MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE FENNER & SMITH INC
S-1/A, 1999-10-28
ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES
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<PAGE>


 As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 28, 1999

                                                 Registration No. 333-89355
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                               ----------------

                              AMENDMENT No. 1

                                    TO
                                    FORM S-1
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                               ----------------
               Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
                               Initial Depositor
               (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
                               ----------------

                          Biotech HOLDRs(SM) Trust
                                yet-to-be formed
                     [Issuer with respect to the receipts]
        Delaware                     6211                    13-5674085
                               (Primary Standard          (I.R.S. Employer
     (State or other              Industrial           Identification Number)
      jurisdiction            Classification Code
   of incorporation or              Number)
      organization)            ----------------
                                250 Vesey Street
                            New York, New York 10281
                                 (212) 449-1000

  (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
                 registrant's principal executive offices)
        Andrea L. Dulberg, Esq.                        Copies to:
          Corporate Secretary                      Andrew B. Janszky
 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith            Shearman & Sterling
              Incorporated                        599 Lexington Avenue
            250 Vesey Street                    New York, New York 10022
        New York, New York 10281                     (212) 848-4000
             (212) 449-1000
(Name, address, including zip code, and
 telephone number, including area code,
         of agent for service)
          Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to public:
  As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.
   If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on
a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of
1933, check the following box. [X]

   If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering
pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following
box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier
effective registration statement for the same offering. [_]

   If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c)
under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act
registration statement number of the earlier registration statement for the
same offering. [_]

   If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d)
under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act
registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement
for the same offering. [_]

   If delivery of the prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434
under the Securities Act, please check the following box. [_]

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<CAPTION>
 Title of Each Class of                Proposed Maximum  Proposed Maximum
    Securities to Be     Amount to Be   Offering Price  Aggregate Offering       Amount of
       Registered         Registered    Per Receipt(1)       Price(1)      Registration Fee(2)(3)
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                      <C>           <C>              <C>                <C>
Biotech HOLDRs.......... 1,000,000,000       $100          $299,800,000           $83,345
                           receipts
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee
    pursuant to Rule 457 under the Securities Act. 2,000,000 receipts are
    estimated to be offered in the initial offering at $100 per receipt and
    998,000,000 receipts are estimated to be offered continuously after the
    initial offering at $0.10 per receipt.
(2) This Registration Statement also registers, where required, an
    indeterminate amount of securities to be sold by Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
    Fenner & Smith Incorporated in market-making transactions.

(3) Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated previously paid on
    October 20, 1999, $2,780 of this registration fee for 100,000 shares based
    on a proposed maximum offering price of $100 per receipt.
   The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or
dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant
shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration
Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until this Registration Statement
shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to such
Section 8(a), may determine.

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+The Information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We     +
+have filed a registration statement relating to these receipts with the       +
+Securities and Exchange Commission. We cannot sell these receipts until the   +
+registration statement becomes effective. This prospectus is not an offer to  +
+sell these receipts and we are not soliciting offers to buy these receipts in +
+any state where such offer or sale is not permitted.                          +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

                           SUBJECT TO COMPLETION

                   PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS DATED OCTOBER 28, 1999

PROSPECTUS

                           [LOGO] BIOTECH HOLDRS(SM)





                     1,000,000,000 Depositary Receipts

                          Biotech HOLDRsSM Trust

    The Biotech HOLDRs(SM) Trust will issue Depositary Receipts called Biotech
HOLDRs(SM) representing your undivided beneficial ownership in the common stock
of a group of 20 specified companies that are involved in various segments of
the biotechnology industry. The Bank of New York will be the trustee. You only
may acquire, hold or transfer Biotech HOLDRs in a round-lot amount of 100
Biotech HOLDRs or round-lot multiples. Biotech HOLDRs are separate from the
underlying deposited common stocks that are represented by the Biotech HOLDRs.
For a list of the names and the number of shares of the companies that make up
a Biotech HOLDRs, see "Highlights of Biotech HOLDRs--The Biotech HOLDRs"
starting on page 8. The trust will issue the additional Biotech HOLDRs on a
continuous basis after the initial distribution.

    Investing in Biotech HOLDRs involves significant risks. See "Risk factors"
starting on page 4.

    The initial public offering price for a round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs
will equal the sum of the closing market price on the pricing date for each
deposited share multiplied by the share amount specified in this prospectus,
plus an underwriting fee.

    Biotech HOLDRs are neither interests in nor obligations of either the
initial depositor, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, or The
Bank of New York, as trustee.

    Prior to this issuance, there has been no public market for Biotech HOLDRs.
Application has been made to list the Biotech HOLDRs on the American Stock
Exchange under the symbol "BBH", subject to official notice of issuance.

                                  -----------

    Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities
commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this
prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a
criminal offense.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                        Initial
                                                        Price to Underwriting
                                                        Public*      Fee
                                                        -------- ------------
     <S>                                                <C>      <C>
     Per Biotech HOLDR.................................               2%
</TABLE>
    -----
    * Includes underwriting fee.

    For purchases of Biotech HOLDRs in excess of        Biotech HOLDRs, the
                      underwriting fee will be    %.

                                  -----------

                              Merrill Lynch & Co.
                                  -----------

                  The date of this prospectus is       , 1999.

"HOLDRs" and "HOLding Company Depositary Receipts" are service marks of Merrill
Lynch & Co., Inc.
<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                            Page
                                                                            ----
<S>                                                                         <C>
Summary....................................................................   3
Risk factors...............................................................   4
Highlights of Biotech HOLDRs...............................................   8
The trust..................................................................  14
Description of Biotech HOLDRs..............................................  14
Description of the underlying securities...................................  15
Description of the depositary trust agreement..............................  17
Federal income tax consequences............................................  20
ERISA considerations.......................................................  21
Plan of distribution.......................................................  21
Year 2000..................................................................  22
Legal matters..............................................................  23
Where you can find more information........................................  23
</TABLE>

                               ----------------

      This prospectus contains information you should consider when making your
investment decision. With respect to information about Biotech HOLDRs, you
should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not
authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If
anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not
rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell Biotech HOLDRs in any
jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

                                       2
<PAGE>

                                    SUMMARY

     The Biotech HOLDRs trust will be formed under the depositary trust
agreement, dated as of November  , 1999 among The Bank of New York, as
trustee, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, other depositors
and the owners of the Biotech HOLDRs. The trust is not a registered investment
company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

     The trust will hold shares of common stock issued by 20 specified
companies generally considered to be involved in various segments of the
biotechnology industry. The number of shares of each common stock held by the
trust with respect to each round-lot of Biotech HOLDRs is specified under
"Highlights of Biotech HOLDRs--The Biotech HOLDRs." This group of common
stocks is referred to as the underlying securities. Except when a
reconstitution event occurs, the underlying securities will not change.

     Under no circumstances will a new company be added to the group of
issuers of underlying securities.

     The trust will issue Biotech HOLDRs that represent your undivided
beneficial ownership interest in the shares of common stock held by the trust
on your behalf. The Biotech HOLDRs are separate from the underlying common
stocks that are represented by the Biotech HOLDRs.

                                       3
<PAGE>

                                  RISK FACTORS

      An investment in Biotech HOLDRs involves risks similar to investing in
each of the underlying securities outside of the Biotech HOLDRs, including the
risks associated with concentrated investments in the biotechnology industry.

General Risk Factors

     .  Loss of investment. Because the value of Biotech HOLDRs directly
        relates to the value of the underlying securities, you may lose
        all or a substantial portion of your investment in the Biotech
        HOLDRs if the underlying securities decline in value.

     .  Discount trading price. Biotech HOLDRs may trade at a discount to
        the aggregate value of the underlying securities.

     .  Not necessarily representative of the biotechnology
        industry. While the underlying securities are common stocks of
        companies generally considered to be involved in various segments
        of the biotechnology industry, the underlying securities and the
        Biotech HOLDRs may not necessarily follow the price movements of
        the entire biotechnology industry generally. If the underlying
        securities decline in value, your investment in the Biotech HOLDRs
        will decline in value even if common stock prices in the
        biotechnology industry generally increase in value. Furthermore,
        after the initial deposit, one or more of the issuers of the
        underlying securities may no longer be involved in the
        biotechnology industry. In this case, the Biotech HOLDRs may no
        longer consist of securities issued only by companies involved in
        the biotechnology industry.

     .  No investigation of underlying securities. The underlying
        securities included in the Biotech HOLDRs were selected by Merrill
        Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated based on the market
        capitalization of issuers and the market liquidity of common
        stocks in the biotechnology industry, without regard for the
        value, price performance, volatility or investment merit of the
        underlying securities. The Biotech HOLDRs trust, the trustee,
        Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and their
        affiliates, have not performed any investigation or review of the
        selected companies, including the public filings by the companies.
        Investors and market participants should not conclude that the
        inclusion of a company is any form of investment recommendation by
        the trust, the trustee, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
        Incorporated, or their affiliates.

     .  Loss of diversification. As a result of business developments,
        reorganizations, or market fluctuations affecting issuers of the
        underlying securities, Biotech HOLDRs may not necessarily continue
        to be a diversified investment in the biotechnology industry. As a
        result of market fluctuation and/or reconstitution events, Biotech
        HOLDRs may represent a concentrated investment in one or more of
        the underlying securities which would reduce investment
        diversification and increase your exposure to the risks of
        concentrated investments.

     .  Conflicting investment choices. In order to sell one or more of
        the underlying securities individually or to participate in a
        tender offer relating to one or more of the underlying securities,
        you will be required to cancel your Biotech HOLDRs and receive
        delivery of each of the underlying securities. The cancellation of
        your Biotech HOLDRs will allow you to sell individual underlying
        securities or to deliver individual underlying securities in a
        tender offer. The cancellation of Biotech HOLDRs will involve
        payment of a cancellation fee to the trustee.

     .  Trading halts. Trading in Biotech HOLDRs may be halted in the
        event trading in one or more of the underlying securities is
        halted. If so, you will not be able to trade Biotech

                                       4
<PAGE>


        HOLDRs even though there is trading in some of the underlying
        securities; however, you will be able to cancel your Biotech
        HOLDRs to receive the underlying securities.

     .  Delisting from the American Stock Exchange. If the number of
        companies whose common stock is held in the trust falls below
        nine, the American Stock Exchange may consider delisting the
        Biotech HOLDRs. If the Biotech HOLDRs are delisted by the American
        Stock Exchange, a termination event will result if the Biotech
        HOLDRs are not listed for trading on another national securities
        exchange or through NASDAQ within five business days from the date
        the Biotech HOLDRs are delisted.

     .  Possible conflicts of interest. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &
        Smith Incorporated, as initial depositor, has selected the
        underlying securities and may face possible conflicts of interest
        in connection with its activities. For example, Merrill Lynch,
        Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its affiliates,
        collectively referred to as Merrill Lynch, may engage in
        investment banking and other activities, may provide services to
        issuers of the underlying securities in connection with its
        business, or may trade in the underlying securities for its own
        account. All of these activities may result in conflicts of
        interest with respect to the financial interest of Merrill Lynch,
        on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the initial selection of
        the underlying securities included in the Biotech HOLDRs, the
        selection of the biotechnology industry, Merrill Lynch's activity
        in the secondary market in the underlying securities, and the
        creation and cancellation of Biotech HOLDRs by Merrill Lynch.

     .  Temporary price increases in the underlying securities. Purchasing
        activity in the secondary trading market associated with acquiring
        the underlying securities for deposit into the trust may affect
        the market price of the deposited shares. Large volumes of
        purchasing activity, which may occur in connection with the
        issuance of Biotech HOLDRs, particularly in connection with the
        initial issuance of Biotech HOLDRs, could temporarily increase the
        market price of the underlying securities, resulting in a higher
        price on that date. This purchasing activity could create a
        temporary imbalance between the supply and demand of the
        underlying securities, thereby limiting the liquidity of the
        underlying securities due to a temporary increased demand for
        underlying securities. Consequently, prices for the underlying
        securities may decline after these purchases as the volume of
        purchases subsides. This in turn is likely to have an immediate,
        adverse effect on the trading price of Biotech HOLDRs.

Risk Factors Specific to the Biotechnology Industry

     .  Biotechnology company stock prices have been and will likely
        continue to be extremely volatile. The trading prices of the
        stocks of biotechnology companies have been and are likely to be
        extremely volatile. Biotechnology companies' stock prices could be
        subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors,
        including:

            .  announcements of technological innovations or new commercial
               products;

            .  developments in patent or proprietary rights;

            .  government regulatory initiatives;

            .  public concern as to the safety or other implications of
               biotechnology products;

            .  fluctuations in quarterly financial results; and

            .  market conditions.

     .  Biotechnology companies face uncertainty with respect to pricing
        and third party reimbursement. Biotechnology companies will
        continue to be affected by the efforts of governments and third
        party payors, such as government health organizations, private
        health

                                       5
<PAGE>


        insurers and health maintenance organizations, to contain or
        reduce health care costs. For example, in certain foreign markets
        pricing or profitability of biotechnology products and
        technologies is subject to control. In the United States, there
        has been, and there will likely to continue to be, a number of
        federal and state proposals to implement similar government
        control. Also, an increasing emphasis on managed health care in
        the United States will continue to put pressure on the pricing of
        the products and technologies of biotechnology companies. The
        announcement or adoption of such proposals could have a material
        adverse affect on a biotechnology companies' business and
        financial condition. Further, the sales of the products of many
        biotechnology companies are often dependent, in part, on the
        availability of reimbursement from third party payors. Third party
        payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for health
        care products and technologies and denying or limiting coverage
        for new products. Even if a biotechnology company can bring a
        product or technology to market, there can be no assurance that
        these products or technologies will be considered cost-effective
        by third party payors and that sufficient reimbursement will be
        available to consumers to allow for the sale of the products and
        services on a profitable basis.

     .  Protection of patent and proprietary rights of biotechnology
        companies is difficult and costly. The success of many
        biotechnology companies is highly dependent on a biotechnology
        company's ability to obtain patents on current and future products
        and technologies, to defend its existing patents and trade secrets
        and operate in a manner that does not infringe on the proprietary
        rights of other biotechnology companies. Patent disputes are
        frequent and can preclude the successful commercial introduction
        of products and technologies. As a result, there is significant
        litigation in the biotechnology industry regarding patent and
        other intellectual property rights. Litigation is costly and could
        subject a biotechnology company to significant liabilities to
        third parties. In addition, a biotechnology company could be
        forced to obtain costly third-party licenses or cease using the
        technology or product in dispute.

     .  Biotechnology companies are subject to extensive government
        regulation. Products and technologies offered by biotechnology
        companies are subject to strict regulation by the Food and Drug
        Administration in the United States and similar agencies in other
        countries. Many of the products will require extensive pre-
        clinical testing, clinical trials, other testing, government
        review and final approval before any marketing of the product will
        be permitted. This procedure could take a number of years and
        involves the expenditure of substantial resources. The success of
        a biotechnology company's current or future product will depend,
        in part, upon obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval to
        market products and, once approved, complying with the continued
        review by regulatory agencies. The failure to obtain necessary
        government approvals, the restriction of existing approvals, loss
        of or changes to previously obtained approvals or the failure to
        comply with regulatory requirements could result in fines,
        unanticipated expenditures, product delays, non-approval or
        recall, interruption of production and even criminal prosecution.

     .  Biotechnology companies must keep pace with rapid technological
        change to remain competitive. The biotechnology industry is highly
        competitive and is subject to rapid and significant technological
        change. Biotechnology companies will face continued competition as
        new products enter the market and advanced technologies become
        available. The success of a biotechnology company will depend on
        its ability to develop products and technologies that are at least
        as clinically effective or cost-effective than its competitors'
        products and technologies or that would render its competitors'
        products and technologies obsolete or uncompetitive.

     .  Results of research and development of new products and
        technologies are unpredictable. Successful product or technology
        development in the biotechnology industry is very uncertain and
        only a small number of research and development programs will
        result in the

                                       6
<PAGE>


        marketing and sale of a new product or technology. Many products
        and technologies that appear promising may fail to reach the
        market for many reasons, including results indicating lack of
        effectiveness or harmful side effects in clinical or pre-clinical
        testing, failure to receive necessary regulatory approvals,
        uneconomical manufacturing costs or competing proprietary rights.
        In addition, there is no certainty that any product or technology
        in development will achieve market acceptance from the medical
        community, third party payors or individual users.

     .  Biotechnology companies may be exposed to extensive product
        liability costs. The testing, manufacturing, marketing and sale of
        many of the products and technologies developed by biotechnology
        companies inherently expose biotechnology companies to potential
        product liability risks. Many biotechnology companies obtain
        limited product liability insurance; further, there can be no
        assurance that a biotechnology company will be able to maintain
        its product liability insurance, that it will continue to be able
        to obtain adequate product liability insurance on reasonable terms
        or that any product liability insurance obtained will provide
        adequate coverage against potential liabilities.

     .  Biotechnology companies face challenges gaining governmental and
        consumer acceptance of genetically altered products. Biotechnology
        companies may be involved in the development of genetically
        engineered agricultural and food products. The commercial success
        of these products will depend, in part, on governmental and public
        acceptance of their cultivation, distribution and consumption.
        Public attitudes may be influenced by the media and by opponents
        who claim that genetically engineered products are unsafe for
        consumption, pose unknown health risks, risks to the environment
        or to social or economic practices. Biotechnology companies may
        continue to have to expend significant resources to foster
        governmental and consumer acceptance of genetically engineered
        agricultural and food products, particularly in Europe where
        securing governmental approvals for, and achieving consumer
        confidence in, these products continues to pose numerous
        challenges. The success of any genetically engineered agricultural
        and food products may be delayed or impaired in certain
        geographical areas due to the existing or future regulatory,
        legislative or public acceptance issues. Celera Genomics, one of
        the underlying securities of the Biotech HOLDRs, is involved in
        the development of genetically-based plant and animal breeding.
        Other companies representing underlying securities of the Biotech
        HOLDRs may become involved in the development of genetically
        engineered agricultural and food products.

     .  Many Biotechnology companies are dependent on key personnel for
        success. The success of many biotechnology companies is highly
        dependent on the experience, abilities and continued services of
        key executive officers and key scientific personnel. If these
        companies lose the services of any of these officers or key
        scientific personnel, their future success could be undermined.
        The success of many biotechnology companies also depends upon
        their ability to attract and retain other highly qualified
        scientific, managerial sales and manufacturing personnel and their
        ability to develop and maintain relationships with qualified
        clinical researchers. Competition for such personnel and
        relationships is intense and many of these companies compete with
        each other and with universities and non-profit research
        organizations. There is no certainty that any of these
        biotechnology companies will be able to continue to attract and
        retain qualified personnel or develop and maintain relationships
        with clinical researchers.

                                       7
<PAGE>


                       HIGHLIGHTS OF BIOTECH HOLDRs

      This discussion highlights information regarding Biotech HOLDRs; we
present certain information more fully in the rest of this prospectus. You
should read the entire prospectus carefully before you purchase Biotech HOLDRs.

Issuer.......................
                               Biotech HOLDRs Trust.

The trust....................
                               The Biotech HOLDRs Trust will be formed under
                               the depositary trust agreement, dated as of
                               November  , 1999 among The Bank of New York, as
                               trustee, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
                               Incorporated, other depositors and the owners
                               of the Biotech HOLDRs. The trust is not a
                               registered investment company under the
                               Investment Company Act of 1940.

Initial depositor............  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
                               Incorporated.

Trustee......................  The Bank of New York, a New York state-
                               chartered banking organization, will be the
                               trustee and receive compensation as set forth
                               in the depositary trust agreement.

Purpose of Biotech HOLDRs....
                               Biotech HOLDRs are designed to achieve the
                               following:

                               Diversification. Biotech HOLDRs are designed to
                               allow you to diversify your investment in the
                               biotechnology industry through a single,
                               exchange-listed instrument representing your
                               undivided beneficial ownership of the
                               underlying securities.

                               Flexibility. The beneficial owners of Biotech
                               HOLDRs have undivided beneficial ownership
                               interests in each of the underlying securities
                               represented by the Biotech HOLDRs, and can
                               cancel their Biotech HOLDRs to receive each of
                               the underlying securities represented by the
                               Biotech HOLDRs.

                               Transaction costs. The expenses associated with
                               trading Biotech HOLDRs are expected to be less
                               than trading each of the underlying securities
                               separately.

Trust assets.................
                               The trust will hold shares of common stock
                               issued by 20 specified companies in the
                               biotechnology industry. Except when a
                               reconstitution event occurs, the group of
                               companies will not change. Reconstitution
                               events are described in this prospectus under
                               the heading "Description of the depositary
                               trust agreement-- Reconstitution events." Under
                               no circumstances will the common stock of a new
                               company be added to the common stocks
                               underlying the Biotech HOLDRs.

                               The trust's assets may increase or decrease as
                               a result of in-kind deposits and withdrawals of
                               the underlying securities during the life of
                               the trust.

The Biotech HOLDRs......       The trust will issue Biotech HOLDRs that
                               represent your undivided beneficial ownership
                               interest in the shares of common stock held by
                               the trust on your behalf. The Biotech HOLDRs
                               themselves are separate from the underlying
                               securities that are represented by the Biotech
                               HOLDRs.

                                       8
<PAGE>


                               The specific share amounts for each round-lot
                               of 100 Biotech HOLDRs are set forth in the
                               chart below and were determined on October 27,
                               1999 so that the initial weightings of each
                               underlying security included in the Biotech
                               HOLDRs approximated the relative market
                               capitalizations of the specified companies,
                               subject to a maximum weight of 20%. Because
                               these weightings are a function of market
                               prices, it is expected that these weightings
                               will change substantially over time, including
                               during the period between October 27, 1999 and
                               the date the Biotech HOLDRs are first issued to
                               the public.

                               The share amounts set forth below will not
                               change, except for changes due to corporate
                               events such as stock splits or reverse stock
                               splits on the underlying securities or
                               reconstitution events.

                               The following chart provides the

                               .  names of the 20 issuers of the underlying
                                  securities represented by an Biotech HOLDRs,

                               .  stock ticker symbols,

                               .  share amounts represented by a round-lot of
                                  100 Biotech HOLDRs,

                               .  initial weightings as of October 27, 1999
                                  and

                               .  the principal market on which the shares of
                                  common stock of the selected companies are
                                  traded.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                    Primary
                          Name of                  Share   Initial  Trading
                          Company          Ticker Amounts Weighting Market
                   ----------------------  ------ ------- --------- -------
                   <S>                     <C>    <C>     <C>       <C>
                   Amgen Inc.               AMGN     23    19.76%   NASDAQ
                   Genentech, Inc.          DNA      11    18.29%     NYSE
                   Biogen, Inc.             BGEN     13     9.92%   NASDAQ
                   Immunex Corporation      IMNX     14     8.90%   NASDAQ
                   PE Corp-PE Biosystems
                    Group                   PEB       9     6.67%     NYSE
                   MedImmune, Inc.          MEDI      5     6.03%   NASDAQ
                   Chiron Corporation       CHIR     16     4.78%   NASDAQ
                   Genzyme Corporation      GENZ      7     2.99%   NASDAQ
                   Gilead Sciences, Inc.    GILD      4     2.97%   NASDAQ
                   Sepracor Inc.            SEPR      3     2.68%   NASDAQ
                   IDEC Pharmaceuticals
                    Corporation             IDPH      2     2.49%   NASDAQ
                   QLT Photo Therapeutics
                    Inc.                    QLTI      5     2.42%   NASDAQ
                   Millennium
                    Pharmaceuticals, Inc.   MLNM      3     2.35%   NASDAQ
                   BioChem Pharma Inc.      BCHE      9     2.20%   NASDAQ
                   Affymetrix, Inc.         AFFX      2     2.02%   NASDAQ
                   Human Genome Sciences,
                    Inc.                    HGSI      2     1.77%   NASDAQ
                   ICOS Corporation         ICOS      4     1.29%   NASDAQ
                   Enzon, Inc.              ENZN      3     0.93%   NASDAQ
                   Celera Genomics          CRA       2     0.77%     NYSE
                   Alkermes, Inc.           ALKS      2     0.76%   NASDAQ
</TABLE>

                               These companies generally are considered to be
                               among the 20 largest and most liquid companies
                               involved in the biotechnology industry as
                               measured by market capitalization and trading
                               volume on October 27, 1999. The market
                               capitalization of a company is determined by
                               multiplying the price of its common stock by
                               the number of outstanding shares of its common
                               stock.

