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 1 Offer valid for new and existing individual Merrill IRAs or Cash Management Accounts (CMA) opened before April 15, 2021. Cash bonus offers, in the aggregate, are limited to one CMA and one IRA per accountholder. Eligible Merrill IRAs limited to Rollover, Traditional, Roth and owner-only SEP IRA. The Merrill IRA or CMA may be a Merrill Edge Self-Directed account, Merrill 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:
- You must enroll by entering the offer code in the online application during account opening 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.
- 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 Bank of America, MLPF&S, Bank of America Private Bank, or 401(k) accounts administered by MLPF&S do not count towards qualifying net new assets.
- You must be enrolled in Preferred Rewards as of 90 days from meeting the funding criteria described in Step 2.
- After 90 days from 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 |
$150 |
$50,000 to $99,999 |
$225 |
$100,000 to $199,999 |
$375 |
$200,000 or more |
$900 |
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) from external accounts, and subtracting assets withdrawn or transferred out of the account within the preceding 52 weeks.
- Your one-time cash reward will be credited to 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 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.
Customers not enrolled in Preferred Rewards:
Customers not enrolled in Preferred Rewards as of 90 days after funding will receive the cash reward without the 50% bonus: assets of $20,000 to $49,999 in cash and/or securities receive $100; for $50,000-$99,999, receive $150; for $100,000-$199,999, receive $250; for $200,000 or more, receive $600.
You maintain your Preferred Rewards status if you have an active, eligible Bank of America
® personal checking account and maintain a qualifying balance of at least $20,000 for the Gold tier, $50,000 for the Platinum tier, or $100,000 for the Platinum Honors tier in 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). The qualifying balance is calculated based on your average daily balance for a three calendar month period. Benefits become effective within 30 days of your enrollment, or for new accounts within 30 days of account opening, unless we indicate otherwise. Refer to your
Personal Schedule of Fees for details on accounts that qualify towards the combined balance calculation and receive program benefits. For details on employee qualification requirements, please call Employee Financial Services or visit the Bank of America intranet site.
Learn more about Preferred Rewards.
Tax Disclaimer: The cash reward will be credited as investment earnings to your account. Merrill may issue an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 (or other appropriate form) to you that reflects the value of the reward. If the cash reward is credited to your IRA, the IRS may view the reward as taxable income or as a contribution to the IRA (if it is an excess contribution, it may be subject to an annual 6% excise tax if not timely distributed). Please consult your tax advisor for more information regarding the proper tax treatment. Bank of America and Merrill do not provide tax, accounting, regulatory or legal advice and are not responsible for any adverse tax consequences (including taxes, penalties and interest) related to the reward.
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, and different types of protection from creditors and legal judgments. These are complex choices and should be considered with care. Visit merrilledge.com/rollover or call a Merrill Rollover Specialist at 888.637.3343 for more information about your choices.
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
Merrill Edge Self-Directed was evaluated as one of 11 online brokers in StockBrokers.com 2021 Online Broker Review published on January 19, 2021. StockBrokers.com evaluated brokers using 256 variables across 7 categories. The Best In Class rating recognizes brokers that ranked in the top 5 in that category. Learn more 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
Merrill Edge Self-Directed was ranked 4 out of 11 online brokers by Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "Best Online Brokers," survey August 2020. 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. Rankings for subcategories may vary.
Learn more at Kiplinger's Personal Finance popup, August 2020 © 2020 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. Used under License. Merrill provides access to research from BofA 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 Global Research as the Top Global Research Firm in 2019 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 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
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.
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