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Merrill Edge vs Ally Invest 2019

StockBrokers.com | December 4th, 2019

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  3. Merrill Edge vs Ally Invest Review

Is Ally Invest better than Merrill Edge? Based on over 4,000 data points from our 2019 annual broker review, Merrill Edge (77.93%) is better than Ally Invest (62.44%).

Merrill Edge

Best Rewards Program - Open Account
Special Offer: Invest in a new account and get up to $600.

Merrill Edge ($2.95 per trade) was awarded #1 for Banking Services and #1 Overall Client Experience, thanks to its parent company, Bank of America (BofA). Not limited to just BofA customers, Merrill Edge's Preferred Rewards program is excellent, offering unlimited $0 stock trades among other perks such as bonus rewards on credit cards and discounted mortgage rates.Read full review.

Ally Invest

Best for IRA Accounts Overall
Among the bank and brokerage combinations, Ally shines and competes with the best in the industry. Ally’s high-yield savings account is easy to use and offers competitive annual yields above 2%. Also, Ally does not nickel and dime its customers; it embraces no-fee banking. Read full review.

Overall Rating

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Overall 4 3
Merrill Edge Review Ally Invest Review

Trading Fees

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Minimum Deposit $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trade Fee (per trade) $0.00 $0.00
ETF Trade Fee $0.00 $0.00
Options Base Fee $0.00 $0.00
Options Per Contract Fee $0.65 $0.50
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $19.95 $9.95
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $29.95 $20.00
Commissions & Fees 4 3.5
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Merrill Edge
Open Account 		Ally Invest
Under $24,999.99 10.13% 9.50%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 9.00% 9.25%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 9.00% 8.50%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 7.63% 7.25%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 7.63% 6.25%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 7.38% 5.75%
Above $1,000,000.00 6.75% 5.00%
Commissions & Fees 4 3.5
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $49.95 $50.00
Returned ACH Fee $30.00 $30.00
Returned Wire Fee N/A $30.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee $500.00 $300.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee N/A $300.00
Paper Statement Fee $5.00 $2.00
Paper Confirmation Fee $3.00 $1.00
Domestic Wire Fee $24.95 $30.00
International Wire Fee $24.95 N/A
Commissions & Fees 4 3.5

Investment Options

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 2 4
Futures Trading
 No No
Forex Trading
 No Yes
Commission-Free ETFs 0 all
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 2471 11234
Mutual Funds (Total)
 3709 18728
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Advisor Services
 Yes Yes
International Trading
 No No
Offering of Investments 3 4
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Order Type - Market
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Contingent
 No Yes
Order Type - MultiContingent
 No No
Order Type - OCO
 No Yes
Order Type - OTO
 No Yes
Order Type - OTOCO
 No No
Offering of Investments 3 4
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes No
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes No
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Trade Journal
 No No
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 285 21
Heat Mapping
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 4 2.5
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes No
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 100 117
Charting - Drawing Tools
 22 36
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes No
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis
 Yes Yes
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 8 5
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 4 2.5
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes Yes
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields
 Yes No
Streaming Time & Sales
 Yes No
Streaming TV
 No No
Direct Market Routing - Stocks
 No No
Direct Market Routing - Options
 No No
Ladder Trading
 No No
Trade Hot Keys
 Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks
 Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Options
 Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting
 Yes Yes
Short Locator
 No No
Order Liquidity Rebates
 No No
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 Yes No
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes No
Trading - Conditional Orders
 No No
Trading - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Trading - Simple Options
 Yes Yes
Trading - Complex Options
 Yes Yes
Trading - Option Rolling
 No No
Touch / Face ID
 Yes Yes
Winner check_circle

Mobile App Features

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Watch List Syncing
Yes Yes
Stock Alerts
 Yes No
Charting - After Hours
 Yes No
Charting - Drawing
 Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes No
Heatmapping
 Yes No
Stream Live TV
 No No
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Research - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Research - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB
 Yes Yes
Research - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Screener - Stocks
 Yes No
Screener - ETFs
 Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Screener - Options
 Yes No
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes No
Research 4.5 2
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Stock Research - Reports
 3 2
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Social
 No No
Stock Research - Balance Sheet
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Cash Flows
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - News
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG
 Yes No
Research 4.5 2
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 Yes No
ETFs - Reports
 Yes Yes
Research 4.5 2
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 Yes Yes
Research 4.5 2
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 69 8
Option Chains - Greeks
5 1
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 No No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes No
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4 2.5
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes No
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Retirement
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Videos
 Yes No
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 0 15
Webinars (Archived)
 No No
Live Seminars
 Yes No
Progress Tracking
 Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes No
Investor Magazine
 Yes No
Education 4.5 3.5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Retail Locations
 4300 0
Member FDIC
 Yes Yes
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 Yes Yes
Credit Cards
 Yes Yes
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 Yes Yes
No Fee Banking
 No Yes
Banking 5 4
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Merrill Edge Ally Invest
Merrill Edge Review Ally Invest Review
Overall 4 3
Winner check_circle

The StockBrokers.com annual broker review assesses more than a dozen different brokers over six months, surfacing the best online stock brokers. This review compares Ally Invest vs Merrill Edge. Is Ally Invest or Merrill Edge a better online broker?

First, we will make a comparison of the stock and option trading fees for trading with both brokers. Merrill Edge charges more than Ally Invest for placing regular stock trades ($2.95 and $0, respectively). For options trading, Merrill Edge has a base fee of $2.95, and Ally Invest a base fee of $0. Each option contract then costs $0.65 at Merrill Edge and $0.50 at Ally Invest. Note that some brokers charge a per-share fee instead of a flat-fee commission. For a full breakdown of commissions, read our online broker reviews.

For our next comparison of these two brokers, being able to trade the way you want is a must. Merrill Edge provides its clients with Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds while Ally Invest provides clients access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Forex Trading. When it comes to mutual funds, Ally Invest boasts an offering of 14000 mutual funds compared to Merrill Edge's 3709 available funds.

Last but not least, by breaking down important features, tools, etc that each broker offers, we can really help to separate the two. Neither Ally Invest and Merrill Edge offer virtual trading. For mobile trading, Ally Invest along with Merrill Edge both support the iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Furthermore, some investors like to bank online, and multiple brokerages provide these services to clients. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are found at Ally Invest alongside Merrill Edge.

Overall, between Ally Invest and Merrill Edge, Merrill Edge is the winner.

Ally Invest Review
Merrill Edge Review

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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 02/18/2019 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. For stock trade rates, advertised pricing is for a standard order size of 500 shares of stock priced at $30 per share. For options orders, an options regulatory fee per contract may apply.

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