                                       9
<PAGE>


                               The trust only will issue and cancel, and you
                               only may obtain, hold, trade or surrender,
                               Biotech HOLDRs in a round-lot of 100 Biotech
                               HOLDRs and round-lot multiples. The trust will
                               only issue Biotech HOLDRs upon the deposit of
                               the whole shares represented by a round-lot of
                               100 Biotech HOLDRs. In the event that a
                               fractional share comes to be represented by a
                               round-lot of Biotech HOLDRs, the trust may
                               require a minimum of more than one round-lot of
                               100 Biotech HOLDRs for an issuance so that the
                               trust will always receive whole share amounts
                               for issuance of Biotech HOLDRs.

                               The number of outstanding Biotech HOLDRs will
                               increase and decrease as a result of in-kind
                               deposits and withdrawals of the underlying
                               securities. The trust will stand ready to issue
                               additional Biotech HOLDRs on a continuous basis
                               when an investor deposits the required shares
                               of common stock with the trustee.

Public offering price........
                               The initial public offering price for 100
                               Biotech HOLDRs will equal the sum of the
                               closing market price on the pricing date for
                               each underlying security multiplied by the
                               share amount appearing in the above table, plus
                               an underwriting fee.

Purchases....................
                               After the initial offering, you may acquire
                               Biotech HOLDRs in two ways:

                               .  through an in-kind deposit of the required
                                  number of shares of common stock of the
                                  underlying issuers with the trustee, or

                               .  through a cash purchase in the secondary
                                  trading market.

Underwriting fees............

                               If you purchase Biotech HOLDRs in the initial
                               public offering, you will pay Merrill Lynch,
                               Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, in its
                               role as underwriter, an underwriting fee equal
                               to:

                               .  For purchases of     Biotech HOLDRs or
                                  fewer, 2%.

                               .  For purchases in excess of     Biotech
                                  HOLDRs,  %.

                               You will not be charged any issuance fee or
                               other sales commission in connection with
                               purchases of Biotech HOLDRs made in the initial
                               public offering.

Issuance and cancellation
 fees........................  After the initial offering, if you wish to
                               create Biotech HOLDRs by delivering to the
                               trust the requisite shares of common stock
                               represented by a round-lot of 100 Biotech
                               HOLDRs, The Bank of New York as trustee will
                               charge you an issuance fee of up to $10.00 for
                               each round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs. If you
                               wish to cancel your Biotech HOLDRs and withdraw
                               your underlying securities, The Bank of New
                               York as trustee will charge you a cancellation
                               fee of up to $10.00 for each round-lot of 100
                               Biotech HOLDRs.

Commissions..................
                               If you choose to deposit underlying securities
                               in order to receive Biotech HOLDRs after the
                               conclusion of the initial public offering, you
                               will not be charged the underwriting fee.
                               However, in addition to the issuance fee
                               charged by the trustee described above, you
                               will be responsible for paying any sales
                               commission associated with

                                       10
<PAGE>

                               your purchase of the underlying securities that
                               is charged by your broker, whether it be
                               Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
                               Incorporated or another broker.

Custody fees.................
                               The Bank of New York, as trustee and as
                               custodian, will charge you a quarterly custody
                               fee of $2.00 for each round-lot of 100 Biotech
                               HOLDRs to be deducted from any cash dividend or
                               other cash distributions on underlying
                               securities received by the trust. With respect
                               to the aggregate custody fee payable in any
                               calendar year for each Biotech HOLDR, the
                               Trustee will waive that portion of the fee
                               which exceeds the total cash dividends and
                               other cash distributions received, or to be
                               received, and payable with respect to such
                               calendar year.

Rights relating to Biotech     You have the right to withdraw the underlying
 HOLDRs.................       securities upon request by delivering a round-
                               lot or integral multiple of a round-lot of
                               Biotech HOLDRs to the trustee, during the
                               trustee's business hours, and paying the
                               cancellation fees, taxes, and other charges.
                               You should receive the underlying securities no
                               later than the business day after the trustee
                               receives a proper notice of cancellation. The
                               trustee will not deliver fractional shares of
                               underlying securities. To the extent that any
                               cancellation of Biotech HOLDRs would otherwise
                               require the delivery of a fractional share, the
                               trustee will sell such share in the market and
                               the trust, in turn, will deliver cash in lieu
                               of such share. Except with respect to the right
                               to vote for dissolution of the trust, the
                               Biotech HOLDRs themselves will not have voting
                               rights.

Rights relating to the
 underlying securities.......  You have the right to:

                               .  Receive all shareholder disclosure
                                  materials, including annual and quarterly
                                  reports, distributed by the issuers of the
                                  underlying securities.

                               .  Receive all proxy materials distributed by
                                  the issuers of the underlying securities and
                                  will have the right to instruct the trustee
                                  to vote the underlying securities or may
                                  attend shareholder meetings yourself.

                               .  Receive dividends and other distributions on
                                  the underlying securities, if any are
                                  declared and paid to the trustee by an
                                  issuer of the underlying securities, net of
                                  any applicable taxes or fees.

                               If you wish to participate in a tender offer
                               for underlying securities, you must obtain the
                               underlying securities by surrendering your
                               Biotech HOLDRs and receiving all of your
                               underlying securities. For specific information
                               about obtaining your underlying securities, you
                               should read the discussion under the caption
                               "Description of the depositary trust
                               agreement."

Reconstitution events........
                               A. If an issuer of underlying securities no
                                  longer has a class of common stock
                                  registered under section 12 of the
                                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934, then its
                                  securities will no longer be an

                                       11
<PAGE>


                                 underlying security and the trustee will
                                 distribute the shares of that company to the
                                 owners of the Biotech HOLDRs.

                              B. If the SEC finds that an issuer of underlying
                                 securities should be registered as an
                                 investment company under the Investment
                                 Company Act of 1940, and the trustee has
                                 actual knowledge of the SEC finding, then the
                                 trustee will distribute the shares of that
                                 company to the owners of the Biotech HOLDRs.

                              C. If the underlying securities of an issuer
                                 cease to be outstanding as a result of a
                                 merger, consolidation or other corporate
                                 combination, the trustee will distribute the
                                 consideration paid by and received from the
                                 acquiring company to the beneficial owners of
                                 Biotech HOLDRs, unless the merger,
                                 consolidation or other corporate combination
                                 is between companies that are already
                                 included in the Biotech HOLDRs and the
                                 consideration paid is additional underlying
                                 securities. In this case, the additional
                                 underlying securities will be deposited into
                                 the trust.

                              D. If an issuer's underlying securities are
                                 delisted from trading on a national
                                 securities exchange or NASDAQ and are not
                                 listed for trading on another national
                                 securities exchange or through NASDAQ within
                                 5 business days from the date such securities
                                 are delisted.

                              If a reconstitution event occurs, the trustee
                              will deliver the underlying security to you as
                              promptly as practicable after the date that the
                              trustee has knowledge of the occurrence of a
                              reconstitution event.

Termination events..........
                              A. The Biotech HOLDRs are delisted from the
                                 American Stock Exchange and are not listed
                                 for trading on another national securities
                                 exchange or through NASDAQ within 5 business
                                 days from the date the Biotech HOLDRs are
                                 delisted.

                              B. The trustee resigns and no successor trustee
                                 is appointed within 60 days from the date the
                                 trustee provides notice to the initial
                                 depositor of its intent to resign.

                              C. 75% of beneficial owners of outstanding
                                 Biotech HOLDRs vote to dissolve and liquidate
                                 the trust.

                              If a termination event occurs, the trustee will
                              distribute the underlying securities to you as
                              promptly as practicable after the termination
                              event.

Federal income tax
 consequences...............  The federal income tax laws will treat a U.S.
                              holder of Biotech HOLDRs as directly owning the
                              underlying securities. The Biotech HOLDRs
                              themselves will not result in any federal tax
                              consequences separate from the tax consequences
                              associated with ownership of the underlying
                              securities.

Listing.....................

                              Application has been made to list the Biotech
                              HOLDRs on the American Stock Exchange under the
                              symbol "BBH". Trading will take place only in
                              round-lots of 100 Biotech HOLDRs and round-

                                      12
<PAGE>


                               lot multiples. A minimum of 150,000 Biotech
                               HOLDRs will be required to be outstanding when
                               trading begins.

Trading......................
                               Investors only will be able to acquire, hold,
                               transfer and surrender a round-lot of 100
                               Biotech HOLDRs. Bid and ask prices, however,
                               will be quoted per single Biotech HOLDRs.

Clearance and settlement.....
                               The trust will issue Biotech HOLDRs in book-
                               entry form. Biotech HOLDRs will be evidenced by
                               one or more global certificates that the
                               trustee will deposit with The Depositary Trust
                               Company, referred to as DTC. Transfers within
                               DTC will be in accordance with DTC's usual
                               rules and operating procedures. For further
                               information see "Description of Biotech
                               HOLDRs."

                                       13
<PAGE>

                                   THE TRUST

      General. This discussion highlights information about the Biotech HOLDRs
trust. You should read this information, information about the depositary trust
agreement as well as the depositary trust agreement before you purchase Biotech
HOLDRs. The material terms of the depositary trust agreement are described in
this prospectus under the heading "Description of the depositary trust
agreement."

      The Biotech HOLDRs trust. The trust will be formed pursuant to the
depositary trust agreement, dated as of November  , 1999. The Bank of New York
will be the trustee. The Biotech HOLDRs trust is not a registered investment
company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

      The Biotech HOLDRs trust is intended to hold deposited shares for the
benefit of owners of Biotech HOLDRs. The trustee will perform only
administrative and ministerial acts. The property of the trust will consist of
the underlying securities and all monies or other property, if any, received by
the trustee. The trust will terminate on December 31, 2039 or earlier if a
termination event occurs.

                       DESCRIPTION OF BIOTECH HOLDRs

      The trust will issue Biotech HOLDRs under the depositary trust agreement
described in this prospectus under the heading "Description of the depositary
trust agreement." After the initial offering, the trust may issue additional
Biotech HOLDRs on a continuous basis when an investor deposits the requisite
underlying securities with the trustee.

      You may only acquire, hold, trade and surrender Biotech HOLDRs in a
round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs and round-lot multiples. The trust will only
issue Biotech HOLDRs upon the deposit of the whole shares of underlying
securities that are represented by a round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs. In the
event of a stock split, reverse stock split, or other distribution by the
issuer of an underlying security that results in a fractional share becoming
represented by a round-lot of Biotech HOLDRs, the trust may require a minimum
of more than one round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs for an issuance so that the
trust will always receive whole share amounts for issuance of Biotech HOLDRs.

      Biotech HOLDRs will represent your individual and undivided beneficial
ownership interest in the common stock of the specified underlying securities.
The 20 companies selected as part of this receipt program are listed above in
the section entitled "Highlights of Biotech HOLDRs--The Biotech HOLDRs."

      Beneficial owners of Biotech HOLDRs will have the same rights and
privileges as they would have if they beneficially owned the underlying
securities outside of the trust. These include the right of investors to
instruct the trustee to vote the common stock, and to receive dividends and
other distributions on the underlying securities, if any are declared and paid
to the trustee by an issuer of an underlying security, as well as the right to
cancel Biotech HOLDRs to receive the underlying securities. See "Description of
the depositary trust agreement." Biotech HOLDRs are not intended to change your
beneficial ownership in the underlying securities under federal securities
laws, including Sections 13(d) and 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.

      The trust will not publish or otherwise calculate net asset value per
receipt. Biotech HOLDRs may trade in the secondary market at prices that are
lower than the aggregate value of the corresponding underlying securities. If,
in such case, an owner of Biotech HOLDRs wishes to realize the dollar value of
the underlying securities, that owner will have to cancel the Biotech HOLDRs.
Such cancellation will require payment of fees and expenses as described in
"Description of the depositary trust agreement--Withdrawal of underlying
securities."

      Biotech HOLDRs will be evidenced by one or more global certificates that
the trustee will deposit with DTC and register in the name of Cede & Co., as
nominee for DTC. Biotech HOLDRs will be available

                                       14
<PAGE>


only in book-entry form. Owners of Biotech HOLDRs may hold their Biotech HOLDRs
through DTC, if they are participants in DTC, or indirectly through entities
that are participants in DTC.

                    DESCRIPTION OF THE UNDERLYING SECURITIES

      Selection criteria. The underlying securities are the common stocks of a
group of 20 specified companies involved in various segments of the
biotechnology industry and whose common stock is registered under Section 12 of
the Exchange Act. The issuers of the underlying securities are among the 20
largest capitalized, most liquid companies in the biotechnology industry as
measured by market capitalization and trading volume. The following criteria
were used in selecting the underlying securities on October 27, 1999:

    .  Market capitalization equal to or greater than $840 million;

    .  Average daily trading volume of at least 200,000 shares over the 60
       trading days prior to and including October 27, 1999;

    .  Average daily dollar volume (that is, the average daily trading
       volume multiplied by the closing price on October 27, 1999) of at
       least $7.5 million over the 60 trading days prior to and including
       October 27, 1999; and

    .  A trading history of at least 90 calendar days.

The market capitalization of a company is determined by multiplying the price
of its common stock by the number of shares of its common stock that are held
by stockholders. In determining whether a company was to be considered for
inclusion in the Biotech HOLDRs, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated examined available public information about the company, including
analysts' reports and other independent market sources. The ultimate
determination of the inclusion of the 20 specified companies, however, rested
solely within the discretion of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated.

      After the initial deposit, one or more of the issuers of the underlying
securities may no longer be substantially involved in the biotechnology
industry. In this case, the Biotech HOLDRs may no longer consist of securities
issued by companies involved in the biotechnology industry. Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated will determine, in its sole discretion,
whether the issuer of a particular underlying security remains in the
biotechnology industry and will undertake to make adequate disclosure when
necessary.

      Underlying securities. For a list of the underlying securities
represented by Biotech HOLDRs, please refer to "Highlights of Biotech HOLDRs--
The Biotech HOLDRs." If the underlying securities change because of a
reconstitution event, a revised list of underlying securities will be set forth
in a prospectus supplement and will be available from the American Stock
Exchange and through a widely-used electronic information dissemination system
such as Bloomberg or Reuters.

      No investigation. In selecting the underlying securities, the trust, the
trustee, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and any affiliate
of these entities, have not performed any investigation or review of the
selected companies, including the public filings by the companies, other than
to the extent required to determine whether the companies satisfied the stated
selection criteria. Accordingly, before you acquire Biotech HOLDRs, you should
consider publicly available financial and other information about the issuers
of the underlying securities. See "Risk factors" and "Where you can find more
information." Investors and market participants should not conclude that the
inclusion of a company in the list is any form of investment recommendation of
that company by the trust, the trustee, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated, and any of their affiliates.

      General background and historical information. For a brief description of
the business of each of the issuers of the underlying securities and monthly
pricing information showing the historical performance of each underlying
issuer's securities see "Annex A."

                                       15
<PAGE>


      The following table and graph set forth the composite performance of all
of the underlying securities represented by a single Biotech HOLDR, measured at
the close of each business day from July 20, 1999, the first date when all of
the underlying securities were publicly traded, to October 27, 1999. The
performance table and graph data are adjusted for any splits that may have
occurred over the measurement period. Past movements of the underlying
securities are not necessarily indicative of future values.



<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                 Biotech
1999             HOLDRs
- ----             -------
<S>              <C>
July 20.........  81.40
July 21.........  83.70
July 22.........  81.77
July 23.........  81.72
July 26.........  80.37
July 27.........  82.82
July 28.........  83.24
July 29.........  81.96
July 30.........  85.63
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                 Biotech
1999             HOLDRs
- ----             -------
<S>              <C>
August 2........  87.65
August 3........  86.96
August 4........  86.38
August 5........  86.25
August 6........  85.57
August 9........  86.82
August 10.......  85.87
August 11.......  89.16
August 12.......  91.51
August 13.......  95.50
August 16.......  96.40
August 17.......  94.22
August 18.......  94.10
August 19.......  92.46
August 20.......  94.40
August 23....... 100.08
August 24.......  99.68
August 25....... 100.62
August 26.......  98.35
August 27.......  97.77
August 30.......  97.41
August 31.......  97.77
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                 Biotech
1999             HOLDRs
- ----             -------
<S>              <C>
September 1..... 100.46
September 2.....  98.48
September 3..... 102.39
September 7..... 102.85
September 8..... 102.17
September 9..... 103.27
September 10.... 102.54
September 13.... 102.50
September 14.... 100.10
September 15....  95.69
September 16....  96.09
September 17....  98.05
September 20....  98.16
September 21....  95.69
September 22....  98.27
September 23....  95.01
September 24 ...  92.33
September 27....  92.88
September 28....  91.02
September 29....  91.34
September 30....  89.88
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                 Biotech
1999             HOLDRs
- ----             -------
<S>              <C>
October 1.......  92.02
October 4.......  92.58
October 5.......  92.13
October 6.......  97.74
October 7.......  99.65
October 8.......  97.81
October 11......  98.52
October 12......  95.36
October 13......  93.87
October 14......  92.96
October 15......  88.02
October 18......  86.70
October 19......  89.73
October 20......  91.85
October 21......  90.68
October 22......  89.91
October 25......  90.12
October 26......  88.38
October 27......  88.09
</TABLE>




                                       16
<PAGE>

                 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT

      General. The depositary trust agreement, dated as of November  , 1999,
among Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, The Bank of New York,
as trustee, other depositors and the owners of the Biotech HOLDRs, provides
that Biotech HOLDRs will represent an owner's undivided beneficial ownership
interest in the common stock of the underlying companies.

      The trustee. The Bank of New York will serve as trustee. The Bank of New
York, which was founded in 1784, was New York's first bank and is the oldest
bank in the country still operating under its original name. The Bank is a
state-chartered New York banking corporation and a member of the Federal
Reserve System. The Bank conducts a national and international wholesale
banking business and a retail banking business in the New York City, New Jersey
and Connecticut areas, and provides a comprehensive range of corporate and
personal trust, securities processing and investment services.

      Issuance, transfer and surrender of Biotech HOLDRs. You may create and
cancel Biotech HOLDRs only in round-lots of 100 Biotech HOLDRs. You may create
Biotech HOLDRs by delivering to the trustee the requisite underlying
securities. The trust will only issue Biotech HOLDRs upon the deposit of the
whole shares represented by a round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs. In the event
that an issuer of underlying securities distributes a fractional share that is
represented in a round-lot of Biotech HOLDRs, the trust may require a minimum
of more than one round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs for an issuance so that the
trust will always receive whole share amounts for issuance of Biotech HOLDRs.
Similarly, you must surrender Biotech HOLDRs in integral multiples of 100
Biotech HOLDRs to withdraw deposited shares from the trust. The trustee will
not deliver fractional shares of underlying securities, to the extent that any
cancellation of Biotech HOLDRs would otherwise require the delivery of
fractional shares, the trust will deliver cash in lieu of such shares. You may
request withdrawal of your deposited shares during the trustee's normal
business hours. The trustee expects that in most cases it will deliver your
deposited shares within one business day of your withdrawal request.

      Voting rights. The trustee will deliver you proxy soliciting materials
provided by issuers of the deposited shares so as to permit you to give the
trustee instructions as to how to vote on matters to be considered at any
annual or special meetings held by issuers of the underlying securities.

      Under the depositary trust agreement, the beneficial owners of Biotech
HOLDRs, other than Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated owning
Biotech HOLDRs for its own proprietary account as principal, will have the
right to vote to dissolve and liquidate the trust.

      Distributions. You will be entitled to receive, net of trustee fees,
distributions of cash, including dividends, securities or property, if any,
made with respect to the underlying securities. The trustee will use its
reasonable efforts to ensure that it distributes these distributions as
promptly as practicable after the date on which it receives the distribution.
Therefore, you may receive your distributions substantially later than you
would have had you held the underlying securities directly. You will be
obligated to pay any tax or other charge that may become due with respect to
Biotech HOLDRs. The trustee may deduct the amount of any tax or other
governmental charge from a distribution before making payment to you. In
addition, the trustee will deduct its quarterly custody fee of $2.00 for each
round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs from quarterly dividends, if any, paid to the
trustee by the issuers of the underlying securities. With respect to the
aggregate custody fee payable in any calendar year for each Biotech HOLDR, the
trustee will waive that portion of the fee which exceeds the total cash
dividends and other cash distributions received, or to be received, and payable
with respect to such calendar year.

      Record dates. With respect to dividend payments and voting instructions,
the trustee expects to fix the trust's record dates as close as possible to the
record date fixed by the issuer of the underlying securities.

                                       17
<PAGE>

      Shareholder communications. The trustee promptly will forward to you all
shareholder communications that it receives from issuers of the underlying
securities.

      Withdrawal of underlying securities. You may surrender your Biotech
HOLDRs and receive underlying securities during the trustee's normal business
hours and upon the payment of applicable fees, taxes or governmental charges,
if any. You should receive your underlying securities no later than the
business day after the trustee receives your request. If you surrender Biotech
HOLDRs in order to receive underlying securities, you will pay to the trustee a
cancellation fee of up to $10.00 per round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs.

      Further issuances of Biotech HOLDRs. The depositary trust agreement
provides for further issuances of Biotech HOLDRs on a continuous basis without
your consent.

      Reconstitution events. The depositary trust agreement provides for the
automatic distribution of underlying securities to you in four circumstances.

            A. If an issuer of underlying securities no longer has a class of
               common stock registered under section 12 of the Securities
               Exchange Act of 1934, then its securities will no longer be an
               underlying security and the trustee will distribute the shares
               of that company to the owners of the Biotech HOLDRs.

            B. If the SEC finds that an issuer of underlying securities should
               be registered as an investment company under the Investment
               Company Act of 1940, and the trustee has actual knowledge of
               the SEC finding, then the trustee will distribute the shares of
               that company to the owners of the Biotech HOLDRs.

            C. If the underlying securities of an issuer cease to be
               outstanding as a result of a merger, consolidation or other
               corporate combination, the trustee will distribute the
               consideration paid by and received from the acquiring company
               to the beneficial owners of Biotech HOLDRs, unless the merger,
               consolidation or other corporate combination is between
               companies that are already included in the Biotech HOLDRs and
               the consideration paid is additional underlying securities. In
               this case, the additional underlying securities will be
               deposited into the trust.

            D. If an issuer's underlying securities are delisted from trading
               on a national securities exchange or NASDAQ and are not listed
               for trading on another national securities exchange or through
               NASDAQ within 5 business days from the date such securities are
               delisted.

      If a reconstitution event occurs, the trustee will deliver the underlying
security to you as promptly as practicable after the date that the trustee has
knowledge of the occurrence of a reconstitution event.

      Termination of the trust. The trust will terminate if the trustee resigns
and no successor trustee is appointed by the initial depositor within 60 days
from the date the trustee provides notice to the initial depositor of its
intent to resign. Upon termination, the beneficial owners of Biotech HOLDRs
will surrender their Biotech HOLDRs as provided in the depositary trust
agreement, including payment of any fees of the trustee or applicable taxes or
governmental charges due in connection with delivery to the owners of the
underlying securities. The trust also will terminate if Biotech HOLDRs are
delisted from the American Stock Exchange and are not listed for trading on
another national securities exchange or through NASDAQ within 5 business days
from the date the Biotech HOLDRs are delisted. Finally, the trust will
terminate if 75% of the owners of outstanding Biotech HOLDRs other than Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated vote to dissolve and liquidate the
trust.

      If a termination event occurs, the trustee will distribute the underlying
securities to you as promptly as practicable after the termination event
occurs.

                                       18
<PAGE>


      Amendment of the depositary trust agreement. The trustee and the initial
depositor may amend any provisions of the depositary trust agreement without
the consent of any other depositor or any of the owners of the Biotech HOLDRs.
Promptly after the execution of any amendment to the agreement, the trustee
must furnish or cause to be furnished written notification of the substance of
the amendment to each owner of Biotech HOLDRs. Any amendment that imposes or
increases any fees or charges, subject to exceptions, or that otherwise
prejudices any substantial existing right of the owners of Biotech HOLDRs will
not become effective until 30 days after notice of the amendment is given to
the owners of Biotech HOLDRs.

      Issuance and cancellation fees. After the initial public offering, the
trust expects to issue more Biotech HOLDRs. If you wish to create Biotech
HOLDRs by delivering to the trust the requisite underlying securities, the
trustee will charge you an issuance fee of up to $10.00 for each round-lot of
100 Biotech HOLDRs. If you wish to cancel your Biotech HOLDRs and withdraw your
underlying securities, the trustee will charge you a cancellation fee of up to
$10.00 for each round-lot of 100 Biotech HOLDRs issued. The trustee may
negotiate either of these fees depending on the volume, frequency and size of
the issuance or cancellation transactions.

