Investing in stocks can intimidate newcomers. They must make sense of industry jargon and understand technical analysis. That's where the best online brokers can help. Or in this case, give them an edge.
Merrill's online broker platform, Merrill Edge Self-Directed, aims to demystify the investing process. Its online offerings also include Guided Investing, where investment professionals help clients build, monitor and rebalance their portfolios.
Merrill Edge's offerings in the categories of investment research and portfolio analysis and reports are among the reasons it ranked highly in IBD's 12th annual Best Online Brokers survey. Merrill also was lauded in the categories of wealth management, trade ideas and trade ideas in a down market.
Merrill Edge is joined atop the Best Online Brokers list for 2024 by Ally Invest, part of Ally Financial, as well as Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab. Merrill is a part of Bank of America.
See Our Full Special Report On IBD's 2024 List Of The Best Online Brokers
Merrill Wants To Make It Personal
With an emphasis on ease of use and simplicity, Merrill's online brokerage seeks to appeal to users on a personal level. The platform features investor-friendly interactive tools to educate users in an engaging, conversational manner.
"For the past five or six years, we took a step back and said, 'We'll do a human-centered design,'" said Pat Higgins, a director of the Merrill Edge digital experience.
As a result, customers have a range of digital tools to learn about investing, decide how to invest, execute their trades and track their account in a seamless manner.
Merrill Edge Has Stories To Tell
Higgins and his team tie investor education and research to storytelling. Rather than overwhelm clients with technical charts and lingo that they may struggle to decipher, Merrill opts to tell stories in plain English.
Merrill Edge clients can access Portfolio Story, Stock Story and Fund Story. These features enable investors to make more informed decisions by delivering relevant information in an easy-to-digest, narrative form.
With Portfolio Story, clients gain portfolio-monitoring data, education and insights in simple nuggets. They can analyze their account in a streamlined manner — free from irrelevant or extraneous fluff.
Stock Story enables investors to assess the basics of stock research along with insights into what might affect a company's bottom line and performance.
Fund Story helps them evaluate mutual funds and ETFs by providing a comprehensive overview of a fund's holdings. It also cites fund ratings from third-party research firms so investors can better assess a fund's risk level.
Making Dry Research Come Alive
By framing research as a story, Merrill aims to make the core information come alive for investors. They're more apt to make sound decisions as they draw well-informed conclusions from clearly presented facts.
"People love stories," Higgins said. "They are better able to consume information that way: What's the story of my stock or portfolio?"
Like any good storyteller, Merrill Edge hopes to create a dialogue with its audience. Captivating stories trigger questions and comments.
"We're not just presenting data to you," Higgins said. "We're speaking to you," thanks to automated prompts that spur users to gather information, analyze stocks and assess whether a given strategy fits into their larger portfolio strategy.
The idea is that investors will be more likely to drill down, learn more and make better judgments about their money.
"A lot of people don't know what questions they should ask when researching their investments," Higgins said. "So we tee up questions and then fill the knowledge gap with an answer."
At Merrill Edge, Pick An Investment Topic And Learn More
As part of its effort to deliver "human-centered design," Merrill Edge offers Idea Builder to introduce clients to various investment themes. Customers can delve into topics that intrigue them and identify potential investment ideas within that theme.
"It's the way people search for things," Higgins said. "They're interested in something like AI or the future of 'smart cities.' Then they can find investments within those themes" as starting points for their research.
For Higgins, an overarching goal of the Merrill Edge online brokerage platform is to help clients save time and streamline their search for relevant information and what he calls "actionable insights."
In the fall of 2023, Merrill Edge unveiled Options Strategy Assistant, a digital tool that introduces newcomers to options trading. It uses visual aids and what-if scenarios to convey key points with simplicity.
"Our goal is to help novice investors understand options and the risks involved," Higgins said. A bullet list summarizes need-to-know pointers which makes it easier to grasp new concepts.
