Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s largest financial management companies, is looking for new investments in an unusual place: America's inner cities.

To find them, Merrill Lynch partnered with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), one of the premier organizations for thought leadership on inner city economic development, to help find and invest in inner-city businesses and markets.

ICIC’s research shows that America’s inner cities are home to 500,000 enterprises and millions of jobs. Further proof of the economic vitality of inner cities can be found in the ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100. The Inner City 100, which is published annually by Inc magazine, is a listing of one hundred fast growing inner city businesses; Inner-city businesses that are serving regional, national, and international markets generating valuable new jobs and making an incalculable difference in their communities.

With the help of ICIC, Merrill Lynch has come to understand that there are valuable, viable businesses poised for sustainable growth in inner cities. With its network of over 15,000 financial advisors nationwide, Merrill Lynch is benefiting from ICIC’s deep knowledge of inner-city success and sharing newly identified success stories with the nonprofit organization.

In the words of Michael E. Porter, Chairman, Founder and CEO of ICIC, "Merrill Lynch’s commitment is a milestone for inner city economic development."

Hear David Tralka, Chairman of Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services, and Anne Habiby, Co-Executive Director of ICIC, discuss their partnership at Business with a New Beat 2002, a journalist roundtable (12 MB)

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