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Merrill Lynch issues with HP-related employee stock (Aug 15, 2025) Not officially endorsed or supported. Question? Email us: info@hpalumni.org
This page gives details for only one aspect of the many HP/HPE-related stocks. If you were ever an HP shareholder, you may now have shares of HPQ, HPE, DXC, Keysight, and/or Agilent – in different accounts – and may not have received cash payouts for MFGP and PRSP. Only you – not the company, plan administrators, transfer agents, brokers, or the IRS – can reconstruct your full stock history. Transactions were often tracked and reported differently – or not at all.
When finished here, go to: HP/HPE-Related Stocks
In recent decades, when you left the company any shares you owned were automatically moved from an employer-paid account at a plan administrator -- NetBenefits at Fidelity, MyBenefits at Merrill, StockPlan Connect at Morgan Stanley -- to a personal account at their brokerage division. An annual fee is often charged, which can drain a small account. Details of your purchase lots should be preserved. However, if you move the shares to a different brokerage, shares will be moved in a single lot. Some brokers let you correct the records to include lot-by-lot cost basis data.
Merrill Lynch was bought by Bank of America in January 2009. Merged into Bank of America in 2013. Certain BofA subsidiaries carry the Merrill Lynch name. Rebranded "Merrill" in 2019.
Cost Basis. Can you correct your broker's records to include lot-by-lot cost basis data?
Use form. "Cost basis updates" form
https://olui2.fs.ml.com/publish/content/application/pdf/GWMOL/Cost_Basis_Update_-_Multiple_Securities.pdf
(We don't have any member reports yet as to how well this works in
practice.)
Merrill Lynch and HP-related employee stock
Merrill Lynch is the current Stock Award Plan Administrator for both HP and HPE. HPE indicates that spinoff shares should show up in your account at each plan administrator.
View, print or download your Merrill Lynch stock records online by accessing "Statements and Documents" in your account at www.mymerrill.com or www.mybenefits.ml.com (Merrill Lynch also has a separate local-office-based retail brokerage division)
In recent decades, when you left the company any shares you owned were automatically moved from an employer-paid account at a plan administrator -- NetBenefits at Fidelity, MyBenefits at Merrill, StockPlan Connect at Morgan Stanley -- to a personal account at their brokerage division. An annual fee is often charged, which can drain a small account. Details of your purchase lots should be preserved. However, if you move the shares to a different brokerage, shares will be moved in a single lot. Some brokers let you correct the records to include lot-by-lot cost basis data. Fidelity Merrill Morgan Stanley
Merrill Lynch calls the two accounts "Employer Sponsored Plan" and "Individual Investor Account."
The new account will use a different website, login, and account number. Since your employer is no longer paying for the account, you will probably be billed an annual fee (which may be higher than you might expect.) Lot-and-cost data for your lots should have been preserved if you move between "benefits" and "retail" divisions of the same brokerage. If you move the shares to a different brokerage, the shares of each company will be moved in a single lot -- you will have to use your own records to enter date and purchase price for each lot into the second broker's system.
Call the Merrill Lynch phone number on your most recent ML statement.
Other Merrill Lynch contact points that we have collected:
- HP Inc Stock Option Plan at Merrill Lynch -- 1-888-447-7862. (+1-609-818-8913 from outside the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico.)
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Option Plan at Merrill Lynch -- 1-844-473-3789
- (001) or 1- 877-767-2404 "Stock specialists... they were able to help." report by European member.
- Phone numbers for "Equity Awards" and "Retirement Plan Participants" on the Bank of America website: https://www.benefitplans.baml.com/IR/pages/cu.aspx
- Merrill Lynch "Retirement and Benefits Contact Center" 1-866-820-1492 (U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada) or 609-818-8894 (Outside of the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada).
- U.S. email address for "transition support" -- and directory of international Merrill offices on the Merrill Lynch website: https://www.ml.com/global-offices.html
Micro Focus. Incorrect Merrill Lynch 1099-B forms for 2017
Apr 14: HPE Investor Relations checked with Merrill Lynch. "...apparently Merrill made errors in 1099s impacting about 500 individuals that had transferred their shares out of Merrill, or sold, before the date on which Merrill processed the Seattle tax basis adjustments and failed to properly reflect tax basis and cap gains for those accounts. All individuals were notified yesterday [Apr 13] and corrected 1099s are being issued." --HPE Investor Relations
Apparently applies to:
- HPE Stock Award Plan. Administrator is the MyBenefits division of Merrill Lynch.
- HP Inc Stock Award Plan. Administrator is the MyBenefits division of Merrill Lynch.
- Any U.S. person who had HPE stock on Sep 1, 2017 at Merrill Lynch -- probably applies
Merrill Lynch email received by an HPAA member on Apr 13, 2018.
"During a recent internal review of our tax records for the year 2017, we discovered that the IRS Tax Form 1099 mailed to you in January 2018 (and provided in your online account) was incorrect due to the omission of cost basis information related to the 2017 corporate actions.
"As a result, we have adjusted our records and a corrected 2017 IRS Form 1099 will be reissued on or about Tuesday, April 17, 2018. The corrected IRS Form 1099 will be mailed to your address on record and you can view, print or download it by accessing "Statements and Documents" in your account at www.mymerrill.com or www.mybenefits.ml.com . Please use the revised form marked "corrected" to file your 2017 tax return.
"Neither Merrill Lynch nor Hewlett Packard Enterprise provide tax advice. Contact a tax professional for assistance.
"We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Please contact us at 1.844.473.3789 if you have any questions.
"Sincerely,
"Retirement & Benefit Plan Services"
How this happened:
- Merrill Lynch is the current Stock Award Plan Administrator for both HP and HPE. HPE Investor Relations indicates that they had provided the Micro Focus tax basis summary document to Merrill.
- In any case... Plan administrators, transfer agents, and brokerages vary significantly in how (or if) they track your acquisition costs, dates, and cash payouts for the many complex HP-related stock events – and what (if anything) they report. Some brokerages let you correct your cost basis records. Retain your documents and tax calculations indefinitely. Admin and Broker Issues
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