Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

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denovo
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Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by denovo »

Merrill has the following fee schedule listed on its site.

https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing
Full account transfer fee ($49.95)

Partial account transfer fee ($0.00)

Close-out Fee ($0.00) [Non-Retirement Accounts]
I have a taxable account with Merrill Edge. If I transfer out only the securities and not the cash from Merrill to a new broker [partial account transfer] and then close the account by transferring the cash to my checking account instead of a different broker would that mean I would not be charged any fees?
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student
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by student »

I suggest that you ask the brokerage who you transfer the money to to reimburse you on the fee.
Topic Author
denovo
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by denovo »

student wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:46 pm I suggest that you ask the brokerage who you transfer the money to to reimburse you on the fee.
They are already throwing a big bonus at me for transfering, I don't think they will be that generous.
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cookymonster
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by cookymonster »

You'd be surprised. I've never failed to get a transfer fee reimbursed, even on top of a bonus.
Mr. Digweed
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by Mr. Digweed »

WHY are you closing your Merrill Edge account?

I have had Merrill Edge (a CMA account) since their start. Can't think of what drawbacks there might be prompting me to close my brokerage account with them.

I'm fairly satisfied with them; though I hardly ever trade (once every six months, if that). Merrill Lynch has provided services which I have found helpful (especially for end of year tax accounting).
Topic Author
denovo
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by denovo »

Bonus.
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denovo
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by denovo »

Bumping for visibility.
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ThriftyPhD
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by ThriftyPhD »

Can you leave 50 cents in the account?
gostars
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by gostars »

Agree with keeping a token amount in the account and leaving it open. Then, after you've met the minimum time to keep your bonus elsewhere, wait for Merrill Edge to offer an above-normal bonus for bringing the money back, call them up and ask them to apply the bonus to your account and transfer everything back without having to go through the effort of filling out the application.
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

My old Edge brokerage account has $.01 in it.
tymishu
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by tymishu »

Earl Lemongrab wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:39 pm My old Edge brokerage account has $.01 in it.
IB (Interactive Brokers) charges me $70 (or $75 I forgot exactly) for transferring my positions from Etrade to IB on a trade margin account. Considering the miniscule interest rate IB charges as compared to Etrade, it is peanut.
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by jcar »

I'm considering leaving Vanguard for Merrill Edge. They've offered some nice incentives and I was told yesterday Vanguard is moving away from the Flagship personal advisors. I'M considering leaving some money at vanguard. Does this present any problem for anyone who has ever done this. Has anyone had problems with Merrill? Also any idea if Vanguard charges for an in kind transfer of a partial account. Thanks
student
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by student »

jcar wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:22 pm I'm considering leaving Vanguard for Merrill Edge. They've offered some nice incentives and I was told yesterday Vanguard is moving away from the Flagship personal advisors. I'M considering leaving some money at vanguard. Does this present any problem for anyone who has ever done this. Has anyone had problems with Merrill? Also any idea if Vanguard charges for an in kind transfer of a partial account. Thanks
Vanguard does not charge transfer out fee.
aristotelian
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by aristotelian »

I think the original proposal should work. I am doing the same thing with my Roth at TD Ameritrade, I have just been too lazy to make the withdrawal.
MikeG62
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by MikeG62 »

denovo wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:20 pm Merrill has the following fee schedule listed on its site.

https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing
Full account transfer fee ($49.95)

Partial account transfer fee ($0.00)

Close-out Fee ($0.00) [Non-Retirement Accounts]
I have a taxable account with Merrill Edge. If I transfer out only the securities and not the cash from Merrill to a new broker [partial account transfer] and then close the account by transferring the cash to my checking account instead of a different broker would that mean I would not be charged any fees?
OP, what did you end up doing with your Merrill Edge account?

