Overview of Merrill Edge and J.P. Morgan
With an online brokerage account, investors can now put money into the stock market and other securities at very
low cost. Merrill Edge and Chase's J.P. Morgan Investing are two firms that provide securities trading
with competitive pricing. Let’s compare these two companies.
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 + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
J.P. Morgan:
Currently, no promotions.
Merrill Edge: Currently, no promotions.
Investing Overview
Both firms in this matchup offer self-directed brokerage accounts. Customers can 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 offers those plus spreads. For stocks, Merrill Edge allows short positions. J.P. Morgan Investing does not.
Unlike J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, Merrill also provides managed accounts. Merrill Guided Investing has a 0.45% annual program fee, and Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor has a 0.85% annual program fee.
Any brokerage or managed account must be opened under one tax structure or another. Merrill offers 529 plans, custodial accounts, IRAs, trusts, Health Savings Accounts, estate accounts, and solo 401(k) plans. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing has a smaller account lineup, although J.P. Morgan does provide advisor-led investing services outside the self-directed account.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Margin
Merrill Edge self-directed customers can choose between cash and margin accounts. An existing cash account
can also be upgraded to a margin account.
Most brokerage firms calculate margin interest using an account’s debit balance and a base lending
rate, which changes as the Fed raises or lowers its benchmark target. Merrill Edge adds another
factor to the calculation: the customer’s total relationship with Bank of America and Merrill. Depending on the exact
numbers involved, an account could pay anywhere from
12.18% for smaller balances to lower rates for larger balances and qualifying Bank of America relationships.
J.P. Morgan Investing also offers margin accounts. Margin rates start at
11.5% and move lower for larger balances under its tiered margin schedule.
Winner: J.P. Morgan
Bank Products
At J.P. Morgan Investing, cash-management tools such as a checkbook or debit card cannot be added directly to a self-directed brokerage account. A checking or savings account with Chase Bank, however, can be connected to a securities account, and this connection is easy to use on the website and mobile app.
At Merrill Edge, a debit card and checkbook can be connected to an eligible investing account, and there is no cost to add them. A Bank of America checking or savings account can also be linked to a securities account. As with J.P. Morgan Investing, this connection is handled automatically.
In both cases, transferring money between investing and deposit accounts is simple through the company’s mobile app or website.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Websites
Merrill Edge customers get a user-friendly website with both website trading and a browser-based platform. Together, these two trading resources provide many helpful tools, including:
- Full-screen charting with many bells and whistles
- Advanced option tools with integrated strategies
- Level II quotes
- Discrete choices for buy to cover and sell short
- Technical analysis tools
- Economic calendar
The trading experience on the J.P. Morgan Investing site is much simpler. There are basically no advanced trading tools, aside from a charting program with several built-in features. However, a graph cannot be displayed across the full width of the computer monitor, so even this part of the experience is limited.
J.P. Morgan Investing’s site does include dashboard tiles that show useful information, such as an account’s asset allocation, watchlists, market indexes, and top news stories.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Mobile Apps
In addition to website trading, mobile trading is available. The Merrill Edge app has horizontal charting, budgeting and spending tools, option chains, mobile check deposit, and a large amount of research material. For example, we found stock reports and news articles.
The J.P. Morgan Investing app is part of the Chase Bank app. The brokerage section of the app has vertical charting, check deposit, research reports from J.P. Morgan, ratings from Morningstar, and more.
Both apps use their web-based trade tickets. This means 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 offer Individual Retirement Accounts. Merrill has more IRA types. It charges 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: J.P. Morgan supports recurring investing in mutual funds for eligible investment accounts.
Fractional Shares: J.P. Morgan offers fractional shares in eligible stocks and
ETFs starting at $5.
IPO Access: Merrill Edge offers access to eligible IPOs through Bank of America's syndicate offerings.
Extended Hours: Merrill Edge offers pre-market and after-hours trading.
DRIP Service: Both firms offer dividend reinvestment.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Not offered at either firm.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
J.P. Morgan:
Currently, no promotions.
Merrill Edge: Currently, no promotions.
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 Charles Schwab
offers over 3,500 mutual funds free of charge.
Beginning Investors: We favor Merrill Edge Guided Investing with an Advisor, an
advisory program that includes access to a financial advisor.
Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: Charles Schwab,
with its large lineup of retirement services, would be a good choice.
Small Accounts: Neither brokerage firm has minimum account requirements or ongoing fees
for self-directed accounts.
Stock and ETF Trading: Merrill Edge’s browser platform is much better than anything
J.P. Morgan Investing offers.
J.P. Morgan Chase vs Merrill Lynch: Results
This is not much of a contest. Merrill Edge wins by a wide margin here.
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Updated on 5/30/2026.
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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