Pros
• Customizable portfolio options, including a socially responsible strategy
• Human oversight on all portfolio offerings
• Additional perks for Bank of America and current Merrill customers
Cons
• Management fee is on the higher end
• Platform isn't as intuitive as some digital-first providers
• Doesn't offer tax-loss harvesting
Many automated IRA accounts charge what’s known as an advisory or account management fee to manage your portfolio for you. This is commonly expressed as a percentage of your assets and is paid out each year. A Merrill Guided IRA will charge a 0.45% annual account management fee (e.g. $45 for a $10,000 account).
A Merrill Guided automated IRA recommends a portfolio asset allocation based on results from a short onboarding questionnaire. The questionnaire attempts to deduce your risk tolerance and retirement goals, before recommending a specific portfolio that best fits your financial goals. These portfolios are well diversified, and clients can request restrictions on specific ETFs or mutual funds. Merrill also offers a socially responsible retirement portfolio option for those who prioritize sustainability in their retirement goals.
One difference between a Merrill Guided automated IRA and other robo-advisor providers is that Merrill investment professionals manage the retirement portfolio for you. Other robo-advisors typically offer more hands-off portfolio management investment strategies.
Start your 401(k) rollover to a Merrill Guided IRA in minutes.
Compared to other digital-first providers like Betterment and SoFi, Merrill’s platform isn’t as intuitive to navigate. As mentioned, a Merrill Guided IRA also comes with a fee, while a few other providers don’t charge a fee for similar services. Finally, a Merrill Guided Investing IRA doesn’t offer tax-loss harvesting.
A Merrill Guided Investing automated IRA requires a $1,000 account minimum to invest in a growth-focused strategy. Comparatively, this is on the lower end of account minimums for an automated IRA account. However, Merrill requires a higher minimum of $50,000 for income-focused strategies.
While it’s not uncommon for providers to require a minimum balance for automated IRA account types, a few providers like M1 Finance, SoFi, and Betterment have a $0 account minimum requirement.
The Merrill Edge Guided Investing customer service team is available by phone at 877-444-0916. You can also schedule an in-person meeting at a physical branch for support from a Merrill investment professional to discuss retirement planning, wealth management, and even estate planning. However, Merrill Edge has lower-than-average customer service ratings on third-party sites like TrustPilot and the Better Business Bureau. You’ll also need to pay a higher fee for access to a human advisor for investment advice.
Phone Number: 877-444-0916
Phone Hours: Phone support 24/7
Fax: 866.994.7807
Email Address: Contact through the website
Support Center: https://www.merrilledge.com/help-support
Merrill Guided offers several different types of retirement accounts, and which retirement savings plan will work best for you depends on your specific financial situation, particular investment objectives, income level, tax bracket, and more. For the purposes of this review, we’ll focus on their IRA-specific brokerage services.
A traditional IRA is a retirement savings plan funded with pre-tax money. That means your funds will grow tax-deferred and eventually be subject to regular income tax once you withdraw them (and their gains) in retirement time. Traditional IRAs are subject to annual contribution maximums, but you can contribute to one no matter how much money you earn, so long as you or your spouse earn taxable dollars. Traditional IRAs are a good choice for those who plan to be in a lower income bracket during their retirement.
A Roth IRA retirement savings plan works in exactly the opposite way as a traditional IRA: You pay taxes on the money you contribute today, which means it’s not tax-deductible, but you can look forward to tax-free withdrawals come retirement time. However, Roth IRAs are subject to some additional restrictions, including a five-year holding period and income eligibility limits. In 2024, if you earn $161,000 as a single tax filer or $240,000 for those married filing jointly, you are ineligible to contribute directly to a Roth. However, there are (legal) ways around this, namely the backdoor Roth, which can help you take advantage of this kind of tax-incentivized retirement plan. A professional financial advisor can help you learn more.
SEP IRAs are designed for self-employed people and small business owners and can maximize the amount of money you and your employees can contribute to your retirement accounts. Merrill Edge offers a SEP IRA for those with an eligible business structure.
Merrill Guided offers a SIMPLE IRA, which stands for Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees. These IRA account types are retirement savings plans typically offered by small businesses or available to self-employed individuals. Employers may choose to make matching contributions to the employee’s account.
A Rollover IRA is designed to catch the funds from an old retirement account, be it an employer-sponsored type like a 401(k) or another IRA. 401(k) rollovers are one of the more common retirement savings strategies, and allow you to move savings from your old employer-sponsored 401(k) into an individual retirement account, usually with more investment options and lower fees. However, the tax structure of the rollover IRA must match the tax structure of the preceding account type.
Beginner and hands-off investors might appreciate the simple, customizable portfolios offered by a Merrill Guided Investing automated IRA, especially if they currently have an account with Merrill or Bank of America. However, an account will come with higher management fees and account minimums than some other providers who offer a similar service.
If you’re looking to fund your Merrill Guided 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) rollover in just a few minutes.
