Merrill Lynch Self Directed Account
The following review applies to the Merrill Lynch wealth management account. For Merrill
Lynch self-directed account review, go to
Merrill Edge Review.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Review Highlights
• Brokerage and investment-advisory accounts are available at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
• Some of the world’s most qualified investment advisors will be found in Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management program.
• Only investors with deep pockets can get into the Wealth Management program at Merrill Lynch.
Overview of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
A great deal of financial services is available through Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management division. The cost is reasonable, too, based on industry standards. Qualifying, though, may be too difficult for most investors.
Merrill Lynch Investments and Financial Planning
Through its brokerage and managed accounts, Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management department offers investing in several asset classes. Because this is a traditional full-service investing operation, the possibilities are almost endless. Examples include:
- Precious metals
- Annuities
- Variable-rate demand obligations (VRDOs)
- Stocks
- Options
- ETFs
- Mutual funds
- Closed-end funds
- Fixed income
- Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)
Alternative assets, including:
- Real estate
- Hedge funds
- Non-traditional Funds (NTFs)
- Private equity
- Commodity pools
- Interval funds
- Non-traded business development companies
- And more...
Any asset purchased must be held in an account of some type, and Merrill has a lot of them. Besides individual and joint accounts, the company has multiple tax shelters, including trusts, 529 plans, and retirement accounts.
Every account and every customer in the Wealth Management unit has an assigned financial planner. These folks are some of the most qualified advisors Merrill has, so Wealth Management customers tend to be well taken care of. Examples of services these financial experts can provide include:
- Personalized financial plan
- Goal setting
- Wealth accumulation
- Managing health-care expenses
- Buying a home
- Generational planning
- Vacation funding
- Charitable giving
- Retirement planning
- Selling a business
The exact services available may vary based on the advisor chosen. Choosing this advisor at a nearby Merrill location is the first step in opening a Wealth Management account.
Merrill Lynch Cash Management
Merrill Lynch is owned by Bank of America, which means investment customers get a lot of banking tools. Checking and savings accounts opened under the same tax ID number are automatically linked to securities accounts on the company’s software platforms. It’s a simple task to transfer money between and among all these accounts.
Because Wealth Management clients inevitably have significant assets, Bank of America Private Bank is worth mentioning. This is Bank of America’s premier banking service for wealthy folks who need more than just simple deposit accounts. Available services include:
- Art Services
- Credit & Customized Lending
- Endowments & Foundations
- Family Office
- Business Solutions
- Family Wealth Services
- Private Philanthropy
- Trust & Estates
- Wealth Planning
As with the Wealth Management division, the Private Banking service comes with a working one-on-one relationship with a financial expert—a Private Banker in this case. A relationship does need to be opened at a Bank of America location with a Private Banking unit, and not all locations have these.
Investing accounts can invest in money market mutual funds, some of which yield around 5.0% right now. And investment advisors with Merrill can access all sorts of other cash products, too. By default, Merrill uses an FDIC-sweep program that moves uninvested cash into Bank of America.
If the debit cards and checkbooks from Bank of America aren’t sufficient for any reason, a brokerage account with Merrill can use the same tools.
Margin
Margin can be enabled on an investing account within Merrill’s Wealth Management service. The cost of borrowing funds for trading purposes varies by three factors: a base lending rate, assets within the Bank of America family of companies, and the amount borrowed. The base lending rate resets every Monday.
Currently, the lowest possible rate is 8.73%
(with $100,000,000 in assets and more than $5,000,000 borrowed), and the highest rate is 12.93%.
Merrill Wealth Management Fees
Now we come to the part we’ve been alluding to: fees and minimums. The minimum investment amount at Merrill Lynch for Wealth Management is $250,000, generally speaking. Some programs within the Wealth Management branch have higher minimums. For example, Premium Access Strategies, which offers customizable portfolios and management fees, requires $5,000,000.
Although the minimums are rather steep, management fees for advisory services are pretty standard for the industry. Wealth Management clients will pay no more than 1.75% of assets under management, at least for advisory accounts. Some advisory programs have lower fees than this.
Brokerage accounts have annual flat fees that range from $25 to $300, depending on the account type (such as business or personal account). Unlike managed accounts, trades are not commission-free in brokerage accounts. Wealth Management customers pay some pretty steep rates for their brokerage trades. Here are some examples:
Stock trades: Up to 5% of trade value
Option trades: Up to 15% of trade value
Bond trades: Up to 2% of trade value
Annuities: Up to 4% of premium paid (some have trailing fees, too)
Although brokerage accounts themselves have no account minimums, some investment products, such as mutual funds, will have minimums.
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
Website
Accounts opened through the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management program are accessible through the Merrill site. It is easy to navigate, thanks to a top menu with auto drop-down windows. Under the Guidance & Retirement tab, we found the following topics:
- Retirement Planning
- Find the Right IRA
- Retirement Evaluator™
- Life Priorities & Goals
- Prepare for Life Events
- Plan for Life Stages
- Learn About Investing
- Taxes & Investing
- New To Investing
- Tools & Calculators
- College Planning
- Personal Finance
- Advice & Guidance
- Merrill Guided Investing
There are other useful tools on the site, including a branch locator and a free FICO score. Other Merrill accounts and Bank of America accounts will show up on the dashboard.
Mobile App
Merrill also has a mobile app for Wealth Management clients. Called MyMerrill, it functions on Android and Apple tablets and phones and has a lot of useful features. Besides contact buttons for the financial planner, there are widgets for mobile check deposit and document upload. Messages from the financial advisor will also show up on the app.
Our Recommendations
Mutual Funds: Merrill’s Wealth Management program would be a good way to invest in mutual funds.
Firstrade, however, charges
nothing for 11,000+ mutual funds.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: A one-on-one working relationship with a Merrill Lynch
advisor is one of the best possible ways to plan for retirement and other long-term projects.
Buying index funds at Charles Schwab's
and holding them for a long time would probably beat any advisor return.
Stock and ETF Trading: Although individual stocks are available through Merrill Lynch, the company’s
low-cost alternative Merrill Edge would be better for frequent trading.
Small Accounts: Merrill Edge also works for small accounts.
Beginning Investors: Novices will be in good hands at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
Merrill Wealth Management Review Judgment
Merrill Lynch has an affordable Wealth Management program that affluent investors will really want to consider. The available services through this program will highly depend on the financial advisor chosen, so interested investors should really do their homework when choosing an advisor.
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
Updated on 4/6/2025.
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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