Merrill Edge Review

Merrill Edge is the self-directed investing platform of Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America, and it has been available to retail investors since 2010. What makes Merrill Edge unique — and uniquely valuable to the right person — is its deep integration with Bank of America through the Preferred Rewards program. Clients who hold $20,000 or more in combined BofA banking and Merrill Edge balances qualify for Preferred Rewards Gold tier, which includes 30 free stock and ETF trades per month. At $100,000+ (Platinum), that rises to 100 free trades per month. At $1 million+ (Platinum Honors), every trade is commission-free in addition to the standard $0 commission baseline. But the real prize is access to BofA Global Research — one of the most highly regarded institutional research houses on Wall Street — which provides in-depth equity analysis, sector outlooks, and economic commentary that retail investors would normally need a Bloomberg terminal or institutional account to access. Merrill Edge also offers a full suite of retirement accounts, a solid robo-advisor product (Merrill Guided Investing at 0.45% advisory fee), and the ability to walk into any Bank of America branch for help — over 4,000 locations nationwide. For investors who already bank with BofA, Merrill Edge is a compelling upgrade from Fidelity or Schwab because of the research quality and loyalty rewards. For everyone else, the value proposition is less clear.