Merrill Edge Review 2026

Do more with investing and banking connected

• Manage your Merrill investing and Bank of America banking accounts through a single, secure login
• Get rewarded for your combined investing and Bank of America deposit balances with Bank of America Preferred Rewards
• Access a wide range of investment choices along with easy-to- use tools and resources, all available at Merrill
• Enjoy a professionally managed account with Merrill Guided Investing, an investment advisory program, or manage your own account with Merrill Edge Self‑Directed

A professionally managed portfolio at a low cost

Get more than just automated investing, with Merrill Guided Investing you get advice and a portfolio that’s monitored and rebalanced by Merrill professionals - all at a cost that may surprise you.

• Your goals, our investment strategies. Tell us about yourself and your goals, and get investment strategies aligned to your needs, with the flexibility to evolve as your life changes.
• Keep your goals on track. Your personalized dashboard allows you to monitor your portfolio's performance, make updates and add new goals whenever you like. Get more than just automated investing — get the digital advice and strategies to help you meet your goals.

Merrill Guided Investing

Set your investing goals online or talk with an advisor and set goals together. Either way, you'll have 24/7 access to Merrill's award-winning service and online tools.

How ETFs fit into your portfolio

An ETF is a pool of securities traded on an exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ. ETFs offer more diversification than individual stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Like stocks, ETFs are traded during the day at market-driven prices. Like shares of mutual funds, ETFs offer partial ownership of a professionally managed portfolio.

Simplify your search for the right stock

Explore collections of stocks that can help you keep pace with the trends shaping the world around us. Idea Builder shows you stock ideas grouped by themes and ideas, giving you an inspiring new way to look for stocks. Start searching, get inspired and find your next big investing idea.

With the full Merrill team behind you, you can always discuss what's most important to you by phone, chat or meet conveniently with a Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor. 

• Solutions for life. Your Financial Solutions Advisor can help you take a comprehensive approach to your financial life. From guidance on Merrill investing solutions to Bank of America's full suite of banking solutions, an advisor is with you every step of the way.
• We're here for you. It all starts with a conversation and whether you're starting with a little or a lot, we are here to listen. With over 3,500 Financial Solutions Advisors nationwide it's easy to take the first step.

Take your stocks knowledge to the next level, whether you're a new investor or a seasoned pro

• Investing fundamentals. Find articles, videos and webinars for every experience level, from investing basics to sophisticated investing strategies.
• Investing in stocks. Access stocks education articles, tutorials and educational courses to help you understand how stocks fit into your portfolio goals.
• Investing like a pro. With Merrill Edge MarketPro, our fully customizable trading platform, you can trade like never before with more insight and control.

MERRILL EDGE self-directed investing

Merrill Edge Self‑Directed received 5 out of 5 stars for trading platform from NerdWallet

• Open an account
• Enjoy unlimited $0 online stock, ETF and option trades, with no annual account fees or balance minimums
• Options contract and other fees may apply
• Get easy-to-understand insights and timely investing ideas, backed by award-winning research
• Invest your way with access to a wide range of stocks, bonds, ETFs and well-known mutual funds

It takes just a minute to get a head‑start with investing. If you're not feeling confident about where to begin, relax! We have you covered. These quick videos can give you a head-start with opening, funding and investing from your Merrill account.

Unlock investment opportunities with a reimagined analytics experience integrated into Merrill Edge MarketPro. Simply enter a symbol, see the trend, state your view, see options strategies and deploy.

• Independent, options-specific research and insights. Access in-depth reports like the US Option Overwriting Trade Ideas report, which highlights single-stock covered call writing opportunities, generated through quantitative screening.
• Powerful screeners. Explore the security universe for option opportunities or stock attributes that meet your customized criteria.
• Experience more power, more control. Use Merrill Edge MarketPro to build your own customized trading platform that gives you real-time market data and analysis along with powerful trading tools.

Get the latest research available on fixed income from BofA Global Research to help you make more informed investing decisions. Plus, access independent ratings and research reports from CFRA (powered by data from S&P Global) and Moody's, all available to you as a Merrill client. You also get up-to-the-minute news from Dow Jones, FactSet financial data and analytics, PR Newswire and Business Wire so that you're always in the know when it comes to your investments.

Get unlimited $0 stock trades, with no trade or balance minimums. 

Move beyond the jargon

• At Merrill, we believe in democratizing data so that everyone understands what's driving a stock's value and what values drive a company.
• With our reimagined research experiences, we help you understand the real story in ways that are simple, straightforward and actionable.
• With Stock Story and Portfolio Story, we make it simple to get key information about your stock holdings, their performance and how they fit into your larger portfolio strategy.

Gain a comprehensive understanding of a mutual fund with Fund Story, a curated and engaging experience that empowers you to pursue your investing goals with clarity and confidence. View the holdings making up a fund, monitor performance, evaluate third-party ratings and see how fees are assessed as well as their impact on returns now and over time. With all this information at your fingertips, it's easy to analyze funds and decide which ones work best for you.

Trade professionally screened ETFs with convenience and control

Get better insights into ETFs

Fund Story is an interactive, intuitive research experience that informs your investing decision with simple, actionable explanations. Understand performance at a glance, see the individual investments making up an ETF, consult analyst ratings and more. Whatever you're looking for when researching an ETF, Fund Story will help you interpret the available data quickly and easily.

Like mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer diversified exposure to a portfolio of securities based on the index that the ETF is designed to track. Like stocks, ETFs trade during market hours.

ETFs are:

• A pool of securities sold in shares that trade throughout the day, like stocks
• Are professionally managed, like mutual funds
• Can provide portfolio diversification, especially over single stocks
• No minimum purchase requirements, unlike mutual funds
• Generally more tax-efficient investments than mutual funds

How to choose an ETF

Whether you're just starting out or seeking fresh ideas, Merrill provides timely tools and relevant resources along each step of your investing journey.

Criteria to consider

Some of the factors to consider when selecting exchange-traded funds include:

• Underlying index benchmark of the fund and its tracking error
• Liquidity, average number of traded shares and the assets under management of the fund

Merrill Guided Investing received 4.4 out of 5 stars overall in Investopedia's Best Robo-Advisors, January 7, 2022. Investopedia's team of researchers and expert writers spent months evaluating all aspects of a robo-advisor's platform across nine key categories, including the account setup process, goal planning tools, account service options, portfolio construction offerings, portfolio management, mobile and desktop user experience, educational content, fees, and security. Investopedia extracts critical data points that are weighted by their quantitative model. Learn more at Investopediapopup.