It was also in 1930 that Pierce acquired the brokerage business of Merrill Lynch & Co. By the end of 1930, E.A. Pierce was the largest brokerage firm in the U.S., followed by Fenner & Beane.
It was also in 1930 that Pierce acquired the brokerage business of Merrill Lynch & Co. along with most of the firm's employees including Edmund C. Lynch and Winthrop H. Smith. Throughout the 1930s, E.A. Pierce remained the largest brokerage, followed by Fenner & Beane.