Bank of America to Double Number of Financial Solutions Advisors to More Than 1,000

Bank of America announced today that it was hiring more than 500 additional Financial Solutions Advisors (FSA), which double the number of FSAs to more than 1,000 by year's end.

In a statement, BOA said the increased hiring is part of its overall commitment to build up the Merrill Edge group of FSAs which provides financial solutions and guidance to what the bank calls its "Preferred" customers, or those with investable assets of $50,000 to $250,000.

According to BOA, this group is among the fastest-growing segments in the financial services industry. Currently, Bank of America does business with more than 8 million Preferred customers.

Merrill Edge reports some of the top priorities for Preferred customers include wanting a better retirement than their parents (85 percent), having access to both banking and investing solutions (73 percent) and maintaining the ability to track and manage their money (72 percent).

"Preferred customers have a complex set of needs and concerns that go beyond what the standard retail bank can offer, but they don't typically require a full-service financial advisor or a private banker," said Dean Athanasia, Preferred and Small Business Banking executive at Bank of America.

The Merrill Edge FSAs will be located in select banking centers nationwide, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Charlotte and Washington, D.C. They will also be available to offer phone-based guidance through the Merrill Edge Advisory Center.