Honest comparison
PeakWorth vs Merrill Guided Investing
Merrill's robo is built into the Bank of America stack. PeakWorth is the planning layer above it.
The short version
Merrill Guided Investing is 0.45%/yr online ($1,000 minimum) or 0.85%/yr with an advisor ($20,000 minimum). Bank of America Preferred Rewards can shave 0.05–0.15% off the fee. It manages money inside the Merrill/BofA ecosystem. It does not plan. PeakWorth is the planning layer above it.
Merrill Guided Investing is best for
Bank of America Preferred Rewards customers who want investing, banking, and credit cards under one roof — and are willing to pay 0.45%–0.85%/yr for managed portfolios in that ecosystem.
Online: 0.45%/yr advisory fee, $1,000 minimum. With advisor: 0.85%/yr advisory fee, $20,000 minimum. Preferred Rewards discounts: Gold 0.05% / Platinum 0.10% / Platinum Honors+ 0.15% off the program fee.
PeakWorth is best for
Households who want a household-wide plan, FI age, and Decision Hub — not just a managed account inside the BofA/Merrill stack.
14-day free trial. Then $9.99/mo Navigator.
Feature by featureHow they compare
| Feature | PeakWorth | Merrill Guided Investing |
|---|---|---|
Advisory fee (Online) | $9.99/mo | 0.45%/yr |
Advisory fee (with advisor) | $9.99/mo | 0.85%/yr |
Account minimum | None | $1,000 online · $20,000 with advisor |
Preferred Rewards discount | n/a — flat fee | Up to 0.15% off |
Automated rebalancing | ||
Tax-loss harvesting | Available on taxable accounts | |
Advisor access included | AI advisor on your numbers (Peak plan) | With-advisor tier (0.85%, $20k min) |
Holds and trades your assets | No — planning only | |
Multi-decade net worth projection | ||
FI age — when work becomes optional | Retirement-readiness check | |
Decision Hub (buy/rent, kids, job change) | Built-in | |
Tax-aware projections Household-wide, marginal bracket, withdrawal order | Within Merrill accounts only | |
Account aggregation (full picture) | Merrill/BofA assets | |
Built for dual-income households | ||
Cost on $250k portfolio (Online) | $119.88/yr | $1,125/yr |
Cost on $1M portfolio (Online) | $119.88/yr | $4,500/yr |
Cost on $1M portfolio (with advisor) | $119.88/yr | $8,500/yr |
The real reasonsWhy people switch
- 0.45%/yr online is nearly double Betterment or Wealthfront, and 0.85%/yr with an advisor approaches a traditional 1% AUM fee.
- Preferred Rewards trims the fee 0.05–0.15% — useful, but the planning gap is the same either way.
- Merrill Guided Investing plans against Merrill-held assets. PeakWorth plans the full household across every institution.
- On $1M, Merrill with-advisor is $8,500/yr forever. PeakWorth is $119.88/yr at any portfolio size.
Context
Merrill Guided Investing is the in-house robo for the Bank of America / Merrill ecosystem. Online is 0.45%/yr with a $1,000 minimum; the with-advisor tier is 0.85%/yr with a $20,000 minimum. Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program reduces the fee by 0.05% (Gold), 0.10% (Platinum), or 0.15% (Platinum Honors and above) for qualifying combined balances.
The product is well-integrated for households that already keep checking, credit cards, and a mortgage at Bank of America — a single login, one statement, one tax package. The trade-off is fee level and the same single-institution planning view that every brokerage robo carries.
Most PeakWorth users keep Merrill (or Merrill Guided Investing) for the management and custody piece and use PeakWorth as the planning layer above. For the category-level discussion, see /vs/robo-advisor.
See your real FI age in 5 minutes
Free 14-day trial. No credit card needed. Connect your accounts or model by hand.
Run it through PeakWorthFrequently asked
Is Merrill Guided Investing worth 0.45%/yr?
It's roughly double the 0.25% charged by Betterment and Wealthfront for a comparable managed-portfolio service. The case for it is BofA ecosystem integration plus the Preferred Rewards fee discount. If you don't bank at BofA, the value-for-fee is harder to justify.
How much does Preferred Rewards actually save me?
Up to 0.15%/yr off the program fee at the Platinum Honors tier and above (which requires a 3-month combined balance of $100k+ across BofA / Merrill). On $250k that's about $375/yr in fee savings — meaningful, but the planning layer is still missing either way.
Should I pay for the with-advisor tier (0.85%)?
0.85%/yr with a $20k minimum buys an advisor on top of the managed account. On $250k that's $2,125/yr; on $1M it's $8,500/yr. PeakWorth Navigator is $9.99/mo flat ($119.88/yr) and runs the full Decision Hub; the AI advisor is part of the Peak plan ($19.99/mo). Many households keep Merrill for management and PeakWorth for planning instead.
Does PeakWorth replace Merrill Guided Investing?
No — PeakWorth doesn't hold your money or place trades. The clean stack is Merrill (or Merrill Guided Investing) for management and PeakWorth for the multi-decade plan, decision modeling, and AI advisor. See /vs/robo-advisor for the broader picture.
PeakWorth provides educational projections, not financial advice. We are not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, tax preparer, or attorney. Consult a licensed professional before making major financial decisions. Read full disclosures