Merrill Lynch, spurred by insights gathered during a comprehensive 25-city listening tour, has announced significant revisions to its brokerage compensation plan for 2024, including rolling back two contentious pay policies.

According to AdvisorHub, one notable change involves the elimination of a five-year-old growth grid, which previously incentivized advisors to acquire new clients and accounts while imposing yearly penalties on those who failed to meet growth targets.

Additionally, Merrill has rescinded a policy introduced in the previous year that reduced advisors' credit for brokerage transactions. This change, particularly burdensome for commission-dependent advisors, has been revoked to simplify the compensation plan and enhance transparency for advisors.

AdvisorHub also reports that Merrill has introduced a growth award program, offering incentives based on net flows and client asset growth. Advisors qualifying for the award must meet specific criteria, including attracting new client households and increasing clients' assets and liabilities by a designated percentage.

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