Merrill Lynch Appoints David Bowers As Chief Global Investment Strategist



		MERRILL LYNCH - PHILIP WOLSTENCROFT Philip Wolstencroft, Co-head European Investment Strategy, Merrill Lynch. (PRNewsFoto)[KI] NEW YORK, NY USA

		MERRILL LYNCH - ED BUTCHART Ed Butchart, Global Emerging Markets Strategist, Merrill Lynch. (PRNewsFoto)[KI] NEW YORK, NY USA

		MERRILL LYNCH - PLUM SHIPTON Plum Shipton, Co-head European Investment Strategy, Merrill Lynch. (PRNewsFoto)[KI] NEW YORK, NY USA

Shipton, Wolstencroft to Head European Investment Strategy; Butchart to Become Chief Emerging Markets Equity Strategist NEW YORK and LONDON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrill Lynch today appointed David Bowers as the firm's Chief Global Investment Strategist. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000112/NYW009 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000112/NYW009-b http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000112/NYW009-c http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000112/NYW009-d ) He succeeds Charles I. Clough, Jr. who is retiring after 13 years. Mr. Bowers, 40, will be relocating to the U.S. from the U.K. in late February. Mr. Bowers will lead Merrill Lynch's team of equity investment strategists who advise institutional and individual clients on investing strategies all over the world. Due to the growth of the firm's global business, an equity investment strategist devoted solely to the U.S. will be added to the team. "David's intellectual strength, sound judgment and interpersonal skills have won the respect and allegiance of our European investing clients as well as our sales force," said Rosemary Berkery and Andrew Melnick, directors of Global Securities Research and Economics. "We are confident that his skills will be enormously beneficial to our clients globally." For the past four years, Mr. Bowers served as Chief European Equity Strategist, directing the firm's European equity and economics strategies. He and his team have been consistently ranked number one or two in the Institutional Investor survey for both European strategy and economics. In 1999, they were voted number one for European equity strategy in the Reuters/Tempest survey for the third year in succession. Mr. Bowers joined Merrill Lynch in 1995 when the firm acquired Smith New Court, the U.K.-based investment bank, where he had been director of European equity strategy and economics. He had also headed European equity strategy at BZW prior to joining Smith New Court in 1991. Mr. Bowers graduated in 1980 with a first-class Honours degree from Exeter University. Replacing Mr. Bowers as Chief European Investment Strategist will be Plum Shipton and Philip Wolstencroft who will share responsibilities for the region. They will also work closely with Cesar Molinas, Chief European Debt Strategist, to further unify the economic and strategic views of Merrill Lynch's equity and debt strategists. Ms. Shipton has been responsible for stock and sector strategy within the European Equity Strategy team. She also joined Merrill Lynch via the acquisition of Smith New Court, having started there in 1991. In 1992, she joined Mr. Bowers in the European group where she helped develop the economics and strategy product. She graduated with an M.A. in economics and history from Cambridge University in 1991. The European equity strategy team has been ranked in the top three in Extel, Institutional Investor and Reuters surveys for the past five years. Mr. Wolstencroft, Merrill Lynch's U.K. strategist, has held the No.1 slot in the Institutional Investor survey for the past three years and been highly ranked in other industry surveys since 1991 when he joined the company. He was a global strategist for NatWest Investment Management from 1989 to 1991 and for World Invest from 1986 to 1989 after a year as an equity analyst for the British Rail Pension Fund. He holds a B.A. in economics from Sheffield University and an M.A. in economics from Warwick University. Mr. Butchart is assuming the post of Global Emerging Markets Strategist. He has been the economist and equity strategist for Merrill Lynch's Emerging Europe team since 1997, a post he will retain in addition to his new responsibilities. In 1998, he was rated No.1 for economics and strategy by Extel, and in 1999, he was rated No.1 for strategy by Extel and ranked first for economics in the Institutional Investor survey. Mr. Butchart holds a first class bachelor's degree in history and economics, a master's degree in economic history and a doctorate in economics and economic history - all from Oxford University. Merrill Lynch Global Securities Research and Economics has more than 800 analysts in 26 countries. Merrill Lynch is the only firm to place first in five of the six Institutional Investor regional research surveys. Among its many research awards in 1999, the firm was also voted "Best Firm for Research" in Euromoney's Awards for Excellence, sweeping all five categories, a first for any firm. Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 44 countries and total client assets exceeding $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through its Asset Management Group, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets, which total approximately $514 billion.