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Merrill Edge® Self-Directed

Do more with your investments

Get helpful investing ideas and a cash bonusFootnote 1 when you invest in a new account with Merrill.
Select to Get started with Merrill Edge Self-Directed
Get up to $600 when you invest in a new account

Everything you need to invest the way you want

Investing ideas

Merrill has the guidance and tools to confidently pursue your investing goals and build your portfolio.
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$0 trades

Get unlimited free online stock, ETF and options trades with no trade or balance minimums.Footnote 2
Options contract and other fees may apply.Footnote *
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More Rewards

As a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, investment balances count toward your program balances and can bump you to the next tier and even greater rewards.Footnote 3
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Investing & banking connected

You can view and instantly transfer funds between your Merrill investment accounts and Bank of America® bank accounts.Footnote 4
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Merrill
plus
Bank of America Preferred Rewards
equals
Preferred pricing

Combine balances for maximum rewards

With Bank of America Preferred Rewards, you can enjoy many exclusive benefits and pricing discounts, all designed around the ways you bank with Bank of America and invest with Merrill®.Footnote3

How it works

1

Choose an account

Select Get started and choose from our variety of investment accounts. Or call 877.657.3847
2

Determine a bonus level

Cash reward   Qualifying Assets
$100 $20,000
$150 $50,000
$250 $100,000
$600 $200,000+
3

Make a qualifying deposit

to your new account within 45 days and maintain your balance for at least 90 days.

Get up to

$600
when you invest in a new Merrill Edge® Self‑Directed account.Footnote 1
Use offer code 600ME

Help when you need it. How you want it.

Call us

877.657.3847

Meet with a Merrill Advisor

Schedule an appointment
StockBrokers.com #1 Overall Client Experience 2023

Ranked  Number  1 in Overall Client Experience (for the seventh year in a row)5

There's more than one way to invest

Guided investingFootnote 6

An investment advisory program where you can get a portfolio that's monitored and rebalanced by a team of Merrill investment professionals.
Learn more about Guided Investing

Guided investing with an advisorFootnote 6

An investment advisory program where you can work with an advisor to define and pursue your investing goals and get ongoing advice when you want it.
Learn more about Guided investing with an advisor
For more complex wealth management needs, invest with a dedicated advisor who can help grow and preserve your wealth.
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 
Offer valid for new individual Merrill IRAs or Cash Management Accounts (CMAs). Cash bonus offers, in the aggregate, are limited to one CMA and one IRA per accountholder. Eligible Merrill IRAs limited to Traditional, Roth and owner-only SEP IRA. The Merrill IRA or CMA may be a Merrill Edge Self-Directed account, Merrill Edge Advisory account, Merrill Guided Investing account or Merrill Guided Investing with an Advisor account. You may be eligible for a different or better offer. Please contact us for more information.

Offer Limitations: This offer does not apply to business/corporate accounts, investment club accounts, partnership accounts and certain fiduciary accounts held with Merrill, or to any types of accounts (including IRAs or CMAs) held with other business units of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S). Merrill reserves the right to change or cancel this offer at any time, without notice. This offer may not be used as an inducement to sell any kind of insurance, including annuities.

How it Works:

  1. You must enroll during account opening by entering the offer code in the online application or by providing it when speaking with a Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor at 888.637.3343 or at select Bank of America® financial centers. You are solely responsible for enrolling or asking to be enrolled in the offer.
  2. Fund your account with at least $20,000 in qualifying net new assets within 45 days of account opening. Assets transferred from other accounts at MLPF&S, Bank of America Private Bank, or 401(k) accounts administered by MLPF&S do not count towards qualifying net new assets.
  3. After 90 days of meeting the funding criteria described in Step 2, your cash reward will be determined by the qualifying net new assets in your account (irrespective of any losses or gains due to trading or market volatility) as follows:
    Qualifying Net New Asset Balance   Cash Reward
    Less than $20,000 $0
    $20,000 to $49,999 $100
    $50,000 to $99,999 $150
    $100,000 to $199,999 $250
    $200,000 or more $600

    For purposes of this offer, qualifying net new assets are calculated by adding total incoming assets or transfers (including cash, securities and/or margin debit balance transfers) and subtracting assets withdrawn or transferred out of the account within the preceding 24 weeks.