      Commissions. If you choose to create Biotech HOLDRs after the conclusion
of the initial public offering, you will not be charged the underwriting fee.
However, in addition to the issuance and cancellation fees described above, you
will be responsible for paying any sales commissions associated with your
purchase of the underlying securities that is charged by your broker, whether
it be Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated or another broker.

      Custody fees. The Bank of New York, as trustee and as custodian, will
charge you a quarterly custody fee of $2.00 for each round-lot of 100 Biotech
HOLDRs to be deducted from any dividend payments or other cash distributions on
underlying securities received by the trustee. With respect to the aggregate
custody fee payable in any calendar year for each Biotech HOLDR, the Trustee
will waive that portion of the fee which exceeds the total cash dividends and
other cash distributions received, or to be received, and payable with respect
to such calendar year. The trustee cannot recapture unpaid custody fees from
prior years.

      Address of the trustee. The Bank of New York, ADR Department, 101 Barclay
Street, New York, New York 10286.

      Governing law. The depositary trust agreement and Biotech HOLDRs will be
governed by the laws of the State of New York. The trustee will provide the
depositary trust agreement to any owner of the underlying securities free of
charge upon written request.

      Duties and immunities of the trustee. The trustee will assume no
responsibility or liability for, and makes no representations as to, the
validity or sufficiency, or as to the accuracy of the recitals, if any, set
forth in the Biotech HOLDRs.

      The trustee undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically
set forth in the depositary trust agreement. Subject to the preceding sentence,
the trustee will be liable for its own negligence or misconduct except for good
faith errors in judgment so long as the trustee was not negligent in
ascertaining the relevant facts.

                                       19
<PAGE>

                        FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

General

      The following is a summary of the U.S. federal income tax consequences
relating to the Biotech HOLDRs for:

     .  a citizen or resident of the United States, a corporation or
        partnership created or organized in the United States or under the
        laws of the United States, an estate, the income of which is
        includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes
        regardless of its source, or a trust if a court within the United
        States is able to exercise primary supervision over the
        administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the
        authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust (a
        "U.S. receipt holder"), and

     .  any person other than a U.S. receipt holder (a "Non-U.S. receipt
        holder").

      This summary is based upon laws, regulations, rulings and decisions
currently in effect, all of which are subject to change, possibly on a
retroactive basis. The discussion does not deal with all U.S. federal income
tax consequences applicable to all categories of investors, some of which may
be subject to special rules. In addition, this summary generally is limited to
investors who will hold the Biotech HOLDRs as "capital assets" (generally,
property held for investment) within the meaning of Section 1221 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. We suggest that you consult with
your own tax advisor.

Taxation of the trust

      The trust will provide for flow through tax consequences as it will be
treated as a grantor trust or custodial arrangement for United States federal
income tax purposes.

Taxation of Biotech HOLDRs

      A receipt holder purchasing and owning Biotech HOLDRs will be treated,
for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as directly owning a proportionate share
of the underlying securities represented by Biotech HOLDRs. Consequently, if
there is a taxable cash distribution on an underlying security, a holder will
recognize income with respect to the distribution at the time the distribution
is received by the trustee, not at the time that the holder receives the cash
distribution from the trustee.

      A receipt holder will determine its initial tax basis in each of the
underlying securities by allocating the purchase price for the Biotech HOLDRs
among the underlying securities based on their relative fair market values at
the time of purchase. Similarly, when a holder sells a receipt, it will
determine the amount realized with respect to each security by allocating the
sales price among the underlying securities based on their relative fair market
values at the time of sale. A holder's gain or loss with respect to each
security will be computed by subtracting its basis in the security from the
amount realized on the security. With respect to purchases of Biotech HOLDRs
for cash in the secondary market, a receipt holder's aggregate tax basis in
each of the underlying securities will be equal to the purchase price of the
Biotech HOLDRs. Similarly, with respect to sales of Biotech HOLDRs for cash in
the secondary market, the amount realized with respect to a sale of Biotech
HOLDRs will be equal to the aggregate amount realized with respect to each of
the underlying securities.

      The distribution of any securities by the trust upon the surrender of
Biotech HOLDRs, the occurrence of a reconstitution event, or a termination
event will not be a taxable event. The receipt holders holding period with
respect to the distributed securities will include the period that the holder
held the securities through the trust.

                                       20
<PAGE>

Brokerage fees and custodian fees

      The brokerage fee incurred in purchasing a receipt will be treated as
part of the cost of the underlying securities. Accordingly, a holder includes
this fee in its tax basis in the underlying securities. A holder will allocate
the brokerage fee among the underlying securities using either a fair market
value allocation or pro rata based on the number of shares of each underlying
security. Similarly, the brokerage fee incurred in selling Biotech HOLDRs will
reduce the amount realized with respect to the underlying securities.

      A holder will be required to include in its income the full amount of
dividends paid on the underlying securities, even though the depositary trust
agreement provides that the custodian fees will be deducted directly from any
dividends paid. These custodian fees will be treated as an expense incurred in
connection with a holder's investment in the underlying securities and may be
deductible. If a holder is an individual, estate or trust, however, the
deduction of its share of custodian fees will be a miscellaneous itemized
deduction that may be disallowed in whole or in part.

Non-U.S. receipt holders

      Non-U.S. receipt holders should consult their tax advisors regarding U.S.
withholding and other taxes which may apply to an investment in the underlying
securities.

                              ERISA CONSIDERATIONS

      Any plan fiduciary which proposes to have a plan acquire Biotech HOLDRs
should consult with its counsel with respect to the potential applicability of
ERISA and the Code to this investment and whether any exemption would be
applicable and determine on its own whether all conditions have been satisfied.
Moreover, each plan fiduciary should determine whether, under the general
fiduciary standards of investment prudence and diversification, an acquisition
of Biotech HOLDRs is appropriate for the plan, taking into account the overall
investment policy of the plan and the composition of the plan's investment
portfolio.

                              PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

      In accordance with the depository trust agreement, the trust will issue
to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated will deposit the underlying securities to
receive Biotech HOLDRs. Merrill Lynch & Co., as underwriter, proposes to offer
the Biotech HOLDRs to the public at the offering price set forth on the cover
page of this prospectus. Merrill Lynch expects the trust to deliver the initial
distribution of Biotech HOLDRs against deposit of the underlying securities in
New York, New York on November  , 1999. After the initial offering, the public
offering price, concession and discount may be changed. The trust will continue
to issue Biotech HOLDRs, in connection with deposits of underlying securities.

      Merrill Lynch has from time to time provided investment banking and other
financial services to certain of the issuers of the underlying securities and
expects in the future to provide these services, for which it has received and
will receive customary fees and commissions. It also may have served as
counterparty in other transactions with certain of the issuers of the
underlying securities.

      Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated may use this
prospectus, as updated from time to time, in connection with offers and sales
related to market-making transactions in the Biotech HOLDRs. Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated may act as principal or agent in such
transactions. Market-making sales will be made at prices related to prevailing
market prices at the time of sale.

      Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated has agreed to
indemnify the trustee against certain civil liabilities related to acts
performed or not performed by the trustee in accordance with the depositary
trust

                                       21
<PAGE>


agreement or periodic reports filed or not filed with the SEC with respect to
the Biotech HOLDRs. Should a court determine not to enforce the indemnification
provision, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated also has agreed
to contribute to payments the trustee may be required to make with respect to
such liabilities.

                                   YEAR 2000

      The trustee's Year 2000 compliance program consists of updating major
trustee-owned application systems, business-area supported systems, and the
trustee's proprietary customer software and evaluating the Year 2000 compliance
efforts of vendors of major vendor-supplied systems. The trustee's compliance
efforts have also considered the Year 2000 readiness of its global sub-
custodians, major service providers, correspondents, business partners, and
borrowers. The current focus is to monitor continued preparedness and
contingency planning. While contingency planning has been defined as part of
the Year 2000 compliance program, all new measures have been incorporated into
the trustee's existing Business Continuity Plans.

      The trustee divided its major proprietary applications systems into three
business line groups. The applications in each group were subjected to a phased
process of assessment, renovation, certification testing, and implementation.
All critical systems have completed all phases. A program is in place to
continue to monitor critical systems to prevent Y2K problems from being
reintroduced. Major business-line products have been made available in isolated
future-dated environments for selected customers to test their interfaces and
to assure themselves of the trustee's compliance. The trustee is satisfied with
the results of testing with customers and agencies. Continued participation at
the request of the agencies and customers will continue as required.

      Remediation of the trustee's proprietary customer software has been
completed. Installation on client desktop computers is substantially complete.
Customers have been advised of their obligation to assure that their
environments are compliant in order for the trustees's software to function
correctly during and after the century date change.

      The trustee has substantially completed an evaluation of its significant
business partners, including other financial services providers,
correspondents, counterparties, sub-custodians, vendors and settlement
agencies, for the purpose of assessing their Year 2000 compliance. The trustee
is currently satisfied with the information it has received concerning the
progress and Year 2000 readiness programs of each significant third party. The
trustee will continue to monitor the readiness and progress of these parties
throughout 1999. The trustee intends to replace service providers that are seen
as not managing the Year 2000 issue adequately.

      The trustee considers Year 2000 readiness in its credit decisions and
factors this into borrower ratings. Based on a review of significant obligors,
the trustee believes that exposure to obligor Year 2000 problems does not
present a material risk to the trustee.

      The trustee's personal computers considered to be critical to the
trustee's operations have been upgraded. Upgrading of physical facilities that
is considered critical to the trustee's operations to Year 2000 readiness is
expected to be completed by the end of September 1999.

      The trustee's contingency plans relating to Year 2000 issues include the
identification and assessment of the impact of various worst case scenarios on
the critical operational components for each of the trustee's business units.
The trustee has reviewed the applicability of its current contingency plans,
which include creation of an information center, establishment of special rapid
response technology teams, scheduling availability of key personnel, testing
and simulation activities, offsite data center facilities, and emergency backup
power. These plans, with minor modification, have been determined to be
adequate to mitigate Year 2000 related risks. The information center, which has
been established as a repository and focus for analysis of information, will
publish the status of the organization internally and externally during
critical periods. It is also authorized to requisition and deploy resources as
needed to address unanticipated situations.

                                       22
<PAGE>


      Overall the trustee's Year 2000 compliance program is on or ahead of
schedule to meet the needs of its customers and compliance deadlines defined by
its regulators. The estimated cost of the Year 2000 project is approximately
$82 million. In the first half of 1999 the trustee spent $11 million on making
computer systems Year 2000 compliant. Total expenses since 1997 have been $62
million.

      A material Year 2000 problem could result in an interruption in, or a
failure of, certain normal business activities or operations. Such problems
could materially and adversely affect the trustee's results of operations,
liquidity and financial condition. Due to the general uncertainty inherent in
the year 2000 problem, resulting in part from the uncertainty of the Year 2000
readiness of suppliers, customers and other business partners, as well as
entities with which the trustee does not have direct business relations, the
trustee is unable to determine at this time whether the consequences of the
Year 2000 failures will have a material impact on the trustee's results of
operations, liquidity or financial condition. The Year 2000 compliance program
is intended to significantly reduce the trustee's level of uncertainty about
the Year 2000 problem and, in particular, about the Year 2000 compliance and
readiness of its material business partners. The trustee believes that, with
completion of its Year 2000 compliance program as scheduled, the possibility of
significant interruptions of normal operations should be reduced. However,
because of the unprecedented nature of this issue, there can be no certainty as
to its impact.

                                 LEGAL MATTERS

      Legal matters, including the validity of the Biotech HOLDRs have been
passed upon for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, the initial
depositor and the underwriter, by Shearman & Sterling, New York, New York.
Shearman & Sterling, as special U.S. tax counsel to the trust, also has
rendered an opinion regarding the material federal income tax consequences
relating to the Biotech HOLDRs.

                      WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

      Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated has filed a
registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC covering the Biotech HOLDRs.
While this prospectus is a part of the registration statement, it does not
contain all the exhibits filed as part of the registration statement. You
should consider reviewing the full text of those exhibits.

      The registration statement is available over the Internet at the SEC's
web site at http://www.sec.gov. You also may read and copy the registration
statement at the SEC's public reference rooms in Washington, D.C., New York,
New York and Chicago, Illinois. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more
information on the public reference rooms and their copy charges. Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated will not and the trust may not be
subject to the requirements of the Exchange Act and accordingly may not file
periodic reports.

      Because the common stock of the issuers of the underlying securities is
registered under the Exchange Act, the issuers of the underlying securities are
required to file periodically financial and other information specified by the
SEC. For more information about the issuers of the underlying securities,
information provided to or filed with the SEC by the issuers of the underlying
securities with respect to their registered securities can be inspected at the
SEC's public reference facilities or accessed through the SEC's web site
referenced above. In addition, information regarding the issuers of the
underlying securities may be obtained from other sources including, but not
limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated
information.

      The trust and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its
affiliates are not affiliated with the issuers of the underlying securities,
and the issuers of the underlying securities have no obligations with respect
to Biotech HOLDRs. This prospectus relates only to Biotech HOLDRs and does not
relate to the

                                       23
<PAGE>


common stock or other securities of the issuers of the underlying securities.
The information in this prospectus regarding the issuers of the underlying
securities has been derived from the publicly available documents described in
the preceding paragraph. We have not participated in the preparation of these
documents or made any due diligence inquiries with respect to the issuers of
the underlying securities in connection with Biotech HOLDRs. We make no
representation that these publicly available documents or any other publicly
available information regarding the issuers of the underlying securities are
accurate or complete. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that all events
occurring prior to the date of this prospectus, including events that would
affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents
described in the preceding paragraph, that would affect the trading price of
the common stock of the issuers of the underlying securities, and therefore the
offering and trading prices of the Biotech HOLDRs, have been publicly
disclosed.

                                       24
<PAGE>

                                    ANNEX A

      This annex forms an integral part of the prospectus.

      The following tables provide a brief description of the business of each
of the issuers of the underlying securities and set forth the split-adjusted
closing market prices, as reported on the applicable primary trading market, of
each of the underlying securities in each month during 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,
1998 and 1999 through September 1999. All market prices in excess of one dollar
are rounded to the nearest one sixty-fourth dollar. An asterisk (*) denotes
that no shares of the issuer were outstanding during that month. The historical
prices of the underlying securities should not be taken as an indication of
future performance.

                              ALKERMES, INC.

      Alkermes, Inc. develops products based on drug delivery technologies.
Alkermes is focusing on controlled, sustained release of injectable drugs, as
well as the delivery of drugs into the brain past the blood-brain barrier.
Alkermes is also focusing on the oral delivery of drugs, and the development of
pharmaceutical products based on pulmonary drug delivery technologies.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price    1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    8       January   2 3/4   January    9 7/8  January   23 1/4  January   24 1/4   January   31 1/8
February   7 3/8   February  2 29/32 February   9 7/8  February  24 7/8  February  23 3/16  February  28 1/16
March      7       March     2 3/4   March      9 1/8  March     14      March     24 7/8   March     27 1/4
April      5 3/4   April     2 7/8   April     10 7/8  April     11      April     23 7/8   April     26 3/4
May        5 1/4   May       3 1/16  May       15 9/16 May       16 1/2  May       21 7/8   May       24 3/4
June       4 5/8   June      3 7/8   June      12 1/4  June      14 1/2  June      17 31/32 June      23 1/8
July       3 1/4   July      8 5/8   July      12 3/8  July      15 7/8  July      19 3/4   July      26 1/8
August     3 3/4   August    6 7/8   August    13 1/4  August    18 5/8  August    10 15/16 August     37 2/3
September  3 9/16  September 6 1/2   September 15 5/8  September 20 5/8  September 14 9/16  September 28 13/16
October    3 1/2   October   6 1/2   October   13 1/4  October   22 3/4  October   19 1/2
November   3 1/4   November  5 7/8   November  14 1/8  November  19 3/4  November  18 3/8
December    2 1/8  December  7 15/16 December  23 1/4  December  19 7/8  December  22 3/16
</TABLE>

                             AFFYMETRIX, INC.

      Affymetrix, Inc. develops and manufactures DNA chip technology.
Affymetrix's "GeneChip" system acquires, analyzes, and manages genetic
information in order to improve the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of
disease. Affymetrix markets it products directly, and through an exclusive
sales agent, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic research
centers and clinical reference laboratories.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price    1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January      *     January     *     January    *      January   29 1/4  January   27 13/16 January   41 1/2
February     *     February    *     February   *      February  28      February  31 3/8   February  38 3/4
March        *     March       *     March      *      March     27      March     34 13/16 March     34 13/16
April        *     April       *     April      *      April     25      April     31 1/2   April     40 7/8
May          *     May         *     May        *      May       30 3/4  May       26 7/8   May       35 1/8
June         *     June        *     June       *      June      34 3/4  June      24 1/16  June      49 3/8
July         *     July        *     July       *      July      32 5/8  July      26 7/8   July      72 3/4
August       *     August      *     August     *      August    33 1/2  August    16 1/2   August    85 5/8
September    *     September   *     September  *      September 46      September 25 3/4   September 98 7/16
October      *     October     *     October   18 1/4  October   36 5/8  October   24 1/2
November     *     November    *     November  19 1/2  November  34 3/8  November  25
December     *     December    *     December  20 3/16 December  31 1/8  December  24 3/8
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-1
<PAGE>


                                AMGEN INC.

      Amgen Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human
therapeutics based on advanced cellular and molecular biology. Amgen focuses
its research on secreted protein and small molecule therapeutics, with
particular emphasis on neuroscience and cancer. Amgen concentrates product
development in the areas of hematology, cancer, infectious disease,
endocrinology, neurobiology and inflammation. On October 19, 1999, Amgen
declared a 2-for-1 stock split on its common stock, to be effected by means of
a stock dividend to shareholders of record on November 5, 1999. The shares of
common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on November 22, 1999.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price     1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  -------  --------- -------  --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    12 3/16  January   15 29/32 January   30 1/16  January   28 3/16  January   25       January   63 29/32
February   10 7/16  February  17 / 1/4 February  29 7/8   February  30 9/16  February  26 9/16  February  62 7/16
March       9 9/16  March     16 27/32 March     29 1/16  March     27 15/16 March     30 7/16  March     74 7/8
April      10 1/8   April     18 11/64 April     28 3/4   April     29 7/16  April     29 13/16 April     61 7/16
May        11 41/64 May       18 / 1/8 May       29 3/4   May       33 7/16  May       30 1/4   May       63 1/4
June       10 23/32 June      20 7/64  June      27       June      29 1/16  June      32 11/16 June      60 7/8
July       12 27/64 July      21 9/32  July      27 5/16  July      29 12/32 July      36 23/32 July      76 7/8
August     13 3/16  August    23 15/16 August    29 1/8   August    24 25/32 August    30 7/16  August    83 3/16
September  13 5/16  September 24 15/16 September 31 9/16  September 23 31/32 September 37 25/32 September 81 1/2
October    13 15/16 October   24       October   30 21/32 October   24 5/8   October   39 9/32
November   14 19/32 November  24 13/16 November  30 7/16  November  25 9/16  November  37 5/8
December   14 3/4   December  29 11/16 December  27 3/16  December  27 1/16  December  52 9/32
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                            BIOCHEM PHARMA INC.

      BioChem Pharma Inc. researches and develops products for the prevention,
detection and treatment of human diseases. In particular, BioChem focuses its
research and development in the antiviral, anticancer, pain control, vaccine
and the diagnostic product areas. One of the significant products being
developed by BioChem is to be used for the treatment of patients with the HIV
infection and forms of hepatitus B. BioChem markets and sells its products
through its own sales and marketing force and through co-promotion and
licensing arrangements with third parties.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price     1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January     6 15/32 January    7 25/64 January   21 7/8   January   27 29/32 January   20 25/64 January   28 11/16
February    5 17/32 February   6 27/32 February  23       February  26 23/64 February  22 5/16  February  24 9/16
March       4 31/32 March      7 61/64 March     20 25/64 March     21 3/8   March     24 3/64  March     21 5/16
April       4 17/32 April      7 61/64 April     22 5/8   April     17 57/64 April     25 19/64 April     20 3/4
May         4 17/32 May        8 57/64 May       22 7/8   May       24 39/64 May       26 7/64  May       19 1/8
June        4 9/32  June      10 7/8   June      18 61/64 June      22 1/8   June      26 1/2   June      18 3/4
July        4 13/32 July      12 5/16  July      14 55/64 July      28 23/32 July      23 15/16 July      21 5/8
August      5 7/32  August    14 63/64 August    17 9/32  August    25 51/64 August    15 5/16  August    25 59/64
September   5 5/32  September 15 27/32 September 19 61/64 September 31 21/64 September 18 3/8   September 23 15/16
October     5 15/32 October   19 1/64  October   21 3/16  October   24 59/64 October   21 11/16
November    5 29/32 November  19 9/64  November  21 19/64 November  25 23/64 November  24 3/8
December    6 7/32  December  19 61/64 December  24 63/64 December  20 49/64 December  28 5/8
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-2
<PAGE>


                               BIOGEN, INC.

      Biogen, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets drugs for human health
care. Biogen develops products used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and
kidney, inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. Biogen's research is focused
on molecular and cell biology, immunology and protein chemistry which can lead
to developments in the understanding of disease processes and, as a result, the
creation of new pharmaceuticals, developmental biology and gene therapy. Biogen
sells "AVONEX" to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, hepatitis B
vaccines and diagnostic equipment.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price     1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    13 1/32  January    9 3/32  January   17 9/16  January   23 3/8   January   20 9/16  January   49 1/8
February   10 31/32 February  10 5/16  February  16 11/32 February  24 5/8   February  22 1/16  February  48 1/16
March       8 11/16 March      9 15/16 March     14 7/8   March     18 11/16 March     24 3/32  March     57 5/32
April       8 15/16 April      9 13/16 April     16 15/32 April     16       April     22 3/16  April     47 17/32
May         8 3/8   May       10 3/8   May       15 1/8   May       16 19/32 May       22       May       54 9/16
June        7 5/32  June      11 1/8   June      13 23/32 June      16 15/16 June      24 1/2   June      64 5/16
July       10 7/8   July      11 1/2   July      15 9/32  July      19 1/4   July      27 13/16 July      68 13/16
August     12 19/32 August    13 11/16 August    17 7/16  August    19 11/16 August    23 1/8   August    76 3/4
September  13 5/8   September 15       September 19       September 16 7/32  September 32 29/32 September 78 13/16
October    12 1/4   October   15 5/16  October   18 5/8   October   16 3/4   October   34 3/4
November    9 11/16 November  13 5/8   November  19 1/8   November  17 1/2   November  37 15/16
December   10 7/16  December  15 3/8   December  19 3/8   December  18 3/16  December  41 1/2
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                              CELERA GENOMICS

      Celera Genomics generates, sells, and supports information about genes
and related information management and analysis software. Celera Genomics
generates and commercializes genomic information to assist the understanding of
biological processes and to assist pharmaceutical and biotechnology research
entities in the drug development process and the interrelationship between
genetic variability, disease and drug response. Currently, Celera Genomics'
products include technologies that allow for the analysis of gene expression
which can assist in the identification of genes that are affected by a disease
or a particular treatment. Celera Genomics is also involved in the development
of genotyping and genomic services for plant and animal breeding programs.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price    1998     Price    1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>
January       *    January      *    January      *    January      *    January      *    January      *
February      *    February     *    February     *    February     *    February     *    February     *
March         *    March        *    March        *    March        *    March        *    March        *
April         *    April        *    April        *    April        *    April        *    April     26 3/8
May           *    May          *    May          *    May          *    May          *    May       16 3/4
June          *    June         *    June         *    June         *    June         *    June      15 7/8
July          *    July         *    July         *    July         *    July         *    July      26 1/4
August        *    August       *    August       *    August       *    August       *    August    28 7/16
September     *    September    *    September    *    September    *    September    *    September 40
October       *    October      *    October      *    October      *    October      *
November      *    November     *    November     *    November     *    November     *
December      *    December     *    December     *    December     *    December     *
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-3
<PAGE>


                            CHIRON CORPORATION

      Chiron Corporation is involved in biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and blood
testing. Chiron's products include: "Proleukin," which is marketed as a
treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma and metastatic melanoma; vaccines
for, among other things, tetanus, meningococcus, flu and measles; tests used
for screening and testing blood in blood banks; and treatment of diphtheria.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing           Closing            Closing
  1994      Price     1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price    1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    23 25/32 January   17 1/8   January   28 3/4   January   18 5/8  January   17 15/16 January   22 3/4
February   19 3/8   February  15 3/16  February  27 25/32 February  20 3/4  February  19 3/16  February  21 1/16
March      16 7/16  March     13 7/16  March     24 9/16  March     18 5/8  March     20 15/16 March     21 15/16
April      16 7/32  April     13 13/16 April     24 3/32  April     18 3/4  April     19 3/8   April     20 1/8
May        16       May       12 15/16 May       26 1/4   May       18 7/8  May       18 1/16  May       21 1/8
June       13 11/16 June      16 1/4   June      24 1/2   June      20 7/8  June      15 11/16 June      20 3/4
July       13 7/16  July      19 3/4   July      22       July      21      July      17       July      25 1/16
August     17 7/16  August    22 7/16  August    19 5/8   August    22 3/8  August    14 3/8   August    32 1/8
September  16 5/8   September 22 5/8   September 19       September 22 5/8  September 19 7/8   September 27 11/16
October    16 27/32 October   22 3/4   October   22 7/8   October   19 1/4  October   22 1/2
November   19 5/16  November  25 3/16  November  19 3/8   November  18 3/16 November  22 5/8
December   20 3/32  December  27 5/8   December  18 5/8   December  17      December  26 3/16
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                ENZON, INC.

