Merrill Edge IRA vs SoFi Active 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.

SoFi: best if you want

A SoFi Active Invest IRA is best for retirement savers who want an easy-to-use, low-cost platform that offers optional extras (like fractional shares and margin trading) that can help them go the extra mile once they get their feet wet.

The SoFi Invest platform offers a beginner-friendly interface for those just getting started on their journey, but it packs enough punch for more experienced investors to find what they’re looking for.

SoFi offers traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs and regular investment accounts, which offer not only stock trading but also access to ETFs, mutual funds, alternative funds, fractional shares, options and margin trading.

Crypto is also available, but not directly on the SoFi platform; the firm has partnered with partners like BitGo and Blockchain.com.

With its low costs, wide range of investment options, and free live advisory service, it’s a worthy match for plenty of investors. However, the SoFi platform doesn’t offer tax-loss harvesting, and uninvested cash sees no interest growth. Still, these are relatively minor drawbacks if you want to use SoFi as a one-stop shop for your financial needs.

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.

SoFi: other features

Over time, SoFi has become something of a one-stop shop with its wide range of financial products ranging from student loans to mortgages to personal loans to a cash management account. These days, SoFi even offers a credit card as well as insurance products. The SoFi cash management savings account offers yields north of 4% APY, which is substantially higher than the national average, and members can access all of their accounts and products through the company’s easy-to-use mobile app or web interface.

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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For those looking for low costs, SoFi’s IRA offers a wealth of opportunity. If you’re looking to fund your new SoFi IRA with a 401(k) rollover, Capitalize can help. We’ve made it our mission to make this process easier for everyone. We can handle the entire process for you. Most of the process can be done online and our rollover experts will guide you through any of the manual parts. Get started with your 401(k) to IRA rollover in just a few minutes.