Merrill Edge Review 2025

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Account Minimum:$0

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Trading involves substantial risk of loss

Eric Rosenberg

Last updated: Jul 28, 2020

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Merrill Edge is a popular discount brokerage with great customer service and competitive pricing. It doesn’t offer the widest range of advanced features or securities, which makes it best for beginner or intermediate traders. You need a balance of at least $50,000 across Bank of America and Merrill Edge accounts to get the best pricing, deals, and features.

Launched in June 2010, Merrill Edge is the discount brokerage arm of Merrill Lynch, which has been owned by Bank of America since January 2009. Merrill Lynch is a well-known name on Wall Street with a 100+ year history. This brokerage offers $6.95 trades and major benefits to those with an existing relationship with Bank of America.

Pros:	Cons:
Customers with $50,000+ in combined account balances get 30 or more free trades per month Access to a wide range of research and reports to support your investment theories Award-winning customer service	$50,000+ or 15 trades per month required to access the advanced trading platform Limited advanced trades Customers who don’t also use Bank of America may miss out on the best promotions, deals, and pricing.

Merrill Edge Overall Rating

3.5

Here's how we rate brokers

Cost & Fees

3.5

Banking

2.5

Account Types

3.5

Customer Support

3.5

Tradable Securities

3.5

Promotions

2.5

Account Opening

4.5

Regulations, Reputation & Security

5.0

Trading Platforms

3.5

Research & Education

3.5

Order Types

3.0

Trading Specs
General Information
Trading Features

Official Site:www.merrilledge.comDemo Account:Open Demo AccountAccount Minimum:N/AStock Trade Fee:$0Promotion:N/AETF Trade Fee:$0Mutual Fund Trade Fee:$19.95Options Base Fee:$0Options Per Contract Fee:$0.65Bonds Trade Fee:$0Futures Trade Fee:N/AForex Trade Fee:N/A
Phone Trades:$6.95Broker Assisted Trades Fee:$29.95Annual Account Fee:$0Account Transfer Fee:N/AAccount Closing Fee:$0Account Inactivity Fee:$0IRA Annual Fee:$0IRA Closure Fee:$49.95Tradable Securities:Stocks, Options, ETFs, Mutual Funds, BondsCommissions Free ETFs:N/ACommission Free Mutual Funds:2500
Number of Mutual Funds (Total):3709Complex Options Max Legs:2Account Types:529, Taxable, Joint, Custodial, Retirement Accounts, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, Solo 401k, Simple IRA, Coverdell, Trusts, Business Accounts, Partnerships, Non Profit, AnnuitiesOS compatibility :Windows, MacWeb Platform:YesMobile Trading:N/AOrder Types:Market, Limit, Stop, Trailing Stop

Introduction

Merrill Edge is a subsidiary of a bank and brokerage with more than a century of history. It is best for people with an existing Bank of America relationship due to preferred pricing and rates, but it works well for anyone looking for a full-service brokerage.

Merrill Edge is a full-service, discount brokerage with a long history in the United States. While the Merrill Edge brand is just shy of a decade old, parent companies Merrill Lynch and Bank of America have histories of over 100 years each. Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch in 2009 in the fallout of the Financial Crisis that began in 2007.

Today, Merrill Edge is popular for competitive pricing, a range of self-directed and fully-managed accounts, modern trading tools, and access to in-depth research from several sources. Online stock and ETF trades are $6.95, though Bank of America Preferred Rewards customers with a tier of platinum or above get 30 or more free trades per month.

This broker’s strong integration with Bank of America makes it best for people who want to keep all of their banking and investing under one online login and with one company. It works fine for people using any bank, but the best rates and pricing are available to those with a deep Bank of America relationship.

Cost & Fees3.5

Accounts with Merrill Edge offer stock and ETF trades for $6.95. High balance customers at Merill Edge or with linked Bank of America accounts may qualify for 30 or 100 free trades per month.

Most trades at Merrill Edge will incur the standard $6.95 fee. This includes stocks and ETFs. Automated phone trades cost the same $6.95, a bright point on pricing for those who don’t want to trade themselves online or with their phone. Broker-assisted trades cost $29.95.

Option trades cost $6.95 plus 0.75 cents per contract. Exercising options costs $6.95.

Many mutual funds are available at Merrill Edge for no cost. Other, less common trades cost $19.95, $20.95, or $30.95 depending on the fund and how long you hold the investment.

New bonds and treasuries trade for free. Secondary market bonds cost $1 per bond traded with a $10 minimum and $250 maximum per trade.

