Overview of Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan
With an online brokerage account, it is now possible to invest in the stock market and more at very
low cost. Merrill Edge and Chase's J.P. Morgan Investing are two such firms that offer trading in securities
with unbeatable pricing schedules. Let’s have a look at these two.
Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Merrill Edge
|
$0
|
$19.99
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Chase
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
J.P. Morgan:
Get $0 stock commissions at J.P. Morgan.
Merrill Edge: Get $0 stock commissions at Merrill Edge.
Investing Overview
Both firms in this faceoff provide services in self-directed brokerage formats. It’s possible to trade
stocks, options, mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and bonds. In the options
category, J.P. Morgan Investing only offers calls and puts. Merrill Edge has these plus spreads. In the stock category, Merrill Edge permits short positions. J.P. Morgan Investing does not.
Unlike J.P. Morgan, Merrill Edge also offers managed accounts at 0.45% annually. The broker also has a
hybrid option that includes personal service from a financial planner for an 0.85% annual fee.
Either a brokerage or managed account must be opened with some tax format or another. Merrill Edge has 529 plans, custodial accounts, IRAs, trusts, Health Savings Accounts, estate accounts, and solo 401k plans. J.P. Morgan Investing does not offer most of these tax structures.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Find a Financial Advisor
If you are looking for a professional money management service in your area, you can
find a Financial Advisor on the Wiser Advisor
(or read
Wiser Advisor review).
Visit Wiser Advisor
Margin
Merrill Edge self-directed clients can choose either cash or margin accounts. An existing cash account
can transform into a margin account (look on the Forms & Applications page that is found under the
Help & Settings menu).
Most brokerage houses charge margin interest based on an account’s debit balance and a base lending
rate, which varies as the Fed raises or lowers its benchmark target. Merrill Edge adds one more
variable to the equation, which is total deposits within Bank of America. Depending on the exact
numbers on these three issues, an account could pay anywhere from
13.38% to 9.38% for loans.
J.P. Morgan Investing offers margin accounts. Margin rates range from
12.75% to 10.5%.
Winner: J.P. Morgan
Bank Products
At J.P. Morgan Investing, it is not possible to add any cash-management tools to an account (such as a checkbook or debit card). A checking or savings account with Chase Bank, however, can be linked to a securities account, and in fact, this is done automatically on the website and mobile app.
At Merrill Edge, a debit card and a checkbook can both be attached to an investing account, and there is no cost to do so. It is also possible to link a savings or checking account with Bank of America to a securities account. As with J.P. Morgan Investing, this is done automatically.
In both cases, it’s easy to transfer funds between investing and deposit accounts via the company’s mobile app or website.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Websites
Merrill Edge customers get to use a user-friendly site that has both website trading and a browser platform. Combined, these two trading resources deliver tons of useful tools, including:
- Full-screen charting with many bells and whistles
- VWAP calculator
- Advanced option tools with integrated strategies
- Level II quotes
- Discrete choices for buy to cover and sell short
- Free technical analysis
- Economic calendar
The trading experience on the J.P. Morgan Investing site is much simpler. There are really no advanced trading tools, other than a charting program that has several gadgets integrated. However, a graph cannot be displayed the full width of the computer monitor, so even here the experience is limited.
J.P. Morgan Investing’s site does have tiles on the dashboard that deliver some useful pieces of information such as an account’s asset allocation, a group of watchlists, market indexes, and top news stories.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Mobile Apps
Besides website trading, there is also mobile trading. The Merrill Edge app has horizontal charting, budgeting and spending tools, option chains, mobile check deposit, and a great deal of research materials. For instance, we found stock reports and news articles.
The J.P. Morgan Investing app is borrowed from Chase Bank. The brokerage side of the app has vertical charting, check deposit, security screeners, research reports from JPMorgan, ratings from Morningstar, and more.
Both apps use their web-based trade tickets. This means that the Merrill app has more trade types than the J.P. Morgan Investing app.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Supplementary Services
IRA Lineups: Merrill Edge and J.P. Morgan Investing both have Individual Retirement Accounts. Merrill has more IRA types. It does charge a $49.95 IRA termination fee, although this is lower than J.P. Morgan Investing’s IRA closeout fee of $75.
Automatic Mutual Fund Investing: Both broker-dealers offer it.
Fractional Shares: Not available at either firm for stocks or ETFs.
IPO Access: Not on tap, either.
Extended Hours: Only available with a Merrill Edge self-directed account.
DRIP Service: Both firms offer autopilot dividend reinvesting at no charge.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Missing in action at both firms.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Promotions
Robinhood: 1% IRA match and up to $200 FREE stock at Robinhood.
J.P. Morgan:
Get $0 stock commissions at J.P. Morgan.
Merrill Edge: Get $0 stock commissions at Merrill Edge.
Finally, Our Recommendations
Mutual Fund Trading: With the mutual-fund screener on the Merrill Edge website, we found
slightly less than 2,700 funds. Doing the same at JPM, we found slightly more than 7,000.
But Firstrade
offers over 11,000 mutual funds free of charge.
Beginning Investors: We defend Merrill Edge Guided Investing with an Advisor, which is an
advisory program that comes with a dedicated financial planner.
Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing:
Charles Schwab,
with its huge suite of retirement services, would be a good pick.
Small Accounts: Neither brokerage firm imposes minimum account requirements or ongoing fees
for self-directed accounts.
Stock and ETF Trading: Merrill Edge’s web-browser platform is much better than anything
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing has.
Webull, however,
is better priced and is easier to use.
Find a Financial Advisor
If you are looking for a professional money management service in your area, you can
find a Financial Advisor on the Wiser Advisor
(or read
Wiser Advisor review).
Visit Wiser Advisor
JP Morgan Chase vs Merrill Lynch: Results
Not much of a contest. Merrill Edge wins by a wide margin here.
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Updated on 10/7/2024.
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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