Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Review for 2026

Item: Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Rating: 3
Author: Chad Morris

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.

• Highly experienced financial advisors can be found in Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management program.

• Only investors with sizable assets are likely to qualify for many of Merrill’s Wealth Management offerings.

Overview of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

A wide range of financial services is available through Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management division. The pricing is fairly standard by industry standards, too. Qualifying, however, may be too difficult for many investors.

Merrill Lynch Investments and Financial Planning

Through its brokerage and managed accounts, Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management division offers investing in many asset classes. Because this is a traditional full-service investment business, the lineup is extensive. 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 many of them. Besides individual and joint accounts, the company offers multiple tax-advantaged account structures, including trusts, 529 plans, and retirement accounts.

Every account and every customer in the Wealth Management division has an assigned financial advisor. These professionals are some of the most experienced advisors Merrill has, so Wealth Management clients generally receive a high level of service. 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 selected. Choosing this advisor at a nearby Merrill location is the first step in opening a Wealth Management account.

merrill lynch wealth management fee schedule

merrill lynch wealth management fee schedule

Merrill Lynch Cash Management

Merrill Lynch is owned by Bank of America, which means investment customers get access to many banking tools. Checking and savings accounts opened under the same tax ID number can be linked to securities accounts on the company’s software platforms. It’s a simple process to move money between and among these accounts.

Because Wealth Management clients often have significant assets, Bank of America Private Bank is worth mentioning. This is Bank of America’s premium banking service for wealthy clients who need more than basic 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 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 Bank unit, and not all locations offer these services.

Investing accounts can invest in money market mutual funds, and investment advisors with Merrill can also access other cash-management solutions. By default, Merrill uses the Merrill Lynch Bank Deposit Program, which moves uninvested cash into deposit accounts at Bank of America, N.A. and Bank of America California, N.A.

If the debit cards and checkbooks from Bank of America aren’t enough for any reason, a brokerage account with Merrill can use similar cash-management tools.

merrill lynch wealth management review

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 weekly.

Currently, the lowest possible rate is 8.06% (with $100,000,000 in assets and more than $5,000,000 borrowed), and the highest rate is 12.26%.

Merrill Wealth Management Fees

Now we come to the part we’ve been building toward: fees and minimums. The minimum investment amount at Merrill Lynch for many Wealth Management relationships is fairly high, generally speaking. Some programs within the Wealth Management division have even higher requirements. Premium Access Strategies, for example, have separate eligibility requirements and additional agreements.

Although the minimums can be steep, management fees for advisory services are fairly standard for the industry. Wealth Management clients will pay no more than 1.75% of assets under management in the Merrill Lynch Investment Advisory Program when working with an Advisor. Some advisory programs have lower fees than this.

Brokerage accounts have their own account charges and transaction costs, depending on the account type and the investments used. Unlike managed accounts, brokerage trades are not covered by an all-in advisory fee, and commissions or markups can still apply depending on the product.

Stock trades: Transaction fees may apply depending on account type and trade method
Option trades: Additional charges may apply depending on the contract and execution method
Bond trades: Markups, markdowns, or other transaction costs may apply
Annuities: May carry sales charges and ongoing fees, depending on the product

Although brokerage accounts themselves may not always require a formal account minimum, 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 (or read

Find a Financial 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 access to connected Bank of America and Merrill accounts on one dashboard.

merrill lynch wealth management fees

Mobile App

Merrill also has a mobile app for Wealth Management clients. Called MyMerrill, it works on Android and Apple devices and offers many useful features. Besides contact tools for the financial advisor, it can also provide access to documents, account information, and other service features.

Our Recommendations

Mutual Funds: Merrill’s Wealth Management program can be a good way to invest in mutual funds. Charles Schwab, however, charges nothing for many mutual funds.

Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: A one-on-one working relationship with a Merrill Lynch advisor can be a strong way to plan for retirement and other long-term goals. Buying index funds at and holding them for a long time could still outperform many advisor-based strategies after fees.

Stock and ETF Trading: Although individual stocks are available through Merrill Lynch, the company’s low-cost alternative would be better for frequent trading.

Small Accounts: Merrill Edge also works for small accounts.

Beginning Investors: Novices can be in good hands at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Merrill Wealth Management Review Judgment

Merrill Lynch has a reasonably competitive Wealth Management program that affluent investors will want to consider. The exact services available through this program will depend heavily on the financial advisor chosen, so interested investors should do their homework before selecting an advisor.

Updated on 3/22/2026.

About the Author

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.