Preferred Rewards Platinum clients get 30 free stock or ETF trades per month. A $50,000 balance across linked accounts gets you access to this rate. A combined $100,000 balance or more gives you access to the Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors tier with 100 free stock or ETF trades per month.

Account Types3.5

Merrill Edge supports most types of investment accounts including personal, retirement, college savings, and business accounts.

Banks as big as Bank of America are sure to offer something for everyone, so Merrill Edge has most investment scenarios covered. For standard, taxable brokerage accounts, you can open an individual, joint, or custodial account. It supports traditional, rollover, and Roth IRAs, inherited IRAs, and four types of retirement accounts for small businesses. College savers can open a 529 and custodial UGMA/UTMA account.

Within each type of account, you can choose between a fully self-directed account, guided investing that works like a robo-advisor, or a fully managed account with a Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor. Managed accounts have minimums and fees that don’t apply to self-directed accounts.

Margin trading is available in most accounts. If you reach certain minimum balances across all Merrill and Bank of America accounts, you will qualify for better pricing and free trades. More on that in the pricing section below.

Tradable Securities3.5

Merrill Edge gives you access to trading and investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bonds, and options.

For stocks, Merrill Edge gives you access to all major stocks on the big stock exchanges. A noteworthy limitation is penny stocks, often traded on the Over The Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) or “pink sheets.” Stocks with a share price below $5 and a market capitalization below $300 million may not be available in a Merrill Edge account.

Merrill does not offer any fee-free ETFs, though you can trade those and stocks for free with a qualifying Bank of America Rewards relationship. It offers nearly 2,500 mutual funds with no trading costs.

Fixed income investments include treasury, corporate, and municipal bonds and CDs. Advanced investors will enjoy access to options, including leveraged options accounts.

Account Opening4.5

Opening a new Merrill Edge account is easy to do. You can open an account online in just a few minutes if you have all needed information readily available.

Merrill Edge accounts are opened online, though you can get additional help by phone or visiting a Bank of America branch. This bank has about 4,400 locations around the US. Accounts are only available for US residents.

To open an account, you’ll need to supply common personal information like your contact information and Social Security number.

There is no minimum balance to open or maintain a self-directed account. Merrill Guided Investing requires a $5,000 minimum and working with an advisor directly requires a $20,000 minimum balance.

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Trading Platforms3.5

The premier trading platform at Merrill Edge is MarketPro, though account minimums are required to use this platform. Other customers can trade using the web or mobile app at no additional charge.

One of the biggest weaknesses of Merrill Edge is the requirements to use its premium trading platform. Merrill Edge MarketPro is an expert level platform on-par with what professional investors use to manage their accounts. However, you need at least a $50,000 balance or 15 trades per quarter to use this platform.

There is no demo for MarketPro, you’ll need an active and qualifying account to use MarketPro. Most other top brokers give you access to all of their platforms with any account. If you qualify, you’ll need to install the latest version of Java on your computer and enable pop-ups for everything to work correctly. With a $1 million balance or 30 trades per quarter, you can access Level II quotes. Level II quotes show all outstanding bid and ask prices from active market participants with open orders.

Once it is up and running, MarketPro gives you customized layouts, live news and data feeds, advanced charting, and the ability to enter trades right from the platform.

The standard web trading platform and mobile apps have less powerful features but give you enough to manage most accounts. Very active traders won’t be happy with those alone, but most investors should find their needs met by the web and mobile account management platforms.

Order Types3.0

Merrill Edge supports all common trades, though it does not offer some types of advanced or contingent order types. While beginner, intermediate, and passive investors may be happy with the offering, some advanced traders will find Merrill Edge falls short.

Merill Edge does not offer a full list of trade types anywhere on its website, which is a red flag for advanced investors and traders. Here is a list of what you can do with a Merrill Edge account:

Market order
Limit order
Stop order
Stop limit
Trailing stop
Trailing stop limit

Direct routing and multi-contingent offers are not available. Margin trading is available with rates starting at 10.875% (base + 3.375%) for less than $25,000.

Banking2.5

The main banking affiliate of Merrill Edge is Bank of America. This bank is known for a large branch footprint and loyalty perks for customers with large combined balances. However, monthly fees and poor rates make the bank a potentially expensive choice.

Merrill Edge, as a subsidiary of Bank of America, gives you a ton of options for banking. Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the world and offers an account for just about anyone. That said, Bank of America accounts are known for monthly fees unless you jump through minimum balance, direct deposit, or required activity hoops to avoid them.

The combination of Bank of America and Merrill Edge is most enticing for people with a high balance that want to keep everything with the Bank of America family. BofA rewards loyal customers with better interest rates, free stock trades, and other perks.

The bank has a huge network of branches but tends to score low for customer service and fees.