      Enzon, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets enhanced therapeutics for
life-threatening diseases. Enzon commercializes its technologies by developing
and distributing products in cooperation with strategic partners. Enzon has
developed products to treat children who are born without fully developed
immune systems and that are used in the treatment of a certain form of
leukemia.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price    1998     Price    1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>
January    4 7/8   January   2       January   3 11/16 January   2 61/64 January    5 1/2  January   14 3/8
February   4 7/8   February  2 1/2   February  4 3/4   February  2 3/4   February   5 5/8  February  13 7/8
March      4 5/16  March     2 1/4   March     4 1/4   March     2 9/16  March      6 7/8  March     14 3/4
April      3 1/4   April     2       April     4 3/8   April     2 7/8   April      6      April     13
May        3       May       2 3/8   May       4       May       2 1/2   May        5 3/8  May       14 3/8
June       2 3/4   June      2 3/8   June      3 1/2   June      2 1/4   June       6 3/8  June      20 11/16
July       2 9/16  July      3 3/8   July      2 11/16 July      2 3/4   July       6 9/16 July      24 1/8
August     2 7/16  August    3 1/4   August    2 3/8   August    3 13/16 August     4 1/16 August    33 3/4
September  3 1/8   September 3 3/4   September 2 3/8   September 4 7/8   September  6 5/8  September 30 1/2
October    2 1/4   October   2 5/8   October   2 1/2   October   6 1/8   October    6
November   2 1/8   November  2 3/16  November  2 7/16  November  5 15/16 November  12
December   1 3/4   December  2 1/8   December  2 15/16 December  5 1/2   December  13 9/16
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-4
<PAGE>


                              GENENTECH, INC.

      Genentech, Inc. uses human genetic information to discover, develop,
manufacture and market human pharmaceuticals. Genentech focuses on the
cardiovascular area and on oncology. Genetech's products are used for, among
other things, the treatment of certain forms of breast cancer, lymphoma, and to
assist with the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Genentech markets biotechnology
products on its own and through licensing agreements.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price    1998     Price    1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>
January      *     January     *     January     *     January     *     January     *     January   *
February     *     February    *     February    *     February    *     February    *     February  *
March        *     March       *     March       *     March       *     March       *     March     *
April        *     April       *     April       *     April       *     April       *     April     *
May          *     May         *     May         *     May         *     May         *     May       *
June         *     June        *     June        *     June        *     June        *     June      *
July         *     July        *     July        *     July        *     July        *     July      142
August       *     August      *     August      *     August      *     August      *     August    164 1/4
September    *     September   *     September   *     September   *     September   *     September 146 5/16
October      *     October     *     October     *     October     *     October     *
November     *     November    *     November    *     November    *     November    *
December     *     December    *     December    *     December    *     December    *
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                            GENZYME CORPORATION

      Genzyme Corporation develops and markets therapeutic and surgical
products, as well as diagnostic services and products. Genzyme also develops
and markets biological products and devices for the treatment of a genetic
disorder called Gaucher disease, renal diseases, thyroid cancer and other
conditions. Genzyme markets many of its products directly to physicians,
hospitals and treatment centers around the world through its own sales force.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing             Closing            Closing
  1994      Price     1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price     1998      Price     1999     Price
- ---------  -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>       <C>       <C>
January    14 15/16 January   16 51/64 January   36 5/32  January   26 11/16 January   25 47/64  January   53 39/64
February   13 19/64 February  18 15/32 February  32 7/8   February  24 17/32 February  283 33/64 February  44 17/64
March      12 31/64 March     18 15/32 March     26 13/64 March     21 7/16  March     30 55/64  March     49 5/8
April      13 17/32 April     20 3/8   April     26 51/64 April     22 1/32  April     29 53/64  April     37 9/64
May        13 19/64 May       17 5/8   May       27 3/4   May       22 3/4   May       26 13/32  May       39 29/32
June       12 3/16  June      19 1/16  June      23 15/16 June      26 7/16  June      24 21/32  June      48 1/2
July       13 15/32 July      23 15/32 July      23 45/64 July      26 9/32  July      30 11/32  July      56 9/16
August     15 55/64 August    26 5/8   August    22 3/4   August    27 1/8   August    26 1/32   August    56 7/16
September  15 63/64 September 27 41/64 September 24 19/64 September 28 11/16 September 34 27/32  September 45 1/16
October    15 9/32  October   27 3/4   October   21 59/64 October   26 13/32 October   40 9/16
November   13 7/8   November  31 3/32  November  21 11/16 November  25 55/64 November  41 3/8
December   15 1/64  December  29 23/32 December  20 47/64 December  26 49/64 December  48 15/16
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-5
<PAGE>


                           GILEAD SCIENCES, INC.

      Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers,
develops and commercializes therapeutics for viral diseases. Gilead developed
and markets, in the United States, VISTIDE, which is used for the treatment of
a sight-threatening viral infection in patients with acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS). Gilead is also developing products to treat diseases caused by
HIV, the hepatitis B virus and the influenza virus.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing           Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price     1997     Price    1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    12 3/4  January   13      January   35 3/4   January   32 5/8  January   40 1/2   January   43
February   12      February  14 1/4  February  35 1/2   February  30 1/2  February  35 13/16 February  41 1/4
March      10 3/4  March     13      March     28 3/4   March     22 7/8  March     36       March     45 1/2
April       9      April     15      April     30 1/2   April     22 1/8  April     38       April     46 1/16
May         7 3/4  May       16 1/4  May       34 3/4   May       27 1/8  May       32 3/8   May       43 5/8
June        8 1/2  June      17 5/8  June      25 1/4   June      27 5/8  June      32 1/16  June      52 1/4
July        9 3/8  July      19      July      19       July      28 1/4  July      23 1/2   July      77 1/2
August     10 1/4  August    21 3/4  August    24 1/4   August    32 3/8  August    18 1/4   August    77 15/16
September  11 3/4  September 22      September 28 1/4   September 44 3/8  September 21 5/8   September 64 3/16
October     8 1/2  October   19 1/2  October   23 3/8   October   34 1/8  October   28 3/8
November   10 1/4  November  26 1/4  November  25 11/16 November  34 1/2  November  31 1/8
December    9 1/2  December  32      December  25       December  38 1/4  December  41 1/16
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                        HUMAN GENOME SCIENCES, INC.

      Human Genome Sciences, Inc. researches and develops proprietary
pharmaceutical and diagnostic products based on the discovery and understanding
of the medical utility of genes. Human Genome Sciences researches and develops
recombinant therapeutic proteins, which are proteins that can be produced on a
large scale and used as drugs to treat diseases. Using automated, high-
throughput gene sequencing technology, Human Genome Sciences also generates a
collection of partial human gene sequences in database format.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price    1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    20      January   14 1/8  January   43 1/2  January   46      January   37 7/8   January   33 3/8
February   16      February  12 1/2  February  41 5/8  February  38      February  42 1/2   February  29 7/8
March      16 1/4  March     12 5/8  March     38 1/2  March     32 1/2  March     39 13/16 March     34 11/16
April      17 1/2  April     12 5/8  April     39 3/4  April     31 3/8  April     36 3/8   April     37
May        19 1/2  May       15      May       36 5/8  May       38 3/4  May       36 1/2   May       42 1/4
June       19 1/4  June      16 3/4  June      36 3/4  June      33 1/4  June      35 11/16 June      39 1/2
July       16      July      24      July      30 3/4  July      32 3/8  July      37 1/2   July      52 1/16
August     16 1/2  August    22      August    34 1/8  August    37 1/4  August    24 3/4   August    68 1/16
September  16 1/2  September 21 3/4  September 37 3/4  September 43 1/16 September 30       September 73 3/4
October    17 1/2  October   19 5/8  October   36 1/2  October   41      October   34 5/8
November   17 1/2  November  27      November  37 1/4  November  41      November  31 1/4
December   14 3/4  December  38 1/4  December  40 3/4  December  39 3/4  December  35 9/16
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-6
<PAGE>


                             ICOS CORPORATION

      ICOS Corporation develops proprietary biopharmaceuticals and small
molecule pharmaceuticals for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and other
special medical conditions. ICOS's products address opportunities in the
treatment of chronic and acute diseases that have inflammatory components as
well as certain cardiovascular diseases and cancer. ICOS is developing and
globally commercializing some of its products through a joint venture with Eli
Lily & Company.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    5 7/8   January    4 3/8  January   8 5/8   January    8       January   16 1/16  January   26 3/4
February   5 1/2   February   4 1/2  February  8 1/2   February   8 1/2   February  14 1/16  February  24 1/2
March      5       March      4 3/8  March     9 3/8   March      7 5/16  March     15 1/4   March     33 3/4
April      4 3/8   April      4 5/8  April     8 13/16 April      6 15/16 April     14 3/4   April     39 3/4
May        4 7/8   May        5 1/8  May       8 7/8   May        8 1/16  May       21 1/16  May       43 13/16
June       4 3/8   June       5 3/4  June      8 3/4   June       8 1/4   June      19 1/8   June      40 13/16
July       3 7/8   July       6 3/8  July      6 5/8   July       8 5/8   July      23 1/2   July      37 3/8
August     4 1/2   August     6 7/8  August    7 7/8   August     9 5/8   August    14 7/8   August    31 13/16
September  4 3/4   September  6 7/8  September 8 3/4   September 12 5/8   September 17 3/4   September 29 1/2
October    4 1/4   October    5 3/4  October   7 1/2   October   14       October   18 1/2
November   4 1/4   November   7      November  7 5/8   November  13 13/16 November  21 11/16
December   3 11/16 December   7 3/8  December  7 5/8   December  18 5/16  December  29 3/4
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                     IDEC PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION

      IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company engaged
primarily in the research, development and commercialization of targeted
therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
IDEC's first commercial product, "Rtuxan", treats certain B-cell non-Hodgkin's
lymphomas, which is a type of cancer of the lymphatic system. IDEC also
develops products for the treatment of certain solid tumor cancers and various
autoimmune diseases.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    6 1/2   January    2 9/16 January   21 1/2  January   23 1/4   January   41 3/4   January   50 1/2
February   5 1/4   February   3 3/4  February  20 1/4  February  24 7/8   February  45 3/8   February  43 5/16
March      3 7/8   March      3 3/4  March     22 1/4  March     23 13/16 March     44 1/4   March     51 3/8
April      3 5/8   April      4      April     28 7/8  April     17 3/4   April     36       April     50 3/4
May        3 3/4   May        4 1/2  May       25 3/4  May       22 1/2   May       31 1/2   May       50 7/16
June       2 7/16  June       5 5/8  June      23 1/8  June      24 1/4   June      23 9/16  June      77 1/16
July       2 3/4   July       6 3/4  July      15 1/2  July      27 1/4   July      23 11/16 July      99 1/8
August     2 3/4   August     6 7/8  August    23 3/8  August    30 3/8   August    18       August    12 1/16
September  2 3/8   September  7 7/8  September 24      September 41 7/8   September 23 3/4   September 94 1/32
October    2 7/8   October   11 7/8  October   21 5/8  October   38 1/8   October   29 7/8
November   2 1/2   November  13 1/4  November  24 1/4  November  34 15/16 November  33 5/8
December   2 1/8   December  19 1/2  December  23 3/4  December  34 3/8   December  47
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-7
<PAGE>


                            IMMUNEX CORPORATION

      Immunex Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers,
develops, manufactures and markets therapeutic products. Immunex's products are
used to treat human diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases and
immunological disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Immunex focuses on the
discovery and development of molecules with potential applications for the
treatment of asthma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and certain inflammatory
diseases.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    4 13/16 January   3 13/16 January   4 3/32  January    5 3/64  January   13 47/64 January   39 1/32
February   3 15/16 February  4 3/16  February  4       February   7 1/16  February  14 25/32 February  35 3/8
March      3 1/2   March     4 5/16  March     4 1/32  March      6 5/8   March     16 27/32 March     41 5/8
April      3 11/32 April     3       April     3 29/32 April      6 31/32 April     17 5/32  April     47 1/4
May        3 7/16  May       3 1/4   May       3 7/8   May        7 27/32 May       15 7/16  May       65 1/16
June       3 3/16  June      3 1/4   June      3 13/32 June       9 1/16  June      16 9/16  June      63 23/32
July       3 1/4   July      3 1/2   July      3 5/32  July       9 9/16  July      17 11/16 July      56 7/16
August     3 13/16 August    3 7/8   August    3 9/32  August    10 15/16 August    12 21/32 August    67 5/16
September  3 7/16  September 3 9/16  September 3 1/4   September 16 13/16 September 13 27/32 September 43 3/8
October    3 3/8   October   3 3/16  October   3 3/8   October   16       October   17 17/64
November   4 1/16  November  4 9/64  November  3 3/8   November  14 9/32  November  23 1/32
December   3 23/32 December  4 1/8   December  4 7/8   December  13 1/2   December  31 29/64
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-8
<PAGE>


                              MEDIMMUNE, INC.

      MedImmune, Inc. is a biotechnology company that focuses on using advances
in immunology and other biological sciences to develop products that address
medical needs in areas such as infectious diseases, transplantation medicine,
autoimmune diseases and cancer. MedImmune markets three products through its
hospital-based sales force and has five new product candidates in clinical
trial. One of MedImmune's products, Synagis, is used to prevent respiratory
syncytial virus in high-risk pediatric patients. Respiratory syncytial virus is
the leading cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in infants and children.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing             Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price     1998     Price     1999      Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- ---------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    6 7/16  January   3 9/16  January   9 1/8   January   7 15/16  January   22 15/16 January    49 1/2
February   6 1/4   February  3 1/2   February  9 3/8   February  7 1/4    February  25 15/16 February   55
March      5 3/16  March     3 3/16  March     7 7/8   March     6 7/8    March     27 9/16  March      59 3/16
April      4 13/16 April     3 3/4   April     8 1/4   April     6 1/2    April     26 3/8   April      55 1/8
May        4 1/8   May       4 3/8   May       9 5/16  May       7 3/4    May       24 15/16 May        63 5/8
June       4 3/8   June      7 3/16  June      8 1/2   June      9 1/4    June      31 13/16 June        67 3/4
July       2 7/16  July      4 1/2   July      6 7/8   July      11 7/8   July      29 25/64 July       79 7/8
August     2 3/8   August    6 3/16  August    7       August    13 1/4   August    24 1/8   August    103 3/16
September  2 5/16  September 5 9/16  September 7 1/8   September 18 3/8   September 32 3/8   September  99 21/32
October    2 3/16  October   5 7/16  October   7 3/4   October   19 15/16 October   33 5/8
November   2 3/16  November  6 3/8   November  7 5/8   November  19 1/8   November  33 7/16
December   1 3/4   December  10      December  8 1/2   December  21 7/16  December  49 23/32
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                     MILLENNIUM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

      Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. uses genetics, genomics (the study of
genes and their function) and bioinformatics to identify the genes responsible
for common, major diseases and to determine the gene's role in disease
initiation and progression. Some of Millennium's disease targets include:
obesity, type II diabetes, asthma & allergy, cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
central nervous system disorders and osteoporosis.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January       *    January     *     January      *    January   19 3/8   January   18 13/16 January   37 31/32
February      *    February    *     February     *    February  16 3/4   February  20 1/8   February  31 1/16
March         *    March       *     March        *    March     13 5/8   March     18 5/8   March     31 1/4
April         *    April       *     April        *    April     14 3/4   April     19       April     37 3/16
May           *    May         *     May       20 1/4  May       17 1/2   May       17 5/8   May       37 7/8
June          *    June        *     June      15 1/2  June      16 1/8   June      14 1/8   June      36
July          *    July        *     July      15 1/2  July      14 5/8   July      15       July      62 1/2
August        *    August      *     August    18 1/4  August    13 1/2   August    11 1/2   August    58 15/16
September     *    September   *     September 18 1/4  September 19 1/2   September 17 3/8   September 65
October       *    October     *     October   20 3/8  October   19 15/16 October   18 3/8
November      *    November    *     November  17 3/4  November  20       November  20 3/8
December      *    December    *     December  17 3/8  December  19       December  25 7/8
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-9
<PAGE>


                        PE CORP-PE BIOSYSTEMS GROUP

      PE Corp-PE Biosystems Group researches, develops, manufactures, sells and
supports instrument systems, reagents and software for the pharmaceutical,
biotechnology, environmental testing, food, human identification, agriculture
and chemical manufacturing industries. PE Corp-PE Biosystems Group is also
undertaking the sequencing of the human genome along with other model
organisms. Building on the sequence data, it will seek to develop and compile
biological and medical data to create an information portal for the life
science and medical community.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price     1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    19 1/2   January   13 3/4   January   23 5/8   January   34 15/16 January   29 1/2   January   47 17/32
February   18 13/16 February  14 5/16  February  23 1/8   February  35 1/2   February  36 19/32 February  47 3/8
March      16 11/16 March     14 9/16  March     27 1/16  March     32 3/16  March     36 5/32  March     48 17/32
April      14 1/2   April     15 9/16  April     27 7/16  April     36 5/16  April     34 3/16  April     54 1/16
May        14 9/16  May       17 3/8   May       26 1/2   May       38       May       34 1/4   May       55 27/32
June       14 3/4   June      17 11/16 June      24 1/8   June      39 25/32 June      31 3/32  June      57 3/8
July       14 3/16  July      17       July      26 1/8   July      40 13/16 July      29 5/16  July      56 1/16
August     14 15/16 August    17 1/16  August    25 15/16 August    37       August    28 15/16 August    68 13/16
September  15 11/16 September 17 13/16 September 28 15/16 September 36 17/32 September 34 11/32 September 72 1/4
October    14 3/4   October   17 9/16  October   26 13/16 October   31 1/4   October   42 5/32
November   13 13/16 November  18       November  30 13/16 November  34 25/32 November  46 5/8
December   12 13/16 December  18 7/8   December  29 7/16  December  35 17/32 December  48 25/32
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                        QLT PHOTOTHERAPEUTICS INC.

      QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc. develops and commercializes proprietary
pharmaceutical products for use in photodynamic therapy, a field of medicine
that utilizes light-activated drugs in the treatment of disease. QLT currently
provides "PHOTOFRIN," a photodynamic therapy drug used in the treatment of
various cancers. QLT is also developing "Visudyne," a photosensitizer for the
treatment of the wet form of age-related macular degeneration, the leading
cause of severe vision loss in people over the age of 50. QLT has ongoing
development programs to apply photodynamic therapy for the treatment of non-
melanoma skin cancer and certain autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing            Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price     1996     Price     1997     Price     1998     Price     1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>
January    7 1/8   January    5 7/8   January    9       January   23 1/4   January   13 7/8   January   40 5/16
February   6 1/4   February   5 1/2   February  12       February  26 15/16 February  14 3/8   February  39
March      6 1/4   March      5       March     13       March     20 3/4   March     17 3/8   March     40 3/4
April      7 1/8   April      5 3/8   April     20 1/2   April     23 1/8   April     17 3/8   April     45 11/16
May        7 1/8   May        5 13/32 May       21 3/8   May       22 5/8   May       19 1/2   May       43 3/4
June       5 1/2   June       5 3/8   June      18 1/2   June      21       June      16 3/4   June      55
July       6 1/2   July       7       July      14 11/16 July      20 3/8   July      16       July      64
August     7 1/8   August     6 3/8   August    16 3/4   August    19 1/8   August    12 1/2   August    81 7/8
September  6 3/4   September  7       September 18 7/32  September 16 7/16  September 11 3/4   September 76 7/16
October    6 11/16 October    6       October   17 7/8   October   17 3/8   October   15 15/32
November   6 5/8   November   7 5/8   November  19 3/8   November  12       November  15 13/16
December   5 5/8   December  10 1/8   December  20 1/8   December  11 1/8   December  22 3/4
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-10
<PAGE>


                               SEPRACOR INC.

      Sepracor Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on the
development and commercialization of potentially improved versions of widely-
prescribed drugs. Sepracor's Improved Chemical Entities pharmaceuticals are
being developed as proprietary, single-isomer or active-metabolite versions of
these drugs. These pharmaceuticals are designed to improve patient outcome
through reduced side effects, increased therapeutic efficacy, or improved
dosage forms. Sepracor's portfolio focuses on the allergy/asthma,
urology/gastroenterology and psychiatry/neurology markets.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           Closing           Closing           Closing           Closing            Closing           Closing
  1994      Price    1995     Price    1996     Price    1997     Price     1998     Price    1999     Price
- ---------  ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------- --------- ------- --------- -------
<S>        <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>      <C>       <C>     <C>       <C>
January    8 1/2   January   6 1/4   January   18 5/8  January   26 1/2   January   35 1/8  January   114 3/4
February   8 5/8   February  7 1/2   February  15 1/2  February  24 1/8   February  40 1/4  February  124 3/4
March      7       March     10 1/8  March     14 5/8  March     23 1/16  March     42 5/8  March     112 1/4
April      5 1/2   April     9 43/64 April     14      April     19 1/2   April     46 1/4  April     84 1/2
May        6       May       12      May       14 5/8  May       24 1/2   May       43      May       63 3/4
June       5 5/8   June      13 1/2  June      15      June      25 13/16 June      41 1/2  June      81 1/4
July       5 3/8   July      14 7/8  July      13 1/2  July      25 1/8   July      54      July      73 1/2
August     4 3/4   August    18 3/4  August    13 1/4  August    22       August    47 5/8  August    74 7/8
September  4 13/14 September 21 5/8  September 14 1/8  September 32 7/8   September 65 3/4  September 75 1/2
October    5 5/16  October   16 7/8  October   16 1/4  October   35 7/8   October   68 5/8
November   3 7/8   November  16      November  16 5/8  November  36 7/8   November  83
December   4 1/8   December  18 3/8  December  16 5/8  December  40 1/16  December  88 1/8
</TABLE>

      The closing price on      , 1999 was   .

                                      A-11
<PAGE>

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           [LOGO] BIOTECH HOLDRS(SM)

                       1,000,000,000 Depositary Receipts

                          Biotech HOLDRsSM Trust

                              -------------------

                              P R O S P E C T U S

                              -------------------

                              Merrill Lynch & Co.

                                       , 1999

      Until      , 1999 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all
dealers effecting transactions in the offered Biotech HOLDRs, whether or not
participating in this distribution, may be required to deliver a prospectus.
This requirement is in addition to the obligations of dealers to deliver a
prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to unsold allotments or
subscriptions.

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>

                                    PART II

                     INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

      The expenses expected to be incurred in connection with the issuance and
distribution of the securities being registered, other than underwriting
compensation, are as set forth below. Except for the registration fee payable
to the Securities and Exchange Commission, all such expenses are estimated:

<TABLE>
      <S>                                                            <C>
      Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee........... $   83,345
      Printing and engraving expenses...............................    150,000
      Legal fees and expenses.......................................    800,000
      Rating agency fees............................................          0
      Miscellaneous.................................................     16,655
                                                                     ----------
        Total....................................................... $1,050,000
</TABLE>

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

      Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as
amended, provides that under certain circumstances a corporation may indemnify
any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any
threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil,
criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such
person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or
is or was serving at its request in such capacity in another corporation or
business association, against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments,
fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such
person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if such person acted
in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not
opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any
criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person's
conduct was unlawful.

