Merrill Edge was recognized in Barron’s 2019 Best Online Brokers review, receiving four out of five stars for the sixth consecutive year and ranking fifth overall, up a spot from sixth in 2018.
This ranking follows the 2019 annual review by StockBrokers.com, which ranked Merrill Edge No. 1 for “Overall Client Experience” and highlighted Merrill Edge’s “award-winning customer service.” Merrill Edge received 4.5 out of 5 stars for “Customer Service” five years in a row and received a “Best-in-Class” award for the sixth year in a row. The review, published in early February, gave Merrill Edge 4.5 out of 5 stars for “Education,” “Ease of Use,” “Research,” and “Mobile Trading.”
“We continue to invest heavily in our digital investing platform and are pleased that both Barron’s and StockBrokers.com have recognized our commitment to building these capabilities,” said Aron Levine, head of Consumer Banking and Investments, Bank of America. “We will continue to innovate to provide clients the best tools, services and benefits in the industry.”
In Barron’s, Merrill Edge was recognized as “easiest to use” among competitors and garnered accolades for its highly customizable mobile apps. It topped the categories of “Best for Mobile Traders” (4.5 stars) and was No. 1 for “Occasional Traders”* (4.5 stars). Its “story” features – stock story, fund story, and portfolio story – were highlighted for providing easy-to-follow, detailed information on stocks, funds, and portfolios.
“Merrill Edge does a wonderful job of explaining the basics, not only of trading, but of the companies and funds. Both its mobile and desktop platforms are clean and easy to maneuver,” noted the rankings.
Additionally, Merrill Edge was recognized for offering zero-dollar online stock and ETF trades, which it does through the Preferred Rewards program, a comprehensive loyalty program based on a client’s full relationship with Bank of America. Bank of America announced in January that it will expand the zero-dollar trading benefit to all Preferred Rewards program members. More than 5.25 million clients are already enrolled in the program, with combined client banking and investment assets over $425 billion. Because of their enrollment in Preferred Rewards, 76 percent of all online stock and ETF trades placed by Merrill Edge clients are commission-free.
Merrill Edge is a streamlined investment service that provides access to the investment insights of Merrill and the convenience of Bank of America banking. With Merrill Edge, clients can view their Merrill investment and Bank of America bank accounts on one page online. They also have access to easy-to-use tools, actionable insights, step-by-step guidance and competitive pricing for online trades.
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial centers, including approximately 1,800 lending centers, 2,200 Merrill Edge investment centers and 1,500 business centers; approximately 16,300 ATMs; and award-winning digital banking with more than 36 million active users, including over 26 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Merrill Edge was one of 14 brokers evaluated in the Barron’s 2019 Best Online Broker Survey, February 22, 2019. Barron’s evaluated firms in the trading platform, usability, mobile, research, education, news, information, international offerings and retirement/divided-related services to rate the firms. Merrill Edge earned an overall score of 28 out of a possible 50. All costs assume customer has a minimum of $100,000 in assets with broker. Occasional Trader: six stock and two options trades per month. Assumes customer qualifies for 100 $0 stock trades per month through Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors. If not, occasional fee is $70.60 per month. Barron’s is a trademark of Dow Jones & Co., L.P. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of Barron’s. Rankings and recognition from Barron’s 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 endorsement.
Merrill Edge was evaluated as one of 16 online brokers in StockBrokers.com 2019 Online Broker Review published on February 20, 2019. StockBrokers.com evaluated brokers using 284 variables across nine categories. The “Best in Class” rating recognizes brokers that ranked in the top five in that category. Learn more at https://www.stockbrokers.com/annual-broker-review. Rankings and recognition from StockBrokers.com 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 endorsement.
Susan Atran, Bank of America
Phone: 1.646.743.0791
susan.atran@bofa.com
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