BofA's (BAC) Merrill Lynch Set To Launch Online Brokerage
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Bank of America Corp.'s (NYSE: BAC) Merrill Lynch is set to venture into the online brokerage business, which could be more about protecting the assets of its clients than growing them.
Merrill Edge will go live on Monday, and will operate as a discount brokerage service competing against several similar services from Charles Schwab Corp.(NYSE: SCHW), E-Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFCD) (NASDAQ: ETFC) and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD).
These types of discount investment services are popular with younger investors that are not in a position to need a full-service adviser.
Bank of America’s existing online brokerage will transfer its clients, giving Merrill Edge roughly half-a-million customers at the start.
The service will offer clients in-house research from Merrill, with the added bonus of being able to use fake money to build trading strategies. Merrill edge will aim its focus at investors with less than $250,000 in the market.
"The younger generation wants to try it on their own first, and see how they do. If they start a relationship with Merrill at that early period, then we're going to maintain that, and they eventually will become full-service clients of ours,” Dean Athanasia, head of banking and the direct investment division for Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management said.
Customers will pay up to $8.95 per trade with the new service, depending on the size of their accounts.
Shares of Charles Schwab, Ameritrade and E-Trade were all down in regular market movement Thursday following the news.
Merrill Edge will go live on Monday, and will operate as a discount brokerage service competing against several similar services from Charles Schwab Corp.(NYSE: SCHW), E-Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFCD) (NASDAQ: ETFC) and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD).
These types of discount investment services are popular with younger investors that are not in a position to need a full-service adviser.
Bank of America’s existing online brokerage will transfer its clients, giving Merrill Edge roughly half-a-million customers at the start.
The service will offer clients in-house research from Merrill, with the added bonus of being able to use fake money to build trading strategies. Merrill edge will aim its focus at investors with less than $250,000 in the market.
"The younger generation wants to try it on their own first, and see how they do. If they start a relationship with Merrill at that early period, then we're going to maintain that, and they eventually will become full-service clients of ours,” Dean Athanasia, head of banking and the direct investment division for Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management said.
Customers will pay up to $8.95 per trade with the new service, depending on the size of their accounts.
Shares of Charles Schwab, Ameritrade and E-Trade were all down in regular market movement Thursday following the news.
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