Merrill Edge IRA vs Alto IRA

Merrill Lynch: best if you want

With more than $1.6 trillion in assets under management, Bank of America is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States—and if you already have a bank account with them, having a Merrill Edge self-directed IRA account can simplify your life while also offering top-of-the-line integrated research and charting tools. Bank of America has teamed up with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management to offer different investment options to its customers that are integrated across the BoA platform, and $0 account minimums, $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs, and $0 annual program fee, Merrill Edge is a solid choice for those looking for a place to manage their retirement accounts, whether you’re an existing Bank of America customer or not. However, the platform does not allow investment in some increasingly popular investment asset classes like futures, foreign exchange (forex), or cryptocurrency.

AltoIRA: best if you want

Alto offers one of the most affordable ways to diversify your tax-advantaged retirement assets (like a Roth IRA account) into alternative investments, including crypto through the Alto Crypto IRA. In addition to more than 200 coins through CryptoIRA, you can also benefit from the Alto IRA which enables investments in alternatives ranging from private equity to venture capital and securities in fine art.

For those hoping to bring the strength and diversity of alternative investment classes to their retirement accounts while managing a risk tolerance, Alto offers an inventive, easy-to-use, low-cost way to do so. With over $1.4 billion in assets under management at the time of this writing and multiple well-known integrated alternative partners that are accessible right through the Alto platform, the Alto team has made a worthy name for itself in the market by creating a way for everyday investors to buy into these asset classes, which are often reserved for the wealthy. Alto members can invest their retirement funds in the platform’s available alternatives for costs as low as $37.50 per quarter.

Merrill Lynch: other features

Since it’s integrated with the larger Bank of America Corporation, Merrill Edge truly shines when it comes to added features. Along with the investment options listed above, Merrill Edge customers can open CDs on the platform, explore fixed-income products like annuities, open checking, and savings accounts through Bank of America, and take out loans, including auto loans and mortgages.

AltoIRA: other features

Along with its array of retirement accounts that provide access to alternative asset classes, Alto also provides services for financial advisors looking to help their clients diversify their portfolios.

Conclusion

A Merrill Edge self-directed IRA gives investors the tools they need to make informed decisions on basic investment options, with a well-appointed and easy-to-use platform with plenty of integrated tools. However, for those who aren’t yet Bank of America customers, discounts for upper-tier financial advisory services may remain inaccessible, and for those looking for forward-facing investment choices like cryptocurrency and futures, Merrill Edge may not cut it.

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Alto’s Alternative IRA offers a streamlined, online way for people to invest some of their retirement assets in private, alternative asset classes at low monthly account fees. This is especially powerful for those seeking to add diversification to their automated accounts (robo-advisor portfolios) or self-directed IRAs at a large brokerage – which is normally invested in stocks and ETFs. It’s also a way for people to invest in private opportunities that they source themselves – all from the comfort of their computers. Alto’s transparent and reasonable account fees make this an excellent option for those looking to broaden the range of investments in their retirement portfolios, even if they’re beginners.