Merrill Edge Review: Is It the Right Choice for You

Merrill Edge is a popular online brokerage firm that offers a range of investment products and services. It's a great option for those who want to invest in the stock market, bonds, ETFs, and other securities.

Merrill Edge has a user-friendly mobile app that allows you to trade and manage your accounts on the go. You can also access your accounts online through their website. With over 13 million customer accounts, Merrill Edge is one of the largest online brokerages in the US.

The firm offers a wide range of investment products, including over 15,000 mutual funds, 3,000 ETFs, and thousands of individual stocks. This makes it easy to diversify your portfolio and find the right investments for your goals.

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Merrill Edge offers a range of features to help you manage your finances.

You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, and mutual funds with no commissions on online U.S. exchange-listed stocks, ETFs, and options trades.

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Their mobile app allows you to trade and manage your account on the go, with features like real-time quotes and customizable watchlists.

With Merrill Edge, you can also get research and analysis on investments, including analyst ratings and stock recommendations.

Their platform also offers advanced trading tools, such as charting and technical analysis, to help you make informed investment decisions.

Merrill Edge's account management features allow you to view your entire financial picture, including accounts, investments, and loans, in one place.

Their online platform offers a range of educational resources, including articles, videos, and webinars, to help you learn about investing and personal finance.

Merrill Edge also offers a rewards program, Cash Back Match, which matches 2% of your monthly deposits up to $2,500.

Their customer service is available 24/7, with phone, email, and online chat support options.

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Merrill Edge's trading experience is a significant improvement over Vanguard's, offering a straightforward and intuitive platform that's perfect for retail traders with less complex needs. MarketPro provides streaming real-time quotes that you can view on multiple devices simultaneously.

You can also stage orders for later entry and enter multiple orders simultaneously, making it easier to manage your trades. The chart trading interface may not be the most elegant, but it gets the job done.

Merrill Edge's order routing technology is a major advantage, using the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) smart order router to fill orders by first seeking price improvement. This results in an average execution speed of .007 seconds for market orders sized 100 to 1,999 for S&P 500 stocks.

Merrill Edge's mobile app is also a winner, allowing you to check on all of your accounts and monitor streaming quotes. You can even access trading on your Apple Watch, although you'll need to finish the order on the website.

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Merrill Edge's platform is sleeker and makes finding tools and resources easy, especially for new investors. The onboarding process is quick and simple, especially for Bank of America customers.

Getting started with Vanguard is a bit longer, requiring a wait of several days before you can log in and view your account. You can initiate opening an account online, but it's not as streamlined as Merrill Edge's process.

Merrill Edge's website is easy to navigate, and you can customize the layout and set trading defaults in its MarketPro online trading platform. Vanguard's platform, on the other hand, can be customized according to your interests, but it's still not as user-friendly as Merrill Edge's.

Merrill Edge has a significant advantage over Vanguard in terms of usability, making it a more appealing choice for investors who value ease of use.

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The trade experience is a crucial aspect of online trading platforms. Merrill's platform is a significant improvement over Vanguard's because it is straightforward and intuitive.

Merrill's MarketPro provides streaming real-time quotes that you can view on multiple devices simultaneously. This is a game-changer for active traders who need to stay on top of market movements.

Vanguard's trading experience, on the other hand, is sufficient for buy-and-hold investors but falls short for more active traders. Its quotes update as you move through a trade flow, which may take several clicks before placing a trade order.

Merrill's chart trading interface may not be as elegant as some other platforms, but it gets the job done, especially for retail traders with less complex needs.

In contrast, Vanguard's mobile app lacks charting and displays delayed quotes until you get to order entry. This can be frustrating for traders who need to stay connected on-the-go.

Merrill Edge's mobile app is more robust and customizable, mirroring many of the tools on its richer desktop platform. However, it doesn't support chart trading, which is a notable limitation.

Overall, Merrill Edge has a slight edge over Vanguard when it comes to trading technology and speed, with a lower cost per trade of $1.68 per 100-share order compared to Vanguard's $1.70.

