Fees at Merrill Edge

Main Takeaways:

• Merrill Edge charges commissions or fees on some trades, although many online trades are commission-free.

• Merrill’s brokerage accounts and investment-advisory accounts use different pricing schedules.

• Some Merrill accounts have minimum investment requirements.

If you’re considering opening any type of Merrill Edge investment account or a Merrill Guided Investing account, it’s important to review the broker’s pricing schedule first.

Merrill Edge Commissions

Merrill Edge charges no commissions on online trades of the following investments:

• Stocks
• ETFs
• Closed-end funds
• NTF mutual funds
• New-issue brokered CDs
• Treasuries (auction and secondary)

That is a strong list of commission-free products. However, some investments still have trading costs. Options, for example, cost $0.65 per contract. Fixed-income securities outside the list above, such as municipal bonds, corporate bonds, and government agency bonds, cost $1 per bond, with a $10 minimum and a $250 maximum for online trades. Mutual funds with a transaction fee cost $19.95 per online transaction for purchases, sales, and exchanges. Merrill’s no-transaction-fee mutual funds can also have a short-term redemption fee of $39.95 if the fund is sold in less than 90 days.

Many broker-assisted trades have a charge up to $29.95.

Option exercises and assignments at Merrill have a $0 trade charge, although cash-settled option exercises and assignments may still have the $0.65 per-contract fee.

Merrill Edge Self-Directed brokerage accounts have no minimum investment.

Merrill Edge Margin Rates

Merrill Edge provides margin accounts that can be used for option spreads, short stock positions, and leveraged stock purchases. The cost of borrowing on margin depends on three main items:

• Total household assets held with the Bank of America family of companies
• Total margin debit balance
• A base lending rate, which is adjusted every week

Customers with larger debit balances and higher qualifying assets across Bank of America and Merrill generally receive the lowest margin rates.

Merrill Edge Managed Account Fees

Merrill also offers managed accounts through Merrill Guided Investing. These accounts charge an annual asset-based program fee that depends on the service selected. There are two versions: an online managed-investing program and a managed-investing program that includes advisor access. The online program costs 0.45% per year, while the advisor-assisted program costs 0.85% per year.

The online program requires a $1,000 investment minimum for growth-focused strategies and a $50,000 minimum for income-focused strategies. The advisor-assisted program requires $20,000 for growth-focused strategies and $50,000 for income-focused strategies.

There are no trading commissions when Merrill’s portfolio managers buy or sell ETFs in either program, and Merrill currently offers a $0 program fee for 6 months for new enrollments that meet the offer requirements.

Merrill Edge Account Fees

Merrill has a long list of account-service fees for different activities. These charges can vary by account management type (brokerage, guided investing, or guided investing with an advisor) and by tax treatment (retirement, custodial, taxable, and other account types). Here are some examples:

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