|
Merrill Lynch Competitors in 2024
Top Merrill Lynch competitors: Edward Jones, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Chase.
Companies like Merrill Lynch: alternative financial advisor firms, full service investment brokerage competitors.
|
Merrill Lynch Competitors
|
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
Merrill Lynch vs Self Directed Competitors: Fees
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Robinhood
|
$0
|
na
|
$0 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Firstrade
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Vanguard
|
$0
|
$20
|
$1.00 per contract
|
$20*
|
$20*
|
|
Merrill Lynch
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0
|
2.84% +
|
2.84% +
|
Merrill Lynch vs Self Directed Competitors: Services
Merrill Lynch Review
Read detailed review of Merrill Lynch Investment Service.
Charles Schwab vs Merrill Lynch Overview
If you’re considering opening a brokerage account at Charles Schwab or Merrill Edge, keep reading. We’re going to make a detailed comparison of these two firms and then make a recommendation.
Portfolio Management
Charles Schwab offers robo investing program for free; although
accounts must keep a large free-cash balance. Some of the ETF’s are Schwab funds, which may raise some
eyebrows. And then there’s the $5,000 account minimum.
Merrill Edge doesn’t offer a robo-advisory service. The broker-dealer does have traditional management
services that start at a very low 0.45% with a $5,000 starting balance. If you want in-person financial advice, you can find it at many Bank of America branches. This route costs 0.85% with a $20,000 minimum.
Schwab gets the nod here.
Pricing
Equity transactions at Merrill Edge are $0.
At Charles Schwab stock and ETF trades are also $0 for all clients.
Using a human rep over the phone rather than a websute to place a trade costs an extra $25 at
Merrill Lynch. Charles Schwab clients must pay the same $25 for the this service.
A investment account at either firm carries zero on-going fees. Merrill Lynch charges $49.95 to
cancel a retirement account, while Charles Schwab does not. There is no minimum deposit at either
firm.
Charles Schwab is the better choice in this category.
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Merrill Edge: Get $0 stock commissions at Merrill Edge.
Customer Support
Charles Schwab customers can reach out to a company associate around the clock. Merrill Edge also has agents on the phone 24/7. We were disappointed in our testing to discover that neither company’s website has an on-line chat feature.
Charles Schwab has a greater emphasis on foreign languages, as it has reps who speak Chinese and Spanish. Charles Schwab also has a greater emphasis on serving customers in person as it manages a brick-and-mortar network throughout the United States. While Merrill Edge does have locations inside some Bank of America locations, these are only for clients who pay extra for financial advice.
The victory in this category goes to Charles Schwab.
Mutual Funds and ETF’s
During our revuew, we found 3,368 mutual funds at Merrill Lynch, and 791 of these had no trading fee.
Funds with a transaction fee cost $19.95 on both the sell and buy sides.
Charles Schwab has a much higher mutual fund transaction fee ($49.99), although it delivers more funds (6,500+
total). The broker also delivers more no-transaction-fee products (4,200).
Charles Schwab takes top honors here.
Trading Tools
Both brokers offer desktop platforms. Merrill Edge imposes active trader requirements (5 trades per month or $50,000 in assets), while Charles Schwab gives its software free to all customers. In fact, non-customers can trial the program.
One tool we especially liked at Charles Schwab, which Merrill Edge does not offer, was a simple browser-based platform. This would be great for beginners who don’t want to use a more complicated desktop program.
Both websites are well-designed and can be used to submit orders. Both websites also have trade bars, which are very competitive with each other in terms of quality and usefulness.
Charles Schwab seems to have the edge here.
Mobile Apps
Going from the old PC to the modern age where people expect to do things on-the-fly, Charles Schwab and Merrill Edge both offer platforms for phones and tablets. In fact, a smartwatch app can be used at either broker as well.
While trades can be placed on the Merrill app, the platform doesn’t provide live streaming of CNBC, which the Charles Schwab app does have. Charting on the Merrill app isn’t nearly as good as on Charles Schwab’s platform.
Merrill Edge underperforms again.
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Merrill Edge: Get $0 stock commissions at Merrill Edge.
Banking Features
Merrill Edge customers can add checks and a Visa debit card to a brokerage account free of charge. This does not create a bank account. It remains an investment account with SIPC (not FDIC) insurance. Charles Schwab has the same setup. It seems a little strange that neither one would offer a bank account considering that they are affiliated with large banks.
Merrill Edge offers unlimited ATM fee rebates from Bank of America machines and limited refunds from non-Bank of America machines. Charles Schwab offers unlimited reimbursement nationwide.
Merrill Edge automatically links Bank of America accounts to a Merrill login, but Charles Schwab does
not automatically link Charles Schwab Bank products.
Overall, it’s pretty even here.
Recommendation
Merrill Edge would be a good choice for large traders or Bank of America customers who have at least $20,000. These funds can be in deposit
accounts rather than in a Merrill trading account.
Charles Schwab would be the better option for frequent traders who need the most advanced
technology because its desktop platform thinkorswim is more sophisticated than Merrill’s software.
Updated on 10/15/2024.
Arthur Chachuna is a professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of Brokerage-Review.com.
He has been an avid investor for 25 years, and has a background in both applied math and programming.
|