What global financial services company was founded by Charles Merrill in 1914?

The global financial services company founded by Charles Merrill in 1914 was Merrill Lynch.

Charles E. Merrill opened Charles E. Merrill & Co. at 7 Wall Street in New York on January 6, 1914. His friend Edmund C. Lynch joined the business later that year, and the firm adopted the name Merrill, Lynch & Co. in 1915. The comma in the name was eventually dropped.

Merrill Lynch became one of America's best-known investment banks and brokerage firms. Its businesses included securities trading, investment banking, wealth management, asset management, and financial advice. The company was especially influential in expanding stock-market investing beyond wealthy institutions and a small group of specialist investors.

The independent Merrill Lynch & Co. was acquired by Bank of America during the 2008 financial crisis and ceased operating independently in January 2009. Today, Merrill is primarily Bank of America's wealth-management brand, while much of the former investment-banking operation operates as BofA Securities. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are separate firms founded in different years.