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Merrill Guided Investing

You know your goals. We know investing.

Merrill Guided Investing is an investment advisory program

Benefits

Item 1 of 4:  Confidently track your progress with a personalized online dashboard and make adjustments as your needs change.
Item 2 of 4:  Your portfolio is built and managed by experienced Merrill investment professionalsFootnote 1 dedicated to helping you pursue your goals.
Item 3 of 4:  Simply tell us about your goal, timeline and risk tolerance — then get matched with a portfolio based on your answers.Footnote 2
Item 4 of 4:  Tax-efficient management overlay services to help maximize returnsFootnote 3

Special Offer

$0 program fees for 6 months with Merrill Guided InvestingFootnote 8
MUST USE OFFER CODE: 6FREE

Pricing and Program Features

Set your investing goals online or talk with an advisor and set goals together.

 

Merrill Guided InvestingFootnote **

An Investment Advisory Program

Merrill Guided Investing with an advisorFootnote **

An Investment Advisory Program
Minimum investment
As low as $1,000Footnote 10
As low as $20,000Footnote 10
ETF and/or mutual fund strategies
Merrill Guided Investing - checkmark
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - checkmark
Tax-efficient management overlay strategies
Merrill Guided Investing - checkmark
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - checkmark
Online dashboard
Merrill Guided Investing - checkmark
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - checkmark
Professionally managed portfolios
Merrill Guided Investing - checkmark
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - checkmark
Establish a goal online
Merrill Guided Investing - checkmark
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - not applicable
Advisor helps you establish goals online
Merrill Guided Investing - not applicable
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - checkmark
One-on-one advice
Merrill Guided Investing - not applicable
Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor - checkmark
Annual program fee
0.45%
calculated and assessed monthly based on your prior month's balanceFootnote 5
Other fees may applyFootnote *
Special Offer
$0 program fees for 6 months for new enrollmentsFootnote 8
MUST USE OFFER CODE:
6FREE
Conditions and other fees may applyFootnote *
0.85%
calculated and assessed monthly based on your prior month's balanceFootnote 4
Other fees may applyFootnote *

Bank of America Rewards

Rewards that match your goals. Combine your Bank of America deposits and Merrill investing account balances to qualify for higher BofA Rewards tiers.Footnote 6

Member

No minimum balance required
Enjoy credit card rewards bonuses on eligible Bank of America® cards, home and auto loan discounts and more.Footnotes 10,11,12

Preferred Plus

$30K - 100K combined balances
Step up to higher credit card rewards on eligible Bank of America® cards, waived banking fees.Footnotes 10,13

Preferred Honors

$100K - 1MM combined balances
Enjoy an elevated rewards experience with lifestyle benefits, subscription credits and more.Footnotes 14,15

Premier

$1MM+ combined balances
Immerse yourself in premium benefits and experiences that reward your success.

Merrill investing and Bank of America banking connected online

Simply link your accounts to start banking or investing from wherever you are and earn rewards on more of the things you do every day

Get started with Merrill Guided Investing

Item 1 of 3
Tell us about yourself and your investing goal
Item 2 of 3
Review your recommended investment strategy
Item 3 of 3
Open and fund your account online or with an advisor

Other ways to invest with Merrill

Merrill Edge Self‑Directed

Put your ideas into action. Build and manage your own portfolio with personalized tools with Merrill Edge Self‑Directed

Get Guidance from an Advisor

Work one‑on‑one with an advisor. Get guidance to define and pursue your investing goals and get ongoing advice when you want it.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Merrill Guided Investing

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Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management

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Footnote 
Other fees may apply. Sales of ETFs are subject to a transaction fee of between $0.01 and $0.03 per $1,000 of principal. There are costs associated with owning ETFs and mutual funds. To learn more about pricing, visit our Pricing page.
Footnote 
Please review the applicable Merrill Guided Investing Program Brochure (PDF) or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor Program Brochure (PDF) for information including the program fee, rebalancing, and the details of the investment advisory program. Your recommended investment strategy will be based solely on the information you provide to us for this specific investment goal and is separate from any other advisory program offered with us. If there are multiple owners on this account, the information you provide should reflect the views and circumstances of all owners on the account. If you are the fiduciary of this account for the benefit of the account owner or account holder (e.g., trustee for a trust or custodian for an UTMA), please keep in mind that these assets will be invested for the benefit of the account owner or account holder. Merrill Guided Investing is offered with and without an advisor. Merrill, Merrill Lynch, and/or Merrill Edge investment advisory programs are offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ("MLPF&S") and Managed Account Advisors LLC ("MAA") an affiliate of MLPF&S. MLPF&S and MAA are registered investment advisers. Investment adviser registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Footnote 
The Chief Investment Office (CIO) develops the investment strategies for Merrill Guided Investing and Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor, including providing its recommendations of ETFs, mutual funds and related asset allocations. Managed Account Advisors LLC (MAA), Merrill's affiliate, is the overlay portfolio manager responsible for implementing the Merrill Guided Investing strategies for client accounts, including facilitating the purchase & sale of ETFs and mutual funds in client accounts and updating account asset allocations when the CIO's recommendations change while also implementing any applicable individual client or firm restriction(s).

