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Merrill Edge Review 2024

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Merrill Edge
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Insider’s Rating
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4.71/5
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Perks

Merrill Edge offers a vast range of other competitive products, including automated investing accounts (robo-advisors), IRAs, 529 plans, retirement calculators, margin accounts, and more.

Account Minimum

$0 ($1,000 Guided Investing; $20,000 Guided Investing with Advisor)

Fees

0% (0.45% to 0.85% for robo-advice and guided portfolios)

Pros
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimums or commissions for self-directed accounts
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Investment insights and research provided by multiple third-party companies
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can link Bank of America accounts
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 24/7 customer service with live chat available
Cons
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No specialty investments like cryptocurrency, futures, or precious metals
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Automated account has high advisory fee
Insider’s Take

Merrill Edge lets you invest for your minor without running into any minimum opening deposits, annual fees, or account maintenance fees. Merrill Edge also offers commission-free stocks, ETFs, and options.

Product Details
  • Promotion: Get up to $600 when you open a self-directed account.
Merrill Guided Investing
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Insider’s Rating
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4.45/5
Account Minimum

$1,000

Fees

0.45%

Pros
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Portfolio rebalancing and oversight from Merrill professionals
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Account includes easy access to Merrill Edge investing and Bank America accounts with single login
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Socially responsible portfolios available
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Fee discounts and perks for Preferred Rewards members
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 24/7 customer support
Cons
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Higher management fee than other automated advisors like Fidelity Go or Vanguard Digital Advisor
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No tax-advantaged features
Product Details
  • Promotion: None at this time.

About Merrill Edge Self-Directed

Merrill Edge is Bank of America's investment and advisory program generally best for active investors. You can open a self-directed online brokerage, retirement, or education savings account with Merrill Edge. There's no account minimum required to get started. 

You'll get access to BofA Global Research, flexible withdrawals, goal-building investing strategies, and easy transfers. You can invest in commission-free stocks, ETFs, and options. You can also invest in mutual funds, fixed-income investments, and bonds.

Or you can open a Merrill Guided Investing account for automated investing through a robo-advisor. Unlike some of the best robo-advisors, it relies both on computer algorithms and management from a team of Merrill professionals. Merrill Guided also offers a personalized online dashboard, auto-rebalancing features, and digital advice. But it requires a $1,000 minimum investment to get started. 

Merrill does offer one-on-one advising with expert financial advisors. The initial consultation is complimentary, but you'll need at least $20,000 in your account to add online advisor access.

Is Merrill Edge Right for You?

Merrill Edge is best for existing Bank of America customers who want access to easy transfers between your BofA bank account and a Merrill Investing account. Plus, you can earn BofA Preferred Rewards when you trade your Merrill Investments or make bank deposits. 

In general, Merrill Edge is best for experienced investors wanting to actively manage their investment portfolios and pick and choose their own trades. Merrill Edge Self-Directed trading is a low-cost option to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and other assets. 

Its socially responsible portfolios could be a great fit for investors looking to positively impact their environment while generating returns. Also known as impact or sustainable investing, Merrill says this form of investing is also good for those who want to invest in companies with responsible social and environmental practices.

The automated platform, Merrill Guided, is best for passive investors who also have existing BofA bank accounts. But it's pricey compared to other automated investing accounts like Fidelity Go or SoFi Invest.

Merrill Edge and Merrill Guided aren't good options for tax-loss harvesting, fractional shares, futures, or cryptocurrencies

Merill Edge: Overall Rating

FeatureInsider rating (out of 5)
Fees4.00
Investment selection4.25
Access4.25
Ethics5.00
Customer service5.00
Overall score4.45

Merrill Edge Pros and Cons

ProsCons
  • No account minimum for Self-Directed trading account
  • Commission-free stock, ETF, and options trading
  • Multiple account options (includes retirement, education, estate accounts, and trust accounts)
  • Offers socially responsible investing portfolios
  • Automated trading features
  • Preferred Rewards members get additional perks and discounts
  • High $1,000 minimum to open Merrill Guided account
  • A high $20,000 minimum requirement for one-on-one advisor access
  • High management fees
  • No tax loss harvesting
  • No fractional shares or crypto trading

Is Merrill Edge Trustworthy?

Merrill Edge currently has an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau. BBB ratings range from A+ to F, so this rating suggests that Merrill Edge has a strong record of customer engagement. 

The BBB considers several factors when rating companies. These include type of business, time in business, customer complaint history, government actions, and licensing issues. The BBB also advises readers not to assume that its ratings guarantee a certain level of reliability or performance within a company. 

