Merrill Edge Rating: 
- Stocks & ETFs: $0
- Options: $0.65 per contract
- Mutual Funds: $19.99
- Minimum to open: $0
Overview of Merrill Edge
Bank of America offers more than just checking and savings. Through Merrill Edge, it provides many investing services. Let’s take a look.
Investment Selection
Merrill Edge lets clients pick between self-directed investing and investment-advisory accounts. The self-directed option has the bigger list of things you can trade, including:
- Options
- Stocks (including OTC and penny stocks)
- Bonds and other fixed-income assets
- Mutual funds
- ETFs
- Closed-end funds
The advisory service, called Guided Investing, gives you account management from Merrill’s professionals, but you can only invest in mutual funds and ETFs. This is not a robo service—real people manage the accounts. But you don’t get one-on-one guidance as with a full-service program.
To solve this, Merrill Edge has Guided Investing with Advisor, which adds a personal advisor. It’s still not a full-service option and some products, like financial planning and stock investing, are not available.
To open an account in either program, you need a U.S. address. Merrill Edge does not open accounts for people living outside the U.S., but foreign nationals who legally live in the U.S. can open accounts.
Merrill Edge offers many tax structures for investment accounts, such as:
- 529 plans
- Individual taxable
- Joint taxable
- IRA
- Solo 401k plans
- Custodial
- Small business accounts
- Trusts
Merrill Edge is a member of SIPC, giving up to $500,000 of insurance on securities. There’s also extra coverage from Lloyd’s of London, up to $1 billion, if SIPC is not enough.
Customer Support
Under the Help & Settings tab on the website, Merrill Edge has many self-help tools. We found options for paperless documents, account alerts, and login settings. There’s also a forms page with a long list of documents, available in both pdf and online.
There is no chat tool on the site, neither robo nor human. There is also no internal messaging, but there is a document upload tool.
For things you can’t do online, phone service is available 24/7. We found their agents to be helpful. There’s a separate phone number for customers outside the U.S.
While Merrill Edge has some branches at Bank of America locations, these do not help with Guided Investing or self-directed accounts.
Fees and Minimums
Guided Investing accounts need a $1,000 minimum deposit ($20,000 if you want an advisor). Self-directed accounts have no minimum deposit.
Advisory accounts have no commissions for trades, and brokerage accounts have no commissions for most online trades. Option trades have a 65¢ per contract fee. Some mutual funds have a $19.95 transaction fee, and some bond trades cost $1 per bond.
There are no management fees on brokerage accounts. Advisory accounts cost 0.45% a year, or 0.85% for Guided Investing with an Advisor.
Mobile App
The Merrill Edge app has a watchlist, which can show either a device-only list or your web watchlist. Tapping an item brings up the asset’s profile, with basic charts and trade buttons.
Charts include tools like indicators, company events, and different styles. We had some display issues when testing on an iPhone 6S. Placing trades works well, with special tickets for options and mutual funds. The stock ticket has 8 order types, 4 of which are trailing orders. There are separate actions for buy to cover and sell short.
The app also has mobile check deposit, bill pay, Zelle transfers (if you have a Bank of America account), and research tools, including CFRA reports. You can upload documents from the app.
Website
A better trading experience is found on the website. It has two main sections: MarketPro and the main site. MarketPro is a browser platform you open from the Trade tab.
MarketPro has 6 order types (the 2 trailing orders from the app are missing), but you can save orders for later. MarketPro also has strong full-screen charting with many drawing tools, such as:
* Down Gann Fan
* Fibonacci Extension
* Cycle Tool
* Andrew’s Pitchfork
You can save charts, and there are trade buttons at the top right. Right-clicking gives you a menu with:
* Bar tracking
* Set up an alert
* Export data
* Trade
* Crosshair tracking
Level II quotes and OptionsPlay (an advanced option tool) are also available.
The regular site offers charting and trading. There are research tools for stocks and options. The options tools are some of the best in the industry (look under the Research tab for the strategy builder and screener).
Cash Management
Individual and joint taxable accounts at Merrill Edge are called Cash Management Accounts (CMA), which highlights their banking features. You can add check writing and a Visa debit card for free. Using the debit card overseas costs 0.25%, with a $2.50 minimum. Withdrawals at Bank of America ATMs are free.
Uninvested cash in a brokerage account can be moved to Bank of America for FDIC protection, invested in a money market fund, or left in the brokerage account (protected by SIPC).
Merrill Edge investment accounts are linked to deposit accounts and credit cards at Bank of America if they share the same tax ID. It’s easy to move money between these accounts on the website or app.
Margin Accounts
Self-directed clients can upgrade from cash to margin trading using the Help & Settings menu.
Merrill Edge does not publish margin rates. These are based on the base lending rate, your total Bank of America deposits, and your account’s debit balance.
The platform does not show margin details for individual stocks, which is a drawback.
Merrill Edge follows Reg T margin rules. This means long and short equity trades usually need a 50% initial margin and a 30% maintenance margin. These can sometimes be higher.
Additional Services
Initial Public Offerings: Not available (MarketPro only has an IPO calendar).
Automatic Mutual Fund Investing: You can set up automatic purchases of mutual funds.
Individual Retirement Accounts: SEP, SIMPLE, Rollover, Roth, and Traditional IRAs are available. There is a $49.95 fee to close an IRA.
Fully-paid Securities Lending Program: You can’t earn income by lending out your marginable securities at Merrill Edge.
Extended Hours: Self-directed clients can trade from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm, EST.
DRIP Service: Cash dividends from stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds can be reinvested automatically.
Fractional-share Trading: Only available with mutual funds.
Our Recommendations
Active Stock Trading: MarketPro is a good choice.
Mutual Funds: Merrill Edge has 2,646 funds open to new investors.
Firstrade offers over 11,000, so we recommend Firstrade.
Beginners: A managed account with Merrill Edge Guided Investing is a good start, especially with a human advisor.
Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: Merrill Edge has good resources for both managed and self-directed customers. Retirement investors might consider
Robinhood, which has a 1% contribution match.
Small Accounts: Because Merrill has minimums for advisory accounts and an IRA termination fee, we can’t recommend it here.
Charles Schwab is a better pick.
Merrill Edge Review Recap
While not perfect, Merrill Edge offers a solid investment platform that works for both beginners and advanced investors.
Merrill Edge Commissions and Fees
| Investments | Price |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Stocks and ETFs representative assisted | $29.95 |
| Stocks and ETFs automated phone trades | $0 |
| Options | $0.65 per contract. Multi-leg options are charged per leg and contract. |
| Options representative assisted | $29.95* + $0.65 per contract. Multi-leg options are charged per leg and contract. |
| Mutual funds | $19.95 |
| Merrill Edge self-directed mutual funds | 0.75% gross proceeds, $50 minimum, $250 maximum |
| Bonds | On a net yield basis |
* -- Additional transaction fees
In addition to your options commissions, sell orders may be subject a transaction fee (of between $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). If applicable, this fee appears under "Transaction Fee" on a Trade Confirmation.
Merrill Edge IRA & Account Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|
| IRA Setup Fee | $0 |
| Annual IRA Fee | $0 |
| IRA Termination Fee | $49.95 |
| Full Account Transfer Out | $49.95 |
| Partial Account Transfer Out | $0 |
| Outgoing Wire Fees (Domestic) | $24.95 |
| Outgoing Wire Fees (International) | $24.95 |
Updated on 7/20/2025.
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