You may also be able to obtain the same or similar services or types of investments through other programs and services, both investment advisory and brokerage, offered by Merrill; these may be available at lower or higher fees than charged by the Program. The services that you receive by investing through Merrill Guided Investing or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor will be different from the services you receive through other programs. You may also be able to obtain some or all of these types of services from other firms, and if they are available, the fees associated with them may be lower or higher than the fees we charge.
Footnote 
Asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
Footnote 3 Tax Efficient Management Overlay Services ("TEM Overlay Services") seek to help manage your Account's trading activity in a more tax-efficient manner in light of U.S. tax rules and regulations. TEM Overlay Services generally try to increase post-tax value for the electing Account through rules-based approaches to rebalancing and other portfolio management activities and loss harvesting.

Footnote 4 There is an annual program fee of 0.85% based on the assets held in the account. This fee is charged monthly in advance.

Footnote 5 There is an annual program fee of 0.45% based on the assets held in the account. This fee is charged monthly in advance.

Footnote 
BofA Rewards™ Eligibility. Customers can enroll and maintain their membership in BofA Rewards™ if they have an open, qualifying Bank of America® checking account. BofA Rewards tiers are based on each customer's combined average balance in qualifying deposit and investment accounts. The minimum balance for each tier is: Member, no minimum balance; Preferred Plus, $30,000; Preferred Honors, $100,000; and Premier, $1,000,000. When you enroll, you'll be placed in the appropriate tier for your combined average balance and then moved to the highest tier you're eligible for based on one of the following:

  1. for the 30 calendar days following your first enrollment, the combined end-of-day collected balance of your qualifying accounts ("Daily Balance"), provided that your Daily Balance remains above the required amount for a minimum of three business days; or
  2. subsequently, the combined average balance of your qualifying accounts calculated on the third business day of each month.
Eligible customers will be moved to the higher tier within 3 business days. New tier benefits may take up to 30 days to become effective. For full terms, including qualifying accounts and the method of calculation of average balances, refer to your Personal Schedule of Fees.

Additional Eligibility. Employees and retirees of Bank of America may be eligible for BofA Rewards membership on customized terms. For details, please call Employee Financial Services or refer to the Bank of America intranet site. Bank of America Private Bank clients qualify to enroll in the Premier tier regardless of balances. Employees of companies participating in the Bank of America Employee Banking and Investing Program may be eligible for BofA Rewards on customized terms. Refer to CEBI Program for details.
Footnote 
You have choices about what to do with your 401(k) or other type of plan-sponsored accounts. Depending on your financial circumstances, needs, goals and employer plan terms, you may choose to roll over to an IRA or convert to a Roth IRA, roll over a 401(k) from a prior employer to a 401(k) at your new employer, take a distribution, or leave the account where it is (if applicable). Each choice may offer different investments and services, fees and expenses, withdrawal options, required minimum distributions, tax treatment (particularly with reference to employer stock), and provide different protection from creditors and legal judgments. These are complex choices and should be considered with care. For more information visit our rollover page or call Merrill at 888.637.3343.

These options are available if you terminate employment and have a balance in your former employer's qualified retirement plan. Options to leave funds in plan or roll over to your new employer's plan may not be available in certain circumstances.
Footnote 
Merrill Guided Investing 6-Month Offer

Introductory 6-Month Program Fee Waiver Offer eligible for accounts that are newly enrolled into the Merrill Guided Investing program (MGI) starting on and after March 27, 2023.

