Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

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TheDDC
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Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by TheDDC »

For all the Merrill Edge folks out there, have any of you transferred Vanguard mutual funds over? I realize that you can't buy them inside of a ME brokerage account without a fee, but would it be possible to continue to buy them through a Vanguard account and just keep transferring them over to ME? Does ME only allow free mutual fund transactions for a transfer in?

-TheDDC
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atdharris
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by atdharris »

You can transfer them over. I did. And you can buy them without a fee if you set up an automatic investment plan (you can set it up for only 1 investment if you only want to make 1 purchase). You can't buy them same day, but it would be faster than buying at VG and transferring them over.
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TheDDC
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by TheDDC »

atdharris wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:57 pm You can transfer them over. I did. And you can buy them without a fee if you set up an automatic investment plan (you can set it up for only 1 investment if you only want to make 1 purchase). You can't buy them same day, but it would be faster than buying at VG and transferring them over.
Wow, thanks for the tip. Did you move all assets over from Vanguard? Any regrets?

-TheDDC
Rules to wealth building: 75-80% VTSAX piled high and deep, 20-25% VTIAX, 0% given away to banks.
cowbman
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by cowbman »

You can also convert your funds at Vanguard to ETFs and move them to Merrill Edge where there should be no fees on ETFs.
Lastrun
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by Lastrun »

cowbman wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:32 am You can also convert your funds at Vanguard to ETFs and move them to Merrill Edge where there should be no fees on ETFs.
This is what I did, but:

1. I had, and only had, VXUS (Total International) in a ME account to get to the platinum level.
2. I also had Total International in my VG account.
3. I got tired of worrying about the $100K balance with the recent volatility, so I moved all of my total international allocation to ME.
4. I did not see any reason to have international in an ETF and a mutual fund in ME, so I converted and moved it all over.
5. I like mutual funds, but have no issues with ETFs.

YMMV.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by BrandonBogle »

What I’m annoyed about is I moved VG’s Intermediate Muni fund VWIAX over to Merrill and now I can’t buy more. I will see about using that automatic investment to overcome that limitation. Otherwise, I’ll have to figure something out. I only wanted to add another $10k, so I can’t just buy it at VG and then transfer it over.
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TheDDC
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by TheDDC »

BrandonBogle wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:22 pm What I’m annoyed about is I moved VG’s Intermediate Muni fund VWIAX over to Merrill and now I can’t buy more. I will see about using that automatic investment to overcome that limitation. Otherwise, I’ll have to figure something out. I only wanted to add another $10k, so I can’t just buy it at VG and then transfer it over.
This is a good point. Are any Vanguard MFs excluded from the AIP trick earlier? I also don’t see much documentation on ME’s website regarding this method of buying MFs for free. BTW VWIAX is Wellesley. Are you saying that can’t be bought at ME even through the AIP?

I do prefer MFs over ETFs and would not want to switch simply because the brokerage makes me do so. If I can get around having to switch to ETFs then I would go that route.

It seems like buying via the AIP trick is fine, but it seems like the process of exchanging 1 Vanguard MF directly to another may be problematic (in the case of a rebalance) at ME without the use of ETFs.

-TheDDC
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by BrandonBogle »

TheDDC wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:18 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:22 pm What I’m annoyed about is I moved VG’s Intermediate Muni fund VWIAX VWIUX over to Merrill and now I can’t buy more. I will see about using that automatic investment to overcome that limitation. Otherwise, I’ll have to figure something out. I only wanted to add another $10k, so I can’t just buy it at VG and then transfer it over.
This is a good point. Are any Vanguard MFs excluded from the AIP trick earlier? I also don’t see much documentation on ME’s website regarding this method of buying MFs for free. BTW VWIAX is Wellesley. Are you saying that can’t be bought at ME even through the AIP?

I do prefer MFs over ETFs and would not want to switch simply because the brokerage makes me do so. If I can get around having to switch to ETFs then I would go that route.

It seems like buying via the AIP trick is fine, but it seems like the process of exchanging 1 Vanguard MF directly to another may be problematic (in the case of a rebalance) at ME without the use of ETFs.

-TheDDC
Ugh. My bad. VWIUX is the Int. Muni Fund. When I try to buy more of the existing holding of it, I get:
Merrill Edge Trade Preview wrote: This fund is not eligible to be purchased in the account selected. Please select an eligible fund. (RES_FTSN0149)

For more information, call 877.653.4732.
Btw, AIP didn't work for this fund either. Same error message. I may end up buying the investor share version of the fund at Vanguard and after my 90 days for the bonus at Merrill, move the VWIUX holding to Vanguard and have them upgrade the investor shares to admiral. Too complicated!