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Order Types are a crucial aspect of trading, and it's essential to understand what options are available to you.

Vanguard's order types are limited to market, limit, and stop-limit orders, which are best suited for buy-and-hold investors.

Merrill Edge, on the other hand, offers a wider range of order types, including market, limit, stop limit, and trailing stop orders.

Both brokers allow you to select tax lots when closing out a position, which can be a useful feature for investors looking to manage their taxes.

Merrill Edge's order types are available across all platforms, giving you the flexibility to trade on your terms.

If you're an active trader, you might be disappointed to find that neither broker offers advanced conditional orders.

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Merrill Edge's trading technology has a slight edge over Vanguard, particularly when it comes to speed. Merrill's average execution speed for market orders is a quick .007 seconds.

Vanguard's order routing technology is basic, lacking smart order routing technology and other advanced features. This means it can't compete with Merrill's ability to seek price improvement.

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Merrill's smart order router fills orders by first seeking price improvement, resulting in an average savings of $16.80 per order of 1,000 shares. This is a significant advantage for traders.

In terms of price improvement, Vanguard reports $1.70 per 100-share order, while Merrill Edge is equivalent to $1.68 per 100-share order. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up over time.

Both brokers deserve credit for not accepting payment for order flow from market makers, which is a practice that can favor high-frequency traders. This decision shows a commitment to fairness and transparency.

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Merrill Edge has no commissions on stock and ETF trades, which is a big plus for investors.

You'll also be happy to know that there are no per-leg commission options trades, which can save you money on complex trades.

Per-contract commissions are $0.65 at Merrill Edge, which is lower than Vanguard's $1 per contract.

This means that if you place an order for 50 options contracts, it will cost you $32.50 at Merrill Edge, compared to $50 at Vanguard.

Merrill Edge charges an account closure fee of $75 for retirement accounts, which is something to keep in mind if you need to close your account.

You can also avoid wire fees with Merrill Edge, as there is no fixed fee for domestic and international wires.

However, if you need to close your account with Vanguard, you'll be charged $100 for the closure or transfer of an account.

Here's a quick summary of some key costs to consider with Merrill Edge:

Merrill Edge offers a range of account types to suit different needs and goals.

You can open an individual or joint brokerage account, which is a great option for those starting to invest or managing a family's finances. Merrill Edge also offers custodial accounts, which are perfect for minors or young adults who want to save for their future.

Their account types include trust, estate, and corporate accounts, making it a versatile platform for various financial situations. You can also open a 529 plan account, which helps with education expenses.

Here are some key features of Merrill Edge accounts:

Merrill Edge accounts also offer the ability to automatically sweep uninvested cash into a money market fund, which can earn interest and help you grow your savings over time.

Merrill Edge's Portfolio Story tool is a game-changer for new investors. It provides a complete breakdown of your portfolio by sectors and holdings, performance, analyst ratings, and MSCI ESG scores.

This proprietary tool is a valuable piece of portfolio analysis technology that helps you make informed investment decisions.

Merrill Edge also offers Stock Story and Fund Story tools to help you leverage the analysis available at Merrill when assessing investments.

Both tools are designed to give you a deeper understanding of your portfolio and help you make smart investment choices.

Vanguard's portfolio reports and analysis, on the other hand, are updated in real time on the Vanguard website.

Merrill Edge offers a robust investor education program that lets you pick an investing experience level or topic, such as stocks or mutual funds.

You can also learn through a series of courses that progress from basic to more sophisticated strategies.

Merrill Edge uses a narrative approach to its education, presenting information as a story to help you grasp investing concepts and use the platform's tools effectively.

Merrill Edge offers a wide range of educational resources to help you learn about investing.

You can choose from various investing experience levels or topics, such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds.

Their education approach is narrative, packaging information into a story-type journey to help you pick up knowledge on investing and how to use their tools.

Fidelity, another brokerage, also offers extensive educational resources, making it a modern and well-equipped platform.

