CD Rates at Merrill Lynch
Merrill Edge offers CDs (certificates of deposit) and other fixed-income securities in self-directed accounts. Using the brokerage firm’s website, it’s really easy to find them.
The CD screener is integrated with the fixed-income screener. It will be found under the Research
tab in the top menu (look for the fixed-income link in the “Investments & Screeners” section).
Once the search wizard is located, there will be five tabs at the top:
- Treasuries
- Municipals
- Corporates
- Agencies
- New Issue CDs
Obviously, to search for CDs, the last option should be selected. The CD search tool automatically
displays all CDs available on the platform. On the day we did our research, we found 103. The results
can be filtered by a variety of criteria, including coupon rate and APY. Here are some examples that we
found:
| Bank | Maturity date | Yield |
|---|
| JPMorgan Chase | 3/13/2026 | 4.15% |
| Charles Schwab | 9/16/2026 | 4.05% |
| BMO Harris Bank | 3/8/2027 | 3.85% |
| Bank of China | 9/6/2027 | 3.60% |
| First Republic Bank | 9/11/2028 | 3.55% |
Brokered CDs at Charles Schwab
A much longer list of brokered CDs is available at Charles Schwab. During our research, we found
roughly double the number Merrill Edge offers. Plus, Schwab customers can buy and sell
secondary CDs. These are certificates of deposit that have already been purchased from the issuing banks but are being traded on the secondary market. We found over 200 of these securities during our research using Schwab’s CD screener, which is really easy to use. It can be found on the website under the Research tab.
One of the advantages of using Schwab for CD trading, besides its really user-friendly software, is that the brokerage firm charges no account fees and imposes no account minimums. So it’s possible to open a new brokerage account with a $0 deposit and try out Schwab’s software.
There is essentially no risk in this situation.
If you do decide to trade, commissions are super cheap. Primary CDs have no commissions at all. Secondary CDs are $1 each with a $10 minimum per trade. Other fixed-income products at Schwab have very low trading fees if any at all. Online Treasury trades are commission-free, and many bond funds also have no transaction fees. If anything goes wrong, Schwab has a satisfaction guarantee to back you up.
Another advantage Schwab has over Merrill in the CD realm is a ladder builder. There’s a tool on the website to build a CD ladder with up to 5 CDs in a single trade. There’s a video that demonstrates how to use the tool, and it’s really easy to use.
If you get lost, Schwab offers a lot of CD and fixed-income education on its website, which really helps to make smarter investment decisions. And Schwab has fixed-income specialists who will call you to provide any assistance you need. Amazingly, the brokerage house charges nothing for this helpful service.
Perhaps best of all, opening a new brokerage account is quick and easy at Schwab. The company’s website and mobile app both have convenient links to open a new account. On the website, just look for the big orange button at the top to open a new account. On the mobile app, there is a link to open a new account under the head-and-shoulders icon that appears in the upper-left corner.
Schwab offers a long list of tax structures that make investing tax-friendly. For example, it has custodial accounts, IRAs, trusts, and solo 401k plans.
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Charles Schwab CD Rates
CD rates at Schwab are very competitive. During our research, we found CDs with yields to maturity as
high as 4.2%.
There are many maturity dates, and it’s really easy to
search certificates of deposit by other criteria on the CD screener. Here’s a sample we found:
| Bank | Maturity date | Yield |
|---|
| Charles Schwab Bank | 11/13/2025 | 4.25% |
| Great Southern Bank | 11/21/2025 | 4.25% |
| CFG Bank | 05/30/2026 | 4.10% |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank | 11/16/2026 | 4.01% |
| CFG Bank | 05/30/2028 | 3.95% |
Some of these rates are actually higher than the rates on savings accounts, money market mutual funds,
and fixed-income alternatives that are available out there.
Learn more about Charles Schwab CD Rates or read detailed Charles Schwab Review
Free Charles Schwab Account
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How to Research CDs on Merrill Lynch
In the search results, each CD will be hyperlinked. Clicking on a link generates a small pop-up window with a few details not found in the search results, like minimum offer quantity. There’s also a blue research button in the window. Clicking on this button will produce a web page with more details on the particular CD. These include call status and the number of CDs available through the specific offering.
There’s also a link on that page that provides important information about trading brokered CDs through Merrill Edge. It’s a good idea to look over this sheet before placing a trade, which is what we’re fixing to do.
Placing a Trade for CD at Merrill Lynch
On the same research page we just saw, there is a blue trade button. Clicking on the button will pull up the order form for CDs. The same order ticket can be accessed in the search results. Each CD has an icon with three vertical dots. Clicking on this icon will generate a pop-up window with a trade link. Clicking on this link will produce the same order ticket.
The trade ticket for a specific CD will display its yield to maturity, CUSIP number, maturity date, and coupon rate. It will also show the minimum purchase amount in dollars, and the multiple that must be used to invest more than that amount. The maximum investment amount is also shown as “Available to Purchase.”
Cost of Trading Brokered CDs at Merrill Lynch
Merrill Edge has extended its zero-dollar commission schedule to brokered CDs. There is no charge for trading CDs on either the front or back end. In fact, there is no charge for representative-assisted trades over the phone, either.
Cash Equivalents at Merrill Lynch
Merrill Edge self-directed customers have access to a long list of money market mutual funds. These can be found by hovering over the Research tab in the top menu and clicking on the Mutual Funds link in the drop-down menu. On the next page, click on the Cash Management Solutions tab. This page will have the entire list of money market funds. On the day we did our investigation, we found more than ten of them. Here’s a sample:
| Fund | Yield |
|---|
| BlackRock Liquidity Funds Federal Trust Fund (TFFXX) | 4.16% |
| Federated Hermes Government Obligations Fund (GOIXX) | 4.85% |
| Fidelity Investments Money Market Government Portfolio (FIGXX) | 4.46% |
Finally, there are old-fashioned FDIC-insured bank deposits. Thanks to a relationship with Bank of America, uninvested cash at Merrill Edge can be swept into interest-bearing deposit accounts that receive FDIC protection. However, the APY on this cash option is currently very low. The interest rate is just 0.01% on balances below $1 million. The highest tier is 1.06%, which itself is quite low judged by other choices available through the brokerage firm.
Updated on 7/1/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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