Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the world’s largest wealth manager, will boost its numbers by training junior brokers rather than trying to lure more senior people from other firms, a move which will suppress costs, according to the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources.

Most of the growth will be in the US, with smaller additions in Europe and Asia, the newspaper said.

"The bulk of our investments in our business are in capabilities for clients and existing advisors. In addition, we look to add quality advisors and bankers, in particular through our training program," a Merrill Lynch spokesperson told this publication.

Bank of America had about 15,000 financial advisors at the end of the fourth quarter, and about $1.27 trillion under management.

If confirmed, the move to focus more on training junior staff rather than poaching more experienced employees shows how cost-conscious even some of the biggest hitters in the wealth management space are proving to be. In rosier economic conditions, a common refrain of the wealth management industry has been a shortage of skilled staff, encouraging some firms to devote more resources to staff training and development.

Meanwhile, a separate report by the Wall Street Journal said BofA has approved more than $4 billion in 2009 pay for its investment bankers and traders. The payout is about 19 per cent of the $23 billion in revenue the company made from its investment banking and capital markets divisions, the publication said, citing unnamed sources.

Each banker and trader will collect an average $300,000 to $500,000 for 2009, a figure close to what Bank of America paid in 2006, its peak year for such payouts, it said.

Yesterday, Bank of America said in a regulatory filing that chief executive Brian Moynihan would receive a new base salary of $950,000 beginning on 1 January, reports said.