Reason I ask is that I have bonuses posting in both my Merrill Edge IRA and CMA account's this week. I plan to maintain the IRA account at Merrill Edge (well $100K balance anyway for the platinum honors benefit at BofA), but don't need to maintain the CMA. Was thinking of either transferring it back to Fidelity (where it was originally) or possibly moving it elsewhere (maybe Schwab) for another transfer bonus. Trying to avoid fees.

Looks like I can do that as long as I don't do a "full account" transfer. So was thinking of transferring 100% of the ETF I have sitting in the CMA and leaving behind a little bit of cash from the bonus (say $10). It also seems, since there is no close-out fee on a CMA, I could subsequently transfer the remaining cash to my BofA account (once the securities are moved out) and close out the CMA (if I wanted to do that). Maybe it is worth keeping the CMA open for a future transfer bonus opportunity?

Wondering what you ended up doing?
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Topic Author
denovo
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by denovo »

MikeG62 wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 3:55 pm
denovo wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:20 pm Merrill has the following fee schedule listed on its site.

https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing
Full account transfer fee ($49.95)

Partial account transfer fee ($0.00)

Close-out Fee ($0.00) [Non-Retirement Accounts]
I have a taxable account with Merrill Edge. If I transfer out only the securities and not the cash from Merrill to a new broker [partial account transfer] and then close the account by transferring the cash to my checking account instead of a different broker would that mean I would not be charged any fees?
OP, what did you end up doing with your Merrill Edge account?

Reason I ask is that I have bonuses posting in both my Merrill Edge IRA and CMA account's this week. I plan to maintain the IRA account at Merrill Edge (well $100K balance anyway for the platinum honors benefit at BofA), but don't need to maintain the CMA. Was thinking of either transferring it back to Fidelity (where it was originally) or possibly moving it elsewhere (maybe Schwab) for another transfer bonus. Trying to avoid fees.

Looks like I can do that as long as I don't do a "full account" transfer. So was thinking of transferring 100% of the ETF I have sitting in the CMA and leaving behind a little bit of cash from the bonus (say $10). It also seems, since there is no close-out fee on a CMA, I could subsequently transfer the remaining cash to my BofA account (once the securities are moved out) and close out the CMA (if I wanted to do that). Maybe it is worth keeping the CMA open for a future transfer bonus opportunity?

Wondering what you ended up doing?
Went to TD, no fee charged
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aristotelian
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by aristotelian »

I did this going from TD to Merrill and it worked.
kiwi123
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by kiwi123 »

Always got the transfer fee covered by Fidelity/Merrill when i've transferred between them (multiple times).
MikeG62
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by MikeG62 »

denovo wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 8:11 pm
MikeG62 wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 3:55 pm
denovo wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:20 pm Merrill has the following fee schedule listed on its site.

https://www.merrilledge.com/pricing
Full account transfer fee ($49.95)

Partial account transfer fee ($0.00)

Close-out Fee ($0.00) [Non-Retirement Accounts]
I have a taxable account with Merrill Edge. If I transfer out only the securities and not the cash from Merrill to a new broker [partial account transfer] and then close the account by transferring the cash to my checking account instead of a different broker would that mean I would not be charged any fees?
OP, what did you end up doing with your Merrill Edge account?

Reason I ask is that I have bonuses posting in both my Merrill Edge IRA and CMA account's this week. I plan to maintain the IRA account at Merrill Edge (well $100K balance anyway for the platinum honors benefit at BofA), but don't need to maintain the CMA. Was thinking of either transferring it back to Fidelity (where it was originally) or possibly moving it elsewhere (maybe Schwab) for another transfer bonus. Trying to avoid fees.

Looks like I can do that as long as I don't do a "full account" transfer. So was thinking of transferring 100% of the ETF I have sitting in the CMA and leaving behind a little bit of cash from the bonus (say $10). It also seems, since there is no close-out fee on a CMA, I could subsequently transfer the remaining cash to my BofA account (once the securities are moved out) and close out the CMA (if I wanted to do that). Maybe it is worth keeping the CMA open for a future transfer bonus opportunity?