      Article XIV, Section 2 of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated provides in effect that,
subject to certain limited exceptions, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated shall indemnify its directors and officers to the full extent
authorized or permitted by law.

      The directors and officers of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated are insured under policies of insurance maintained by Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, subject to the limits of the
policies, against certain losses arising from any claim made against them by
reason of being or having been such directors or officers. In addition, Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated has entered into contracts with all
of its directors providing for indemnification of such persons by Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated to the full extent authorized or
permitted by law, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Item 16. Exhibits.

      See Exhibit Index.

Item 17. Undertakings.

      The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

          (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
    made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

                                      II-1
<PAGE>

                  (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3)
            of the Securities Act of 1933.

                  (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
            arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or
            the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
            individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
            in the information set forth in the registration statement.
            Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume
            of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities
            offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any
            deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum
            offering range may be reflected in the form of the prospectus
            filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the
            aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than
            20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set
            forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the
            effective registration statement.

                  (iii) To include any material information with respect to
            the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
            registration statement or any material change to such information
            in the registration statement.

          (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
    Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
    deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
    offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
    be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

          (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
    amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
    the termination of the offering.

          (4) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities
    Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed
    as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and
    contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to
    Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed
    to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared
    effective.

          (5) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities
    Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of
    prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating
    to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
    at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
    thereof.

          (6) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
    Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
    controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to Item 15 of this
    registration statement, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised
    that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such
    indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,
    therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
    against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of
    expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person
    of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
    proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person
    in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will,
    unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by
    controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the
    question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
    expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
    such issue.

                                      II-2
<PAGE>

                                   SIGNATURES

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant hereby certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it
meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-1 and has duly caused this
Amendment to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, on October 28,
1999.

                                          Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &
                                                Smith Incorporated

                                          By:                *
                                             ----------------------------------
                                             Name:Ahmass L. Fakahany
                                             Title: Senior Vice President,
                                                    Chief Financial Officer
                                                    and Controller

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed by the following
persons in the capacities and on October 28, 1999.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                        Signature                           Title
                        ---------                           -----

       <S>                                         <C>
                            *                      Director
       ___________________________________________
                    John L. Steffens

                            *                      Director
       ___________________________________________
                    E. Stanley O'Neal

                            *                      Director
       ___________________________________________
                   George A. Schieren

                            *                      Senior Vice President,
       ___________________________________________ Chief Financial Officer
</TABLE>           Ahmass L. Fakahany              and Controller

      *By:   /s/ Stephen G. Bodurtha              Attorney-in-Fact
              ---------------------------------

                  Stephen G. Bodurtha

                                      II-3
<PAGE>

                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
 Exhibits
 --------
 <C>      <S>
   4.1    Standard Terms for Depositary Trust Agreements between Merrill Lynch,
          Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and The Bank of New York, as
          Trustee dated as of September 2, 1999, and included as exhibits
          thereto, form of Depositary Trust Agreement and form of HOLDRs

   5.1    Opinion of Shearman & Sterling regarding the validity of the Biotech
          HOLDRs

   8.1    Opinion of Shearman & Sterling, as special U.S. tax counsel regarding
          the material federal income tax consequences

 *24.1    Power of Attorney (included in Part II of Registration Statement)
</TABLE>
- --------

* Previously filed.

                                      II-4

<PAGE>

                                                                [Execution Copy]

                                                                     EXHIBIT 4.1


                 STANDARD TERMS FOR DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENTS


                                     between


               MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED



                                       and


                              THE BANK OF NEW YORK,

                                   as Trustee



                          Dated as of September 2, 1999
<PAGE>

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                                       Page
                                                                                       ----
                                           ARTICLE 1
                                  DEFINITIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS
<S>           <C>                                                                      <C>
Section 1.1.  Definitions ............................................................    1
Section 1.2.  Rules of Construction ..................................................    5

                                           ARTICLE 2
                       FORM OF RECEIPTS, DEPOSIT OF SECURITIES, DELIVERY,
                       REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS

Section 2.1.  Depositary Trust Agreements ............................................    6
Section 2.2.  Creation and Declaration of Trusts; Deposit of Securities ..............    6
Section 2.3.  Acceptance by Trustee ..................................................    8
Section 2.4.  Form and Transferability of Receipts ...................................    8
Section 2.5.  Delivery of Receipts ...................................................   10
Section 2.6.  Registration; Registration of Transfer; Combination and Split-up of
                  Certificates .......................................................   11
Section 2.7.  Surrender of Receipts and Withdrawal of Underlying Securities ..........   12
Section 2.8.  Limitations on Delivery, Registration of Transfer and Surrender of
                  Receipts ...........................................................   13
Section 2.9.  Lost Certificates, Etc .................................................   14
Section 2.10. Cancellation and Destruction of Surrendered Certificates ...............   14
Section 2.11. Reconstitution Events ..................................................   14

                                           ARTICLE 3
                           CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF OWNERS OF RECEIPTS

Section 3.1.  Filing Proofs, Certificates and Other Information ......................   16
Section 3.2.  Liability of Owner for Taxes and Other Charges .........................   16
Section 3.3.  Warranties on Deposit of Shares ........................................   17

                                           ARTICLE 4
                                  THE UNDERLYING SECURITIES

Section 4.1.  Cash Distributions .....................................................   17
Section 4.2.  Distributions Other Than Cash or Securities ............................   17
Section 4.3.  Distributions in Securities ............................................   18
Section 4.4.  Rights Offerings .......................................................   19
</TABLE>

                                      -i-
<PAGE>

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                       Page
                                                                                       ----

<S>           <C>                                                                      <C>
Section 4.5.  Fixing of Record Date ..................................................   19
Section 4.6.  Reports ................................................................   20
Section 4.7.  Voting Instructions for Underlying Securities ..........................   20
Section 4.8.  Changes Affecting Underlying Securities ................................   21
Section 4.9.  Withholding ............................................................   22
Section 4.10. Limitation on Distributions ............................................   22


                                          ARTICLE 5
                           THE TRUSTEE AND THE INITIAL DEPOSITOR

Section 5.1.  Maintenance of Office and Transfer Books by the Trustee ................   22
Section 5.2.  Prevention or Delay in Performance by the Initial Depositor or the
                  Trustee ............................................................   23
Section 5.3.  Obligations of the Initial Depositor and the Trustee ...................   24
Section 5.4.  Resignation or Removal of the Trustee; Appointment of Successor
                  Trustee ............................................................   26
Section 5.5.  Indemnification ........................................................   27
Section 5.6.  Charges of Trustee .....................................................   29
Section 5.7.  Retention of Trust Documents ...........................................   30
Section 5.8.  Federal Securities Law Filings .........................................   30
Section 5.9.  Prospectus Delivery ....................................................   30

                                          ARTICLE 6
                                  AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

Section 6.1.  Amendment ..............................................................   31
Section 6.2.  Early Termination ......................................................   31

                                          ARTICLE 7
                                        MISCELLANEOUS

Section 7.1.  Counterparts ...........................................................   33
Section 7.2.  Third-Party Beneficiaries ..............................................   33
Section 7.3.  Severability ...........................................................   34
Section 7.4.  Owners and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect ................   34
Section 7.5.  Notices ................................................................   34
Section 7.6.  Governing Law ..........................................................   35
</TABLE>

                                     -ii-
<PAGE>

                                                                            Page
                                                                            ----

                                   EXHIBIT A
FORM OF DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT ......................................... A-1

                                   EXHIBIT B
FORM OF CERTIFICATE EVIDENCING RECEIPTS .................................... B-1

                                     -iii-
<PAGE>

          STANDARD TERMS FOR DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENTS agreed to as of
September 2, 1999 (these "Standard Terms"), between MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE,
FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED, a Delaware corporation (the "Initial Depositor")
and THE BANK OF NEW YORK, a New York banking corporation, as trustee (the
"Trustee").

                             W I T N E S S E T H :

          WHEREAS, from time to time, the Initial Depositor and the Trustee may
enter into one or more depositary trust agreements providing for the deposit
with the Trustee of specified Securities (as hereinafter defined), the creation
of Depositary Trust Receipts representing the Securities so deposited and the
execution and delivery of certificates evidencing the Depositary Trust Receipts;
and

          WHEREAS, the Initial Depositor and the Trustee wish to establish the
general terms and conditions of such depositary trust agreements and the form of
the certificates evidencing Depositary Trust Receipts;

          NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual
covenants contained in these Standard Terms, the parties hereby agree as
follows:

                                   ARTICLE 1
                          DEFINITIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS

          Section 1.1.  Definitions.  Except as otherwise specified in these
                        -----------
Standard Terms or in the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement or as the context
may otherwise require, the following terms have the respective meanings set
forth below for all purposes of these Standard Terms and the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement.

<PAGE>

          "Beneficial Owner" means any Person owning a beneficial interest in
any Receipt.

          "Closing Date" means the day on which the initial deposit of
Securities is to be made, which date may be specified in the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement.

          "Commission" means the Securities and Exchange Commission of the
United States or any successor governmental agency in the United States.

          "Corporate Trust Office" means the office of the Trustee at which its
depositary receipt business is administered which, at the date of these Standard
Terms, is 101 Barclay Street, New York, New York 10286.

          "Deliver" means (a) when used with respect to Securities, either (i)
one or more book-entry transfers of such Securities to an account at DTC
designated by the Person entitled to such delivery for further credit as
specified by such Person or (ii) in the case of Securities for which DTC book-
entry settlement is not available, the delivery of certificates evidencing such
Securities to the Person entitled to such delivery, duly endorsed for transfer
or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer and (b) when used with respect
to Receipts, either (i) one or more book-entry transfers of Receipts to an
account at DTC designated by the Person entitled to such delivery for further
credit as specified by such Person or (ii) in the event DTC ceases to make its
book-entry settlement system available for the Receipts, execution and delivery
at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee of one or more certificates
evidencing such Receipts.

          "Depositary Trust Agreement" means a depositary trust agreement
entered into by the Initial Depositor and the Trustee pursuant to these Standard
Terms which incorporates by reference these Standard Terms.

                                      -2-
<PAGE>

          "Depositor" means any Person who deposits Securities into the Trust,
either for its own account or on behalf of another Person who is the owner or
beneficial owner of such Securities.

          "Depositor Order" means a written order or request signed in the name
of the Initial Depositor or any other Depositor, as applicable.

          "DTC" means The Depository Trust Company, its nominees and their
respective successors.

          "Initial Depositor" means Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated, a Delaware corporation, or its successor.

          "Issuance Denomination" is defined in Section 2.4, subject to increase
as provided in Sections 4.3 and 4.8.

          "Owner" means the Person in whose name a Receipt is registered in the
books of the Trustee maintained for that purpose.

          "Person" means any individual, limited liability company, corporation,
partnership, joint venture, association, joint stock company, trust (including
any trust beneficiary), unincorporated organization or government or any agency
or political subdivision thereof.

          "Receipt" means a depositary trust receipt which is issued under the
Depositary Trust Agreement  and which represents the Owner's right to receive
the Underlying Securities which must be deposited into the Trust for issuance of
a Receipt

                                      -3-
<PAGE>

plus any other Underlying Securities received by the Trustee with respect to
such Underlying Securities and held by the Trustee under the Depositary Trust
Agreement at such time. The Trustee shall only accept for deposit whole
Securities and shall not issue Receipts except to the extent such Receipts
represent, in the aggregate, whole Underlying Securities.

          "Registrar" means any bank or trust company having an office in the
Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York, which shall be appointed to register
Receipts and transfers of Receipts as herein provided.

          "Restricted Securities" means Securities, or Receipts representing
such Securities, which are acquired directly or indirectly from the issuer or
its affiliates (as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933) in a
transaction or chain of transactions not involving any public offering, or which
are held by an officer or director (or person performing similar functions) or
other affiliate of the issuer,  or which would require registration under the
Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the public offer and sale thereof in
the United States, or which are subject to other restrictions on sale or deposit
under the federal securities laws of the United States, a shareholder agreement
or the corporate documents of the issuer.

          "Round Lot" means 100.

          "Securities" means any shares of a class of securities which must be
deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          "Securities Issuer" means, as of any time, the issuer of a class of
Securities.

                                      -4-
<PAGE>

          "Securities Registrar" means the entity that presently carries out the
duties of registrar for any Securities or any successor as registrar for any
Securities and any other appointed agent of a Securities Issuer for the transfer
and registration of Securities.

          "Surrender" means, when used with respect to Receipts, (a) one or more
book-entry transfers of Receipts to the DTC account of the Trustee or (b)
surrender to the Trustee at its Corporate Trust Office of one or more
certificates evidencing such Receipts, in each case in a Round Lot or an
integral multiple thereof.

          "Trust" means the trust entity created by the Depositary Trust
Agreement.

          "Trustee" means The Bank of New York, a New York banking corporation,
in its capacity as Trustee under the Depositary Trust Agreement, or any
successor as Trustee thereunder.

          "Underlying Securities" means, as of any time, Securities of each of
the classes and in the quantities required by the Depositary Trust Agreement to
be deposited in the Trust for the issuance of Receipts and which are  at such
time deposited under the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement and any other
securities, property or cash received by the Trustee in respect thereof and at
such time held hereunder.

           Section 1.2.  Rules of Construction.  Unless the context otherwise
                         ---------------------
requires:

           (i)   a term has the meaning assigned to it;

                                      -5-
<PAGE>

          (ii)  an accounting term not otherwise defined has the meaning
assigned to it in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as in
effect in the United States from time to time;

          (iii) "or" is not exclusive;

          (iv)  the words "herein", "hereof", "hereunder" and other words of
similar import refer to these Standard Terms  or the Depositary Trust Agreement
as a whole and not to any particular Article, Section or other subdivision;

          (v)   "including" means including without limitation; and

          (vi)  words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural
include the singular.

                                   ARTICLE 2

               FORM OF RECEIPTS, DEPOSIT OF SECURITIES, DELIVERY,
               REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS

          Section 2.1.  Depositary Trust Agreements.  Each Depositary Trust
                        ---------------------------
Agreement entered into between the Initial Depositor and the Trustee for the
purposes set forth herein shall be in substantially the form of Exhibit A to
these Standard Terms and shall provide that these Standard Terms shall be
incorporated by reference into, and form a part of, such Depositary Trust
Agreement.

          Section 2.2.  Creation and Declaration of Trusts; Deposit of
                        ----------------------------------------------
Securities. (a)  The Initial Depositor, concurrently with the execution and
- ----------
delivery of the Depositary Trust Agreement, does hereby agree to deposit with
the Trustee under the Depositary

                                      -6-
<PAGE>

Trust Agreement all the right, title and interest of the Initial Depositor in,
to and under Securities, of each of the classes and in the quantities necessary
to create Receipts in accordance with Section 2 of the Depositary Trust
Agreement in effect at the time of deposit. Unless otherwise specified in the
Depositary Trust Agreement, such deposit shall include all cash dividends and
distributions in respect of such Securities.

          (b) From time to time after the date of the Depositary Trust
Agreement, a Depositor may deposit with the Trustee, in the manner specified in
subsection (a), Securities, of each of the classes and in the quantities
necessary to create Receipts in accordance with Section 2 of the Depositary
Trust Agreement in effect at the time of deposit by Delivery of such Securities
to the Trustee.

          (c) The Trustee shall only accept for deposit whole Securities and
shall not issue Receipts except to the extent such Receipts represent, in the
aggregate, whole Underlying Securities.

          (d) The Trust shall not engage in any business or activities other
than those required or authorized by these Standard Terms or incidental and
necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities set forth in the
Depositary Trust Agreement.  Other than issuance of the Receipts, the Trust
shall not issue or sell any certificates or other obligations or otherwise
incur, assume or guarantee any indebtedness for money borrowed.

          (e) Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the Trustee does
not assume any of the duties, responsibilities, obligations or liabilities of
the Initial Depositor or any other Depositor in respect of the Underlying
Securities.

                                      -7-
<PAGE>

          (f) Underlying Securities shall be held by the Trustee at such place
and in such manner as the Trustee shall determine.

          Section 2.3.  Acceptance by Trustee.  The Trustee will hold the
                        ---------------------
Underlying Securities for the benefit of the Owners for the purposes, and
subject to and limited by the terms and conditions, set forth in these Standard
Terms and the applicable  Depositary Trust Agreement.

          Section 2.4.  Form and Transferability of Receipts.  (a)  The
                        ------------------------------------
certificates evidencing Receipts shall be substantially in the form set forth in
Exhibit B annexed to these Standard Terms, with appropriate insertions,
modifications and omissions, as hereinafter provided or as may be provided in
the Depositary Trust Agreement.  The Issuance Denominations of a certificate
shall be  any integral multiple of a Round Lot of Receipts, subject to increase
or decrease as provided in Sections 4.3 and 4.8.  No Receipt shall be entitled
to any benefits under the Depositary Trust Agreement or be valid or obligatory
for any purpose unless a certificate evidencing such Receipt shall have been
executed by the Trustee by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly
authorized signatory of the Trustee and, if a Registrar (other than the Trustee)
for the Receipts shall have been appointed, countersigned by the manual or
facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Registrar.  The Trustee
shall maintain books on which the registered ownership of each Receipt and
transfers, if any, of such registered ownership shall be recorded.  Certificates
evidencing Receipts bearing the manual or facsimile signature of a duly
authorized signatory of the Trustee and Registrar, if applicable, who was at the
time such certificates were executed a proper signatory of the Trustee or
Registrar, if applicable, shall bind the Trustee, notwithstanding that such
signatory has ceased to hold such office prior to the delivery of such
certificates.

                                      -8-
<PAGE>

          (b) The certificates evidencing Receipts may be endorsed with or have
incorporated in the text thereof such legends or recitals or modifications not
inconsistent with the provisions of the Depositary Trust Agreement as may be
required by the Trustee or required to comply with any applicable law or
regulations thereunder or with the rules and regulations of any securities
exchange upon which Receipts may be listed or to conform with any usage with
respect thereto, or to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which
any particular Receipts are subject by reason of the date of issuance of the
Underlying Securities or otherwise.

          (c) The Initial Depositor and the Trustee will apply to DTC for
acceptance of the Receipts in its book-entry settlement system.  Receipts
deposited with DTC shall be represented by one or more global certificates which
shall be registered in the name of Cede & Co., as nominee for DTC, and shall
bear the following legend:

          UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE
          OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION ("DTC"), TO
          THE AGENT AUTHORIZED BY THE ISSUER FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER,
          EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE
          NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN
          AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE &
          CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED
          REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE, OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR
          VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE
          REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.

          (d) So long as the Receipts are eligible for book-entry settlement
with DTC and such settlement is available, unless otherwise required by law,
notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Depositary Trust Agreement, all
Receipts shall be

                                      -9-
<PAGE>

evidenced by one or more global certificates registered in the name of a nominee
of DTC and no person acquiring beneficial ownership of such Receipts shall
receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of Receipts. Ownership of
beneficial interests in Receipts evidenced by such global certificate or
certificates shall be shown on, and the transfer of such ownership shall be
effected only through, records maintained by (i) DTC or (ii) institutions that
have accounts with DTC.

          (e) If, at any time when Receipts are evidenced by a global
certificate, DTC ceases to make its book-entry settlement system available for
such Receipts, the Trustee shall issue separate certificates evidencing Receipts
to the DTC book-entry settlement system participants entitled thereto, with such
additions, deletions and modifications to the Depositary Trust Agreement and to
the form of certificate evidencing Receipts as the Initial Depositor and the
Trustee may, from time to time, agree.

          (f) Title to a certificate evidencing Receipts (and to the Receipts
evidenced thereby), when properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments
of transfer, shall be transferable by delivery with the same effect as in the
case of a negotiable instrument under the laws of New York; provided, however,
                                                            --------  -------
that the Trustee, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, may treat the
Owner of  Receipts as the absolute owner thereof for the purpose of determining
the person entitled to distribution of dividends or other distributions or to
any notice provided for in the Depositary Trust Agreement and for all other
purposes.

          Section 2.5.  Delivery of Receipts.  Upon receipt by the Trustee of
                        --------------------
any deposit pursuant to Section 2.2, together with a Depositor Order and the
other documents required as above specified, if any, the Trustee, subject to the
terms and conditions of the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, shall Deliver
to or upon the written order of the Depositor the number of Receipts issuable in
respect of such deposit, provided such

                                     -10-
<PAGE>

number is an integral multiple of an Issuance Denomination, but only upon
payment to the Trustee of the fees and expenses of the Trustee as provided in
Section 5.6 and of all taxes and governmental charges and fees payable in
connection with such deposit and the transfer of the Underlying Securities.

          Section 2.6.  Registration; Registration of Transfer; Combination and
                        -------------------------------------------------------
Split-up of Certificates.  (a) The Trustee shall keep or cause to be kept a
- ------------------------
register of Owners of Receipts and shall provide for the registration of
Receipts and the registration of transfers and exchanges of Receipts.

          (b) The Trustee, subject to the terms and conditions of these Standard
Terms and the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, shall register transfers of
ownership of Receipts on its transfer books from time to time, upon any
Surrender of a certificate evidencing such Receipts in any integral multiple of
a Round Lot, by the Owner in person or by a duly authorized attorney, properly
endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer, and duly stamped as
may be required by the laws of the State of New York and of the United States of
America.  Thereupon the Trustee shall execute a new certificate or certificates
evidencing such Receipts in any integral multiple of a Round Lot requested, and
deliver the same to or upon the order of the Person entitled thereto.

          (c) The Trustee, subject to the terms and conditions of these Standard
Terms and the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, shall, upon Surrender of a
certificate evidencing Receipts for the purposes of effecting a split-up or
combination of such certificate or certificates, execute and deliver one or more
new certificate or certificates evidencing such Receipts in any integral
multiple of a Round Lot requested.

                                     -11-
<PAGE>

          (d) The Trustee may appoint one or more co-transfer agents for the
purpose of effecting transfers, combinations and split-ups of Receipts at
designated transfer offices on behalf of the Trustee.  In carrying out its
functions, a co-transfer agent may require evidence of authority and compliance
with applicable laws and other requirements by Owners or Persons entitled to
Receipts and will be entitled to protection and indemnity to the same extent as
the Trustee.

          Section 2.7.  Surrender of Receipts and Withdrawal of Underlying
                        --------------------------------------------------
Securities.  (a)   Upon Surrender at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee
- ----------
of a Round Lot of Receipts or integral multiple thereof for the purpose of
withdrawal of the Underlying Securities represented thereby, and upon payment of
the fee of the Trustee in connection with the Surrender of Receipts as provided
in Section 5.6 and payment of all taxes and charges payable in connection with
such Surrender and withdrawal of the Underlying Securities, and subject to the
terms and conditions of the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, including,
without limitation, Section 4.10, the Owner of such Receipts shall be entitled
to Delivery of the amount of Underlying Securities at the time represented by
such Receipts.  Delivery of such Underlying Securities may be made by (i)
Delivery of Securities to such Owner or as ordered by such Owner and (ii) any
available  form of delivery of any other securities, property and cash to which
such Owner is then entitled to such Owner or as ordered by such Owner.  The
Trustee shall make such delivery as promptly as practicable.

          (b) A certificate evidencing Receipts Surrendered for such purposes
may be required by the Trustee to be properly endorsed in blank or accompanied
by proper instruments of transfer in blank, and if the Trustee so requires, the
Owner thereof shall execute and deliver to the Trustee a written order directing
the Trustee to cause the Underlying Securities being withdrawn to be delivered
to or upon the written order of a Person or Persons designated in such order.
Thereupon the Trustee shall Deliver through

                                      -12-
<PAGE>

the facilities of DTC or, if applicable, at its Corporate Trust office, subject
to Sections 2.8, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.10 and to the other terms and conditions of the
Depositary Trust Agreement, to or upon the written order of the Person or
Persons designated in the order delivered to the Trustee as above provided, the
amount of Underlying Securities represented by such Receipts.

