Overview of Merrill Edge fees and charges
When trading or investing at an online broker, fees can have a big impact on your results, so it's good to know what kind of charges you'll be facing and how these compare to fees at other brokers.
If fees are your top concern, Merrill Edge is a good choice, as it has low fees in general. Check our toplist for cheaper brokers.
I've personally tested dozens of global brokers, carefully looking at their fees not just on their website but also in the course of live trading. Here's how Merrill Edge fared:
- Merrill Edge charges low fees for trading stocks and ETFs.
- There is no inactivity fee even if you leave your account idle for a long time.
- The basic withdrawal fee is $0, but some transactions may cost more.
- Read our full review of Merrill Edge for info on safety, trading platforms and funding.
Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
---|---|---|
US stock fee | Low | Commission-free stock and ETF trading |
EURUSD fee | - | FX not available |
US tech fund fee | High | $19.95 per transaction, but there are also more than 800 funds that are free to trade |
Inactivity fee | Low | No inactivity fee |
Merrill Edge charges zero commission for stocks, ETFs and bonds. Fees for mutual funds are high, but options fees are competitive compared to its competitors. For all product types, it costs $30 to initiate a representative-assisted online trade.
Commission-free stock and ETF trading
US stock
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
---|
Confused about fees? Use this tool to see what the commission fee of a specific stock trade would be at Merrill Edge. To check and compare fees at other brokers, go to our main Fee calculator page.
Before doing so, check out our Privacy Policy and our General Terms and Conditions.
High margin rates
USD margin rate
|
11.0%
|
12.8%
|
13.0%
|
---|
Low options commission
The broker charges $0.65 per contract. Sales of options are subject to an additional transaction fee of between $0.01 and $0.03 per $1,000 of principal.
US stock index options
|
$6.5
|
$6.5
|
$10.0
|
---|
No inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee
There is no inactivity fee and no account opening fee. There are also no deposit or withdrawal fees.
Broker | Inactivity fee | Withdrawal fee |
---|---|---|
Merrill Edge | $0 | |
Fidelity | $0 | |
Vanguard | $0 |
Other commissions and fees
You can find Merrill Edge's fees for other asset classes below. Click 'Show more' for details.
High mutual fund commission
Low bond commission
Interest on uninvested cash
Merrill Edge pays 4.2% interest on uninvested USD for accounts above $100k.
This is how it works: your uninvested cash is placed by Merrill into a deposit account with Bank of America, called a Preferred Deposit. The money is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), up to applicable limits.
You can access your Preferred Deposit balance — through your financial advisor — to quickly and easily redirect these assets for your personal needs or to take advantage of other opportunities.
Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.
Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.