Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith is the world's most
successful brokerage finn. Perkins (History/Univ. of Calif., Los
Angeles) tells of its founder and how, with his eponymous partners,
he brought the blessings of investing to the masses. Perkins
focuses on Charlie Merrill as businessman, foregoing deep character
delineation. In a stab at financial hagiography, comparison is made
to larger-than-life folk like J.P. Morgan. Undeniably, Charlie (as
he is called to this day) wielded an important influence on Wall
Street and how the Street did business, but contrary to the
author's manifest intent, this first published biography somehow
makes him seem less a visionary than a comic strip bigwig. The
narrative of Charlie, an everyday southern gent who rose to great
power and wealth, never ignites. From his college days, through his
days as the boss of both the Safeway grocery chain and his own Wall
Street business, to his semi-retirement and ultimate demise,
Charlie seems, frankly, like a tedious fellow - one with penchants
for bridge, obedience to his commands, and, not least, trophy
wives. (For a more passionate view, one might consult the works of
his son, poet James Merrill). The founder's personal story is
lightly integrated with the ascendance of Merrill Lynch. Promoting
first-rate public relations, new marketing techniques as well as
intensive brokers' training, Merrill Lynch did, indeed, democratize
investing and became a great enterprise with branches as ubiquitous
as Starbucks. But one still awaits the definitive study of
MLPF&S as a business phenomenon. Meanwhile, the present text,
if not animated, is clear and generally accurate (despite Perkins's
grating habit of calling the back office, where bookkeeping is
done, by the more theatrical but mistaken term, "backstage"). A
decent, not definitive attempt to depict, at once, the history of a
business and its founder, sounding more like a curriculum vitae
than a full-blown biography of Merrill and his company. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Wall Street to Main Street: Charles Merrill and Middle-Class Investors focuses on the spectacularly successful career of financier Charles Merrill (1885-1956), the founder of Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's largest brokerage and investment firm. Merrill was the most innovative entrepreneur in the United States financial services sector in the twentieth century. He was the most important figure in promoting common stocks as a prudent long-term investment vehicle for members of the middle class across the United States. Opening more than 100 branch offices across the nation by 1950, his firm solicited millions of middle-class households and became famous for bringing "Wall Street to Main Street" in the post-World War II era. Today, American investors hold, either directly or indirectly through mutual funds, a greater percentage of common stocks in their financial portfolios than do the citizens of any other country. Based on archival sources, this book is the first biography published about the career of this major Wall Street figure. Edwin Perkins is a professor of history and an expert on the development of American financial services. Author of five books and several journal articles, Professor Perkins has testified before the U.S. Congress about proposed reforms to U.S. financial laws.
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