Plaintiffs allege that the adviser failed to notify them to elect to exercise an annuity's GMIB rider before the deadline.

MERRILL LYNCH

Discharged

MS. GOLDENBERG WAS TERMINATED AFTER THE FIRM LEARNED THAT SHE ALTERED A LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION FOR CLIENT ACCOUNT

ONE OF MY PRIORITY CLIENTS DONATES 100 SHARES OF HIS LOW COST BASIS STOCK IN COMPANY A TO HIS CHURCH ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. HE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM MERRILL LYNCH THAT COMPANY A IS BEING BOUGHT BY ANOTHER COMPANY. CLIENT WANTED TO TRANSFER 400 SHARES (HIS ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION) TO THE CHURCH’S ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO AVOID CAPITAL GAIN TAX. UNFORTUNATELY, BY THE TIME HE RECEIVED THE LETTER FROM MERRILL LYNCH THE EXCHANGE OF SHARES HAS ALREADY OCCURRED IN HIS ACCOUNT. CLIENT ASKED ME TO CHECK IF WE CAN DO AN “AS OF “TRANSFER OF SHARES AND FAXED ME A LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION DATED SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE THE ACTUAL EXCHANGE TOOK PLACE. I TOOK OUT THE TAG LINE OFF THE FAX AND ASKED MY ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER TO CHECK WITH THE REORGANIZATION DEPARTMENT AS TO WHETHER WE CAN DO THIS “AS OF “ TRANSFER. I WAS DOING THIS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CLIENT AND IT HAD NO BENEFIT TO ME. DURING MY 10-YEAR CAREER AT MERRILL LYNCH MY RECORD WAS STELLAR, WITH NO CLIENT OR INDUSTRY COMPLAINTS OR EVEN MILD REPRIMAND.