Fidelity Investments vs Merrill Edge (Merrill Lynch): Commissions and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs: $7.95
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $32.95
- Stocks and ETFs FAST (automated service phone): $12.95
- Options: $7.95 plus $0.75/contract
- Mutual Funds: $75 per transaction, 1,400 NTF mutual funds
- Bonds: U.S. Treasury Auctions, incl. TIPS Auctions, U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, incl. TIPS - free
- GSE (Agency Securities), secondary CDs, Municipals, Corporates (BBB- or higher), CATS/TIGRS, Corporates (BB+ or lower): $1 per bond, $8 minimum,
$250 maximum
- Commercial Paper: $50 per transaction
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, commercial paper, forex, foreign stocks, UITs, precious metals, ETFs
- Minimum to open Fidelity account: $2,500
- All Fidelity fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $6.95
- Stocks and ETFs Agent assisted: $44.95; Automated phone trades telephone system: $32.50
- Options: $6.95 + $0.75 per contract
- No Load, Transaction Fee Funds (TF) Mutual Funds: $39.95 per transaction
- Merrill Edge Self-Directed Mutual Funds: 0.75% gross proceeds, $50 minimum, $250 maximum
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, ETFs, Bills, Notes, Bonds. Agency: Discount, Notes, Bonds. Zero Coupon Bonds: Corporate, Government, Agency
Municipal Bonds, Corporate Bonds, Brokered Certificates of Deposit
- Minimum to open Merrill Edge account: $0
- All Merrill Edge fees
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- Great research tools with largest selection of independent research
- Low-cost Fidelity mutual funds
- Rich selection of investment products
- No surcharges, except for $0.0192 per $1,000 of principal in addition to commission that is added to sell orders
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- Free trades if meeting certain conditions
- Free checking account
- Great research tools
- Free DRIPs (have to call to get it)
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- Extremely high commission ($75 per transaction) on non-Fidelity mutual funds
- Website is going down or becoming slow on high-volume days
- $12 annual Low Balance Fee for each noncore Fidelity mutual fund if balance is under $2,000
- $75 (minimum) mutual fund Short Term Redemption Fee (if mutual fund sold in less than 180 days after purchase)
- High margin rates
- Foreign currency wires: up to 3% of principal
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- High margin rates
- Limited, badly designed trading tools and charts
- Terrible executions
- Account balance discrepancies
- Technical issues
- Customer service complaints
- Mutual funds Self-Directed Short-Term Redemption fee if held less than 90 days: 0.75% gross proceeds, $50 minimum, $250 maximum
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Fidelity vs Merrill Edge (Merrill Lynch): Comparison Summary
Fidelity (Fidelity Review) is one of the best known and largest
online brokerage houses in the nation. Merrill Edge (formerly known as Merrill Lynch/BOfA/Bank of America brokerage) (Merrill Edge Review)
is a new marketing reincarnation od Merrill Lynch, which was almost bankrupt and rescued at the last minute during the economic crisis
of 2008.
When it comes to costs, both companies lowered their commissions to a much more reasonable levels: $6.95 and $8.95 per stock/ETF trade.
But these rates are still higher than average in the industry.
Fidelity provides its customers with richer than Merrill Edge selection of investment products, access to great
independent research, as well as many low cost Fidelity mutual funds.
The internet is full of complaints from Merrill Edge's customers on the whole range of issues: trading tools bugs,
maintenance and account transfer fees, client features and mutual funds availability, order executions and customer service.
Fidelity is a better choice for beginner investors, though it did not make it into
our list of Best Brokerages for Beginner Investors.
Merrill Edge and Fidelity don't charge retirement account fees, though they are not in our list of
Best IRA Accounts in 2012.
Both brokerage houses have commissions that are slightly above average among US brokerage firms. There are firms in our
Best Online Stock Brokers list, that offer lower commissions,
excellent trading tools and client services.
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