Merrill Edge Self-Directed Reviews

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About two years of use, liked for options trading, with the Android app preferred over the browser for buy-to-close orders, though tax-lot selection when selling trails Fidelity.

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They moved a large balance into Merrill a couple of months ago, collecting the cash bonus but mainly doing it for the boosted credit card rewards that come with Preferred Rewards.

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They confirm Merrill Edge has restrictive ETF choices but like that it gives access to lower-fee money market share classes with a tiny minimum, and say the Bank of America rewards tier brings good free everyday banking.

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They keep only a few ETFs at Merrill to qualify for Platinum Honors rewards tier and invest elsewhere. They say Merrill lacks ETF automation, limits some ETFs, and charges fees on mutual funds suited to index investors.

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They moved a 401(k) into Merrill Edge and kept the minimum needed for the top rewards tier, boosting their BofA card cash back and waiving bank fees, while shifting the rest of their money to Fidelity.

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The interface looks straightforward, phone support reps have been really nice, and the account came with checks and a black and gold check cover.

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They were fine with Merrill Edge until a backdoor Roth conversion, when Merrill insisted on leaving a small minimum in the traditional IRA or closing it. They are now considering moving their money away.

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They keep their assets at Merrill mainly for the elevated Bank of America credit card rewards perks and would not trade that for a Robinhood transfer bonus, citing Robinhood's weak customer service.

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They dropped their Merrill advisor and now hold a single index ETF in both their Roth IRA and brokerage at Merrill Edge. They note there are no fractional ETF purchases, so leftover cash gets swept into a mutual fund.

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They keep a balance at Merrill only to qualify for a Preferred Rewards tier, which they say was recently made worse. They found the limits on what can be bought restrictive and ignore the advisors' sales calls.

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Used mainly to keep Bank of America rewards qualification; as a self-directed brokerage it is fine, with Schwab's interface preferred, though for few transactions they are all really the same.

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They used Merrill for a long time and still keep an account for the credit card points bonus. They find the Automatic Investment Plan fund selection limited with poor expense ratios, so they buy by hand each quarter.

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Mobile app holdings page gets stuck on weekend status and fails to display daily stock changes.

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They use Merrill Edge mainly alongside the BofA credit card and banking. The interface is not fancy but does what they need, and phone support connected them fast to a knowledgeable human who could resolve issues.

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They currently use Merrill Edge and overall like it, singling out customer support as top notch. A short but clearly first-hand endorsement of the brokerage account.

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They keep only the balance needed for the perks at Merrill Edge and do new purchases at Fidelity. They cite no fractional shares and no automation, but call it a decent emergency-fund spot with easy transfers to the bank.

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They hold a legacy Merrill Edge account inherited from a buyout of a small discount broker, linked to their BofA checking. They rarely trade and have had no issues except missing cost basis information on older positions.

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A long-term Merrill customer who calls it serviceable for buy-and-hold and loves the credit card boost, but is moving most assets to Fidelity over slower service, frequent login failures, no fractional shares and a very low rate on idle cash.

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They keep a balance at Merrill Edge for the credit card rewards tier and regularly move out interest, dividend and rebalancing cash via partial ACAT transfers, which they say Merrill does not charge for.

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A user of more than ten years who finds Merrill Edge fine for buy-and-hold. Same-day money market availability and ACATS transfers work well, though buying TIPS requires a long phone call so they buy bonds at Fidelity.

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They use a relative's Merrill Edge account and call it serviceable for casual investing, with good money market yields but no fractional shares and weak fund selection. They rank it third behind Schwab and Fidelity, helped by BofA rewards.

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They find Merrill Edge fine as a basic trading platform with easy transfers to a BofA account and one shared app for banking and investing. Their one complaint is the recent increase in the balance needed for the top rewards tier.

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Strong dislike of Merrill led to moving assets to Schwab while keeping just enough to qualify for Preferred Rewards.

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They reported the Merrill outage still hadn't cleared a day later: their buying power was not visible and trades executed the previous day were not yet reflected in the account.