  4. Your one-time cash reward will be deposited into your IRA or CMA within two weeks following the end of the 90 day period. If your account is enrolled in an investment advisory program, such as Merrill Edge Advisory Account, Merrill Guided Investing or Merrill Guided Investing with an Advisor, any cash reward deposited into your account will be subject to the program fee and other terms of the investment advisory program.
Tax Disclaimer: The value of the reward you receive 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 reward. Please consult your tax advisor. Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates and associates do not provide tax advice.

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 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.

For broker-assisted trades through Merrill Edge, you will be charged a fee equal to the lower of $29.95 or 5.00% of the principal amount of the transaction. Further, there are indirect fees, such as annual management and other similar fees, that are charged by the manager or sponsor of an exchange-traded fund and of a closed-end fund, as disclosed in the product's prospectus.
Footnote 
Preferred Rewards Program Eligibility. You can enroll, and maintain your membership, in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program if you have an active, eligible personal checking account with Bank of America® and maintain the balance required for one of the balance tiers. The balance tiers are $20,000 for the Gold tier, $50,000 for the Platinum tier, $100,000 for the Platinum Honors tier, $1,000,000 for the Diamond tier and $10,000,000 for the Diamond Honors tier. Balances include your combined, qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts (such as checking, savings, certificate of deposit) and/or your Merrill investment accounts (such as Cash Management Accounts, 529 Plans). You can satisfy the combined balance requirement for enrollment with either:

  1. a three-month combined average daily balance in your qualifying deposit and investment accounts, or
  2. a current combined balance, provided that you enroll at the time you open your first eligible personal checking account and satisfy the balance requirement at the end of at least one day within 30 days of opening that account.
Refer to your Personal Schedule of Fees for details on accounts that qualify towards the combined balance calculation and receive program benefits. Eligibility to enroll is generally available three or more business days after the end of the calendar month in which you satisfy the requirements. Benefits become effective within 30 days of your enrollment, or for new accounts within 30 days of account opening, unless we indicate otherwise. Bank of America Private Bank clients qualify to enroll in the Diamond Tier regardless of balance and may qualify for the Diamond Honors tier based on their qualifying Bank of America, Merrill and Private Bank balances. Certain benefits are also available without enrolling in Preferred Rewards if you satisfy balance and other requirements. For details on Bank of America employee qualification requirements, please call Employee Financial Services or refer to the Bank of America intranet site. Employees of companies participating in the Bank of America Employee Banking and Investing Program may be eligible to participate on customized terms. Refer to CEBI Program for details.
Footnote 
Certain banking and brokerage accounts may be ineligible for real-time money movement, including but not limited to transfers to/from bank IRAs (CD, Money Market), 529s, Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking™, Credit Cards and transfers from IRAs, Loans (HELOC, LOC, Mortgage) and accounts held in the military bank. Accounts eligible for real-time transfers will be displayed online in the to/from drop down menu on the transfer screen.
Footnote 
Merrill Edge Self-Directed was awarded No. 1 Overall Client Experience and received an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from StockBrokers.com. Evaluated as one of 17 online brokers in Go to third-party website StockBrokers.com 2024 Online Broker Review popup published on January 23, 2024. StockBrokers.com evaluated brokers using 181 variables across 8 categories. The Overall Client Experience award recognizes the best user experience for typical U.S. retail investors. StockBrokers.com testing simulates dozens of workflows for investors and traders alike. Key criteria include satisfying user intent, design, customer support, platform responsiveness, convenience, workflow, education, marketing communications, and transparency. Go to third-party website Learn more about the methodology at StockBrokers.com popup. Rankings and recognition from StockBrokers.com 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 
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).
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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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