Merrill Lynch helps to drive FactSet growth

Market data provider FactSet Research saw a surge of new wealth-management clients the past three months, on the heels of Merrill Lynch, making it the primary provider of market data for some 15,000 advisers. FactSet competes with Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters providing financial information. Profits were up 20 percent in its first fiscal quarter ending in November to $84.3 million, and revenue was up 7 percent.