Merrill Guided Investing

While you manage life, we manage investing

Merrill Guided Investing is an Investment Advisory Program
NEW OFFER
$0
program fees
Footnote *Conditions and
fees apply

Get started with Merrill Guided Investing and pay $0 in program fees for 6 months.Footnote 9

Open an account at Merrill
Must use offer code: 6FREE
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Your Financial Future video transcript

Disclosure:
Please see important information at the end of this video.
When you think about your financial future, you probably have a good picture of where you want it to go. But how will you get there?
Finding the time and confidence to pick each investment and manage them can feel like a lot; and it isn't for everyone.
Merrill Guided Investing, an Investment Advisory Program, is for people who want help pursuing their goals, with a professionally managed portfolio built by Merrill Investment Professionals using the latest insights.
It's quick and easy to tell us about your goal, your timeline, and how comfortable you are with the risks that come with all investing. Then, Merrill does the heavy lifting for you.
We match you with a portfolio that aligns to your goal, and offer access to choices. Like market-tracking portfolios and investments focused on companies that are driving positive social or environmental effects.
You also get the comfort that comes with knowing your portfolio is monitored, adjusted, and rebalanced by a team of portfolio managers working together to help you pursue your goal. All at a low cost and a $1,000 minimum investment.
You'll find it easy to open a Merrill Guided Investing account. Or, if you prefer to work with an advisor one on one, we also have Merrill Financial Solutions Advisors.
Then you can discuss your financial needs and get help sorting your investing priorities.
Whether you're just getting started, starting over, or already have a foundation for your financial future.
While you manage life, let Merrill Guided Investing help you manage investing.
On screen copy:
What would you like the power to do?
Merrill A Bank of America Company
Bank of America
Disclosure:
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.
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.
Asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
Sustainable and Impact Investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating. Impact investing and/or ESG investing has certain risks based on the fact that ESG criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.
Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.
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, Member SIPC, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A., and affiliated banks, Members FDIC, and wholly owned subsidiaries of BofA Corp.

Merrill Private Wealth Management is a division of MLPF&S that offers a broad array of personalized wealth management products and services. Both brokerage and investment advisory services (including financial planning) are offered by the Private Wealth Advisors through MLPF&S. The nature and degree of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and client rights and Merrill's obligations will differ among these services. The banking, credit and trust services sold by the Private Wealth Advisors are offered by licensed banks and trust companies, including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC, and other affiliated banks.
Trust and fiduciary services are provided by Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.
Investment products:
Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value
© 2023 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. 3500907
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A professionally managed portfolio at a low cost

Get more than just automated investing, with Merrill Guided Investing you get advice and a portfolio that’s monitored and rebalanced by Merrill professionalsFootnote 1 — all at a cost that may surprise you.

Your goals, our investment strategies

Tell us about yourself and your goals, and get investment strategies aligned to your needs, with the flexibility to evolve as your life changes.Footnote 2

Keep your goals on track

Your personalized dashboard allows you to monitor your portfolio's performance, make updates and add new goals whenever you like. Get more than just automated investing — get the digital advice and strategies to help you meet your goals.
An Investment Advisory Program

Merrill Guided Investing

Set your investing goals online or talk with an advisor and set goals together. Either way, you'll have 24/7 access to Merrill's award-winningFootnote 3 service and online tools.

Online

You are comfortable using online tools and are looking for an investment strategy aligned to your goalFootnotes asterisks **

Online with an advisor

You'd like a hand defining your goal and one-on-one help to pursue itFootnotes asterisks **
Minimum investment
Online $1,000
Online with an advisor $20,000
Annual Program Fee
Online
0.45% calculated and assessed monthly based on your prior month's balance.Footnote 5
Other fees may applyFootnote *
New offer
$
0
program fee for 6 months for new enrollmentsFootnote 9
Must use offer code: 6FREE
Conditions and other fees applyFootnote *
Online with an advisor
0.85%, calculated and assessed monthly based on your prior month's balance.Footnote 4
Other fees may applyFootnote *
Example of estimated monthly fees
Online
If your account's balance at the end of May (for example) is $1,000, your fee for June would be less than $1. ($1,000 end-of-month balance X .0045 annual program fee)/12 months =  $0.38. This amount will vary monthly based on your month-end account balance.Footnote 5
Online with an advisor
If your account's balance at the end of May (for example) is $20,000, your fee for June would be less than $15. ($20,000 end-of-month balance X .0085 annual program fee)/12 months =  $14.17. This amount will vary monthly based on your month-end account balance.Footnote 4
ETF and mutual fund strategies
Online
check mark
Online with an advisor
check mark
Professionally managed portfoliosFootnote 1
Online
check mark
Online with an advisor
check mark
Online dashboard
Online
check mark
Online with an advisor
check mark
Bank of America banking and Merrill investing connected
Online
check mark
Online with an advisor
check mark
Establish goals online
Online
check mark
Online with an advisor
check mark
Advisor helps you establish goals
Online unchecked
 
