Merrill’s trade ticket offers more order types than Schwab’s. It doesn’t offer direct-access routing or complex order types. Charting is a little better, with tools and horizontal mode. Schwab’s app can be used to submit orders for mutual funds and options.

• To be eligible, you must keep a combined balance of at least $50,000 in eligible accounts, make 15 trades per quarter, or qualify for free trades through the loyalty program.
• You can trust the integrity of our balanced, independent financial advice.
• According to Reuters, the service’s “financial solution advisers” are “licensed broker-dealers and bankers who are paid a salary”, whereas full-service brokers receive commissions.
• The brokerage offers an additional 3,000 non-Vanguard funds with no transaction fees online.
• Always read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.
• Merrill Edge is smaller – with fewer customers and assets under management – and not as well known for their adept trader tools, as is Fidelity.
• Despite Merrill Edge’s affiliation with big names like Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, it is no competition for Schwab.

Some customers get access to Merrill Edge MarketPro, the brokerage’s more powerful browser-based platform. To be eligible, you must keep a combined balance of at least $50,000 in eligible accounts, make 15 trades per quarter, or qualify for free trades through the loyalty program. At Merrill Edge, there are ETF’s, stocks, mutual funds, closed-end funds, options, bonds, OTC equities, and penny stocks. The brokerage firm does require a $25,000 account balance to trade over-the-counter.

Who Should Use A Brokerage Account?

Although a Roth IRA requires the account holder to pay taxes on the money going in, it allows any contributions and earnings to be withdrawn tax-free. This gives workers a chance to contribute to a tax-advantaged account, let the money grow tax-free and never pay taxes again on withdrawals in retirement. The company provides research from its own BofA Global Research, as well as third-party providers, including Morningstar, CFRA, Trefis and Recognia. Merrill Edge’s website also has a lot of educational resources, including videos, courses, webinars and articles, all searchable by investing experience or topic. Morningstar’s investing classroom is available on the site, too. You can access account management tools and even visit branches to talk to a broker.

Charles Schwab is a good choice for beginning and advanced investors looking to invest in ETFs and mutual funds or investors that require extensive research. Merrill Edge clients have access to a lot of the same accounts that schwab vs merrill edge Schwab offers. Furthermore, Merrill charges $49.95 to close a retirement account, whereas Schwab does not. Using Merrill’s screener, we found just 3,145 mutual funds, with a measly 755 having neither load nor transaction fee.

Mobile Trading

You can view Bank of America accounts and Merrill Edge accounts with a single login, and real-time transfers move money between accounts instantly. The same integrated experience is available on mobile, and you can even view your Merrill Edge investment account balances on Bank of America ATMs. No annual, inactivity or transfer/closing fees for brokerage accounts; $49.95 full outgoing account transfer fee for retirement accounts.

Charles Schwab offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Merrill Edge. Charles Schwab offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, OTCBB / Pink Sheets, Options Trading, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading, Advisor Services and International Trading. Looking at Mutual Funds, Merrill Edge trails Charles Schwab by 6,391 total mutual funds, with Charles Schwab offering 9860 and Merrill Edge offering 3469.

Options Trading

Merrill Lynch brokers were told to refer customers with less than $250,000 in investments to Merrill Edge. The intent was for the brokers to focus on wealthier investors and for Merrill Edge to reciprocate by schwab vs merrill edge sending customers with more than $250,000 in investments to Merrill Lynch. In 2015, the Merrill Lynch Broker-dealer incentive system changed to give brokers no money for managing accounts less than $250,000.

The broker’s website is a little less user-friendly in this area. Nevertheless, we found materials on how to read option chains, fixed-income pricing, the basics of margin, extended-hours trading, and more. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. Charles Schwab provides research and updates from Credit Suisse, Schwab proprietary ratings and research, and news and reports from S&P, Reuters, and others.

Merrill Edge

If you need a more personalized financial plan, Merrill’s team can also manage that. Merrill Edge is the web-based broker from the storied and well-regarded Merrill, now owned by Bank of America. Merrill Edge is a great fit for those who already have an account at the bank. And for those who need customer service in schwab vs merrill edge person, it might be just what they need. Interactive Brokers might be best known for its $1 commissions on trades up to 200 shares, and the broker charges a half-cent per share for additional shares. If you’re rifling through shares as an active trader, though, you may appreciate the broker’s volume-based discounts.

You may also be interested in comparing Charles Schwab or Ally Invest. Schwab’s website is user-friendly and is sufficient for many trading purposes. Its trade bar doesn’t quite measure up to Merrill’s, though, because orders can’t be placed on it. Moving on to Schwab, we find a somewhat less impressive educational section.

BY Ian Sherr