Meanwhile, this fund was at WellsTrade before. Trying their platform, it says that this fund is not available for purchase online. Doesn't say it can't be, but I have to call in. Perhaps VG put a restriction on 3rd-party trading of this fund? It let me buy VWLUX, the VG Long Term Muni fund without issue today.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by whodidntante »

Y'all should embrace ETFs and you can avoid weird restrictions and 1930's fees.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by abuss368 »

I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
02nz
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by 02nz »

abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:59 pm I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
... which has exactly zero to do with the question about Merrill Edge, a self-directed, low-cost brokerage.
Nummerkins
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by Nummerkins »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:54 pm Y'all should embrace ETFs and you can avoid weird restrictions and 1930's fees.
I converted my Vanguard mutual funds to ETFs a few years ago and haven't looked back. My ETFs traveled to Merrill Edge to pick up a bonus. Next up was a pit stop at Chase for more bonus money and then on to their final home at Fidelity.

I do now own a Fidelity zero fund but if I want to move I'll just sell and get the equivalent Vanguard ETF. Easy peasy.
Last edited by Nummerkins on Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by rascott »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:54 pm Y'all should embrace ETFs and you can avoid weird restrictions and 1930's fees.
+1
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by BrandonBogle »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:54 pm Y'all should embrace ETFs and you can avoid weird restrictions and 1930's fees.
The only two mutual funds I hold are VG Int. and LT Muni Funds (plus my 401k’s). If they would provide those as an ETF class, I would buy them without hesitation.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by abuss368 »

02nz wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:11 pm
abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:59 pm I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
... which has exactly zero to do with the question about Merrill Edge, a self-directed, low-cost brokerage.
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02nz
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by 02nz »

abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:22 pm
02nz wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:11 pm
abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:59 pm I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
... which has exactly zero to do with the question about Merrill Edge, a self-directed, low-cost brokerage.
Merrill Lynch - don’t walk! Run!
I've been using Merrill Edge for about 2 years now. I have not received a single communication in any form to upsell me to Merrill Lynch's services. I have collected a couple of thousand dollars for holding the same Vanguard ETFs I would hold anywhere else, plus higher BoA credit card rewards.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by abuss368 »

02nz wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:25 pm
abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:22 pm
02nz wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:11 pm
abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:59 pm I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
... which has exactly zero to do with the question about Merrill Edge, a self-directed, low-cost brokerage.
Merrill Lynch - don’t walk! Run!
I've been using Merrill Edge for about 2 years now. I have not received a single communication in any form to upsell me to Merrill Lynch's services. I have collected a couple of thousand dollars for holding the same Vanguard ETFs I would hold anywhere else, plus higher BoA credit card rewards.
We were always being contacted to sell more!
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
000
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by 000 »

abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:59 pm I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
Did you reach out to your friend? Invite them to dinner?
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by 02nz »

abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:31 pm
02nz wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:25 pm
abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:22 pm
02nz wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:11 pm
abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:59 pm I recall our days years ago at “Mother Merrill”. We had an advantage. We had an “advisor” who was our “friend”. Only after questioning all the fees and complexity did we move to Vanguard.

Somehow we stopped hearing from our friend.
... which has exactly zero to do with the question about Merrill Edge, a self-directed, low-cost brokerage.
Merrill Lynch - don’t walk! Run!
I've been using Merrill Edge for about 2 years now. I have not received a single communication in any form to upsell me to Merrill Lynch's services. I have collected a couple of thousand dollars for holding the same Vanguard ETFs I would hold anywhere else, plus higher BoA credit card rewards.
We were always being contacted to sell more!
Yes, that's what they do at Merrill Lynch. Merrill Edge is different.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by abuss368 »

A lot of good information regarding Merrill Lynch is on the forum. I just ran a search that was helpful.
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02nz
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by 02nz »

abuss368 wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:37 pm A lot of good information regarding Merrill Lynch is on the forum. I just ran a search that was helpful.
Again, what does that have to do with the OP's question about Merrill Edge?
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by atdharris »

TheDDC wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:13 pm
atdharris wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:57 pm You can transfer them over. I did. And you can buy them without a fee if you set up an automatic investment plan (you can set it up for only 1 investment if you only want to make 1 purchase). You can't buy them same day, but it would be faster than buying at VG and transferring them over.
Wow, thanks for the tip. Did you move all assets over from Vanguard? Any regrets?