On September 8, 2023, a financial advisor sued Merrill Lynch — another subsidiary of Bank of America's wealth management division and part of the Merrill brand — based on accusations of sex discrimination and violating the New York Equal Pay Act, as well as the human rights laws for New York City and the state. Merill denies these allegations. The lawsuit is still pending. 

On April 3, 2023, the SEC charged Merrill Lynch, claiming the subsidiary failed to disclose fees of foreign exchanges to and from clients' accounts and charging a total of $4 million to Merrill clients. Merrill Lynch agreed to settle the charges by paying over $9.5 million to affected clients. 

Ways to Invest with Merrill Edge 

Self-Directed Trading Account

Merrill Edge has a self-directed brokerage account for investors to trade stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, and more. You can open your DIY investing account as an individual brokerage account, joint account, custodial account, trust account, or estate account. 

A self-directed Merrill Edge account gets you commission-free stocks and ETFs, 24/7 customer support, impact investing options, mobile trading access, access to margin lending, and other investment tools. 

Merrill Edge MarketPro is a customized advanced charting tool that provides investors with intuitive screeners, 25 customizable windows for trading, drawing tools, strategy builders, and market insight. With that, Merrill users can use the Ideas Builder tool and explore various investing themes.

Automated Investment Account

The Merrill Guided investing online account is best for beginner investors or for those who don't mind allowing a team of professionals to manage their investments for them. This account has a $1,000 minimum and a high 0.45% management fee.

Merrill Edge mainly uses a diversified blend of ETFs and mutual funds when building investor portfolios. But you'll run into some other small fees in addition to the 0.45% advisory fee. For instance, ETF sales include a transaction fee between $0.01 and $0.03 per $1,000 of principal.

Its socially responsible portfolios could be a great fit for investors looking to positively impact their environment while generating returns. Also known as impact or sustainable investing, Merrill says this form of investing is also good for those who want to invest in companies with responsible social and environmental practices.

Retirement Accounts

Merrill Investing offers tax-advantaged retirement account options, such as traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and rollover IRAs. 

The platform also offers small business retirement plans such as a small business 401(k), individual 401(k), SEP IRA, and a SIMPLE IRA. All of these options are available as either a self-direct account or a Merrill Guided automated account (same minimum requirements and fees apply). If you reach the $20,000 minimum, you can access a one-on-one human advisor access for advice and guidance on retirement investing. 

A Merrill retirement account gets you access to various retirement tools including a personal retirement calculator, a retirement account selector, a Roth IRA conversion calculator, a 401(k) rollover calculator, and an RMD calculator. 

Education Savings Accounts

You can save for a beneficiary's future education expenses with either a state-sponsored, tax-advantaged 529 plan or a more flexible custodial UGMA/UTMA account through Merrill Invest.

With a 529 plan, investors can benefit from tax-deferred growth on contributions, tax-free withdrawals on qualified expenses down the line, and additional Merrill Edge or Merrill Guided investing features. An UGMA/UTMA custodial account, on the other hand, is a taxable account that can be managed by either you or a Merrill professional.

Merrill Investing offers a college planning calculator to estimate how much you need to save for tuition, school supplies, and similar qualifying expenses. 

Investment Options

Merrill Edge offers stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, fixed-income investments, and bonds. With a Merrill Guided Investing account, you'll get access to ETFs and mutual funds. 

Merrill Edge doesn't offer crypto trading, fractional shares, or futures.

Preferred Rewards Benefits

Merrill's Preferred Rewards program gives both Merrill Investing and Bank of America account users benefits for reaching certain investment balances (learn more here). There isn't a fee to join the program. You'll need an active Bank of America checking account.

The program has three tiers:

  • Gold: You'll receive a 0.05% discount on Merrill Guided Investing if you've got a three-month combined average daily balance between $20,000 and $50,000.
  • Platinum: A three-month combined average daily balance between $50,000 and $100,000 will get you a 0.10% discount at this tier.
  • Platinum Honors: Balances between $100,000 to $1 million give you a 0.15% discount.
  • Diamond: A three-month combined average daily balance between $1 million and $10 million will get you a 0.15% discount.

Account Setup and User Interface

When you're first setting up the account, Merrill Edge gives you various investing goals to choose from. These help the automated advisor choose an appropriate asset allocation for you.

