Bank of America today announced its Consumer Investments business has grown to more than $500 billion in client assets, a more than 10-fold increase since the business started a decade ago. This includes nearly 4 million client accounts with Merrill Edge Self-Directed and Merrill Guided Investing, built on Merrill’s industry-leading technology and investment offerings.

“The launch of Merrill Edge over a decade ago solidified our competitive advantage enabling us to fully meet the banking, lending and investing needs of all 69 million consumer and small business clients,” said Aron Levine, President of Preferred Banking. “Together with Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, we’re using the power of Bank of America to help clients build wealth and manage their entire financial lives.”

Consumer Investments clients have increasingly opted for managed account options based on their unique investment needs, reinforcing the high-tech, high-touch approach clients receive through the Merrill Edge platform and from more than 3,000 financial solutions advisors.

Financial solutions advisors are available across the bank’s network of more than 3,700 financial centers. The bank recently announced plans to expand it financial center network and completion of a multi-year renovation initiative to modernize its centers to create more spaces for nearly 10 million client appointments per year with financial specialists.

“Our high-tech, high-touch approach sets us apart and the number of Consumer Investments accounts has continued to increase every year as clients enjoy our advanced digital platform,” said Matt Gellene, Head of Consumer Investments and Employee Banking & Investments. “They also appreciate access to our financial specialists, with more than 80% of new accounts being opened after meeting with one of our Financial Solutions Advisors.”

Currently, 33% of all Consumer Investments accounts are held by Gen Z and Millennial clients, and these young adults represent over half (52%) of all Merrill Guided Investing accounts.

A recent report from Bank of America Institute found nearly three-in-five (58%) Gen Z and Millennials are teaching themselves how to invest. Other sources of investing knowledge include their parents (41%), financial professionals (28%), and learning in school (26%).

Industry-leading investment solutions

When launched in 2010, Merrill Edge Self-Directed gave Bank of America clients access to Merrill's personalized guidance and exclusive tools. Since its launch, Merrill Edge Self-Directed has filled a gap in the marketplace, helping clients confidently put their investing ideas into action by offering personalized guidance, insights and tools such as:

• Dynamic Insights, an AI-driven experience that sorts through the large quantity of data that is available to investors to create a personalized dashboard of timely, relevant market information and personalized portfolio insights based on each client’s unique investing style and preferences.
• Idea Builder, an AI-driven innovation that helps clients find, validate, and monitor their investing ideas. Whether clients are new to investing or more experienced, Idea Builder helps investors make more informed and confident investing decisions.

In 2017, Bank of America clients gained access to Merrill Guided Investing, a goals-based advisory program and one of the first online platforms to provide convenient digital access to investment strategies that are developed and managed by experts, rather than algorithms. Merrill has steadily invested in the platform, including rolling out Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor in 2019, which combines the digital platform with guidance from a financial solutions advisor.