Boring Wall Street analyst notes are out. Bold and funny are in

But instead of 17 Cat Vines That Will Slay You Every Time, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is putting its hard-won reputation as the world’s top-ranked researcher on the line as it seeks to redefine how to sell ideas to the financial elite.

Gone are long-winded daily market summaries and thinly read reports. In their place, global research head Candace Browning is pivoting to primers and thematic pieces with snappy titles to get readers’ attention. Most important, she’s pushing her team of almost 700 to make bolder predictions. That mandate comes with a warning, though: Get it right. Repeated flops can cost an analyst their job.