NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) have introduced the "Merrill Lynch Nanotech Index," which, effective immediately, will be quoted intraday on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol NNZ.

The Merrill Lynch Nanotech Index, designed to help investors track the developing area, is an equally-weighted index of 25 nanotechnology companies headquartered in the United States or traded through American Depositary Receipts (ADR).

Each company included in the index has a significant percentage of its future profits tied to nanotechnology. In addition, each company's stock must trade largely based upon its nanotechnology business. Companies that have significant nanotechnology efforts, but are traded based primarily upon other business lines, are not included in the index. Types of companies involved in the index include: semiconductors, biotechnology, instrumentation, sensors, diagnostics, drug delivery, drug development, genomics, and materials.

Nanotechnology Could Be Next Growth Innovation

"We believe nanotechnology could be the next growth innovation," Steven Milunovich, Merrill Lynch's Global Technology Strategist, said in a research report outlining the new index.

"Like the Internet, nanotechnology risks being overhyped," he said.
Mr. Milunovich noted that there are two significant differences between the Internet and nanotechnology. "Unlike the Internet, significant intellectual property and patents are barriers to entry, and yet barriers to adoption are low."

Nanotechnology is the science of fabricating things smaller than 100 nanometers. One nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Merrill Lynch believes nanotechnology is the next logical step in miniaturization and that it is only a matter of time before the impact is felt in many industries. "Building at the nano-scale enables new interactions in materials, semiconductors, and biological agents," said Mr. Milunovich. "The new scale allows manipulation on the cellular level, which should enable new discoveries in pharmaceuticals, biodefense, and many healthcare industries."

Early-Stage Venture Capital Investor Sees Nanotech As "Next Great Wave"
"At Draper Fisher Jurvetson we believe nanotech is the next great wave in technology," said Managing Director Steve Jurvetson. "The challenge we face as early-stage venture capital investors is bridging the here and now with nanotech's long-term future."

"Merrill Lynch's new stock index allows investors and managements to track the progress of nanotechnology as it evolves. Nanotech is becoming the nexus of the sciences, so it's appropriate that the technology strategy team at Merrill Lynch is taking the lead in researching this multidisciplinary field," he added.

Steven Milunovich ranked seventh in the March 2004 Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech's Power Elite survey. For more information, please visit www.forbesnanotech.com.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies, with offices in 35 countries and total client assets of approximately $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global underwriter of debt and equity securities and strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide.

Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets, with assets under management of $500 billion. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.