          Section 2.8.  Limitations on Delivery, Registration of Transfer and
                        -----------------------------------------------------
Surrender of Receipts.  (a)  As a condition precedent to the Delivery,
- ---------------------
registration of transfer, split-up, combination or Surrender (including, for the
avoidance of doubt, any Surrender in connection with an exchange) of any Receipt
or withdrawal of any Underlying Securities, the Trustee or Registrar may require
payment from the Depositor of Securities or the presentor of the Receipts of a
sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other charge and any stock
transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any such tax or
charge and fee with respect to Securities being deposited or withdrawn) and
payment of any applicable fees as herein provided, may require the production of
proof satisfactory to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature and
may also require compliance with any regulations the Trustee may establish
consistent with the provisions of the Depositary Trust Agreement, including,
without limitation, this Section 2.8.

          (b) The Delivery of Receipts against deposits of Securities,  the
registration of transfer of Receipts or the Surrender of Receipts for the
purpose of withdrawal of Underlying Securities may be suspended, generally or in
particular instances, during any period when the transfer books of the Trustee
are closed or the transfer books of a Securities Issuer are closed or if any
such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the Trustee at any time or from
time to time, subject to the provisions of the following sentence.
Notwithstanding any other provision of any applicable Depositary Trust Agreement
or the Receipts, the Surrender of Receipts and withdrawal of

                                      -13-
<PAGE>

Underlying Securities may not be suspended except for (i) temporary delays
caused by closing the transfer books of the Trustee or a Securities Issuer, (ii)
the payment of fees, taxes and applicable charges, and (iii) compliance with any
U.S. laws or governmental regulations relating to the Receipts or to the
withdrawal of the Underlying Securities. Without limitation of the foregoing,
the Trustee shall not knowingly accept for deposit under the Depositary Trust
Agreement any Securities required to be registered under the provisions of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for the public offer and sale thereof in the
United States unless a registration statement is in effect as to such Securities
for such offer and sale.

          Section 2.9.   Lost Certificates, Etc.  In case any certificate
                         ----------------------
evidencing Receipts shall be mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen, the Trustee
shall execute and deliver a new certificate of like tenor in exchange and
substitution for such mutilated certificate upon cancellation thereof, or in
lieu of and in substitution for such destroyed, lost or stolen certificate.
Before the Trustee shall execute and deliver a new certificate in substitution
for a destroyed, lost or stolen certificate, the Owner thereof shall have (a)
filed with the Trustee (i) a request for such execution and delivery before the
Trustee has notice that the Receipts have been acquired by a bona fide purchaser
and (ii) a sufficient indemnity bond, and (b) satisfied any other reasonable
requirements imposed by the Trustee.

          Section 2.10.  Cancellation and Destruction of Surrendered
                         -------------------------------------------
Certificates.  All certificates evidencing Receipts Surrendered to the Trustee
- ------------
shall be canceled by the Trustee. The Trustee is authorized to destroy
certificates so canceled.

          Section 2.11.  Reconstitution Events.  (a) If any class of Securities
                         ---------------------
ceases to be outstanding as a result of a merger, consolidation or other
corporate combination of the Securities Issuer and Section 4.8 does not apply,
the Trustee shall, if it has actual

                                      -14-
<PAGE>

knowledge of such event, to the extent lawful and feasible and subject to
Section 4.10, distribute any securities which shall be received by the Trustee
in exchange for, in conversion of or in respect of Underlying Securities which
are not Securities issued by a Securities Issuer to the Owners in proportion to
their ownership of Receipts. Effective on the date that such Securities cease to
be outstanding, such class of Securities shall cease to be part of the
securities which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          (b) If  any class of Securities is delisted from trading on its
primary exchange or market and is not listed for trading on another national
securities exchange or through NASDAQ within five business days from the date of
such delisting, the Trustee shall, if it has actual knowledge of such event, to
the extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10, distribute the
Underlying Securities of such class to the Owners in proportion to their
ownership of Receipts.  Effective on the date of such distribution, such class
of Securities shall cease to be a part of the securities which must be deposited
for issuance of Receipts.

          (c) In the event that any Securities Issuer no longer has a class of
common stock registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, the Trustee shall, if  it has actual knowledge of such event, to the
extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10, distribute the
Underlying Securities of such Securities Issuer to the Owners in proportion to
their ownership of Receipts.  Effective on the date of such distribution, such
class of Securities shall cease to be part of the securities which must be
deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          (d) If the Commission determines that a Securities Issuer is an
investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Trustee has
actual knowledge of such Commission determination, then the Trustee shall, to
the extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10, distribute the
Underlying Securities of

                                      -15-
<PAGE>

such Securities Issuer to the Owners in proportion to their ownership of
Receipts. Effective on the date of such distribution, such class of Securities
shall cease to be part of the securities which must be deposited for issuance of
Receipts.

                                   ARTICLE 3
                   CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF OWNERS OF RECEIPTS

          Section 3.1.  Filing Proofs, Certificates and Other Information.  Any
                        -------------------------------------------------
Person presenting Securities for deposit or any Owner of Receipts may be
required from time to time to file with the Trustee such proof of citizenship or
residence, exchange control approval, or such information relating to the
registration on the books of any Securities Issuer or Securities Registrar, if
applicable, to execute such certificates and to make such representations and
warranties, as the Trustee may require.  The Trustee may withhold the Delivery
or registration of transfer of any Receipts or the delivery of any Underlying
Securities until such proof or other information is filed or such certificates
are executed or such representations and warranties made.

          Section 3.2.  Liability of Owner for Taxes and Other Charges.  If any
                        ----------------------------------------------
tax or other charge shall become payable with respect to any Receipts or any
Underlying Securities represented thereby, such tax or other charge shall be
payable by the Owner of such Receipts to the Trustee.  The Trustee shall refuse
to effect any registration of transfer of such Receipts or any withdrawal of
Underlying Securities represented by such Receipt until such payment is made,
and may withhold any dividends or other distributions, or may sell for the
account of the Owner thereof Underlying Securities constituting any multiples of
the securities which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts, and may apply
such dividends or other distributions or the proceeds of any such sale in
payment of such tax or other charge and the Owner of such Receipt shall remain
liable for any deficiency.

                                      -16-
<PAGE>

            Section 3.3.  Warranties on Deposit of Shares.
                          -------------------------------

  Every Person depositing Securities under the Depositary Trust Agreement shall
be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that such Securities and each
certificate therefor are validly issued and fully paid, that the person making
such deposit is duly authorized to do so and that at the time of delivery, such
Securities are free and clear of any lien, pledge, encumbrance, right, charge or
claim (other than the rights created by the Depositary Trust Agreement).  Every
such person shall also be deemed to represent that such Securities are not, and
Receipts representing such Securities would not be, Restricted Securities.  Such
representations and warranties shall survive the deposit of Securities, issuance
of Receipts or termination of the Depositary Trust Agreement.

                                   ARTICLE 4
                           THE UNDERLYING SECURITIES

          Section 4.1.  Cash Distributions.  Whenever the Trustee shall receive
                        ------------------
any cash dividend or other cash distribution on any Underlying Securities, the
Trustee shall distribute the amount thus received (net of the fees of the
Trustee as provided in Section 5.6, if applicable) to the Owners entitled
thereto, in proportion to the number of Receipts held by them respectively;
provided, however, that in the event that the respective Securities Issuer or
- --------  -------
the Trustee shall be required to withhold and does withhold from such cash
dividend or such other cash distribution an amount on account of taxes, the
amount distributed to the Owners shall be reduced accordingly.  The Trustee
shall distribute only such amount, however, as can be distributed without
attributing to any Owner a fraction of one cent.  Any such fractional amounts
shall be rounded to the nearest whole cent and so distributed to Owners entitled
thereto.

          Section 4.2.  Distributions Other Than Cash or Securities.  Subject to
                        -------------------------------------------
the provisions of Sections 4.8 and 5.6, whenever the Trustee shall receive any
distribution

                                      -17-
<PAGE>

other than a distribution described in Sections 4.1, 4.3 or 4.4 or any
distribution which would otherwise be distributed hereunder except that the
Trustee deems such distribution not to be lawful and feasible, the Trustee
shall, subject to Section 4.10, cause the securities or property received by it
to be distributed to the Owners entitled thereto, in proportion to the number of
Receipts held by them respectively, in any manner that the Trustee may deem
equitable and practicable for accomplishing such distribution; provided,
                                                               --------
however, that if in the opinion of the Trustee such distribution cannot be made
- -------
proportionately among the Owners entitled thereto, or if for any other reason
(including, but not limited to, any requirement that a Securities Issuer or the
Trustee withhold an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges or
that such securities must be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 in
order to be distributed to Owners) the Trustee deems such distribution not to be
feasible, the Trustee shall adopt such method as it deems equitable and
practicable for the purpose of effecting such distribution, including, but not
limited to, the public or private sale of the securities or property thus
received, or any part thereof, and the net proceeds of any such sale (net of the
fees of the Trustee as provided in Section 5.6) shall be distributed by the
Trustee to the Owners entitled thereto as in the case of a distribution received
in cash.

          Section 4.3.  Distributions in Securities.  If any distribution upon
                        ---------------------------
any Underlying Securities consists of a dividend in, or free distribution of,
Securities, the Trustee shall, to the extent lawful and feasible, retain such
Securities under the Depositary Trust Agreement, and, in such case,  the (i) the
amount of such Securities so retained in respect of each Receipt shall be added
to the classes and quantities of securities which must be deposited for issuance
of Receipts and (ii) the number of Receipts in an Issuance Denomination may be
increased or decreased by the Trustee to the lowest multiple of 100 Receipts
such that no fractional shares are thereby represented in such Issuance
Denomination.

                                      -18-
<PAGE>

          Section 4.4.  Rights Offerings.  (a)  If a Securities Issuer offers
                        ----------------
or causes to be offered to the holders of any Underlying Securities any  rights
to subscribe for additional Securities or other securities, the Trustee shall
have discretion in accordance with this Section 4.4 as to the procedure to be
followed in making such rights available to any Owners or in disposing of such
rights on behalf of Owners and making the net proceeds available to Owners or,
if by the terms of such rights offering or for any other reason (including the
absence of an effective registration statement covering the distribution of
securities underlying the rights), the Trustee may not make such rights
available to any Owners or dispose of such rights and make the net proceeds
available to Owners, then the Trustee shall allow the rights to lapse.

          (b) The Trustee will not offer rights to Owners unless both the rights
and the securities to which such rights relate are either exempt from
registration under the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to a distribution to
all Owners or are registered under the provisions of such Act.

          (c) The Trustee shall not be responsible for any failure to determine
that it may be lawful or feasible to make such rights available to Owners in
general or any Owner in particular.

          Section 4.5.  Fixing of Record Date.  Whenever any cash dividend or
                        ---------------------
other cash distribution shall become payable or any distribution other than cash
shall be made, or whenever the Trustee receives notice of any meeting of or
solicitation of proxies from holders of any Underlying Securities, or whenever a
fee shall be charged by the Trustee under Section 5.6, or whenever for any
reason there is a reconstitution or other event under the Depositary Trust
Agreement that causes a change in the composition of the securities which must
be deposited for issuance of Receipts, or whenever the Trustee shall find it
necessary or convenient in respect of any matter, the Trustee shall fix a record

                                      -19-
<PAGE>

date (a) for the determination of the Owners who shall be (i) entitled to
receive such dividend or distribution or the net proceeds of the sale thereof,
(ii) entitled to give instructions to the Trustee for the exercise of voting
rights at any such meeting or solicitation or (iii) required to pay such fee, or
(b) on or after which each Receipt will represent such changed group of
Securities.  In the case of subsections (a)(i) and (a)(ii) of this Section 4.5,
the Trustee shall use its reasonable efforts to ensure that, to the extent
practicable, the record date set hereunder will be the same as the record date
set by the Securities Issuer.  Subject to the terms and conditions of the
Depositary Trust Agreement, the Owners on such record date shall be entitled, as
the case may be, to receive the amount distributable by the Trustee with respect
to such dividend or other distribution or the net proceeds of sale thereof, or
to give voting instructions, or to act in respect of any other such matter, or
shall be obligated to pay such fee.

          Section 4.6.  Reports.  The Trustee shall, to the extent lawful,
                        -------
forward to Owners any reports and communications, including any proxy statement
or other soliciting material, received from a Securities Issuer which are
received by the Trustee as the holder of the Underlying Securities or its
appointed agent, unless such reports and communications have been forwarded
directly to Owners by such Securities Issuer or its appointed agent.

          Section 4.7.  Voting Instructions for Underlying Securities.  Upon
                        ---------------------------------------------
receipt by the Trustee or its appointed agent of notice of any meeting of, or
solicitation of proxies from, holders of Underlying Securities, the Trustee
shall, to the extent lawful, mail to the Owners a notice, the form of which
notice shall be in the sole discretion of the Trustee, which shall contain (a)
such information as is contained in such notice of meeting or solicitation, and
(b) a statement that the Owners as of the close of business on a specified
record date will be entitled, subject to applicable law and the provisions of
the corporate documents of the Securities Issuer, to instruct the Trustee as to
the exercise of the voting
                                      -20-
<PAGE>

rights, if any, or giving of proxies, as applicable, in respect of the amount of
Underlying Securities represented by their respective Receipts and (c) a
statement as to the manner in which such instructions may be given. Upon the
written request of an Owner of a Receipt on such record date, received on or
before the date established by the Trustee for such purpose, the Trustee shall
endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote or cause to be voted, or to give a
proxy, as applicable, in respect of the amount of Underlying Securities
represented by such Receipt in accordance with the instructions set forth in
such request. The Trustee shall not vote or attempt to exercise the right to
vote that attaches to, or give a proxy with respect to, Underlying Securities
other than in accordance with such instructions.

          Section 4.8.  Changes Affecting Underlying Securities.  (a)  In
                        ---------------------------------------
circumstances where the provisions of Sections 2.11, 4.2 and 4.3 do not apply,
upon any change in nominal value, change in par value, split-up, consolidation
or any other reclassification of any Underlying Securities, or upon any
recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation or sale of assets
affecting the issuer of any Underlying Security, if the relevant Securities
Issuer survives such event, the Trustee shall, to the extent lawful and
feasible, retain such Securities under the Depositary Trust Agreement, and, in
such case, (A) the amount of such Securities so retained in respect of each
Receipt shall be added to the classes and quantities of securities which must be
deposited for issuance of Receipts and (B) the number of Receipts in an Issuance
Denomination may be increased or decreased by the Trustee to the lowest multiple
of 100 Receipts such that no fractional shares are thereby represented in such
Issuance Denomination.

          (b) Securities of any class which are surrendered by the Trustee in
connection with any such conversion or exchange shall, effective on the date of
such surrender, no longer be part of the securities which must be deposited for
issuance of Receipts.  In any such case, or in the case of an event to which
Section 2.11 applies, the

                                      -21-
<PAGE>

Trustee may call for the Surrender of outstanding certificates evidencing
Receipts to be exchanged for new certificates specifically describing any
applicable change in the classes and quantities of securities which must be
deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          Section 4.9.  Withholding.  In the event that the Trustee determines
                        -----------
that any distribution in property (including Securities and rights to subscribe
therefor) is subject to any tax or other charge which the Trustee is obligated
to withhold, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Standard Terms or
the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, the Trustee may by public or private
sale dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Securities and
rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner as the Trustee
deems  necessary and practicable to pay any such taxes or charges and the
Trustee shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale after deduction of
such taxes or charges to the Owners entitled thereto in proportion to the number
of Receipts held by them respectively.

          Section 4.1.  Limitation on Distributions.  Notwithstanding any
                        ---------------------------
provision of the Depositary Trust Agreement which requires or permits the
Trustee to distribute or Deliver any securities to Owners, the Trustee shall not
distribute to any Owner any fraction of a share.  Instead, the Trustee shall, to
the extent lawful, sell the aggregate of such fractions and distribute the net
proceeds to the Owners entitled thereto as in the case of a distribution
received in cash.

                                   ARTICLE 5
                     THE TRUSTEE AND THE INITIAL DEPOSITOR

          Section 5.1.  Maintenance of Office and Transfer Books by the Trustee.
                        -------------------------------------------------------
(a)  Until termination of this Depositary Trust Agreement in accordance with its
terms, the Trustee shall maintain in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New
York, facilities

                                      -22-
<PAGE>

for the execution and Delivery, registration, registration of transfers and
Surrender of Receipts in accordance with the provisions of these Standard Terms
and the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement.

          (b) The Trustee shall keep books for the registration of Receipts and
transfers of Receipts which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection
by the Owners.

          (c) The Trustee may close the transfer books at any time or from time
to time.

          (d) If any Receipts evidenced thereby are listed on one or more stock
exchanges in the United States, the Trustee shall act as Registrar or appoint a
registrar or one or more co-registrars for registry of such receipts in
accordance with any requirements of such exchange or exchanges.

          Section 5.2.  Prevention or Delay in Performance by the Initial
                        -------------------------------------------------
Depositor or the Trustee.  Neither the Initial Depositor nor the Trustee nor any
- ------------------------
of their respective directors, employees, agents or affiliates shall incur any
liability to any Owner or Beneficial Owner of any Receipt, if by reason of any
provision of any present or future law or regulation of the United States or any
other country, or of any governmental or regulatory authority or stock exchange,
or by reason of any provision, present or future, of the corporate documents of
any Securities Issuer, or by reason of any provisions of any securities issued
or distributed by any Securities Issuer, or any offering or distribution
thereof, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond its
control, the Initial Depositor or the Trustee shall be prevented or forbidden
from, or be subject to any civil or criminal penalty on account of, doing or
performing any act or thing which by the terms of these Standard Terms or the
applicable Depositary Trust Agreement it is

                                      -23-
<PAGE>

provided shall be done or performed; nor shall the Initial Depositor or the
Trustee incur any liability to any Owner or Beneficial Owner of any Receipt by
reason of any non-performance or delay, caused as aforesaid, in the performance
of any act or thing which by the terms of these Standard Terms or the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement it is provided shall or may be done or performed, or
by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided
for in these Standard Terms or the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement. Where,
by the terms of an offering or distribution to which Sections 2.11, 4.2 or 4.4
applies, or for any other reason, it is not lawful and feasible to make such
distribution or offering available to Owners, and the Trustee may not dispose of
such distribution or offering on behalf of such Owners and make the net proceeds
available to such Owners, then the Trustee shall not make such distribution or
offering available to Owners and shall allow any rights, if applicable, to
lapse.

          Section 5.3.  Obligations of the Initial Depositor and the Trustee.
                        ----------------------------------------------------
(a) Neither the Initial Depositor nor the Trustee assumes any obligation nor
shall they be subject to any liability under these Standard Terms or the
applicable Depositary Trust Agreement to any Owner or Beneficial Owner of any
Receipt (including, without limitation, liability with respect to the validity
or worth of the Underlying Securities), except that each agrees to perform its
respective obligations specifically set forth in these Standard Terms and the
applicable Depositary Trust Agreement without negligence or bad faith.

          (b) Neither the Initial Depositor nor the Trustee shall be under any
obligation to prosecute any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any
Underlying Securities or in respect of the Receipts.

          (c) Neither the Initial Depositor nor the Trustee shall be liable for
any action or non-action by it in reliance upon the advice of or information
from legal

                                      -24-
<PAGE>

counsel, accountants, any person presenting Securities for deposit, any Owner or
any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such
advice or information.

          (d) The Trustee shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by
a successor Trustee whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the
Trustee or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the resignation of
the Trustee, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such
potential liability arises the Trustee performed its obligations without
negligence or bad faith while it acted as Trustee.

          (e) The Trustee shall not be responsible for any failure to carry out
any instructions to vote any of the Underlying Securities, or for the manner in
which any such vote is cast or the effect of any such vote, provided that any
such action or non-action is without negligence or bad faith.

          (f) Except as specifically provided in Section 4.6, the Trustee shall
have no obligation to monitor or to obtain any information concerning the
business or affairs of any Securities Issuer or to advise Owners or Beneficial
Owners of any event or condition affecting any Securities Issuer.

          (g) The Trustee shall have no obligation to comply with any direction
or instruction from any Owner or Beneficial Owner regarding Receipts except to
the extent specifically provided in these Standard Terms or any applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement.

          (h) The Trustee shall be a fiduciary under these Standard Terms and
the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement; provided, however, that the fiduciary
                                           --------  -------
duties and responsibilities and liabilities of the Trustee shall be limited by,
and shall be only

                                      -25-
<PAGE>

those specifically set forth in, these Standard Terms and the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement.

          Section 5.4.  Resignation or Removal of the Trustee; Appointment of
                        -----------------------------------------------------
Successor Trustee.  (a)  The Trustee may at any time resign as Trustee hereunder
- -----------------
by written notice of its election so to do, delivered to the Initial Depositor,
and such resignation shall take effect upon the appointment of a successor
Trustee and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.

          (b) If at any time the Trustee is in material breach of its
obligations under the Depositary Trust Agreement and the Trustee fails to cure
such breach within 30 days after receipt by the Trustee of written notice from
the Initial Depositor or Owners of 25% or more of the outstanding Receipts
specifying such default and requiring the Trustee to cure such default, the
Initial Depositor, acting on behalf of the Owners, may remove the Trustee by
written notice delivered to the Trustee in the manner provided in Section 7.5,
and such removal shall take effect upon the appointment of the successor Trustee
and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.

          (c) In case at any time the Trustee acting hereunder shall resign or
be removed, the Initial Depositor, acting on behalf of the Owners, shall use its
reasonable efforts to appoint a successor Trustee, which shall be a bank or
trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New
York.  Every successor Trustee shall execute and deliver to its predecessor and
to the Initial Depositor, acting on behalf of the Owners, an instrument in
writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such successor
Trustee, without any further act or deed, shall become fully vested with all the
rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor; but such predecessor,
nevertheless, upon payment of all sums due it and on the written request of the
Initial Depositor, acting on behalf of the Owners, shall execute and deliver an

                                      -26-
<PAGE>

instrument transferring to such successor all rights and powers of such
predecessor hereunder, shall duly assign, transfer and deliver all right, title
and interest in the Underlying Securities to such successor, and shall deliver
to such successor a list of the Owners of all outstanding Receipts.  The Initial
Depositor or any such successor Trustee shall promptly mail notice of the
appointment of such successor Trustee to the Owners.

          (d) Any corporation into or with which the Trustee may be merged,
consolidated or converted shall be the successor of such Trustee without the
execution or filing of any document or any further act.

      Section 5.5.  Indemnification.  (a)  The Initial Depositor shall indemnify
                    ---------------
the Trustee, its directors, employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold
each of them harmless from, any loss, liability, cost, expense or judgment
(including, but not limited to, the fees and expenses of counsel) (collectively
"Indemnified Amounts") which is incurred by any of them and which arises out of
acts performed or omitted pursuant to the provisions of these Standard Terms or
any Depositary Trust Agreement, as the same may be amended, modified or
supplemented from time to time, or any filings with or submissions to the
Commission in connection with or with respect to such Receipts (which by way of
illustration and not by way of limitation, include any registration statement
and any amendments or supplements thereto filed with the Commission or any
periodic reports or updates that may be filed under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, or any failure to make any filings or submissions to the
Commission which are required to be made in connection with or with respect to
such Receipts), except that the Initial Depositor shall not have any obligations
under this Section 5.5(a) to pay Indemnified Amounts incurred as a result of and
attributable to (i) the negligence or bad faith of, or material breach of the
terms of this Agreement by, the Trustee, (ii) written information regarding the
name and address of the Trustee furnished in writing to the Initial Depositor
(and not materially changed or altered) expressly for use in the

                                      -27-
<PAGE>

registration statement filed with the Commission relating to the Receipts, or
(iii) any misrepresentations or omissions made by a Depositor (other than
Initial Depositor) in connection with such Depositor's offer and sale of
Receipts.

          (b) The Trustee shall indemnify the Initial Depositor, its directors,
employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from,
any Indemnified Amounts (i) caused by the negligence or bad faith of the Trustee
or (ii) arising out of any written information regarding the name and address of
the Trustee furnished in writing to the Initial Depositor (and not materially
changed or altered) expressly for use in the registration statement filed with
the Commission relating to the Receipts.

