Author Topic: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?  (Read 3728 times)

TomTX

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Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« on: August 25, 2017, 07:18:56 AM »
I was thinking of converting my Vanguard Admiral shares (IRA, both Traditional and Roth) to the ETF, then doing an in-kind transfer to Merrill Edge for the $600 signup bonus, and the extra "relationship bonus" on cash back credit cards at Bank of America.

Any thoughts on their customer service? Issues?

I admit that I only contact Vanguard customer service on the timeframe of multiple years...

extremedefense

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2017, 07:20:53 AM »
I have Preferred Rewards Platinum (30 free trades per month) and I've had good customer service with Merrill Edge. I have a Roth IRA, traditional IRA and joint CMA with my wife.

Mighty-Dollar

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2017, 02:19:13 PM »
Why would you give them 0.45% per year????? If you do that then the 4% retirement spending rule becomes the 3.55% rule! Not good.

BiotechGuy

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2017, 03:15:04 PM »
Use them for my taxable account, and Bank of America for checking and savings. Platinum Honors here, so 100 free trades a month. No fees, good service, nice trading platform. I love it.

TomTX

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2017, 03:20:32 PM »
Why would you give them 0.45% per year????? If you do that then the 4% retirement spending rule becomes the 3.55% rule! Not good.

I'm not planning to pay for their advisor ("guided investing") services, which is what costs 0.45%.  Just the basic brokerage.

I'll verify there aren't fees for their basic brokerage, but given the asset level I would bring over I should get 30 free trades a month and no other fees.

TomTX

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2017, 03:25:27 PM »
Use them for my taxable account, and Bank of America for checking and savings. Platinum Honors here, so 100 free trades a month. No fees, good service, nice trading platform. I love it.

Thanks! That sounds awfully close to my plan, though IRA money.

Though I can't see ever using 100 trades per month. Or per year. Or per decade. I suppose reinvesting dividends would be 4x per year.

Rubic

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2017, 07:14:05 AM »
I use Merrill Edge for my Roth IRA, mainly so I can get free
premium checking at my local branch.  A couple years ago
I moved my other accounts to Etrade to qualify for a $2500
bonus and will probably consider moving them again to a
different discount broker for a similar bonus in the future.

Most of my experiences with Ameritrade, Merrill, Etrade,
etc. are pretty similar.  I haven't seen major differences
between them, but I'm a buy-and-hold investor.  Very
few trades per year (maybe 2 or 3), so the slight difference
in trading fees isn't material.

I just recently opened a Schwab account for the following
reasons: 1) $100 bonus; 2) Excellent service, especially in
using a debit card internationally; 3) I'll be able to convert
200K+ Membership Rewards points from American Express
into my Schwab account at $0.0125 per point.

zazpowered

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Re: Anyone like or dislike Merrill Edge?
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2017, 05:08:46 PM »
Ppl say that Merrill Edge is more basic than other brokers but that's ok for me since I mostly just buy and hold. And if your balance is high enough you get 30 or 100 trades free per month which makes it a better option than Robinhood.