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They moved from Merrill's robo advisor to the self-directed account years ago to avoid the advisory fee, finding the advisor unnecessary once experienced. They note keeping assets at Merrill can raise cash back on BofA cards.

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They have used both Merrill and Schwab and say customer service is the big difference: the Bank of America card perks were nice, but Merrill support was not there when they had a problem.

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They keep assets at Merrill for the boosted credit card rewards, which they rate among the best, though they find the cash APY at Merrill mediocre and pay their bills through Fidelity instead.

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They hold Vanguard ETFs at Merrill Edge to qualify for Platinum Honors. ETF trades carry no fees, but they warn that mutual funds outside the free list cost a transaction fee.

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They opened Merrill purely to get Bank of America Preferred Rewards, but despite meeting the requirements the accounts never got linked after four escalations and hours on the phone, so they are leaving.

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They have used a self-directed Merrill CMA and Roth IRA for years without problems. Their one real dislike is that fractional ETF purchases are not available.

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Opening an IRA took a week of review, ACH and mobile check funding both failed with 'Something went wrong' errors, and support said a separate CMA account was needed to fund the IRA.

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Opened mainly for Preferred Rewards and holds ETFs there; approval took about three business days even in-branch and the IRA rollover went fine. Fine for buy and hold but not for active trading.

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A former Merrill Edge user for the Preferred Rewards credit card boost. They say it is a good deal, but the platform blocks a surprisingly large number of mainstream ETFs, which can be very annoying.

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They think the move is definitely worth it: the Merrill interface is bad but fine for set-and-forget investing, and the credit card bonus it unlocks makes their BofA card one of the most valuable they hold.

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They keep their boring long-term investments at Merrill and use the Preferred Rewards boost to earn very strong cash back on their BofA card. They describe the setup as simple and nice.

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They keep a Merrill taxable account only to unlock the Bank of America Preferred Rewards boost on both of their BofA cards, while using Schwab for their main investing and IRA.

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They like the rewards structure of pairing BoA with Merrill and keep their cash in money market funds there, which they can liquidate quickly and move to their BoA bank account.

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They keep a chunk of their assets in a Merrill Edge account mainly to get boosted credit card rewards, while preferring Chase for everyday banking and holding assets at both firms for the perks.

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They find Merrill's mutual fund interface very unstable and sometimes unusable, with a sell button that may still be broken for certain funds. They use Merrill for the Platinum Honors tier, but call the platform not great.

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They had a Self-Directed account for over a year, then Merrill sold all their holdings over outdated visa paperwork, citing a missed call and a letter they never received. They were upset by the lack of real notice.

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They switched from Vanguard to Merrill Edge for BoA Preferred Rewards and credit card boosts. An advisor told them to leave a small balance in the traditional IRA for a backdoor Roth, but conversion paperwork is now an e-doc.

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They keep long-term holdings at Merrill despite a very bad interface because the BofA credit card rewards beat most cards. Day trading and dividend investing stay at Fidelity, whose system they find much better.

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They opened Merrill Edge for a bonus promotion, found the platform archaic, and after about a year received a letter to close or transfer out. They moved to Fidelity, saying the card cash back alone was not worth staying.

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They hold a Merrill Edge account together with a Bank of America rewards card and get the Preferred Rewards boost on card spending, calling the brokerage fine and the combined setup worthwhile.

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They use Merrill Edge for do-it-yourself investing, finding it unflashy but solid, with instant, seamless money movement to and from their Bank of America accounts and optional margin as a cash backstop.

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They keep a brokerage balance at Merrill mainly to reach a higher Bank of America rewards tier, finding the platform clunky and unfriendly but noting Merrill reimbursed their transfer fees when moving assets over.

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Long-standing Roth IRA was abruptly closed over an unupdated profile, triggering early withdrawal taxes and mailing a check to an old address.

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They self-manage their portfolio on the Merrill platform and like its research and technical analysis tools. They also mention a tab of Merrill's preferred ETFs.

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Cumbersome back-office restrictions, rough platform design, and endless hold music make customer service painful.

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They use Merrill Edge for the credit card benefit and instant transfers to their BofA checking. They have nothing negative to say, and their trades simply get filled.