage of life, Merrill Lynch Clear modernizes the process of preparing for retirement through an exploration of seven distinct life priorities – including health, home, family, finance, giving, work and leisure – connecting the financial aspects of life in retirement. Additional information about Merrill Lynch Clear and actionable content and retirement resources can be found at www.ml.com/retire.

Virtuoso
Virtuoso is the leading network of luxury travel advisors and entities. This by-invitation-only organization comprises 355 agencies with more than 9,000 elite travel specialists in 25 countries throughout North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Europe, as well as over 1,700 of the world’s best travel providers and premier destinations. The network’s member agencies generate over (US) $14 billion annually in travel sales, making the group the most powerful in the luxury travel segment. Their relationships with the finest travel companies provide the network’s affluent clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.

Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management
Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is a leading provider of comprehensive wealth management and investment services for individuals and businesses globally. With 14,085 Financial Advisors and $2 trillion in client balances as of December 31, 2014, it is among the largest businesses of its kind in the world. Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management specializes in goals-based wealth management, including planning for retirement, education, legacy, and other life goals through investment, cash and credit management. Within Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, the Private Banking and Investment Group focuses on the unique and personalized needs of wealthy individuals, families and their businesses. These clients are served by more than 150 highly specialized Private Wealth Advisor teams, along with experts in areas such as investment management, concentrated stock management and intergenerational wealth transfer strategies. Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is part of Bank of America Corporation.

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