Merrill Lynch Wealth Managment Interview Questions

47 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (97%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.9
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (64%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.3
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (68%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

39%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Merrill Lynch Wealth Managment

Get Prepared
Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Global Markets
Location Atlanta
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2016
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Wealth Management
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Year 2017
Job Title
Group/Division Private Wealth Management
Location Boston
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2016
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Wealth Management
Location New York
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Financial Advisor
Year 2014
Job Title Financial Advisor
Group/Division Wealth Management
Location Phoenix
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2015
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Wealth Management
Location Newark
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Very Easy
Intern
Year 2015
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Advisory
Location Abilene
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Very Easy
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investments
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2015
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Wealth Management
Location New York
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Easy
Financial Advisor
Year 2012
Job Title Financial Advisor
Group/Division Sales
Location Orlando
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - Merrill Lynch Wealth Managment Examples

Wealth Management Intern Interview - Financial Services

Anonymous employee in San Francisco
Interviewed: December 2019
Date Submitted: Sep 10, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
First round was one on one with associate, asked mostly behavioral questions. Only technical was basic excell questions. Super day went into office and spoke with the team. Associate I spoke with during first round was in every meeting. Met 6 members, only behavioral questions. Ask really good questions to team members
Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. What are your passions
3. Why did you choose your school
4. Asked if I trade, what stock im looking at (they're just lookin for pretty basic information don't need to go too in depth)
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Wealth Management

Anonymous employee in San Mateo
Interviewed: January 2020
Date Submitted: Jul 11, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Video call with the group I would intern with over the summer, short and sweet about 1 hour long call
Interview Questions
What is the limit of sqrt(x^2+x)-x when x goes to infinity?
Name an example of when you overcame adversity? How did you do it?
How would you get new clients to invest their money in Merrill Lynch?
Why wealth management?
What do you think we do here at Merrill Lynch?
What are the different models used for options pricing and when are they better used?
How do interest rates affect the equity/fixed income markets?
How many toothbrushes are there in London?
Sell me a retirement plan.
If I just came into a million dollars, what I would invest it in?
Sample Answer

Seasonal Client Associate Interview - Wealth Management

Anonymous employee in Garden City
Interviewed: December 2019
Date Submitted: Jun 20, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Other
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
Phone interview consisted of basic behavioral questions (e.g. What is a project that you led that was a success?, Are you a leader or follower, What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?)

1 on 1 interview was more situational questions (e.g. What would you do in x scenario?)
Interview Questions
Would you describe yourself as an honest person? Then proceeds to ask what are 3 of my weaknesses are.

What role do you play in a team (I answered leader), and what would your teammates say your worst habits are as a leader?

After having spoken about my team experiences, interviewer stated that individual work is also important and proceeded to ask/test me on projects that I have done by myself.

What has your experiences at your previous workplaces been? Why are you deciding to transition to this new position?

Overall, there were no difficult questions, mainly behavioral.
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Private Wealth Management

Anonymous employee in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: May 2018
Date Submitted: Jun 24, 2019
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Most questions were behavioral/fit type of questions. The team wanted to understand whether or not I was professional and hardworking versus knowledgeable about finance.
Interview Questions
Interview was not difficult at all. All questions were behavioral and of average difficulty. The managers wanted to see whether or not I was mature and could handle myself in a professional environment. Make sure you prepare to have stories of how you've faced challenges and how you overcame them in a professional setting. Not having quick responses makes you looking very inexperienced and the managers didn't want to spent unnecessary time trying to work on soft skills. The internship is about learning the industry.
Sample Answer

Wealth Management Interview - Investments

Anonymous employee in Rochester
Interviewed: April 2018
Date Submitted: Aug 31, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Other
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Interview
The interview prosses was relatively easy because it was a local contact I connected with. It was a sophomore year internship so I took it just to get something on my resume.
Interview Questions
Pitch me a cold call and how you might convince a client to come into Merrill Lynch for a Wealth management meeting?

Tell me about Merrill Lynch and why you want to work here?

Tell me about a company you admire?

Pitch me a stock?

What are the financials of that stock?

How do you keep current with the news

Can you describe a situation where a team did not work as intended? Whose fault was it?

Let’s imagine that your best friend is describing you in 3 words – which words
Would he/she use and why?