Online with an advisor
check mark
One-on-one advice
Online unchecked
 
Online with an advisor
check mark
Periodic reviews with an advisor
Online unchecked
 
Online with an advisor
check mark
+ Compare program features
+ Expand

Get even more with Preferred Rewards

Investment balances can help you earn Bank of America Preferred Rewards benefits and pricing discounts. Members enjoy program benefits including credit card rewards bonuses, discounts on home and auto loans, monthly account maintenance fee waivers and more.Footnote 6
Gold
$20K to <$50K
3-month combined average daily balance
Platinum
$50K to <$100K
3-month combined average daily balance
Platinum Honors
$100K to <$1MM
3-month combined average daily balance
Diamond
$1MM to <$10MM
3-month combined average daily balance

Socially-responsible portfolios

Make an impact on your world with the option to invest in sustainable portfoliosFootnote 7 aligned to your personal values.

Investing and Banking Connected

Your Merrill investment and Bank of America® bank accounts are accessible together through a seamless experience with a single login.

Our step-by-step process makes it easy to get started

1

Goal

Tell us about yourself and your investing goal
2

Review

Review your recommended investment strategy
3

Open

Open and fund your account online or with an advisor

Call an advisor now

855-488-5245

Set up a meeting

Schedule an appointment

Other ways to invest with Merrill

Merrill Edge® Self‑Directed

A personalized investing experience that gives you helpful guidance, insights and tools to confidently put your investing ideas into action.
Learn more about Self-Directed investing

Invest with an Advisor

Personal guidance from a Financial Solutions Advisor when you need it by phone, online or at a convenient location near you.
Learn more about investing with an advisor

Have more complex wealth management needs?

Invest with a Merrill Lynch Wealth Management advisor to help you grow, preserve and manage your wealth.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Merrill Guided Investing

Expand all

Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management

Expand all

Footnote asterisk 
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 asterisks 
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 
Merrill Guided Investing received 4.4 out of 5 stars overall in Investopedia's Best Robo-Advisors, January 7, 2022. Investopedia's team of researchers and expert writers spent months evaluating all aspects of a robo-advisor's platform across nine key categories, including the account setup process, goal planning tools, account service options, portfolio construction offerings, portfolio management, mobile and desktop user experience, educational content, fees, and security. Investopedia extracts critical data points that are weighted by their quantitative model. Learn more at Investopedia popup. Reprinted with permission of Investopedia. Rankings and recognition from Investopedia are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement.
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 6 You are eligible to enroll in the Preferred Rewards program if you have an active, eligible Bank of America® personal checking or Bank of America Advantage Banking account and maintain a three month average combined balance in your qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts and/or your qualifying Merrill investment accounts of at least $20,000 for the Gold tier, $50,000 for the Platinum tier, or $100,000 for the Platinum Honors tier. The combined balance is calculated based on your average daily balance for a three calendar month period. Certain benefits are also available without enrolling in Preferred Rewards if you satisfy balance and other requirements. Your benefits become effective within one month of your enrollment, or for new accounts within one month of account opening, unless we indicate otherwise.

Footnote 
Clients enrolled in Preferred Rewards receive a Preferred Rewards discount off the Merrill Guided Investing program's annual asset-based fee of 0.45%, and the Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor and Merrill Edge Advisory Account programs' annual asset-based fee of 0.85% for any of their accounts enrolled in the respective advisory programs. Preferred Rewards enrolled clients receive a discount of 0.05% off of the annual rate for the Gold tier, 0.10% for the Platinum tier, or 0.15% for the Platinum Honors, Diamond and Diamond Honors tiers based on their Preferred Rewards tier effective at the time the applicable advisory program fee is calculated. It may take up to 30 calendar days for changes to your Preferred Rewards status or tier to be associated with and effective for your accounts in the advisory programs. This fee is charged monthly in advance. In addition to the annual program fee, the expenses of the investments will vary based on the specific funds within each portfolio. Actual fund expenses will vary; please refer to each fund's prospectus.
Footnote 
Sustainable and Impact Investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating. Impact investing and/or ESG investing has certain risks based on the fact that ESG criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.
Footnote 
You have choices about what to do with your employer-sponsored retirement plan accounts. Depending on your financial circumstances, needs and goals, you may choose to roll over to an IRA or convert to a Roth IRA, roll over an employer-sponsored plan from your old job to your new employer, take a distribution, or leave the account where it is. Each choice may offer different investment options and services, fees and expenses, withdrawal options, required minimum distributions, tax treatment (particularly with reference to employer stock), and different types of 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.
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 Preferred 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.
MAP5879434-11302023
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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.
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.

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 (including financial planning) and other services. Additional information is available in our Client Relationship Summary (PDF).

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 Securities Investor Protection (SIPC) popup and a wholly owned subsidiary 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.

Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A. and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.

Investment products offered through MLPF&S and insurance and annuity products offered through MLLA:
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


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