Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (2024)

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Open an accountwith Merrill

Merrill provides the connected experiences, intuitive tools, investment insights and relationship rewards to empower your financial future.

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Powerful and connected experiences you won't find anywhere else

Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (1)Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (2)Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (3)

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Place trades and monitor your portfolio on the go

See exactly where you stand, transfer money and place trades anytime, no matter where you are.

Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (5)

Access personalized and innovative tools

Access an experience that offers personalized insights into your portfolio performance, market moves and next steps you may need to take.

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Get guidance when you need it, how you want it

Online guidance with access to investment specialists and over 3,500 Financial Solutions Advisors nationwide.

Investing solutions built around you

Pursue your investing goals with our innovative experiences, access to award‑winning researchFootnote2 and helpful insights, along with 24/7 support.

  • Self-directed investing

    Manage your own investments with unlimited $0 online stock and ETF trade commissions, $0 balance minimums and $0 annual fees. Other fees may apply.Footnote*
  • Merrill Guided Investing

    Create your goals online with or without an advisor, and we'll manage investing while you manage life.Footnote1

    Merrill Guided Investing is an Investment Advisory Program

  • Personal Guidance

    Work with a Financial Solutions Advisor in the way that's most convenient to you.

Select toLearn more about investing solutions

See our comprehensive pricing

Actionable investing ideas, powered by award‑winning researchFootnote2

“One of the top global research firms”

Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (7)

BofA Global Research was named one of the Top Global Research Firms by Institutional Investor, 11 years running.

Footnote2

A Platform Powered by Industry Leading Providers

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Invest with Merrill® and bank with Bank of America®

Enjoy the convenience of a connected experience

Get a complete picture of your finances with a single log-in, define and work towards your financial goals, all through the Bank of America and Merrill mobile apps — plus get rewarded through the Bank of America Preferred RewardsFootnote5 program.

Simply link your accounts to start banking or investing from wherever you are and earn rewards on more of the things you do every day.

Item 1 of 3: Simply link your accounts to start banking or investing from wherever you are and earn rewards on more of the things you do every day.

Item 2 of 3: Get instant stock quotes, make trades and check on your trade order status from your Bank of America banking or Merrill investing app.

Get instant stock quotes, make trades and check on your trade order status from your Bank of America banking or Merrill investing app.

Enjoy the rewards and benefits that matter most to you across Banking and Investing with Preferred Rewards.

Item 3 of 3: Enjoy the rewards and benefits that matter most to you across Banking and Investing with Preferred Rewards.

Make an impact by aligning your portfolio with your values

With Merrill's Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) portfolio analysis and research experiences, we can help you invest with companies that share your values with sustainable and impact investing strategies.Footnote3

Select toLearn more about sustainable investing

MOBILE INVESTING & TRADING

Ease-of-use, security and convenience you can depend on

  • Access your Merrill investment and Bank of America bank accounts anytime, anywhere on any of our mobile apps
  • Securely transfer funds between banking and investing accounts and place trades with confidenceFootnote4
  • Review your portfolio's performance and add or change investing strategies whenever you like

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Ready to get started?

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Footnote

Other fees may apply. Free and $0 means there is no commission charged for these trades. $0 option trades are subject to a $0.65 per-contract fee. Sales are subject to a transaction fee of between $0.01 and $0.03 per $1,000 of principal. There are costs associated with owning ETFs. To learn more about Merrill pricing, visit our Pricing page.

Footnote

Please review the applicable Merrill Guided Investing Program Brochure (PDF) or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor Program Brochure (PDF) for information including the program fee, rebalancing, and the details of the investment advisory program. Your recommended investment strategy will be based solely on the information you provide to us for this specific investment goal and is separate from any other advisory program offered with us. If there are multiple owners on this account, the information you provide should reflect the views and circ*mstances of all owners on the account. If you are the fiduciary of this account for the benefit of the account owner or account holder (e.g., trustee for a trust or custodian for an UTMA), please keep in mind that these assets will be invested for the benefit of the account owner or account holder. Merrill Guided Investing is offered with and without an advisor. Merrill, Merrill Lynch, and/or Merrill Edge investment advisory programs are offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ("MLPF&S") and Managed Account Advisors LLC ("MAA") an affiliate of MLPF&S. MLPF&S and MAA are registered investment advisers. Investment adviser registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

The Chief Investment Office (CIO) develops the investment strategies for Merrill Guided Investing and Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor, including providing its recommendations of ETFs, mutual funds and related asset allocations. Managed Account Advisors LLC (MAA), Merrill's affiliate, is the overlay portfolio manager responsible for implementing the Merrill Guided Investing strategies for client accounts, including facilitating the purchase & sale of ETFs and mutual funds in client accounts and updating account asset allocations when the CIO's recommendations change while also implementing any applicable individual client or firm restriction(s).