How it Works:

  1. To be eligible for the Offer, you must input the Offer Code during the account opening step through the MGI website or you must instruct a Merrill representative to input the Offer Code for you. You are solely responsible for taking this action to be eligible for the Offer.
  2. Once your account with the Offer Code applied has enrolled into MGI, Merrill will waive MGI's annual asset-based fee of 0.45% (Program Fee) for the initial partial month, if applicable, and for 6 full months after the effective date your account's enrollment in MGI (Offer Period).
  3. This Offer is solely limited to Merrill's waiver of MGI's Program Fee. Your MGI-enrolled account will be subject to fees and expenses not covered by MGI's Program Fee during and after the Offer Period, including the internal fees and expenses of funds in your account, as described in the MGI ADV brochure. Please refer to the MGI ADV brochure section "Fees and Expenses Not Covered by the Program Fee" for a list of other fees and expenses that your MGI-enrolled account may be charged and that are not included in MGI's Program Fee.
  4. This Offer is only available to newly enrolled MGI-accounts, is not transferable to another account, and may not be combined with other offers relating to the account's advisory program fee. When the Offer Period expires, your MGI-enrolled account will be subject to MGI's annual asset-based Program Fee of 0.45% which is charged monthly in advance. If you unenroll your account from MGI before the Offer Period expires, you'll owe no Program Fee for the services provided while the account was enrolled in MGI. If you are eligible for MGI Program Fee discounts, rebates or credits under the BofA Rewards™ Program offered by BANA, then those benefits will apply following the Offer Period's expiration. You may be eligible for other offers from Merrill and its affiliates. Please contact us for more information.
  5. Merrill reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions or terminate this Offer at any time without notice. Merrill also reserves the right to refuse a waiver or portion of a waiver for an MGI-enrolled account if it determines that the account obtained it under fraudulent circumstances, that you provided inaccurate or incomplete information in enrolling the account in MGI, or that you violated any terms of your MGI agreement. MGI Program enrollment requirements and guidelines apply.
Tax Disclaimer: The value of the waiver of MGI's Program Fee may constitute taxable income. Merrill may issue an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 (or other appropriate form) to you that reflects the value of the waiver. Please consult your tax advisor. Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates and associates do not provide tax advice.
Footnote 
The Merrill Guided Investing program investment minimum is $1,000 for growth-focused strategies and $50,000 for income-focused strategies. The Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor program investment minimum is $20,000 for growth-focused strategies and $50,000 for income-focused strategies.
Footnote 
Credit Card BofA Rewards™ Bonus. Certain credit cards are eligible to receive a BofA Rewards™ bonus. Enrolled BofA Rewards members with eligible Bank of America® credit cards can receive a BofA Rewards bonus of 10% for the Member tier, 25% for the Preferred Plus tier, 50% for the Preferred Honors tier, or 75% for the Premier tier. If your card receives the 10% customer bonus, the BofA Rewards bonus will replace the 10% customer bonus. The BofA Rewards bonus for eligible cash rewards credit cards will be applied after all base and bonus cash rewards have been calculated on a purchase. For example, a $100 purchase that earns 3% ($3.00) will actually earn $3.30, $3.75, $4.50 or $5.25 based on your tier when the purchase posts to your account. For all other eligible card types, a purchase that earns 100 base points will actually earn 110, 125, 150, or 175 points, based on your tier when the purchase posts to your account. The BofA Rewards bonus also does not apply to the bonus earn for certain programs and is not applied to any account opening bonus or non-standard rewards that are part of a special offer, unless we indicate otherwise. If you enrolled in Preferred Rewards before May 26, 2026 your credit card account may be eligible for an extended card benefit. Visit the activity section of BofA Rewards for more details. Other terms and conditions apply. Please refer to your card's Program Rules for details about how you can receive the BofA Rewards bonus. Program Rules are mailed upon account opening and are accessible through the rewards redemption site via Online Banking or by calling the number on the back of your card. View a complete list of ineligible cards.
Footnote 
First Mortgage. The origination fee reduction and/or interest rate reductions are offered to clients who are enrolled or are eligible to enroll in BofA Rewards™, based on their rewards tier at the submittal of a mortgage loan application to Bank of America, N.A. for a new purchase or refinance loan (for co-borrowers, at least one applicant must be enrolled or eligible to enroll). The rewards tier is not subject to adjustment after the application is submitted. The origination fee reduction ($100 for Member tier, $300 for Preferred Plus tier and $600 for Preferred Honors tier) will not exceed the amount of the Lender Origination Fee. In order to receive the full Premier interest rate reduction of 0.375% the client must be approved for an eligible loan and enroll in PayPlan, our automatic payment service, designating an eligible Bank of America checking or savings account. To allow us to apply and disclose the interest rate reduction and close the loan timely, we encourage Premier tier clients to enroll in PayPlan as soon as possible and prior to the expected loan closing date. PayPlan is not available on VA and FHA products and Premier tier clients closing loans without PayPlan enrollment receive a 0.125% interest rate reduction benefit. For adjustable rate mortgages (except PrimeFirst®), the discounts are applied to the interest rate only during the initial fixed-rate period. For PrimeFirst® adjustable rate mortgages, the discount is applied to the margin and cannot reduce the margin below 0%. Some BofA Rewards benefits cannot be combined with other offers. All mortgage interest rate reduction offers may be subject to a maximum interest rate reduction limit. For further details, visit the BofA Rewards section of the Personal Schedule of Fees. BofA Rewards benefits are non-transferable and are not available with Custom Residential Real Estate financing. Credit and collateral subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. Programs, rates, terms and conditions subject to change without notice.
Footnote 
Auto Loan. BofA Rewards™ members who apply for an auto loan receive an interest rate discount of 0.10% for Member, 0.25% for Preferred Plus tier, 0.35% for Preferred Honors tier, and 0.50% for Premier tier based on their BofA Rewards tier at the time of auto loan application. The maximum BofA Rewards interest rate discount on a Bank of America auto loan is 0.50%. This interest rate discount is not reflected in all our published rates on our website but will be confirmed and reflected in the interest rate quoted upon loan approval. Discounts are only available on auto loan applications submitted by you directly to Bank of America through its website, Financial Centers, or Bank call centers. Discounts are not available for motor vehicle leases or for applications sourced from car dealerships, car manufacturers, or third-party branded/co-branded relationships. Benefit is non-transferable. Subject to credit approval. Standard underwriting guidelines and credit policies apply.
Footnote 
No Fee Banking Services. Refer to the Personal Schedule of Fees for information on which fees are waived with BofA Rewards™ and other program benefits.
Footnote 
BofA Rewards™ Lifestyle Benefits. You must be enrolled in the BofA Rewards™ program's Preferred Honors or Premier tiers to be eligible for lifestyle benefits or experiences. Lifestyle benefits are provided by third-party vendors not affiliated with Bank of America®. Terms and fulfillment of the offers are the responsibility of the third-party vendors, not of Bank of America. Bank of America does not provide your customer information to the third-party vendor, but by contacting them to take advantage of an offer you will identify yourself as a Bank of America customer. Some offers may be open only to a limited number of BofA Rewards members. Offers can change without notice. You must be 21 years of age or older to participate in offers which include alcohol.
Footnote 
BofA Rewards™ Subscription Credits. In order to be eligible for the subscription credit benefit, you must:

