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Merrill Edge vs Scottrade
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Scottrade vs Merrill Edge (Merrill Lynch): Commissions and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs: $7
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $27
- Stocks and ETFs interactive voice response (IVR) telephone system: $17
- Options: $7 plus $1.25 per contract
- Mutual Funds: 2,800+ free mutual funds, $17 for others
- CDs, OTC Secondary Corporates, OTC Secondary Municipals, U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds and STRIPS, New Corporate Offerings: subject to a markup or markdown
- Listed Corporate Bonds: $35 fee plus $3 per bond (minimum investment $1,000)
- Unit Investment Trusts (UIT): $50 liquidation fee
- Foreign Stocks Transferring In or Out: $60 per transaction
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, CDs, munis, U.S. Treasury, Canadian and foreign stocks, ETFs
- Minimum to open Scottrade account: $500 for a cash account, $2,000 for a margin account
- All Scottrade 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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- No inactivity, account maintenance or hidden fees
- No-fee IRAs
- One of the highest customer satisfaction ratings according to JD Power and Associates
- 500+ local branches
- Great support for beginner investors with massive amount of educational resources
- Online user community
- Banking services: savings, CDs, money market and checking accounts (visa check card and first order of checks is free)
- No ACAT fee
- Only $500 minimum to open account
- Free real-time streaming quotes and charts
- Free dividend reinvestment for mutual funds (but not for stocks)
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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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- Additional 0.5% of the principal value commission for stocks under $1
- No electronic withdrawals (but can use debit card or checks)
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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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Merrill Edge vs Scottrade: Comparison Summary
Scottrade (Scottrade Review) is very similar priced online brokerage firm as
Merrill Edge (formerly known as Merrill Lynch/BOfA/Bank of America brokerage - Merrill Edge Review): $7 for stock and
ETF trades at both companies. Scottrade charges $17 for mutual fund transactions versus $40 at the Merrill Edge.
Unlike Merrill Edge, Scottrade provides its customers with intuitive trading tools and great customer service. The firm's biggest
disadvantage is additional commission on penny stock trades.
Thanks to helpful online community, where users could ask questions and learn from more experienced investors, as well as plethora of
learning materials and easy to learn and use trading tools, Scottrade is one of the
Best Brokerages for Beginner Investors.
It also made it into our list of Top Brokerage Companies in 2012.
There are a lot of complaints about Merrill Edge's customer service and trading tools. Our recommendation
between these two online brokers is definitely Scottrade.
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