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The power to put plans into action

At Merrill, we have the people, tools and personalized advice and guidance to help turn your ambitions into action.

Merrill Edge® Self-Directed

Merrill Edge® Self-Directed

A self-directed investing platform that streamlines investing, giving you access to research and insights, step-by-step guidance and flexible tools — all with low flat-rate pricing.
  • Streamlined online experience
  • Flexible tools
  • Step-by-step guidance
  • Full range of investments
  • Actionable insights and timely investing ideas
  • Transparent pricing
Are you an active trader? Learn more
Free Trades
Unlimited $0 online stock, ETF and option tradesFootnote 3
Option contract and other fees may applyFootnote 1
Enjoy real benefits and rewards on your Merrill investing and Bank of America banking account balances. And as your balances grow, so do your benefits. Learn more about Preferred Rewards
Learn more
Open an account

Merrill Guided Investing

Merrill Guided Investing

Get a professionally managed portfolio aligned to your goals that's built, monitored and rebalanced by Merrill investment professionals.Footnotes 4,5
  • Investing strategies for you and your goals
  • Personalized online dashboard
  • Adapts as needs change
  • Socially responsible portfoliosFootnote 11
Low fee, low minimum
0.45%
Annual program feeFootnote 5
$5,000
minimum investment
Other fees may applyFootnote 1
Qualify for discounted pricing
Learn more
Get started

Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor

Invest with an advisor

Work with a Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor™

All the benefits of Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor who will discuss your priorities and provide advice and guidance to help you pursue your goals.
  • Help establishing goals
  • One-on-one advice
  • Periodic reviews with an advisor
Invest with an advisor
0.85%
Annual program feeFootnote 5
$20,000
minimum investment
Other fees may applyFootnote 1
Qualify for discounted pricing
Learn more
Schedule an appointment
Have more complex wealth management needs?
Invest with a Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisor, a Merrill Private Wealth Advisor, or a team of Bank of America Private Bank specialists to help you grow, preserve and manage your wealth.
Merrill a Bank of America Company
Bank of America Private Bank
Help when you want it
Turn to us when you have questions or need help getting the most out of Merrill. For advice to help you get and stay on track, invest with a licensed Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor™.
Or call us 24/7 at 866.460.1282

Recognized for excellence

Received 5 out of 5 stars for "research" and "user experience" — Kiplinger's Personal Finance, "Best Online Brokers" 2018Footnote 9
Merrill Edge has been recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for Phone support for 8 years in a row.Footnote 7
One of the best online brokers, receiving 4 out of 5 stars six years in a row (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).Footnote 8
One of the top global research firms from 2011-2018Footnote 10
Kiplinger's
J.D. Power
Barron's
Institutional Investor
Learn more about our firm's background on
FINRA's BrokerCheck
Footnote 
Other fees may apply. Free and $0 means there is no commission charged for these trades. $0 option trades are subject to a $0.65 per-contract fee. Sales 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. To learn more about Merrill pricing, visit our Pricing page.
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 
Merrill Guided Investing and Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor have an annual program fee of 0.45% and 0.85%, respectively, based on the assets held in the account. 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. To learn more about pricing, visit the Merrill Guided Investing Program Brochure (PDF) or the Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor Program Brochure (PDF).
Footnote 
Please review the applicable Merrill Guided Investing Program Brochure (PDF) or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor Program Brochure (PDF) for information including pricing, 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 custodian of this account for the benefit of another person, please keep in mind that these assets will be invested for the benefit of the other person. Merrill Guided Investing is offered with and without an advisor.

Merrill investment advisory programs are offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Incorporated ("MLPF&S"). MLPF&S and Managed Account Advisors LLC ("MAA") are registered investment advisors. Investment advisor registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Merrill Edge investment advisory programs are offered by MLPF&S. MLPF&S and Managed Account Advisors LLC (MAA) are registered investment advisers. Investment adviser registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

Important risk disclosures

Footnote 2 Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
Footnote 
Merrill waives its commissions for all online stock, ETF and option trades placed in a Merrill Edge® Self-Directed brokerage account. Brokerage fees associated with, but not limited to, margin transactions, special stock registration/gifting, account transfer and processing and termination apply. $0 option trades are subject to a $0.65 per-contract fee. Other fees and restrictions may apply. Pricing is subject to change without advance notice.
Footnote 6 For full fee details, please see the Merrill Edge Advisory Account ADV brochure. Program fees include portfolio management and trading costs, as well as ongoing support. In addition to the annual program fee, funds within each portfolio have their own internal expenses, as would individual securities. Other fees may apply, including those mandated by the SEC; transfer, exchange and fund-redemption fees; conditional deferred sales charges; and markups or markdowns.
Footnote 
J.D. Power 2018 Certified Contact Center ProgramSM recognition is based on successful completion of an evaluation and exceeding a customer satisfaction benchmark through a survey of recent servicing interactions. For more information, visit J.D. Power popup. The ranking or ratings shown here may not be representative of all client experiences because they reflect an average or sampling of the client experiences. These rankings or ratings are not indicative of any future performance or investment outcome. Participation in this survey was paid for by Merrill Lynch.
Footnote 
Merrill was one of 14 brokers evaluated in the Barron's 2019 Best Online Broker Survey, February 22, 2019. Barron's evaluated firms in — the trading platform, usability, mobile, research, education, news, information, international offerings and retirement/divided-related services—to rate the firms. Merrill earned an overall score of 28 out of a possible 50. All costs assume customer has a minimum of $100,000 in assets with broker. Occasional Trader: six stock and two options trades per month. Assumes customer qualifies for 100 $0 stock trades per month through Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors. If not, occasional fee is $70.60 per month. Learn more at Who Are 2019's Best Online Brokers? popup Barron's is a trademark of Dow Jones & Co., L.P. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of Barron's. Rankings and recognition from Barron's 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 
Merrill Edge Self-Directed was ranked 5 out of 10 online brokers by Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "Best Online Brokers," survey August 2019. To be included, firms had to offer online trading of stocks, ETFs, funds and individual bonds. Results based on ratings in the following categories: commissions and fees, investment choices, mobile app, tools, research, advisory services and user experience. Learn more at Kiplinger's Personal Finance popup, August 2019 © 2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. Used under License. Merrill provides access to research from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, CFRA (powered by S&P Global), Morningstar and others. Rankings and recognition from Kiplinger's 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 
Institutional Investor magazine announced BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research as one of the top global research firms from 2011-2018 based on surveys held throughout the year. The magazine creates rankings of the top research analysts in a wide variety of specializations, drawn from the choices of portfolio managers and other investment professionals at more than 1,000 firms. BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc ("BofAS") and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC popup, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. For more information about this award, go to Institutional Investor popup. Rankings and recognition from Institutional Investor 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 
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.
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