Merrill Edge Guided Investing goals on signup page.
Merrill Edge gives you several options to help you choose a suitable investing goal. Merrill Edge

The goals include:

  • Retirement
  • General investing
  • Home
  • Education
  • Family support
  • Travel
  • Special occasion
  • Other large purchase

You'll also need to determine which risk level you're comfortable with. The brokerage uses one of the following five "target asset allocation" categories when creating your portfolio: Conservative, moderately conservative, moderate, moderately aggressive, and aggressive.

Merrill Edge Fees

A self-directed brokerage account with Merrill Edge doesn't require a minimum investment. You can buy and sell stocks and ETFs commission-free. Broker-assisted trades cost $29.95 per trade for options, and $19.95 per trade for no load, transaction fee funds.

Online trades for fixed-income and bond investments charge up to $1 per trade. But broker-assisted trades of these assets may cost up to $29.95. 

Merrill Guided Investing has a $1,000 account minimum and a high 0.45% management fee. To get human advisor access, you'll need to meet a steep $20,000 minimum balance requirement. Advisor access also charges a 0.85% annual management fee. 

Merrill Guided Investing is currently offering a $0 program fee offer during the first six months after your enrollment date. Keep in mind you'll still have to meet the minimum balance requirement. 

Merrill Edge Investing — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is my money safe at Merrill Edge? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

Yes. Your money will be safe at Merrill Edge as it is a legitimate online brokerage through Bank of America after Merrill Lynch merged with BofA.

What is the difference between Merrill Lynch and Merrill Edge? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

Merrill Lynch is a wealth management and financial services platform that merged with Bank of America in 2021. Merrill Edge is the broker's online investing and stock trading platform. Merrill Edge and Merrill Lynch are both subsidiaries of Bank of America.

Is Merrill Edge good for beginners? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

Merrill Edge may be good for beginners since it is a low-cost platform with no minimum requirement. It has multiple investment options and account options available. But you need to meet a high $1,000 minimum requirement to open a Merrill Guided Investing account (aka the platform's robo-advisor). 

What is a Merrill Edge account? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

Merrill Guided Investing is Merrill Edge's automated investing account. The robo-advisor invests your money into a portfolio of mutual funds and ETFs once you provide information on things like your risk tolerance, investing goals, and time horizon.

Does Merrill Guided Investing have a minimum to open an account? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

The account has a $1,000 minimum and 0.45% annual advisory fee. You'll also have to account for fund expense ratios. There's a steeper price to have one-on-one advice from Merrill financial advisors. 

Which account types does Merrill Guided Investing support? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

Merrill Guided Investing offers individual, joint, education accounts, and custodial accounts, and it supports traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs. 

How much does Merrill Guided Investing cost? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

The account has a $1,000 minimum and 0.45% annual advisory fee. You'll also have to account for fund expense ratios.

How Merrill Edge Compares

Merrill Edge vs. Betterment

Betterment charges lower fees for its standard account, but it doesn't offer as many fund types as Merrill. Betterment mainly offers ETFs, while Merrill Edge offers stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and more. But you can only trade ETFs and mutual funds with Merrill Guided.

Merill Edge charges an annual 0.45% management fee, whereas Betterment only charges an annual 0.25% management fee. 

Unlike the Merrill Edge Guided Investing account, however, Betterment gives users one-on-one advice from human advisors. It's included in its premium account, but you'll have to pay extra for this option if you have a standard account. In addition, Betterment offers features like tax-loss harvesting.

Betterment review

Merrill Edge vs. Fidelity Go

Both Merrill Guided Investing and Fidelity Go specialize in automated portfolio management, but each platform's fees and investment options vary.

Fidelity Go charges no fees for accounts with less than $25,000. Accounts with over $25,000 are charged a 0.35% annual fee, which still beats Merrill Guided's 0.45% annual fee. Both a self-directed account with Fidelity and with Merrill Edge charges a $0 minimum requirement to open a brokerage account. But Fidelity offers more wealth-building products and market research. 

Fidelity Go (Fidelity's automated advisor) has lower fees than Merrill Guided, but only users with lower balances can take advantage of the big price cuts. Fidelity Go invests in a portfolio of only mutual funds, whereas Merrill Guided Investing is better for those who want access to both ETFs and mutual funds. 

Fidelity Go review

Methodology: How We Reviewed Merrill Edge

We examined Merrill Edge Investing using Personal Finance Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to compare and examine account types, pricing, investment options, and overall customer experience when reviewing investing platforms. Platforms are given a rating between 0 and 5. 

Investment platforms usually offer multiple assets, trading tools, fees, and other resources. Some investing platforms are better for more advanced investors or active investors, while others may better suit beginner investors and passive investors. Merrill Edge was evaluated with a focus on how it performs in each category.

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