in the 1970s and 1980s. Close of the 20th century The brokerage also had partners in Canada interested in the retail investment business for a number of years, until selling this subsidiary to CIBC Wood Gundy in 1990. With its purchase of Midland Walwyn Inc in June 1998, Merrill Lynch re-entered the Canadian investment business. At the time, Canada was the seventh-largest market for personal investment. But in December 2001, Merrill Lynch sold Midland Walwyn to CIBC Wood Gundy. In 2003, Merrill Lynch became the second-largest shareholder of the Japanese animation studio TMS Entertainment. In a report to the Finance Ministry, the Merrill Lynch group said it had acquired a 7.54 percent stake in TMS by purchasing some 3.33 million shares. Merrill Lynch purchased the stake purely for investment purposes and had no intention of acquiring control of the firm's management. Rise to prominence Merrill Lynch rose to prominence on the strength of its network of 15,000 financial advisors, sometimes referred to as the "thundering herd", that allowed it to place securities it underwrote directly. In contrast, many established Wall Street firms, such as Morgan Stanley, relied on groups of independent brokers for placement of the securities they underwrote. Until as late as 1970, it was known as the "Catholic" firm of Wall Street. The firm went public in 1971 and became a multinational corporation with over $1.8 trillion in client assets, operating in more than 40 countries around the world. In 1977, the company introduced its Cash Management Account (CMA), which enabled customers to sweep all their cash into a money market mutual fund, and included check-writing capabilities and a credit card. In 1978, it significantly buttressed its securities underwriting business by acquiring White Weld & Co., a small but prestigious old-line investment bank. Merrill Lynch was well known for its Global Private Client services and its strong sales force. Orange County settlement Merrill Lynch settled with Orange County, California, for $400 million to settle accusations that it sold inappropriate and risky investments to former county treasurer Robert Citron. Citron lost $1.69 billion, which forced the county to file for bankruptcy in December 1994. The county sued a dozen or more securities companies, advisors and accountants, but Merrill settled without admitting liability in June 1998. The county was able to recover about $600 million in total, including $400 million from Merrill. Subprime mortgage crisis In November 2007, Merrill Lynch