          (c) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 5.5 is
unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless the indemnified party under
subsection (a) or (b) above, then the indemnifying party shall contribute to the
Indemnified Amounts referred to in subsection (a) or (b) above (i) in such
proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the
Initial Depositor on the one hand and the Trustee on the other hand from the
offering of the Receipts which are the subject of the action or (ii) if the
allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in
such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits
referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Initial
Depositor on the one hand and the Trustee on the other hand in connection with
the action, statement or omission which resulted in such Indemnified Amount as
well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative benefits
received by the Initial Depositor on the one hand and the Trustee on the other
shall be deemed to be in the same proportions as the total commissions from the
offering of the Receipts which are the subject of the action (before deducting
expenses) received by the Initial Depositor bear to the total fees received by
the Trustee from the offering of such Receipts.  The relative fault shall be
determined by

                                      -28-
<PAGE>

reference to, among other things, whether any untrue or alleged untrue statement
of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact
from which the action arises relates to information supplied by the Initial
Depositor or the Trustee and the parties' relative intent, knowledge, access to
information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or
omission or the act or omission from which the action arises. The amount of
Indemnified Amounts referred to in the first sentence of this subsection (c)
shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by
such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any action
or claim which is the subject of this subsection (c).

          Section 5.6.  Charges of Trustee.  The following charges shall be
                        ------------------
incurred by any party depositing or withdrawing Securities or by any party
Surrendering Receipts or to whom Receipts are Delivered or any Owner, as
applicable: (1) taxes and  charges and other fees payable in respect of the
Underlying Securities assessed by third-party custodians, depositories,
depositary banks or transfer agents in the ordinary course of their respective
businesses, (2) a fee of $10 or less per 100 Receipts for the execution and
Delivery of Receipts pursuant to Section 2.5, and the Surrender of Receipts
pursuant to Section 2.7,  and (3) a fee which shall accrue on the first day of
each calendar quarter at a rate of $.02 or less per Receipt per quarter for the
Trustee's services as such under the Depositary Trust Agreement (which fee shall
be assessed against Owners of record as of the date or dates set by the Trustee
in accordance with Section 4.5 and shall be collected at the Trustee's
discretion by deducting such fee from one or more cash dividends or other cash
distributions); provided, however, that with respect to the aggregate fee
                --------  -------
accrued in any calendar year under this clause (3) with respect to each Receipt,
the Trustee will waive that portion which exceeds the total cash dividends and
other cash distributions the record date for which falls in such calendar year
and payable with respect to such Receipt.

                                      -29-
<PAGE>

          Section 5.7.  Retention of Trust Documents.  The Trustee is authorized
                        ----------------------------
to destroy those documents, records, bills and other data compiled during the
term of the Depositary Trust Agreement at the times permitted by the laws or
regulations governing the Trustee.

          Section 5.8.  Federal Securities Law Filings.  The Initial Depositor
                        ------------------------------
shall (i) prepare and file a registration statement with the Commission and take
such action as is necessary from time to time to qualify the Receipts for
offering and sale under the federal securities laws of the United States,
including the preparation and filing of amendments and supplements to such
registration statement, (ii) promptly notify the Trustee of any amendment or
supplement to the registration statement or prospectus, of any order preventing
or suspending the use of any prospectus, of any request for the amending or
supplementing of the registration statement or prospectus or if any event or
circumstance occurs which is known to the Initial Depositor as a result of which
the registration statement or prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would
include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading, (iii) provide the Trustee from time
to time with copies, including copies in electronic form, of the prospectus, as
amended and supplemented, in such quantities as the Trustee may reasonably
request and (iv) prepare and file any periodic reports or updates that may be
required under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended..

          Section 5.9.  Prospectus Delivery.  The Trustee shall, if required by
                        -------------------
the federal securities laws of the United States, in any manner permitted by
such laws, deliver at the time of issuance of Receipts, a copy of the relevant
prospectus, as amended and supplemented at such time, to each Person depositing
Underlying Securities into the Trust for issuance of Receipts.

                                      -30-

<PAGE>

                                   ARTICLE 6
                           AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

          Section 6.1.  Amendment.  The Trustee and the Initial Depositor may
                        ---------
amend any provisions of the Depositary Trust Agreement without the consent of
any Owner.  Any amendment that imposes or increases any fees or charges (other
than taxes and other charges, registration fees or other such expenses), or that
otherwise prejudices any substantial existing right of the Owners will not
become effective until 30 days after notice of such amendment is given to the
Owners.  Every Owner and Beneficial Owner, at the time any amendment so becomes
effective, shall be deemed, by continuing to hold any Receipt or an interest
therein, to consent and agree to such amendment and to be bound by the
Depositary Trust Agreement as amended thereby.  In no event shall any amendment
impair the right of the Owner of any Receipt to Surrender such Receipt and
receive therefor the Underlying Securities represented thereby, except in order
to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.

          Section 6.2.  Early Termination. (a) The Trust shall terminate by the
                        -----------------
Trustee mailing notice of such termination to the Owners of all Receipts then
outstanding at least 30 days prior to the date set for termination if any of the
following occurs:

          (i)  The Trustee is notified that the Receipts are delisted from a
     national securities exchange and are not approved for listing on another
     national securities exchange within 5 business days of their delisting;

          (ii) Owners of at least 75% of the outstanding Receipts notify the
     Trustee that they elect to terminate the Trust; or

                                     -31-
<PAGE>

          (iii)  60 days shall have expired after the Trustee shall have
     delivered to the Initial Depositor and the Owners a written notice of its
     election to resign and a successor trustee shall not have been appointed
     and accepted its appointment as provided in Section 5.4.

     (b)  On and after the date of termination, the Owner of a Receipt will,
upon (i) Surrender of such Receipt at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee,
(ii) payment of the fee of the Trustee for the Surrender of Receipts referred to
in Section 2.7, and (iii) payment of any applicable taxes or charges, be
entitled to Delivery, to him or upon his order, of the amount of Underlying
Securities evidenced by such Receipt. If any Receipts shall remain outstanding
after the date of termination, the Trustee thereafter shall discontinue the
registration of transfers of Receipts, shall suspend the distribution of
dividends or other distribution to the Owners thereof, and shall not give any
further notices or perform any further acts under these Standard Terms or the
applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, except that the Trustee shall continue to
collect dividends and other distributions pertaining to Underlying Securities
and hold the same uninvested and without liability for interest, shall sell
rights as provided in these Standard Terms or the applicable Depositary Trust
Agreement, and shall continue to deliver Underlying Securities, together with
any dividends or other distributions received with respect thereto and the net
proceeds of the sale of any rights or other property, in exchange for Receipts
Surrendered to the Trustee (after deducting or upon payment of, in each case,
the fee of the Trustee set forth in 5.6 for the Surrender of Receipts, any
expenses for the account of the Owner of such Receipts in accordance with the
terms and conditions of the Depositary Trust Agreement, and any applicable taxes
or charges). At any time after the expiration of one year following the date of
termination, the Trustee may sell the Underlying Securities then held hereunder
and may thereafter hold uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale, together
with any other cash then held by it hereunder, unsegregated and without
liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the Owners of
                                --- ----

                                     -32-

<PAGE>

Receipts which have not theretofore been Surrendered, such Owners thereupon
becoming general creditors of the Trustee with respect to such net proceeds.
After making such sale, the Trustee shall be discharged from all obligations
under these Standard Terms with respect to the Receipts and the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement, except to account for such net proceeds and other
cash (after deducting, in each case, the fee of the Trustee for the Surrender of
Receipts, any fees of the Trustee due and owing from the Owner of such Receipts
pursuant to Section 5.6, any expenses for the account of the Owner of such
Receipts in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Depositary Trust
Agreement, and any applicable taxes or governmental charges). Upon the
termination of the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, the Initial Depositor
shall be discharged from all obligations under such Depositary Trust Agreement
except for its obligations to the Trustee under Section 5.5.

                                   ARTICLE 7

                                 MISCELLANEOUS

          Section 7.1.  Counterparts.  These Standard Terms and each Depositary
                        ------------
Trust Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which
shall be deemed an original and all of such counterparts shall constitute one
and the same instrument.  Copies of these Standard Terms and the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement shall be filed with the Trustee and shall be open to
inspection by any Owner of a Receipt during business hours.

          Section 7.2.  Third-Party Beneficiaries.  These Standard Terms and
                        -------------------------
each Depositary Trust Agreement are for the exclusive benefit of the respective
parties hereto and thereto, and shall not be deemed to give any legal or
equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other person.

                                     -33-
<PAGE>

          Section 7.3.  Severability.  In case any one or more of the
                        ------------
provisions contained in these Standard Terms or the applicable Depositary Trust
Agreement or in the Receipts should be or become invalid, illegal or
unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the
remaining provisions contained herein or therein shall in no way be affected,
prejudiced or disturbed thereby.

          Section 7.4.  Owners and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding
                        ------------------------------------------------
Effect. The Owners, Beneficial Owners and Depositors from time to time shall be
- ------
parties to the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement and shall be bound by all
of the terms and conditions hereof and thereof and of the Receipts by their
acceptance of Receipts or any interest therein or by their depositing
Securities, as the case may be.

          Section 7.5.  Notices.  (a)  Any and all notices to be given to the
                        -------
Initial Depositor shall be deemed to have been duly given if personally
delivered or sent by mail or cable, telex or facsimile transmission confirmed by
letter, addressed to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, World
Financial Center, New York, New York 10281, Attention:  Director, Customized
Investments, or any other place to which the Initial Depositor may have
transferred its principal office with notice to the Trustee.

          (b) Any and all notices to be given to the Trustee shall be deemed to
have been duly given if personally delivered or sent by mail or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission confirmed by letter, addressed to The Bank of New York,
101 Barclay Street, 22-W, New York, New York 10286, Attention: ADR
Administration, or any other place to which the Trustee may have transferred its
Corporate Trust Office with notices to the Initial Depositor.

          (c) Any and all notices to be given to any Owner shall be deemed to
have been duly given if personally delivered or sent by mail or cable, telex or
facsimile

                                     -34-
<PAGE>

transmission confirmed by letter, addressed to such Owner at the address of such
Owner as it appears on the transfer books of the Trustee, or, if such Owner
shall have filed with the Trustee a written request that notices intended for
such Owner be mailed to some other address, at the address designated in such
request.

          (d) Delivery of a notice sent by mail or cable, telex or facsimile
transmission shall be deemed to be effected at the time when a duly addressed
letter containing the same (or a confirmation thereof in the case of a cable,
telex or facsimile transmission) is deposited, postage prepaid, in a post-office
letter box.  The Trustee may, however, act upon any cable, telex or facsimile
transmission received by them, notwithstanding that such cable, telex or
facsimile transmission shall not subsequently be confirmed by letter as
aforesaid.

          Section 7.6.  Governing Law.  This Depositary Trust Agreement and the
                        -------------
Receipts shall be interpreted and all rights hereunder and thereunder and
provisions hereof and thereof shall be governed by the substantive laws (but not
the choice of law rules)  of the State of New York.

                                     -35-
<PAGE>

          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED
and THE BANK OF NEW YORK have duly executed these Standard Terms as of the day
and year first set forth above.

                                                 MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER &
                                                  SMITH INCORPORATED



                                                 By:/S/ STEPHEN G. BODURTHA
                                                    ___________________________
                                                    Stephen G. Bodurtha
                                                    First Vice President


                                                 THE BANK OF NEW YORK,
                                                  as Trustee



                                                 By:/S/ HERNAN F. RODRIGUEZ
                                                    ___________________________
                                                    Hernan F. Rodriguez
                                                    Vice President

                                     -36-
<PAGE>

                                                                      EXHIBIT A

                                [NAME OF TRUST]

                      [FORM OF] DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT

          DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT dated as of __________ (this "Depositary
Trust Agreement"), between MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED, a
Delaware corporation (the "Initial Depositor"), THE BANK OF NEW YORK, a New York
banking corporation, as trustee (the "Trustee"), and all Holders and Beneficial
Owners (each as hereinafter defined) from time to time of Depositary Trust
Receipts issued hereunder and all Depositors (as hereinafter defined) from time
to time.

          Section 1.  Incorporation of Standard Terms.  The Standard Terms for
                      -------------------------------
Depositary Trust Agreements agreed to as of September 2, 1999 (the "Standard
Terms"), between the Initial Depositor and the Trustee are hereby incorporated
by reference into and made a part of this Depositary Trust Agreement.  If there
is any conflict between the provisions of this Depositary Trust Agreement and
the Standard Terms, the provisions of this Depositary Trust Agreement shall
control.

          Section 2.  Securities to be Deposited.  Initially, the securities
                      --------------------------
which must be deposited for issuance of one Round Lot of Receipts and which
shall be represented thereby shall be as follows:

                                              Quantity which
                                              must be deposited
     Issuer and Title of Security        per Round Lot of Receipts
     ----------------------------        -------------------------

    [Issuer and title of security]              [Quantity]
    [Issuer and title of security]              [Quantity]

; provided, however, that if an event to which Section 2.11 of the Standard
  --------  -------
Terms applies or an event described in Sections 4.3 or 4.8 of the Standard Terms
occurs, the definition of the securities that must be deposited for issuance of
one Round Lot of Receipts shall be changed as provided in such Sections, if
applicable.

          Section 3.  Creation and Declaration of Trust; Termination Date.  The
                      ---------------------------------------------------
trust created hereby shall be known as [Name of Trust], for which the Trustee,
                                        -------------
or the Initial Depositor to the extent provided herein, may conduct the business
of the Trust, make and execute contracts, and sue and be sued.  [The termination
date of the Trust will be December 31, 2039].

                                      A-1
<PAGE>

          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED
and THE BANK OF NEW YORK have duly executed this agreement as of the day and
year first set forth above.  All Owners and Beneficial Owners shall become
parties hereto upon acceptance by them of Receipts issued in accordance with the
terms hereof or any interest therein, and all Depositors shall become parties
hereto upon depositing any Securities hereunder.

                                                 MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER &
                                                  SMITH INCORPORATED



                                                 By:____________________________
                                                    Name:
                                                    Title:


                                                 THE BANK OF NEW YORK,
                                                  as Trustee



                                                 By:____________________________
                                                    Name:
                                                    Title:


                                      A-2
<PAGE>

                                                                       EXHIBIT B

                               [Form of Receipt]

THE RECEIPTS EVIDENCED HEREBY REPRESENT RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO UNDERLYING
SECURITIES (AS DEFINED IN THE DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT REFERRED TO HEREIN)
HELD BY THE TRUST AND DO NOT EVIDENCE AN OBLIGATION OF, OR AN INTEREST IN, AND
ARE NOT GUARANTEED BY THE INITIAL DEPOSITOR OR THE TRUSTEE OR ANY OF THEIR
RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES. NEITHER THE RECEIPTS NOR THE UNDERLYING SECURITIES ARE
INSURED OR GUARANTEED BY ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY OR ANY OTHER PERSON.


UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRE SENTATIVE OF THE
DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION ("DTC"), TO THE AGENT
AUTHORIZED BY THE ISSUER FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND
ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER
NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTA TIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS
MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED
REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE, OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR
OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER
HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.

                                      B-1

<PAGE>

                           DEPOSITARY TRUST RECEIPTS
                                   ISSUED BY
                                [NAME OF TRUST]
                         REPRESENTING [COMMON STOCK] OF

                             [LIST COMPANIES HERE]

                        THE BANK OF NEW YORK, as Trustee

 No.                                                                 CUSIP NO.

          THE BANK OF NEW YORK, as Trustee (hereinafter called the "Trustee"),
hereby certifies that CEDE & CO., as nominee of the Depositary Trust Company, or
registered assigns, IS THE OWNER OF " Depositary Trust Receipts issued by
[Name of Trust], each representing the securities described in the within-
 -------------
mentioned Depositary Trust Agreement.  At the date hereof, each Round Lot of
Receipts represents the right to receive the following securities:

           -------------------------------------------
                                       Quantity
                                      Initially
              Issuer and Title      Represented by
              of Security           Each Round Lot
              -----------             of Receipts
                                      -----------
           -------------------------------------------

           -------------------------------------------

           -------------------------------------------

which are deposited under the Depositary Trust Agreement referred to herein at
the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee.  The specification of the securities
represented by each Round Lot of Receipts is subject to change as provided in
the Depositary Trust Agreement.  The Trustee's Corporate Trust Office is located
at a different address than its principal executive office.  Its Corporate Trust
Office is located at 101 Barclay Street, New York, New York 10286, and its
principal executive office is located at One Wall Street, New York, New York
10286.

                THE TRUSTEE'S CORPORATE TRUST OFFICE ADDRESS IS
                  101 BARCLAY STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10286

- ------------------------
*              That number of Receipts held at The Depository Trust Company at
               any given point in time.

                                      B-2
<PAGE>

(1)  THE DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT.
     ------------------------------

     This Receipt is issued upon the terms and conditions set forth in the
Depositary Trust Agreement, dated as of _________, 1999 (the "Depositary Trust
Agreement"), agreed to by and among the Initial Depositor, the Trustee, all
Owners and Beneficial Owners from time to time of Receipts issued thereunder and
all Depositors.  By becoming an Owner or Beneficial Owner, or by depositing
Securities, such Person agrees to become a party to the Depositary Trust
Agreement and become bound by all the terms and conditions thereof.  The
Depositary Trust Agreement sets forth the rights of Owners and the rights and
duties of the Trustee in respect of the Securities deposited thereunder and any
and all other securities, property and cash from time to time received in
respect of such Securities and held thereunder (such Securities, other
securities, property, and cash are herein called "Underlying Securities").
Copies of the Depositary Trust Agreement are on file at the Trustee's Corporate
Trust Office in New York City.

     The statements made on the face and reverse of this Receipt are summaries
of certain provisions of the Depositary Trust Agreement and are qualified by and
subject to the detailed provisions of the Depositary Trust Agreement, to which
reference is hereby made.  Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the
meanings set forth in the Depositary Trust Agreement.

(2)  SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS AND WITHDRAWAL OF SECURITIES.
     --------------------------------------------------

     Upon Surrender at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee of a Round Lot
of Receipts or integral multiples thereof for the purpose of withdrawal of the
Underlying Securities represented thereby, and upon payment of the fee of the
Trustee in connection with the Surrender of Receipts as provided in Section 5.6
of the Standard Terms and payment of all taxes and charges payable in connection
with such Surrender and withdrawal of the Underlying Securities, and subject to
the terms and conditions of the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement,
including, without limitation, Section 4.10 thereof, the Owner of such Receipts
shall be entitled to Delivery of the amount of Underlying Securities at the time
represented by such Receipts. Delivery of such Underlying Securities may be made
by (i) Delivery of Securities to such Owner or as ordered by such Owner and (ii)
any available form of delivery of any other securities, property and cash to
which such Owner is then entitled to such Owner or as ordered by such Owner. The
Trustee shall only deliver whole Underlying Securities upon Surrender of
Receipts representing such Underlying Securities.

(3)  REGISTRATION OF TRANSFERS, SPLIT-UPS AND COMBINATIONS OF CERTIFICATES;
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     LIMITATIONS.
     -----------

     The transfer of ownership of Receipts evidenced by this certificate is
registrable on the books of the Trustee at its Corporate Trust Office by the
Owner hereof in person or by a duly authorized attorney, upon Surrender of this
certificate evidencing Receipts, properly endorsed or accompanied by proper
instruments of transfer, and duly stamped as

                                      B-3
<PAGE>

may be required by the laws of the State of New York and of the United States of
America. This certificate evidencing Receipts may be split up into other such
certificates, each evidencing any integral multiple of a Round Lot of Receipts,
or may be combined with other certificates evidencing Receipts into one such
certificate, in each case evidencing the same aggregate number of Receipts as
the certificate or certificates Surrendered.

     As a condition precedent to the Delivery, registration of transfer, split-
up, combination or Surrender (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any
Surrender in connection with an exchange) of any Receipt or withdrawal of any
Underlying Securities, the Trustee or Registrar may require payment from the
Depositor of Securities or the presentor of the Receipts of a sum sufficient to
reimburse it for any tax or other charge and any stock transfer or registration
fee with respect thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect
to Securities being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees
as herein provided, may require the production of proof satisfactory to it as to
the identity and genuineness of any signature and may also require compliance
with any regulations the Trustee may establish consistent with the provisions of
the Depositary Trust Agreement, including, without limitation, Section 2.8 of
the Standard Terms.

     The Delivery of Receipts against deposits of Securities, the registration
of transfer of Receipts or the Surrender of Receipts for the purpose of
withdrawal of Underlying Securities may be suspended, generally or in particular
instances, during any period when the transfer books of the Trustee are closed
or the transfer books of a Securities Issuer are closed or if any such action is
deemed necessary or advisable by the Trustee at any time or from time to time
for any reason, subject to the provisions of the following sentence.
Notwithstanding any other provision of any applicable Depositary Trust Agreement
or the Receipts, the Surrender of Receipts and withdrawal of Underlying
Securities may not be suspended subject to only (i) temporary delays caused by
closing the transfer books of the Trustee or a Securities Issuer, (ii) the
payment of fees, taxes and similar charges, and (iii) compliance with any U.S.
laws or governmental regulations relating to the Receipts or to the withdrawal
of the Underlying Securities. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Trustee
shall not knowingly accept for deposit under the Depositary Trust Agreement any
Securities required to be registered under the provisions of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, for the public offer and sale thereof in the United States
unless a registration statement is in effect as to such Securities for such
offer and sale.

(4)  RECONSTITUTION EVENTS
     ---------------------

       (a) If any class of Securities ceases to be outstanding as a result of a
merger, consolidation or other corporate combination of the Securities Issuer
and Section 4.8 of the Standard Terms does not apply, the Trustee shall, if it
has actual knowledge of such

                                      B-4

<PAGE>

event, to the extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10 of the
Standard Terms, distribute any securities which shall be received by the Trustee
in exchange for, in conversion of or in respect of Underlying Securities which
are not Securities issued by a Securities Issuer to the Owners in proportion to
their ownership of Receipts. Effective on the date that such Securities cease to
be outstanding, such class of Securities shall cease to be part of the
securities which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          (b) If any class of Securities is delisted from trading on its primary
exchange or market and is not listed for trading on another national securities
exchange or through NASDAQ within five business days from the date of such
delisting, the Trustee shall, if it has actual knowledge of such event, to the
extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10 of the Standard Terms,
distribute the Underlying Securities of such class to the Owners in proportion
to their ownership of Receipts. Effective on the date of such distribution, such
class of Securities shall cease to be a part of the securities which must be
deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          (c) In the event that any Securities Issuer no longer has a class of
common stock registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, the Trustee shall, if  it has actual knowledge of such event, to the
extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10 of the Standard Terms,
distribute the Underlying Securities of such Securities Issuer to the Owners in
proportion to their ownership of Receipts.  Effective on the date of such
distribution, such class of Securities shall cease to be part of the securities
which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts.

          (d) If the Commission determines that a Securities Issuer is an
investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Trustee has
actual knowledge of such Commission determination, then the Trustee shall, to
the extent lawful and feasible and subject to Section 4.10 of the Standard
Terms, distribute the Underlying Securities of such Securities Issuer to the
Owners in proportion to their ownership of Receipts.  Effective on the date of
such distribution, such class of Securities shall cease to be part of the
securities which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts.

(5)  LIABILITY OF OWNER FOR TAXES AND OTHER CHARGES.
     ----------------------------------------------

     If any tax or other governmental charge shall become payable with respect
to any Receipts or any Underlying Securities represented thereby, such tax or
other governmental charge shall be payable by the Owner hereof to the Trustee.
The Trustee shall refuse to effect any registration of transfer of such Receipts
or any withdrawal of Underlying Securities represented by such Receipt until
such payment is made, and may withhold any dividends or other distributions, or
may sell for the account of the Owner hereof Underlying Securities constituting
any multiples of the securities which must be deposited for issuance of
Receipts, and may apply such dividends or other distributions of

                                      B-5
<PAGE>

the proceeds of any such sale in payment of such tax or other charge and the
Owner hereof shall remain liable for any deficiency.

(6)  WARRANTIES ON DEPOSIT OF SECURITIES.
     -----------------------------------

     Every Person depositing Securities under the Depositary Trust Agreement
shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that such Receipts and each
certificate therefor are validly issued and fully paid, that the person making
such deposit is duly authorized to do so and that at the time of delivery, such
Securities are free and clear of any lien, pledge, encumbrance, right, charge or
claim (other than the rights created by the Depositary Trust Agreement).  Every
such person shall also be deemed to represent that such Securities are not, and
Receipts representing such Securities would not be, Restricted Securities.  Such
representations and warranties shall survive the deposit of Securities, issuance
of Receipts or termination of the Depositary Trust Agreement.

