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.
Compare choices

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
$6.95
Unlimited online stock & ETF trades.
No trade or balance minimums.
Other fees may apply.1
Get up to 100 $0 online stock and ETF trades per month.3 Other fees may apply1 Learn more
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.4,5,6
  • Invest strategies for you and your goals
  • Professionally managed portfolios
  • Personalized online dashboard
  • Adapts as needs change
  • Socially responsible portfolios12
Low fee, low minimum
0.45%
annual fee
$5,000
minimum investment
Other fees may apply1
Learn more
Get started

Invest with an advisor

Invest with an advisor

Work with a Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor™

Invest with a licensed Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor™ who can help you pursue your financial goals and plan for what matters most to you.6 You'll receive:
  • An action plan aligned to your needs
  • A professionally managed portfolio by Merrill Lynch
  • Personalized progress reports and reviews with a Financial Solutions Advisor
Invest with an advisor
0.85%
annual fee7
$20,000
minimum investment
Other fees may apply1
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
Need help deciding how to invest with us? Compare your choices, call or visit.
Or call us 24/7 at 866.460.1282
$600
Get up to $600 when you invest in a new Merrill Edge® Self-Directed account. How to qualify

Recognized for excellence

Received 5 out of 5 stars for "research" and "user experience" — Kiplinger's Personal Finance, "Best Online Brokers" 201810
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.8
One of the best online brokers, receiving 4 out of 5 stars six years in a row (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).9
One of the top global research firms from 2011-201811
Kiplinger's
J.D. Power
Barron's
Institutional Investor
Learn more about our firm's background on
FINRA's BrokerCheck
1 Other sales may apply. Sales are subject to a transaction fee of $0.01 - $0.03 per $1,000 of principal. There are costs associated with owning ETFs. To learn more about Merrill Edge pricing, visit merrilledge.com/pricing or merrilledge.com/guided-investing-program-brochure for details of Merrill Guided Investing. The program fee for Merrill Edge Select® Portfolios includes portfolio management, trading costs and ongoing Financial Solutions Advisor support. In addition to the annual program fee, the expenses of the investments will vary based on the specific funds within each portfolio. Where possible, institutional class shares are used to minimize expenses.
The Chief Investment Office (CIO) develops the investment strategies for Merrill Guided Investing, including providing its recommendations of ETFs and related asset allocations. Managed Account Advisors LLC (MAA), Merrill Lynch's affiliate, is the overlay portfolio manager responsible for implementing the Merrill Guided Investing strategies within the Program 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).
Please review the Merrill Guided Investing Program Brochure (PDF) at merrilledge.com/guided-investingprogram-brochure (PDF) for important 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. 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 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.
6 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

2 Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
Eligibility: Commissions are only waived for online stock and ETF trades conducted via an individual or jointly owned self-directed personal CMA or IRA account.

Qualify for 30 $0 online stock and ETF trades per month as a Preferred Rewards Platinum client.

Or qualify for 100 $0 online stock and ETF trades per month (meet either one of these criteria):
  • Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors client
  • Bank of America Private Bank Client
For details about commissions, transaction fees and any other fees that may apply visit merrilledge.com/pricing. Certain account types are not eligible. Other restrictions may apply. Relationship requirements and pricing are subject to change and/or termination without advance notice. For full details about ways to qualify for $0 trades, call 888.MER.EDGE (888.637.3343).
7 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.
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 www.jdpower.com/ccc. 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.
Merrill Edge 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 Edge 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 http://webreprints.djreprints.com/55958.html. 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.
Merrill Edge was ranked 5 out of 8 online brokers by Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "Best Online Brokers" survey October 2018. To be included, firms had to offer online trading of stocks, ETFs, funds and individual bonds. Results based on ratings in the following categories: Total Commissions Score, Breadth of Investment Choices, Tools, Research, Ease of Use, Mobile Access, and Advisory Services. Learn more at https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T052-S002-best-online-brokers-2018/index.html from Kiplinger's Personal Finance, October 2018 © 2018 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. Used under License. Merrill Edge provides access to research from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, CFRA (powered by S&P Global), Morningstar and others. 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.
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, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. For more information about this award, go to https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/research/8959/Overview. 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.
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.
ARNYHH93-EXP090118