Bank of America's wealth unit eyes 4%-5% net new asset growth

By Saeed Azhar and Arasu Kannagi Basil

BOSTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Bank of America's (BAC) wealth business is targeting 4% to 5% net new asset growth in the medium term, executives said on Wednesday.

"We have the scale and we have the infrastructure to be outpacing the industry in terms of growth," Eric Schimpf, co-president of Merrill Wealth Management, said at BofA's investor day.

He also said pre-tax margins could increase 4% to 6% in the medium term and the business would add fee-generating assets between $135 billion and $150 billion annually. BofA's wealth management pre-tax margin was 26% in the third quarter, which looks to be below some of its peers, Barclays said in a note.

Revenue is projected to grow two times as fast as expenses, said Lindsay Hans, co-president of Merrill Wealth Management.

BofA's core wealth business, which includes Merrill Wealth Management and its private bank, manages $4.6 trillion in client assets, compared to JPMorgan's $6.8 trillion and Morgan Stanley's $7 trillion.

BofA, like JPMorgan, also oversees wealth assets within its consumer bank, which increases its overall wealth assets to $6.4 trillion. Hans and Schimpf oversee more than 25,000 employees who provide investment and wealth management services to individuals and businesses across the U.S.

BofA's consumer business is among the biggest in the country. Its average deposits of $947 billion have grown 32% since late 2019. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Mark Porter)