Merrill Edge

The headline numbers are competitive with every major discount broker:

• Stocks & ETFs: $0 per online trade, no trade or balance minimums
• Options: $0 per trade + $0.65 per contract (same as Schwab/Fidelity; pricier than Robinhood's $0)
• Mutual funds (No Transaction Fee): $0 for NTF funds
• Mutual funds (Transaction Fee): $19.95 per online trade, $29.95 for broker-assisted
• Mutual fund short-term redemption fee: $39.95 if you sell an NTF fund within 90 days
• Broker-assisted trades: $29.95 (or 5% of principal, whichever is lower)
• Options exercise/assignment: $0
• Account minimum: $0 across all self-directed accounts
• Account maintenance fee: $0
• Full account transfer (ACAT out): $49.95
• Partial account transfer: $0
• Wire transfers: $24.95 (domestic & international)
• 529 Plan wire transfer: $30
• IRA closeout fee: $49.95
• Bond coupon fee: $5
• Stop payment fee: $25

The $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs, and options are table stakes in 2026 — every major broker offers this now. Where Merrill distinguishes itself (and where it stumbles) is in the details. That $49.95 full transfer fee is annoying if you ever want to leave. The $19.95 transaction fee on certain mutual funds is on the higher side compared to Fidelity's $0 on its own funds. And broker-assisted trades at $29.95 are steep — Schwab charges $25.

Merrill Guided Investing (their robo-advisor) charges 0.45% annually for the self-service version, or 0.85% annually if you want an advisor involved. The self-service tier requires a $1,000 minimum ($50,000 for income-focused strategies); the advisor tier requires $20,000 ($50,000 for income strategies). Those fees are decent for managed money but higher than Schwab Intelligent Portfolios' $0 advisory fee.

Margin rates are based on a base lending rate that resets weekly and varies by debit balance and your Preferred Rewards tier. Merrill doesn't publish a flat schedule — you need to call or use their calculator. That's a transparency knock. For comparison, Interactive Brokers is usually the cheapest for margin, and most brokers at least publish a rate table.

Merrill Edge covers the full spread of account types you'd expect from a major broker:

General investing:

• Individual brokerage
• Joint brokerage
• Trust accounts
• Custodial (UGMA/UTMA)
• Estate accounts

Retirement:

• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• Inherited IRA
• Rollover IRA
• SEP IRA
• SIMPLE IRA

Education:

• Custodial accounts
• 529 Plans ($25 minimum initial investment)

Small business:

• Small Business 401(k)
• Individual 401(k)
• SEP IRA
• SIMPLE IRA

This is one of the most complete account lineups among online brokers. The small business retirement plans are a real differentiator — many discount brokers either don't offer them or make you jump through hoops.

Investment products available:

• Stocks
• ETFs
• Mutual funds (thousands available, many NTF)
• Fixed income & bonds (access to 100+ broker-dealers)
• CDs
• Options
• Money market funds
• Margin trading

What's missing: No cryptocurrency trading, no futures, no forex. If you want those, look elsewhere. Merrill is a traditional investments shop through and through.

The Bank of America integration is the killer feature. If you bank with BofA, Merrill Edge becomes significantly more valuable through the Preferred Rewards program. This tiered loyalty system is based on your combined BofA + Merrill balances:

• Gold ($20K–$50K): 25% credit card rewards bonus, 0.05% discount on Guided Investing fees
• Platinum ($50K–$100K): 50% credit card rewards bonus, 0.10% Guided Investing discount, 12 free non-BofA ATM transactions/year
• Platinum Honors ($100K–$1M): 75% credit card rewards bonus, 0.15% Guided Investing discount, unlimited free non-BofA ATM transactions
• Diamond Honors ($1M+): All the above plus lifestyle benefits, unlimited international ATM access with no fees, and a 0.375% mortgage interest rate reduction

At the Platinum Honors tier, your Guided Investing fee drops from 0.45% to just 0.30% — suddenly quite competitive. And those credit card bonuses are substantial if you use BofA cards.

Research and tools are strong. You get access to BofA Global Research, Morningstar ratings, third-party analysis from S&P Global and Moody's, and the Merrill Edge MarketPro trading platform for active traders. The Idea Builder tool helps you discover stocks and funds grouped by themes. Stock Story and Fund Story give you curated, plain-English breakdowns of what's driving a security's value.

Planning tools are genuinely useful. Personal Retirement Calculator, College Cost Calculator, 401(k) Rollover Tool, 529 Plan State Tax Calculator — these aren't just marketing fluff. They're the kind of tools that help you make real financial decisions.

You can walk into a branch. With ~4,000 Bank of America financial centers nationwide, you can actually talk to someone in person about your investments. No other discount broker offers that.

No fractional shares. This is a surprising omission in 2026. Fidelity, Schwab, and Robinhood all let you buy slices of expensive stocks. At Merrill, if you want a share of a $500 stock, you need $500. This hurts small-account investors and makes dollar-cost averaging less precise.

Margin rate transparency is poor. Most brokers publish a clear rate table. Merrill tells you to call or use a calculator. That's friction that shouldn't exist.

The mobile app isn't best-in-class. It's functional but feels like a bank app with investing bolted on, not an investing app. Compared to Fidelity's clean redesign or Schwab's thinkorswim mobile, it's a step behind.

No crypto, futures, or forex. If you want a one-stop shop for all asset classes, this isn't it.

The $49.95 outbound transfer fee stings. It's not unique to Merrill — Schwab charges $50 and Fidelity charges $0 for partial transfers — but it's still a friction cost if you decide to switch.

Mutual fund transaction fees are above average. That $19.95 per trade on transaction-fee funds, plus the $39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held less than 90 days, adds up if you're an active fund trader.

You should use Merrill Edge if:

• You already bank with Bank of America — the Preferred Rewards integration alone makes it worthwhile
• You want a traditional, full-service brokerage with strong research and a wide range of account types
• You value in-person support and the option to visit a branch
• You need small business retirement plans (401k, SEP, SIMPLE IRA)
• You're a buy-and-hold investor focused on stocks, ETFs, and bonds
• You like the idea of keeping your banking and investing under one roof with a single login

You should look elsewhere if:

• You want to trade crypto, futures, or forex — try Interactive Brokers or Robinhood
• You need fractional shares — Fidelity or Schwab are better bets
• You're a cost-obsessed active trader — Interactive Brokers has lower margin rates and more advanced tools
• You want the cheapest robo-advisor — Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no advisory fee
• You don't bank with BofA and have no intention of switching — the biggest Merrill advantage disappears

How it stacks up:

Against Fidelity, Merrill's biggest weakness is the lack of fractional shares, no zero-expense-ratio index funds, and a pricier robo-advisor. Fidelity also doesn't charge to close an IRA or transfer out (partial). But Fidelity can't match the BofA banking integration.

Against Schwab, it's close. Both offer $0 commissions, similar account types, and strong research. Schwab edges ahead with fractional shares and its free Intelligent Portfolios robo-advisor. Merrill wins if you're in the BofA ecosystem.

Against Robinhood, Merrill is the grown-up choice. More account types, better research, actual retirement accounts, real customer support. Robinhood wins on crypto and UI simplicity.