In this Merrill Edge review, you will see why it is a good choice for any serious investor, especially for those that already have a banking relationship with Bank of America.
Popularity
Being part of Bank of America, the trust that carries over from the parent company, has easily pushed its image as a secure and trustworthy broker.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL | Date |
| Number of users (approximate) | 2.5m | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180911005141/en/Merrill-Edge-Hits-200-Billion-Assets-Management | 26 Aug 2020 |
| Website traffic (estimated) | 2.14m | https://www.similarweb.com/website/merrilledge.com/ | 26 Aug 2020 |
| # results on web | 20.8m | https://www.google.com/ | 26 Aug 2020 |
| Search volume Google | 90.5K | https://searchvolume.io | 26 Aug 2020 |
| Twitter followers | 101K | https://twitter.com/merrilledge | 26 Aug 2020 |
| FB followers | – | – | 26 Aug 2020 |
| How popular on mainstream media? | High | Investopedia, The Washington Post, Kiplinger, Financial Planning, Barron’s, Advisor Hub, Yahoo Finance | 26 Aug 2020 |
| Negative media? | Medium | https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-128.html https://advisorhub.com/merrill-fined-1-4-million-retail-margin-settlement-violations/ | 26 Aug 2020 |
| Notable awards | 1 Overall Client Experience and ESG Investing, Named the top global research firm 2019 | https://www.merrilledge.com/why-merrill-edge/awards-ratings | 26 Aug 2020 |
User Rating
Background Information
Marrile Edge is the investment division, part of Bank of America’s retail banking division, launched on June 21, 2010.
| Company public/private | Division of a public company | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill_Edge |
| Revenue Data | No data because it’s a division of a bigger company | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill_Edge |
| CEO and bio | Aron Levine – currently the President, Preferred and Consumer Banking & Investments at Bank of America | https://www.merrilledge.com/about/executives |
| Number of employees | 2,500 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill_ |
| Notable investors (private companies) | None | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/merrill-edge |
Security
Being part of a big bank, security is an important aspect of conducting business. So rest assure that all the necessary security measures are implemented.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| HTTPS Certificate | Yes | https://www.merrilledge.com/ |
| 2FA ? | Yes | https://www.education.ml.com/bol/Pages/Article.aspx?Title=tipstoprotectyourselfonline |
| Device monitoring? | Yes | https://www.merrilledge.com/mobile-investing |
| New device extra security? | Yes | https://www.merrilledge.com/help-support |
Fees & Offering
Zero commission on all the usual investment tools. Unfortunately, for those that are interested in these, you can’t buy futures and cryptocurrency.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| Account minimum | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Account fixed fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Fractional shares? | No | – |
| Margin costs | Varies | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| ETF buying fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Stock buying fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Option buying fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Short selling fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/investing/margin-trading |
| Futures buying fees | Not available | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Future options buying fees | Not available | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Cryptocurrency fees | Not available | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Fixed income fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
| Mutual funds fees | None | https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing |
Trading App
Merrill Edge app is one of the few with such a big rating from both iOS and Android users – 4.45 / 5 average rating.
Final conclusions:
Benefiting from the strong reputation that it’s parent company (Bank of America) has, Merrill Edge is automatically pushing its name in every list of online brokers. But that wouldn’t be nothing if their service wouldn’t be top tier as well.
Overall, investing with Merrill Edge seems to be a top choice for any potential investor.