(7)  FILING PROOFS, CERTIFICATES AND OTHER INFORMATION.
     -------------------------------------------------

     Any person presenting Securities for deposit or any Owner of a Receipt may
be required from time to time to file with the Trustee such proof of citizenship
or residence, exchange control approval, or such information relating to the
registration on the books of any Securities Issuer or Securities Registrar, if
applicable, to execute such certificates and to make such representations and
warranties, as the Trustee may require.  The Trustee may withhold the Delivery
or registration of transfer of any Receipts or the delivery of any Underlying
Securities until such proof or other information is filed or such certificates
are executed or such representations and warranties made.

(8)  CHARGES OF TRUSTEE.  The following charges shall be incurred by any party
     ------------------
depositing or withdrawing Securities or by any party Surrendering Receipts or to
whom Receipts are Delivered or any Owner, as applicable: (1) taxes and charges
and other fees payable in respect of the Underlying Securities assessed by
third-party custodians, depositories, depositary banks or transfer agents in the
ordinary course of their respective businesses, (2) a fee of $10 or less per 100
Receipts for the execution and Delivery of Receipts pursuant to Section 2.5 of
the Standard Terms, and the Surrender of Receipts pursuant to Section 2.7
Standard Terms, and (3) a fee which shall accrue on the first day of each
calendar quarter at a rate of $.02 or less per Receipt per quarter for the
Trustee's services as such under the Depositary Trust Agreement (which fee shall
be assessed against Owners of record as of the date or dates set by the Trustee
in accordance with Section 4.5 of the Standard Terms and shall be collected at
the Trustee's discretion by deducting such fee from one or more cash dividends
or other cash distributions); provided, however, that with respect to the
                              --------  -------
aggregate fee accrued in any calendar year under this clause (3) with respect to
each Receipt, the Trustee will waive that portion which exceeds the total cash
dividends and other cash distributions the record date for which falls in such
calendar year and payable with respect to such Receipt.

                                      B-6
<PAGE>

(9)  TITLE TO RECEIPTS.
     -----------------

     It is a condition of the Receipts and every successive Owner of the
Receipts by accepting or holding a certificate for Receipts consents and agrees,
that title to such certificate (and the Receipts evidenced thereby), when
properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer, is
transferable by delivery with the same effect as in the case of a negotiable
instrument under the laws of New York; provided, however, that the Trustee,
                                       --------  -------
notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, may treat the person in whose name
Receipts are registered on the books of the Trustee as the absolute owner
thereof for the purpose of determining the person entitled to distribution or
dividends or other distributions or to any notice provided for in the Depositary
Trust Agreement and for all other purposes.

(10) VALIDITY OF RECEIPTS.
     --------------------

     Receipts shall not be entitled to any benefits under the Depositary Trust
Agreement or be valid or obligatory for any purpose, unless a certificate
evidencing such Receipts shall have been executed by the Trustee by the manual
or facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Trustee and, if a
Registrar for the Receipts shall have been appointed, countersigned by the
manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Registrar.

(11) REPORTS; INSPECTION OF TRANSFER BOOKS.
     -------------------------------------

     The issuer of each class of Securities is subject to the periodic reporting
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and, accordingly, files
certain reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (herein called the
"Commission"). Such reports will be available for inspection and copying at the
public reference facilities maintained by the Commission located at 450 Fifth
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549.

     The Trustee shall, to the extent lawful, forward to Owners, any reports
and communications, including any proxy statement or other soliciting material,
received from a Securities Issuer which are received by the Trustee as the
holder of the Underlying Securities, unless such reports and communications have
been forwarded directly to Owners by such Securities Issuer.

     The Trustee shall keep books for the registration of Receipts and transfers
of Receipts which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the
Owners.

(12) DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS.
     ---------------------------

     Whenever the Trustee shall receive any cash dividend or other cash
distribution on any Underlying Securities, the Trustee shall, subject to the
Depositary Trust Agreement, distribute the amount thus received (net of the fees
of the Trustee as provided in the Depositary Trust Agreement, if applicable) to
the Owners of Receipts entitled thereto; provided, however, that in the event
                                         --------  -------
that the respective Securities Issuer or the

                                      B-7
<PAGE>

Trustee shall be required to withhold and does withhold from such cash dividend
or such other cash distribution in respect of any Underlying Securities an
amount on account of taxes, the amount distributed to the Owners of the Receipts
representing such Underlying Securities shall be reduced accordingly.

     Subject to the provisions of Sections 4.8 and 5.6 of the Standard Terms,
whenever the Trustee shall receive any distribution other than a distribution
described in Sections 4.1, 4.3 or 4.4 of the Standard Terms or a distribution
which would otherwise be distributed under the Depositary Trust Agreement except
that the Trustee deems such distribution not to be lawful and feasiable, the
Trustee shall, subject to Section 4.10 of the Standard Terms, cause the
securities or property received by it to be distributed to the Owners of
Receipts entitled thereto, in any manner that the Trustee may deem equitable and
practicable for accomplishing such distribution; provided, however, that if in
                                                 --------  -------
the opinion of the Trustee such distribution cannot be made proportionately
among the Owners of Receipts entitled thereto, or if for any other reason
(including, but not limited to, any requirement that a Securities Issuer or the
Trustee withhold an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges or
that such securities must be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 in
order to be distributed to Owners) the Trustee deems such distribution not to be
feasible, the Trustee shall adopt such method as it deems equitable and
practicable for the purpose of effecting such distribution, including, but not
limited to, the public or private sale of the securities or property thus
received, or any part thereof, and the net proceeds of such sale (net of the
fees of the Trustee as provided in Section 5.6 of the Standard Terms) shall be
distributed by the Trustee to the Owners entitled thereto as in the case of a
distribution received in cash.

       If any distribution upon any Underlying Securities consists of a dividend
in, or free distribution of, Securities, the Trustee shall, to the extent lawful
and feasible, retain such Securities under the Depositary Trust Agreement, and,
in such case, the (i) the amount of such Securities so retained in respect of
each Receipt shall be added to the classes and quantities of securities which
must be deposited for issuance of Receipts and (ii) the number of Receipts in an
Issuance Denomination may be increased or decreased by the Trustee to the lowest
multiple of 100 Receipts such that no fractional shares are thereby represented
in such Issuance Denomination.

       In the event that the Trustee determines that any distribution in
property (including Securities and rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to
any tax or other charge which the Trustee is obligated to withhold,
notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Standard Terms or the applicable
Depositary Trust Agreement, the Trustee may by public or private sale dispose of
all or a portion of such property (including Securities and rights to subscribe
therefor) in such amounts and in such manner as the Trustee deems necessary and
practicable to pay any such taxes or charges and the Trustee shall distribute
the net

                                      B-8
<PAGE>

proceeds or any such sale after deduction of such taxes or charges to the Owners
entitled thereto.

(13) RIGHTS OFFERINGS.
     ----------------

     (a) If a Securities Issuer offers or cause to be offered to the holders of
any Underlying Securities any rights to subscribe for additional Securities or
other securities, the Trustee shall have discretion in accordance with Section
4.4 of the Standard Terms as to the procedure to be followed in making such
rights available to any Owners or in disposing of such rights on behalf of
Owners and making the net proceeds available to Owners or, if by the terms of
such rights offering or for any other reason (including the absence of an
effective registration statement covering the distribution of securities
underlying the rights), the Depositary may not make such rights available to any
Owners or dispose of such rights and make the net proceeds available to Owners,
then the Trustee shall allow the rights to lapse.

     (b) The Trustee will not offer rights to Owners unless both the rights and
the securities to which such rights relate are either exempt from registration
under the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to a distribution to all Owners or
are registered under the provisions of such Act.

     (c) The Trustee shall not be responsible for any failure to determine that
it may be lawful or feasible to make such rights available to Owners in general
or any Owner in particular.

(14) RECORD DATES.
     ------------

     Whenever any cash dividend or other cash distribution shall become payable
or any distribution other than cash shall be made, or whenever the Trustee
receives notice of a meeting of or solicitation of proxies from holders of any
Underlying Securities, or whenever a fee shall be changed by the Trustee under
Section 5.6 of the Standard Terms, or whenever for any reason there is a
reconstitution or other event under the Depositary Trust Agreement that causes a
change in the composition of the Securities which must be deposited for issuance
of Receipts, or whenever the Trustee shall find it necessary or convenient in
respect of any matter, the Trustee shall fix a record date (a) for the
determination of the Owners who shall be (i) entitled to receive such dividend,
distribution or rights or the net proceeds of the sale thereof or (ii) entitled
to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting or
solicitation, or (iii) required to pay such fee, or (b) on or after which each
Receipt will represent such changed group of Securities, subject to the
provisions of the Depositary Trust Agreement. In the case of subsections (a)(i)
and (a)(ii) of this Article (13), the Trustee shall use its reasonable efforts
to ensure that, to the extent practicable,  the record date set under the
Depositary Trust Agreement will be the same as the record date set by the
Securities Issuer.

                                      B-9
<PAGE>

(15) VOTING OF UNDERLYING SECURITIES.
     -------------------------------

     Upon receipt by the Trustee or its appointed agent of notice of any meeting
of, or solicitation of proxies from, holders of Underlying Securities, the
Trustee shall, to the extent lawful, mail to the Owners a notice which shall
contain (a) such information as is contained in such notice of meeting or
solicitation, (b) a statement that the Owners of Receipts as of the close of
business on a specified record date will be entitled, subject to applicable law
and the provisions of the corporate documents of the Securities Issuer, to
instruct the Trustee as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, or giving
of proxies, as applicable, in respect of the amount of Underlying Securities
represented by their respective Receipts and (c) a statement as to the manner in
which such instructions may be given. Upon the written request of an Owner of a
Receipt on such record date, received on or before the date established by the
Trustee, the Trustee shall endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote or cause to
be voted, or to give a proxy, as applicable, in respect of the amount of
Underlying Securities represented by such Receipt in accordance with the
instructions set forth in such request. The Trustee shall not vote or attempt to
exercise the right to vote that attaches to, or give a proxy with respect to,
Underlying Securities other than in accordance with such instructions.

(16) CHANGES AFFECTING UNDERLYING SECURITIES.
     ---------------------------------------

     (a) In circumstances where the provisions of Sections 2.11, 4.2 and 4.3
of the Standard Terms do not apply, upon any change in nominal value, change in
par value, split-up, consolidation or any other reclassification of any
Underlying Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger or
consolidation or sale of assets affecting the issuer of any Underlying Security,
if the relevant Securities Issuer survives such event, the Trustee shall, to the
extent lawful and feasible, retain such Securities under the Depositary Trust
Agreement, and, in such case, the (A) the amount of such Securities so retained
in respect of each Receipt shall be added to the classes and quantities of
Securities which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts and (B) the number
of Receipts in an Issuance Denomination may be increased or decreased by the
Trustee to the lowest multiple of 100 Receipts such that no fractional shares
are thereby represented in such Issuance Denomination.

     (b) Securities of any class which are surrendered by the Trustee in
connection with any such conversion or exchange shall, effective on the date of
such surrender, no longer be part of the securities which must be deposited for
issuance of Receipts.  In any such case, or in the case of an event to which
Section 2.11 of the Standard Terms applies, the Trustee may call for the
Surrender of outstanding certificates evidencing Receipts to be exchanged for
new certificates specifically describing any applicable change in the classes
and quantities of securities which must be deposited for issuance of Receipts.

(17) LIABILITY OF THE INITIAL DEPOSITOR AND THE TRUSTEE.
     --------------------------------------------------

                                     B-10
<PAGE>

     Neither the Initial Depositor nor the Trustee nor any of their respective
directors, employees, agents or affiliates shall incur any liability to any
Owner or Beneficial Owner of any Receipt, if by reason of any provision of any
present or future law or regulation of the United States or any other country,
or of any governmental or regulatory authority or stock exchange, or by reason
of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control, the Initial
Depositor or the Trustee shall be prevented or forbidden from, or be subject to
any civil or criminal penalty on account of, doing or performing any act or
thing which by the terms of the Standard Terms or the applicable Depositary
Trust Agreement it is provided shall be done or performed; nor shall the Initial
Depositor or the Trustee incur any liability to any Owner or Beneficial Owner of
any Receipt by reason of any non-performance or delay, caused as aforesaid, in
the performance of any act or thing which by the terms of the Standard Terms or
the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement it is provided shall or may be done or
performed, or by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any
discretion provided for in the Standard Terms or the applicable Depositary Trust
Agreement.   Where, by the terms of an offering or distribution to which
Sections 2.11, 4.2 or 4.4 of the Standard Terms applies, or for any other
reason, it is not lawful and feasible to make such distribution or offering
available to Owners, and the Trustee may not dispose of such distribution or
offering on behalf of such Owners and make the net proceeds available to such
Owners, then the Trustee shall not make such distribution or offering available
to Owners and shall allow any rights, if applicable, to lapse.  The Trustee
shall not be subject to any liability with respect to the validity or worth of
the Underlying Securities.  Neither the Initial Depositor nor the Trustee shall
be under any obligation to prosecute any action, suit or other proceeding in
respect of any Underlying Securities or in respect of the Receipts.  Neither the
Initial Depositor nor the Trustee shall be liable for any action or non-action
by it in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel,
accountants, any person presenting Securities for deposit, any Owner or
Beneficial Owner, or any other person believed by it in good faith to be
competent to give such advice or information. The Trustee shall not be liable
for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection
with a previous act or omission of the Trustee or in connection with any matter
arising wholly after the resignation of the Trustee, provided that in connection
with the issue out of which such potential liability arises the Trustee
performed its obligations without negligence or bad faith while it acted as
Trustee. The Trustee shall not be responsible for any failure to carry out any
instructions to vote any of the Underlying Securities, or for the manner in
which any such vote is cast or the effect of any such vote, provided that any
such action or non-action is without negligence or bad faith. Except as
specifically provided in Section 4.6 of the Standard Terms, the Trustee shall
have no obligation to monitor or to obtain any information concerning the
business or affairs of any Securities Issuer or to advise Owners or Beneficial
Owners of any event or condition affecting any Securities Issuer. The Trustee
shall have no obligation to comply with any direction or instruction from any
Owner or Beneficial Owner regarding Receipts except to the extent specifically
provided in the Standard Terms or any applicable Depositary Trust Agreement. The
Trustee shall

                                     B-11
<PAGE>

be a fiduciary under the Standard Terms and the applicable Depositary Trust
Agreement; provided, however, that the fiduciary duties and responsibilities and
           --------  -------
liabilities of the Trustee shall be limited by, and shall be only those
specifically set forth in, the Standard Terms and the applicable Depositary
Trust Agreement. No disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act of 1933 is
intended by any provision of the Depositary Trust Agreement.

(18) RESIGNATION OR REMOVAL OF THE TRUSTEE.
     -------------------------------------

     (a) The Trustee may at any time resign as Trustee under the Depositary
Trust Agreement by written notice of its election so to do, delivered to the
Initial Depositor, and such resignation shall take effect upon the appointment
of a successor Trustee and its acceptance of such appointment.

     (b) If at any time the Trustee is in material breach of its obligations
under the Depositary Trust Agreement and the Trustee fails to cure such breach
within 30 days after receipt by the Trustee of written notice from the Initial
Depositor or the Owners of 25% or more of the outstanding Receipts specifying
such default and requiring the Trustee to cure such default, the Initial
Depositor, acting on behalf of the Owners, may remove the Trustee by written
notice delivered to the Trustee, and such removal shall take effect upon the
appointment of the successor Trustee and its acceptance of such appointment.

     (c) In case at any time the Trustee acting hereunder shall resign or be
removed, the Initial Depositor, acting on behalf of the Owners, shall use its
reasonable efforts to appoint a successor Trustee, which shall be a bank or
trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New
York.

(19) AMENDMENT.
     ---------

     The Trustee and the Initial Depositor may amend any provisions of the
Depositary Trust Agreement without the consent of any Owner.  Any amendment that
imposes or increases any fees or charges (other than taxes and other charges,
registration fees or other such expenses), or that otherwise prejudices any
substantial existing right of the Owners will not become effective until 30 days
after notice of such amendment is given to the Owners.  Every Owner and
Beneficial Owner, at the time any amendment so becomes effective, shall be
deemed, by continuing to hold any Receipt or an interest therein, to consent and
agree to such amendment and to be bound by the Depositary Trust Agreement as
amended thereby.  In no event shall any amendment impair the right of the Owner
of any Receipt to Surrender such Receipt and receive therefor the Underlying
Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory
provisions of applicable law.

                                     B-12
<PAGE>

(20)  EARLY TERMINATION OF DEPOSITARY TRUST AGREEMENT.
      -----------------------------------------------
      (a) The Trust shall terminate by the Trustee mailing notice of such
termination to the Owners of all Receipts then outstanding at least 30 days
prior to the date set for termination if any of the following occurs:

          (i)   The Trustee is notified that the Receipts are delisted from a
     national securities exchange and are not approved for listing on another
     national securities exchange within 5 business days of their delisting;

          (ii)  Owners of at least 75% of the outstanding Receipts notify the
     Trustee that they elect to terminate the Trust; or

          (iii) 60 days shall have expired after the Trustee shall have
     delivered to the Initial Depositor and the Owners a written notice of its
     election to resign and a successor trustee shall not have been appointed
     and accepted its appointment.

      (b) On and after the date of termination, the Owner of a Receipt will,
upon (a) Surrender of such Receipt at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee,
(b) payment of the fee of the Trustee for the Surrender of Receipts referred to
in Section 2.7 of the Standard Terms, and (c) payment of any applicable taxes or
charges, be entitled to Delivery, to him or upon his order, of the amount of
Underlying Securities evidenced by such Receipt. If any Receipts shall remain
outstanding after the date of termination, the Trustee thereafter shall
discontinue the registration of transfers of Receipts, shall suspend the
distribution of dividends or other distribution to the Owners thereof, and shall
not give any further notices or perform any further acts under these Standard
Terms or the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, except that the Trustee
shall continue to collect dividends and other distributions pertaining to
Underlying Securities and hold the same uninvested and without liability for
interest, shall sell rights as provided in these Standard Terms or the
applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, and shall continue to deliver Underlying
Securities, together with any dividends or other distributions received with
respect thereto and the net proceeds of the sale of any rights or other
property, in exchange for Receipts Surrendered to the Trustee (after deducting
or upon payment of, in each case, the fee of the Trustee set forth in 5.6 of the
Standard Terms for the Surrender of Receipts, any expenses for the account of
the Owner of such Receipts in accordance with the terms and conditions of the
Depositary Trust Agreement, and any applicable taxes or charges). At any time
after the expiration of one year following the date of termination, the Trustee
may sell the Underlying Securities then held hereunder and may thereafter hold
uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale, together with any other cash then
held by it hereunder, unsegregated and without liability for interest, for the
pro rata benefit of the Owners of Receipts which have not theretofore been
- --- ----
Surrendered, such Owners thereupon becoming general creditors of the Trustee
with respect to such net proceeds. After making such sale, the Trustee shall be
discharged from all obligations under these

                                     B-13
<PAGE>

Standard Terms with respect to the Receipts and the applicable Depositary Trust
Agreement, except to account for such net proceeds and other cash (after
deducting, in each case, the fee of the Trustee for the Surrender of Receipts,
any fees of the Trustee due and owing from the Owner of such Receipts pursuant
to Section 5.6 of the Standard Terms, any expenses for the account of the Owner
of such Receipts in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Depositary
Trust Agreement, and any applicable taxes or charges). Upon the termination of
the applicable Depositary Trust Agreement, the Initial Depositor shall be
discharged from all obligations under such Depositary Trust Agreement except for
its obligations to the Trustee under Section 5.5 of the Standard Terms.




                                     B-14

<PAGE>

                                                                     EXHIBIT 5.1

                             October 28, 1999

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
250 Vesey Street
New York, New York 10281

               Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
                             Biotech HOLDRs(SM) Trust
                       Registration Statement on Form S-1
                           Registration No. 333-89355

                     -------------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen:

      We are acting as counsel to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated, a Delaware corporation (the "Initial Depositor"), and as special
counsel to the Biotech HOLDRs(SM) Trust (the "Trust") in connection with the
preparation and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") of the Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended from time
to time and filed by the Initial Depositor (the "Registration Statement"), of
which the prospectus forms a part (the "Prospectus"), for the registration
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), of
1,000,000,000 Biotech HOLDRs(SM) (the "HOLDRs(SM)") to be issued by the Trust.

      In this capacity, we have examined (a) a signed copy of the Registration
Statement and (b) a copy of the depositary trust agreement between The Bank of
New York, as trustee (the "Trustee"), and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated, as initial depositor (the "Depositary Trust Agreement"). We have
also examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our
satisfaction, of such other corporate records of the Initial Depositor, such
other certificates and advice of public officials and of officers of the Initial
Depositor, and such other agreements, instruments and documents as we have
deemed necessary as a basis for the opinions expressed below. In such
examination we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity
of all documents submitted to us as originals, and the conformity with the
originals of all documents submitted to us as copies. As to questions of fact
material to such opinions, we have relied upon such certificates and advice. The
opinions set forth below are also based upon the assumptions that: (i) the
Registration Statement, as finally amended (including any post-effective
amendments), has become effective under the Securities Act; (ii) the amount,
price, and other principal terms of the HOLDRs(SM) have been approved by the
Board of Directors of the Initial Depositor or an authorized designee thereof;
(iii) the Depositary Trust Agreement will be duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the parties thereto substantially in the form filed as an exhibit
to the Registration Statement; and (iv) the HOLDRs(SM) will be duly
authenticated by the Trustee in accordance with the Depositary Trust Agreement
and sold and delivered by the Initial Depositor against payment therefor.

      Our opinions expressed herein are limited to the laws of the State of New
York, and the Federal law of the United States, and we do not express any
opinion herein concerning any other law.

      Based upon and subject to the foregoing, and having regard for such legal
considerations as we have deemed relevant, we are of the opinion that the
HOLDRs(SM) will be legally issued, fully paid and nonassessable, will be legal,
valid and binding obligations of the Trust, enforceable against the Trust in
accordance with their terms, except as enforcement thereof may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency (including, without limitation, all laws relating to
fraudulent transfers), reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the
enforcement
<PAGE>

of creditors' rights generally and except as enforcement thereof is subject to
general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is considered
in a proceeding at law or in equity).

      We hereby consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement and to the use of our name under the heading "Legal
Matters" in the Prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not thereby concede
that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required by the
Securities Act or the General Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder.

                                          Very truly yours,

                                          /s/ Shearman & Sterling

<PAGE>

                                                                     EXHIBIT 8.1

                             October 28, 1999

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
World Financial Center
North Tower--4th Floor
New York, New York 10281

               Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
                           Biotech HOLDRs(SM) Trust
                       Registration Statement on Form S-1
                           Registration No. 333-89355

                     -------------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen:

      We have acted as special Tax Counsel to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &
Smith Incorporated ("Merrill Lynch"), as Initial Depositor, and the Biotech
HOLDRs(SM) Trust in connection with the preparation and filing of a Prospectus
and Registration Statement on Form S-1, No. 333-89355, as amended from time to
time and filed by the Initial Depositor (the "Registration Statement"), of
which the prospectus forms a part (the "Prospectus"), for the registration
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), of
1,000,000,000 Biotech HOLDRs(SM) (the "HOLDRs(SM)") to be issued by the Trust.
Capitalized terms used herein have the meaning ascribed to them in the
Prospectus. The HOLDRs(SM) are being issued pursuant to the Depositary Trust
Agreement between the Initial Depositor, The Bank of New York, as trustee (in
such capacity, the "Trustee"), other depositors and owners of HOLDRs(SM) (the
"Trust Agreement").

      In connection with the preparation of this opinion, we have examined and
relied on such documents as we have deemed appropriate, including, inter alia,
(i) the Trust Agreement and (ii) the Prospectus. We have made such
investigations of law as we have deemed appropriate as a basis for the opinion
expressed below.

      Based on the foregoing, it is our opinion that the Trust will provide for
flow through tax consequences since it will be treated as a grantor trust or
custodial arrangement for United States Federal income tax purposes. Morever,
the discussion set forth under the caption "Federal Income Tax Consequences" in
the Prospectus represents our opinion of and, subject to the limitations
contained therein, accurately describes, the principal United States Federal
income tax consequences to a holder of HOLDRs(SM) receipts. The foregoing
opinion is based upon provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, Treasury regulations and administration and judicial interpretations as
of the date hereof (all of which are subject to change, possibly with
retroactive effect, or different interpretations).

      We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration
Statement and to the reference to our firm under the caption "Legal Matters" in
the Prospectus.

                                          Very truly yours,

                                          /s/ Shearman & Sterling


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