Merrill Lynch Brokerage does not exist anymore. Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch and together they created
new online broker called Merrill Edge (read Merrill Edge Review).
To compare Fidelity and Merrill Edge, read our
Fidelity vs Merrill Edge review.
|
|
- 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
|
- Stocks and ETFs: $8.95 if total combined balances in Merrill Lynch investment accounts and Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts is $250,000 OR making 0-119/0-29 trades per year/quarter
- Stocks and ETFs: $6.95 if total combined balances in Merrill Lynch investment accounts and Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts is $250,000-$1,000,000 OR making 120+/30+ trades per year/quarter
- Stocks and ETFs: $4.95 if total combined balances in Merrill Lynch investment accounts and Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts is $1,000,000+ OR making 240+/60+ trades per year/quarter
- Stocks and ETFs: 30 free online equities trades per month if total combined balances of $25,000 or more in your Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts: Checking, savings, FDIC-insured CDs, FDIC-insured IRAs
- Stocks and ETFs Agent assisted: $75 for Standard customers, $50 for Preferred and Superior
- Options: $8.95 + $0.75/ contract if total combined balances in Merrill Lynch investment accounts and Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts is $250,000 OR making 0-119/0-29 trades per year/quarter
- Options: $6.95 + $0.75/ contract if total combined balances in Merrill Lynch investment accounts and Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts is $250,000-$1,000,000 OR making 120+/30+ trades per year/quarter
- Options: $4.95 + $0.75/ contract if total combined balances in Merrill Lynch investment accounts and Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts is $1,000,000+ OR making 240+/60+ trades per year/quarter
- Merrill Edge Self-Directed Mutual Funds: 0.75% gross proceeds (Short-Term Redemption fee if held less than 90 days - $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: $2,000
- All Merrill Edge fees
|
|
|
- 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
|
- Free checking account
- Great research tools
- Free DRIPs (have to call to get it)
|
|
|
- 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
|
- Best commissions only for customers with over 1 million account balance
- 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
|
Fidelity vs Merrill Lynch: Comparison Summary
Fidelity (Fidelity Review) is one of the best known and largest
online brokerage houses in the nation. Merrill Edge (Merrill Lynch review)
is a new marketing reincarnation of almost bankrupt and rescued at the last minute Merrill Lynch.
When it comes to costs, both companies lowered their commissions to a much more reasonable levels: $8.95 per stock/ETF trade.
But these rates are still higher than average in the industry. Merrill Edge also disappoints with its quarterly fee.
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 beginners though it did not make it into
our list of Best Brokerages for Beginner Investors.
Unlike Merrill Edge, Fidelity doesn't charge retirement account fees, though it's not one of the
Best IRA Accounts in 2012.
Both brokerage houses have commissions that are above average among US brokerage
firms. Because of the high costs, we can't recommend either one of these companies. There are firms in our
Best Online Stock Brokers list, that offer lower commissions,
excellent trading tools and client services.
|