The wealth management arm of Bank of America Merrill Lynch suffered a multi-million dollar fall in net profits last year on the back of the sale of a US wealth adviser, meaning it lost ground to rival Morgan Stanley which has progressed in the first full year since its purchase of private bank Smith Barney.

Higher business expenses and the sale of a business division badly damaged net profits at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's global wealth and investment operation in calendar 2010.