There won’t be talking babies, but Bank of America and Merrill Lynch are ready to play the online brokerage game.
Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA, owner of Merrill Lynch, on Monday officially launched Merrill Edge, an online retail brokerage designed to compete with the likes of E*Trade and its famous talking baby TV commercials. Merrill Edge will offer BofA customers the ability to make equity trades online with little or no fees, while tapping into the expertise of Merrill Lynch’s wealth management business.
BofA called the new offering a “cornerstone” of the company’s strategy as it tries to cross-sell more of its wealth management and banking products.
"We believe Bank of America and Merrill Lynch offer the best combination of value and capabilities in financial services with the ability to serve the full range of customer needs,” Joe Price, president of Consumer and Small Business Banking at BofA, said in a statement.
Merrill Edge integrates three existing offerings, Banc of America Investment Services, Merrill Lynch Direct and Merrill Lynch Financial Advisory Center, into one product that ties into BofA’s online banking platform. Customers will be able to manage their checking, savings and investments accounts online or via mobile devices.
Merrill Edge is designed to let customers invest on their own with access to online resources or to receive guidance from Merrill Lynch brokers and advisers.
BofA says Merrill Edge will target “mass affluent” customers, a term used to describe upper middle-class investors with between $50,000 and $250,000 in investment assets. Wealthier clients will continue to be served by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and U.S. Trust’s private banking business, BofA says.
“With the launch of Merrill Edge, we have the ability to offer financial advice and solutions to investors at all stages of their financial lives,” said Sallie Krawcheck, president of Global Wealth and Investment Management at BofA.
BofA says it has identified the mass affluent as one of its fastest-growing customer segments. Those individuals are likely to be investing for retirement, children’s education and health care costs, the bank says in a survey. Many of them want access to resources, but also want to self-direct their investing.
“This group wants to feel more in control and have told us that they want to call the shots, but at times need a sounding board,” Dean Athanasia, Mass Affluent executive at BofA says in a statement. “Merrill Edge Advisory Center clients can seek financial advice when and where they need it, and they’ll have the security of knowing they can see and access their banking and investing accounts in one place, online, anytime, any way they want.”
The Merrill Edge offering is fully integrated with BofA’s online banking, ATM network and mobile banking services. And it follows the bank’s recent philosophy shift in rewarding customers that have the deepest relationships with lower fees. Customers with at least $25,000 in certain BofA accounts can make trades with Merrill Edge without paying a fee.
Learn more about Merrill Edge here.
Click here to read BofA’s Merrill Edge Report, a research report on the mass affluent.
BofA is the second-largest bank in New Mexico with more than 14 percent of market share, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Read more: Bank of America’s Moynihan: 2010 “a necessary repair and rebuilding year" | New Mexico Business Weekly
Adam O'Daniel of the Charlotte Business Journal, an affiliated publication, compiled this report.
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