  1. Be enrolled in the BofA Rewards program's Preferred Honors or Premier tiers.
  2. Agree to the full terms of the subscription credit benefit from the subscription credit benefit page within BofA Rewards.
  3. Make payments directly to eligible merchants using your Bank of America debit card linked to a checking account that you designate via the subscription credit benefit page.
Preferred Honors tier members may receive statement credits up to $8 per month, and Premier tier members may receive up to $15 per month. Eligible merchants are subject to change without notice. Currently eligible merchants can be found on the subscription credit benefit page.

BofA Rewards is a trademark of Bank of America Corporation. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. All other trademarks are the trademarks of their respective owners.
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Investment products offered through Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and insurance and annuity products offered through Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc.:
Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value
Are Not Deposits Are Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency Are Not a Condition to Any Banking Service or Activity

Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.

Asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
The performance data contained herein represents past performance which does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For performance information current to the most recent month end, please contact us.

Net Asset Value (NAV) returns are based on the prior-day closing NAV value at 4 p.m. ET. NAV returns assume the reinvestment of all dividend and capital gain distributions at NAV when paid.

Market price returns are based on the prior-day closing market price, which is the average of the midpoint bid-ask prices at 4 p.m. ET. Market price returns do not represent the returns an investor would receive if shares were traded at other times.

Returns include fees and applicable loads. Since Inception returns are provided for funds with less than 10 years of history and are as of the fund's inception date. 10 year returns are provided for funds with greater than 10 years of history.

Before investing consider carefully the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the fund, including management fees, other expenses and special risks. This and other information may be found in each fund's prospectus or summary prospectus, if available. Always read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before you invest or send money. Prospectuses can be obtained by contacting us.

Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds: Expense Ratio – Gross Expense Ratio is the total annual operating expense (before waivers or reimbursements) from the fund's most recent prospectus. You should also review the fund's detailed annual fund operating expenses which are provided in the fund's prospectus.

Closed End Funds: Expense Ratio – Gross Expense Ratio is the ratio of the fund's total annual operating expense (before waivers or reimbursements) to average net assets as of the date of the fund's most recent annual report. You should also review the fund's detailed annual operating expenses disclosed by the fund in its annual reports, semi-annual reports, and other public filings.

This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or investment strategy. Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. Additional information is available in our Client Relationship Summary (Form CRS) (PDF).

Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as "MLPF&S" or "Merrill") makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation ("BofA Corp."). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC popup and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation ("BofA Corp.").
Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A. and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation ("BofA Corp.").

Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc. ("MLLA") is a licensed insurance agency and wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

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