Brokerage
A score out of 100 for how well reviewed a product is. It rises with positive reviews and with how many there are; negative and mixed reviews take points off.
So a handful of glowing reviews can’t beat a product lots of people like. No sponsored placements.
Topics grouped from customer reviews, with how many mention each; read the originals below.
Showing 5 reviews mentioning low fees Show all
Reddit · r/Bogleheads · Jun 26, 2026
PositiveSummary of a Reddit comment
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.
Reddit · r/fidelityinvestments · Feb 26, 2026
PositiveSummary of a Reddit comment
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.
Reddit · r/Bogleheads · Jan 5, 2026
PositiveSummary of a Reddit comment
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.
Reddit · r/Bogleheads · Nov 25, 2025
PositiveSummary of a Reddit comment
They keep an account at Merrill to hold the Platinum Honors tier benefits and simply buy VOO there, describing it as easy with a very low expense ratio.
Reddit · r/investing · Sep 18, 2025
PositiveSummary of a Reddit comment
They use Merrill Edge as a self-directed account and have been quite happy, buying cheap index ETFs and enjoying the Bank of America perks that come with keeping a larger balance there.
Of the 79 reviews with a clear verdict, 34% are positive, 34% mixed and 32% negative. The praise mentioned most is great rewards. The most common complaint is poor support.
The praise reviewers mention most: great rewards (20 reviews), easy to use (13 reviews) and reliable (7 reviews). For example: They hold accounts at both Fidelity and Merrill and keep both, praising the credit card boost as an excellent benefit and using Merrill for their long-term positions.
The complaints reviewers mention most: poor support (13 reviews), buggy app (10 reviews) and account frozen (5 reviews). For example: Cumbersome back-office restrictions, rough platform design, and endless hold music make customer service painful.
It's how well reviewed Merrill Edge Self-Directed is, out of 100. Negative and mixed reviews take points off, and so does having only a few reviews: a product needs plenty of them, compared with the most-reviewed products here, to reach the high 80s and 90s. It's worked out from reviews only, needs at least 5 of them, and updates as new ones come in.
Category: Brokerage. Type: Brokerage account. Fees: $0 online stock, ETF and option trades; no annual account fees (options contract and other fees may apply). Minimum: No balance minimums.
79 are quotes from Reddit, each linked to the original. Customer reviews are checked for spam before they appear. Every review, written here or quoted, is read as positive, mixed or negative.