You may also be able to obtain the same or similar services or types of investments through other programs and services, both investment advisory and brokerage, offered by Merrill; these may be available at lower or higher fees than charged by the Program. The services that you receive by investing through Merrill Guided Investing or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor will be different from the services you receive through other programs. You may also be able to obtain some or all of these types of services from other firms, and if they are available, the fees associated with them may be lower or higher than the fees we charge.

Footnote

Institutional Investor magazine announced BofA Global Research as one of the Top Global Research Firmspopup in 2023 based on surveys held throughout the year. The magazine creates rankings of the top research analysts in a wide variety of specializations, drawn from the choices of portfolio managers and other investment professionals at more than 1,000 firms. BofA Global Research is research produced by BofA Securities, Inc ("BofAS") and/or one or more of its affiliates. BofAS is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPCpopup, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. Learn more about the methodology at Institutional Investorpopup. Rankings and recognition from Institutional Investor are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsem*nt.

Footnote

Sustainable and Impact Investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating.

Footnote

Certain banking and brokerage accounts may be ineligible for real-time money movement, including but not limited to transfers to/from bank IRAs (CD, Money Market), 529s, Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking™, Credit Cards and transfers from IRAs, Loans (HELOC, LOC, Mortgage) and accounts held in the military bank. Accounts eligible for real-time transfers will be displayed online in the to/from drop down menu on the transfer screen.

Footnote

Preferred Rewards Program Eligibility. You can enroll, and maintain your membership, in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program if you have an active, eligible personal checking account with Bank of America® and maintain the balance required for one of the balance tiers. The balance tiers are $20,000 for the Gold tier, $50,000 for the Platinum tier, $100,000 for the Platinum Honors tier, $1,000,000 for the Diamond tier and $10,000,000 for the Diamond Honors tier. Balances include your combined, qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts (such as checking, savings, certificate of deposit) and/or your Merrill investment accounts (such as Cash Management Accounts, 529 Plans). You can satisfy the combined balance requirement for enrollment with either:

  1. a three-month combined average daily balance in your qualifying deposit and investment accounts, or
  2. a current combined balance, provided that you enroll at the time you open your first eligible personal checking account and satisfy the balance requirement at the end of at least one day within 30 days of opening that account.

Refer to your Personal Schedule of Fees for details on accounts that qualify towards the combined balance calculation and receive program benefits. Eligibility to enroll is generally available three or more business days after the end of the calendar month in which you satisfy the requirements. Benefits become effective within 30 days of your enrollment, or for new accounts within 30 days of account opening, unless we indicate otherwise. Bank of America Private Bank clients qualify to enroll in the Diamond Tier regardless of balance and may qualify for the Diamond Honors tier based on their qualifying Bank of America, Merrill and Private Bank balances. Certain benefits are also available without enrolling in Preferred Rewards if you satisfy balance and other requirements. For details on Bank of America employee qualification requirements, please call Employee Financial Services or refer to the Bank of America intranet site. Employees of companies participating in the Bank of America Employee Banking and Investing Program may be eligible to participate on customized terms. Refer to CEBI Program for details.

MAP6413264-08232025

Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.

Asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or investment strategy. Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory (including financial planning) and other services. Additional information is available in our Client Relationship Summary (PDF).

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as "MLPF&S" or "Merrill") makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation ("BofA Corp."). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member Securities Investor Protection (SIPC) popup and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation ("BofA Corp").

Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc. (MLLA) is a licensed insurance agency and wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A. and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.

Investment products offered through MLPF&S and insurance and annuity products offered through MLLA:

Are Not FDIC InsuredAre Not Bank GuaranteedMay Lose Value
Are Not DepositsAre Not Insured by Any Federal Government AgencyAre Not a Condition to Any Banking Service or Activity

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© 2024 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Why Start Investing with Merrill & Banking with Bank of America (2024)
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