Merrill Edge stands out in terms of education, with a wider selection of topics and deeper dives into them compared to Vanguard.

If you're looking for a more comprehensive learning experience, Merrill Edge is the better choice.

Merrill Edge offers extensive educational resources to help you learn about investing and how to leverage the tools available through their platform.

Their investor education section allows you to pick an investing experience level or a topic, such as investing and markets, stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, margin, and others.

Merrill Edge's education is more comprehensive than Vanguard's, with a wider selection of topics and deeper dives into them.

You can learn about various investment topics through a series of courses that go from basic to more sophisticated strategies.

Fidelity is another modern brokerage that offers all the tools you'd expect, but Merrill Edge's educational resources are a standout feature.

Merrill Edge's online advisors and educational offerings are a major advantage over Vanguard, giving you access to more resources and tools to help you make informed investment decisions.

Their platform provides timely insights and investing ideas from BofA Global Research, along with key portfolio insights to enhance your investing strategy.

You can also access video tutorials for beginners and advanced investors alike, making it easier to learn and improve your investment skills.

Merrill Edge's cutting-edge technology enhances user experience, making it easier to explore new investing ideas and stay up-to-date on market trends.

Merrill Edge offers 24/7 phone support, which is a significant advantage over some other brokerages.

Having a team available around the clock means you can get help whenever you need it, without having to wait until morning or deal with automated systems.

Merrill Edge also has online chat, allowing you to quickly get answers to your questions or resolve issues.

You can even get in-person support at most Bank of America branches, which can be a big plus for those who prefer face-to-face interactions.

This level of support is a key part of what sets Merrill Edge apart from some other brokerages, like Vanguard.

Merrill Edge has an advantage over other brokers in terms of security features.

The broker offers a soft token for login and high-risk trade authorization, which can be accessed through text, phone, and email. This adds an extra layer of protection to your account.

Merrill Edge also has an aggregate loss limit of $1 billion, which is a significant safeguard for investors.

This means that even in the event of a security breach, the potential loss is capped at $1 billion, giving you peace of mind.

Merrill Edge offers a variety of account types to suit different needs.

You can open an individual or joint brokerage account, which allows you to manage your investments and assets together with someone else.

Custodial accounts are also available, which are designed for minors or individuals with disabilities.

Trust, estate, and corporate accounts are other options offered by Merrill Edge.

In addition to these, you can also open a rollover, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, or traditional IRA account to save for retirement.

A 529 plan is also available, which can be used to save for education expenses.

Here's a list of the account types offered by Merrill Edge:

When choosing a brokerage account, it's essential to consider the types of accounts available to suit your needs.

Merrill Edge and Vanguard both offer a range of account types, including individual and joint brokerage accounts, which allow you to manage your finances alongside a partner or family member.

Custodial accounts are also available, designed for minors or those who require assistance with financial management.

Trust, estate, and corporate accounts are also options, catering to specific financial situations and business needs.

You can also open a rollover, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, or traditional IRA with these brokers, providing a secure way to save for retirement.

529 plans are another account type offered by Merrill Edge and Vanguard, helping you save for education expenses.

Some account types, such as corporate and trust accounts, may have specific requirements or benefits, so it's worth exploring these options further to see if they suit your situation.

If you're a buy-and-hold investor, Vanguard is a better fit for you, as it focuses on servicing this type of investor almost exclusively.

Vanguard is a great choice for long-term investors who want to hold onto their investments for an extended period.

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Merrill Edge is a solid choice for beginners and experienced investors alike. With no account minimums and a wide range of investment options, it's hard to go wrong.

You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, and other securities with Merrill Edge, all from the comfort of your own home. The platform is user-friendly and offers a robust trading experience.

The fees at Merrill Edge are competitive, with $0 trades for online U.S. exchange-listed stocks, options, ETFs, and mutual funds. This can add up to big savings over time.

The customer service at Merrill Edge is top-notch, with 24/7 phone support and a comprehensive online help center.