Customer Support3.5

Merrill Edge phone customer support has won awards from JD Power and Associates for the last eight years. You can get help online, by phone, or by visiting a Bank of America branch or investment center.

Across the web, customers typically give Merrill Edge an average of four out of five star reviews. It has won awards from Kiplinger’s, Barron’s, JD Power, Institutional Investor, and StockBrokers.com. Awards were focused on its excellent customer service no matter what issue you’ve run into.

Customer service is a strong point of Merrill Edge. You can get 24/7 support by phone at 888-637-3343. You can also click on the chat button on the right side of any page at the Merrill Edge website.

Most controversies are related to strong cross-selling strategies between Bank of America and its subsidiaries. But overall, it has a good reputation.

Promotions2.5

New customers can get up to $600 in cash deposited to your account. The more you deposit, the bigger the bonus.

Merrill Edge currently offers a promotion that gives new customers up to $600 for funding a new account. Deposit $20,000 to get $100, $50,000 or more to get $150, $100,000 or more to get $250, and $200,000 or more to earn the biggest $600 cash bonus.

Regulations, Reputation & Security5.0

As with all brokerages in the United States, Merrill Edge is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It has an overall good reputation for customer account security and service.

As a US brokerage, Merrill Edge falls under the SEC for regulations. It is a member of the SIPC and bank accounts fall under the FDIC. While both companies struggled during the 2008 Financial Crisis, Bank of America and subsidiaries including Merrill Edge are have fully recovered.

It is a member of FINRA, which has fined Merrill Lynch for how it handled some securities issues in the past. Most recently, it was fined $6 million in 2018 for giving preferred IPO access to industry insiders.

In fact, when you look at the full company’s balance sheet, it holds more than $2.3 trillion in assets and ranks as the second largest financial institution in the United States.

It has scored well on reviews by major publications like Barron’s and Kiplinger’s. While many customers complain about service from Bank of America itself, Merrill Edge scores well overall and was recognized by JD Power and Associates for its phone customer support.

Research & Education3.5

Merrill Edge offers industry-leading research access from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research and other sources.

BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research is an award-winning research group. A Merrill Edge account gives you access to a plethora of data, information, and analysis from this and other organizations. The internal research group covers over 3,200 securities.

Additional data comes from Morningstar and CFRA. In total, coverage includes stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, fixed income, and general market news.

Investor tools include screeners, stock listing pages, and advanced tools integrated in MarketPro.

Merrill Edge offers an extensive education section for beginner, intermediate, and advanced investors. That includes lessons on all major types of supported securities, articles, videos, webinars, and courses. Most education resources are freely available even without an account.

Trading experience

Most of what Merrill Edge offers is geared toward beginner and intermediate investors. Advanced traders need an active or high balance account to get access to the MarketPro platform.

Merrill Edge doesn’t give its premier trading platform to all customers, and even those who do may find some things missing. With no support for multi-contingent orders, for example, active traders who want the most advanced tools won’t find everything they need at Merrill Edge.

However, most beginner and intermediate traders should find their needs met by the web and mobile platforms. Unless you have truly advanced needs, Merrill Edge gives you enough tools and resources to manage most portfolios.

FAQ

Is Merrill Edge regulated?

Yes, by the SEC, FINRA, and SIPC.

Where is Merrill Edge based?

The parent company is located in Charlotte, North Carolina

When was Merrill Edge founded?

2010. Merrill Lynch founded in 1914. Bank of America history goes back to 1904.

How does Merrill Edge make money?

Primarily brokerage commissions, margin rates, and account management fees.

How do I deposit in Merrill Edge account?

Electronic funds transfer, check, wire transfer

How do I withdraw money from Merrill Edge?

Electronic funds transfer, check, wire transfer

How do I open an account with Merrill Edge?

You can open a self-directed Merrill Edge account online.

Does Merrill Edge offer margin accounts?

Yes

Are funds at Merrill Edge secured or insured?

Yes

Overall3.5

Merrill Edge offers broad services that cover the needs of most investors, though it is geared toward those with a high balance of at least $50,000 and customers with an extensive relationship across Bank of America subsidiaries.

For most people, Merrill Edge is adequate for investment needs. While its pricing is not the cheapest around, it is reasonably and competitively priced compared to other large brokers. The best deals are available to those with a high balance of at least $50,000 across linked Bank of America and Merrill Lynch accounts. If you have $100,000 or more, you get even more.

Some very advanced and active traders will find Merrill Edge capabilities limiting, but the typical investor or trader will do just fine. Just make sure you meet that $50,000 minimum or trade 15 times per month or you won’t have access to the most powerful platform Merrill Edge has to offer.

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