Wondering what you ended up doing?
Went to TD, no fee charged
How did you move the positions (pull from TD or push from Merrill Edge)? And did you transfer everything from the account leaving the balance at zero or did you leave a few dollars behind? Not prying, but trying to make sure I understand how you handled the transfer to avoid the fees.

Interestingly, I tried yesterday to link more external accounts to my Merrill Edge account and there was no option to add an account at any financial institution other than BofA or Merrill Edge themselves. Seems they want to make it difficult for you to move money out of Merrill Edge. Should not be an issue as I can perform the transfer(s) as pulls from the FI on the other side of the transaction.
aristotelian wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:59 pm I did this going from TD to Merrill and it worked.
By it worked, I assume you mean there were no fees assessed? I pulled into Merrill Edge for the funding from Fidelity (initiated on the Merrill Edge website). Fidelity assessed no fee and neither did Merrill Edge, but the receiving banks don't usually assess fees for inbound ACAT's (AFAIK).
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aristotelian
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by aristotelian »

MikeG62 wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:18 am
aristotelian wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:59 pm I did this going from TD to Merrill and it worked.
By it worked, I assume you mean there were no fees assessed? I pulled into Merrill Edge for the funding from Fidelity (initiated on the Merrill Edge website). Fidelity assessed no fee and neither did Merrill Edge, but the receiving banks don't usually assess fees for inbound ACAT's (AFAIK).
Exactly. No fees on either side and never out of market. TD has the same fee structure ($50 for full account transfer/$0 for partial) so I figured I could avoid the fee by transferring a small amount of cash myself.
MikeG62
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by MikeG62 »

aristotelian wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:27 am
MikeG62 wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:18 am
aristotelian wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:59 pm I did this going from TD to Merrill and it worked.
By it worked, I assume you mean there were no fees assessed? I pulled into Merrill Edge for the funding from Fidelity (initiated on the Merrill Edge website). Fidelity assessed no fee and neither did Merrill Edge, but the receiving banks don't usually assess fees for inbound ACAT's (AFAIK).
Exactly. No fees on either side and never out of market. TD has the same fee structure ($50 for full account transfer/$0 for partial) so I figured I could avoid the fee by transferring a small amount of cash myself.
Ok, so you initiated a pull from the Merrill Edge side (transfer in kind for the securities held in your TD account). You then subsequently transferred the remaining cash out of your TD account and closed it - no fees assessed by TD in doing this? Is that correct? And what year was this done? TD is on the list for potential transfer bonus opportunity. Although I don't like the requirement to keep the account funded for 12 months after the bonus posts.
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aristotelian
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Re: Avoiding Brokerage Transfer Fee [Merrill Edge]

Post by aristotelian »

MikeG62 wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:43 am
aristotelian wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:27 am
MikeG62 wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:18 am
aristotelian wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:59 pm I did this going from TD to Merrill and it worked.
By it worked, I assume you mean there were no fees assessed? I pulled into Merrill Edge for the funding from Fidelity (initiated on the Merrill Edge website). Fidelity assessed no fee and neither did Merrill Edge, but the receiving banks don't usually assess fees for inbound ACAT's (AFAIK).
Exactly. No fees on either side and never out of market. TD has the same fee structure ($50 for full account transfer/$0 for partial) so I figured I could avoid the fee by transferring a small amount of cash myself.
Ok, so you initiated a pull from the Merrill Edge side (transfer in kind for the securities held in your TD account). You then subsequently transferred the remaining cash out of your TD account and closed it - no fees assessed by TD in doing this? Is that correct? And what year was this done? TD is on the list for potential transfer bonus opportunity. Although I don't like the requirement to keep the account funded for 12 months after the bonus posts.
Correct. I did it end of 2019. The one complication was this was a Roth IRA so the cash generated a 1099R which I had to manually roll over and make sure Merrill coded it correctly. It all worked out though. I don't mind a decent holding period if they are going to pay me for my business.
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