-TheDDC
I did. I wanted to qualify for Platinum Honors. I typically hold the mutual funds in my Roth so I can invest 100% of my cash (ME doesn't allow fractional shares). I make my one time contribution on January 1 so I have no issues setting up auto investment and avoiding the fee. BofA has the best rewards/perks of any bank I can find, and their platform is also better than Vanguard.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by BrandonBogle »

Well that's weird. For others who hold Vanguard ETFs at Merrill Edge, does your statement categorize them as Mutual Funds? I wasn't expecting the statement to list VTI (Vanguard Total Stock) and VXUS (Vanguard Total International) as mutual funds vs. equities. Not a problem, just unexpected.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by 000 »

BrandonBogle wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:18 pm Well that's weird. For others who hold Vanguard ETFs at Merrill Edge, does your statement categorize them as Mutual Funds? I wasn't expecting the statement to list VTI (Vanguard Total Stock) and VXUS (Vanguard Total International) as mutual funds vs. equities. Not a problem, just unexpected.
Technically ETFs are open-ended mutual funds.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by Flyer24 »

Topic moved to Personal Investments.
GaryA505
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by GaryA505 »

Reviving an old thread. Has anyone tried to transfer VWENX (Wellington Admiral) or VWIAX (Wellesley Admiral) from Vanguard to Merrill?
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by sycamore »

GaryA505 wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:38 am Reviving an old thread. Has anyone tried to transfer VWENX (Wellington Admiral) or VWIAX (Wellesley Admiral) from Vanguard to Merrill?
Not me.

As this thread suggests, some Admiral active funds (VWIUX) can be transferred but you can't buy more of it at Edge. Presumably you could sell some shares :)

I guess you're only concerned about transferring, not buying more?
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by jeffyscott »

sycamore wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 7:23 am...Admiral active funds (VWIUX) can be transferred but you can't buy more of it at Edge.
I think this is true for all managed admiral funds at all brokerages, other than Vanguard's. They can be transferred in, but you can't buy any more. For example at Schwab, admiral managed funds are for institutional clients only, but I was able to move our existing shares there.

I think the situation used to be the same for index fund admiral shares, but that changed when investor shares were (mostly) eliminated and admiral became, essentially, the only share class.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by GaryA505 »

sycamore wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 7:23 am
GaryA505 wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:38 am Reviving an old thread. Has anyone tried to transfer VWENX (Wellington Admiral) or VWIAX (Wellesley Admiral) from Vanguard to Merrill?
Not me.

As this thread suggests, some Admiral active funds (VWIUX) can be transferred but you can't buy more of it at Edge. Presumably you could sell some shares :)

I guess you're only concerned about transferring, not buying more?
I'm nearing retirement, so I would not expect to be buying more except in the case where I wanted to change fund allocations. I guess the same trick could be used (buy at Vanguard and transfer to Merrill).
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by jeffyscott »

^ Even if you don't plan to buy more, the added problem with Merrill is that, unlike Schwab and Fidelity, they charge to sell. Not really a big deal if any selling would be infrequent and a large quantity, but if there is a chance that you'd someday want to make many small sell transactions, you'd be paying $20 each time.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by GaryA505 »

jeffyscott wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:39 am ^ Even if you don't plan to buy more, the added problem with Merrill is that, unlike Schwab and Fidelity, they charge to sell. Not really a big deal if any selling would be infrequent and a large quantity, but if there is a chance that you'd someday want to make many small sell transactions, you'd be paying $20 each time.
Yes I considered that. If taking withdrawals monthly (in retirement) that would be 12 x $20 = $240/year in fees. Not the end of the world, but it's still money thrown away.

I called them to ask if withdrawals for automatic RMDs would be charged the $20 fee. The guy wasn't sure but said he thought it would probably be charged.
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by littlewintered »

jeffyscott wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:39 am ^ Even if you don't plan to buy more, the added problem with Merrill is that, unlike Schwab and Fidelity, they charge to sell. Not really a big deal if any selling would be infrequent and a large quantity, but if there is a chance that you'd someday want to make many small sell transactions, you'd be paying $20 each time.
Would a reasonable workaround be to transfer the fund holdings from Merrill back to Vanguard (or some other custodian that don't charge the fee) and withdraw from there for no fee?
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by sycamore »

littlewintered wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2023 2:03 pm
jeffyscott wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:39 am ^ Even if you don't plan to buy more, the added problem with Merrill is that, unlike Schwab and Fidelity, they charge to sell. Not really a big deal if any selling would be infrequent and a large quantity, but if there is a chance that you'd someday want to make many small sell transactions, you'd be paying $20 each time.
Would a reasonable workaround be to transfer the fund holdings from Merrill back to Vanguard (or some other custodian that don't charge the fee) and withdraw from there for no fee?
There's a $49.95 full account transfer fee.
https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing

But the Partial account transfer fee is apparently $0. So if you transfer back to Vanguard make sure to leave some assets at ME.
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Re: Merrill Edge and Moving Mutual Funds

Post by GaryA505 »

jeffyscott wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:39 am ^ Even if you don't plan to buy more, the added problem with Merrill is that, unlike Schwab and Fidelity, they charge to sell. Not really a big deal if any selling would be infrequent and a large quantity, but if there is a chance that you'd someday want to make many small sell transactions, you'd be paying $20 each time.
I might like to consolidate at one place in retirement and I'd like to do monthly withdrawals. That's $240/year.
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
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