Trainees will, instead, be encouraged to build new client relationships via LinkedIn as well as leads and referrals from Bank of America. Sieg said there are broader opportunities for collaboration and referrals to move across from the consumer bank to Merrill. The bank serves more than 60 million customers, more than 3 million of which have a net worth over $1 million and don’t have investment relationships with the firm. Louis Diamond, president of Diamond Consultants, believes the cold-call ban stems from several firings of Merrill advisors who violated the firm’s Do Not Call list. For instance, the firm terminated financial advisors Ethan Kunin in Austin and Nicholas John Ferguson in New York at the end of 2020. In his BrokerCheck profile, Kunin said he was following guidance he received in the training program during the summer of 2020.