Tell me why we should hire you in 3 sentences:
Sample Answer

Financial Advisor Interview - Wealth Management

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: March 2016
Date Submitted: Jul 08, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Personality Test
Background Check
Interview
The hiring process was timely. After I submitted my application online I was called back by HR within a week to schedule my first round of interview with the person in charge of the program at my local office. That conversation was relatively easy, mostly focused on my background and going over my CV. Then I was scheduled to take the Gallup test over the phone, which is basically a 1-1.5 hour personality test. Some of the questions would leave you wondering, but 70% of the questions are pretty straight forward. Before I met the complex director for a final interview I was again interviewed by several superiors over the phone as a conference interview. They proposed some specific situations to test my on the spot reaction skills, and my ethics for the job. They also asked some pretty hard questions that specifically tailored to my asset gathering method and pipeline building process. Eventually after passing all those rounds of interviews, I was met with the complex director, had a 30 minutes discussion going over some of my past achievements followed by more questions on my motivation, people skills, and pipeline building procedures, I was offered the job.
Overall I'd rate it as moderate. As long as you have a solid business plan in your mind prior to walking in there, you'll be fine.
The DTLA office however, is not recommended. There has been major leadership shuffling for the past decade. Directors come and leave, averaging only about 2 years on the post. Over my short time of employment there (about 1 year), I've seen someone leave every month. Most of the best people I've worked with decided or already left by the time I left. Management is not very supportive, and a certain VP can make the entire employment experience there as hellish as possible for you if you ever got on his wrong side. Also there was very little comradery as most co workers seemed aloof and oblivion to anything or anyone outside of their responsibility. Don't expect too much help from those people. They're clearly not there to help you. You're on your own from day one.
Interview Questions
Explain in detail your business plan, especially the asset gathering procedure is probably the most difficult question set I received. I named it question set because you'd be asked probably 10-12 follow up questions in this realm of question. Different scenarios will be given to ask you to further clarify or strengthen your answer should they feel it's inadequate. Also, they are pretty good at spotting the weakest points from your plan and drill you hard on them in an attempt to break you under pressure. In that situation, just breathe and tell yourself it's merely a test of your ability to cope under pressure. They aren't really being mean to you, but rather helping you to spot holes in your own preparation. One should spend at least a good 2-week period to put together a very well thought out business plan, and pre-ask himself all the possible hard questions, and build up as many pipelines as possible. For example, if you say that one of your pipeline idea is to give free investment seminars at your father's golf club, then you better be prepared to answer asset size, number of people, identify as many as you can, and put yourself through the process as if you're speaking to your co workers to plan the actual event with all information regarding your target clients figured out. Yes, it does go that in depth. Overall they really want to see that you excel beyond expectation and give them a presentation so good that they know you'll survive the business once they put you in the water.
Sample Answer

Merrill Lynch GWIM Internship Interview - Wealth Management

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: January 2017
Date Submitted: Jun 22, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
I was referred to the job by the previous intern and was in contest against a few other candidates. The candidates were first narrowed by availability. Being that the internship took place during the academic year (February-May) the highest initial concern was morning availability Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Following this initial screening, candidates were invited for brief 1-on-1 interviews with the co-vice presidents of the team and the CA. The interview was not technical at all and was fully a personality fit. The vice presidents wanted responsible individuals with an interest in learning the business and a curiosity to learn from their expertise.
Interview Questions
There were no difficult or unexpected questions. The interview was very much about culture fit. After establishing availability and an interest in the position, the remainder of the questions predominantly revolved around my previous experience in finance, my interest in learning the field, and future goals. The Vice Presidents were very intent to find out my interests and goals so that they could guide my experience throughout the internship. During weekly check-ins, we would refer back to my goals and how they shifted throughout the internship.
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Private Wealth Management

Anonymous interview candidate in Canton, OH, USA
Interviewed: January 2018
Date Submitted: May 30, 2018
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Was contacted by my University's internship coordinator and applied to this position. Went in for an initial 1 on 1 interview for the first round and then went to an interview with multiple people from the team.
Interview Questions
All questions were strictly behavioral and nothing should catch you off guard if you were prepared on basic questions. You should be able to talk about your resume, involvement, and have a relevant market discussion. Talking about books I have read appealed to the interviewer.
Questions consisted of: why this company, why this division, what plans do you have for 3 years/5 years/10 years out in your life, talk about this line on your resume, and other questions like this. Both interviews seemed very similar.
Sample Answer

Investment Intern Interview - Wealth Management

Anonymous employee in Columbia
Interviewed: March 2018
Date Submitted: Apr 22, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
I was initially called by the hiring director for the branch who asked me some simple behavioral questions. I was then invited into the office for a one-on-one interview. The interview was fairly basic. The culture of the branch is very laid back and the senior members of the staff take an interest in the interns/ analysts
Interview Questions
Overall, this interview very easy with very few curveballs. They asked about everything on my resume, both curricular and extracurricular. These questions were not structured in a very abrasive way, however. They were just simply interested in getting to know me. They paid particular attention to my finance internships prior to them, as well as my finance extracurriculars. They also asked me what I knew about the stock market and the fixed income market, but did not really ask follow-up questions. I was also asked to pitch a stock.
Sample Answer

Merrill Lynch wealth management Interview - Wealth Management

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: November 2017
Date Submitted: Feb 08, 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First round on campus interview, super easy with all situational and resume questions. Then got invited to a super day with two 30 minute interviews, good cop bad cop type routine. One was more strict and stern with their questions while the other was laid back. Only 'technical' question was asking about the general state of the market and something you have done with it.
Interview Questions
Tell me about a time you had to make a decision regarding the markets and what the outcome was.
-just told them about my previous internship where i had to present information on companies soon going public.

Tell me how you have networked through your life so far, why is that important, and how have you been successfull
-nothing crazy here

Tell me about yourself off your resume

Tell me about a time you have made a tough decision and what the outcome was

Why Merrill Lynch, why finance

Tell me about a time you worked in a group where someone was underperforming.
Sample Answer