Bank of America has launched its new Merrill Edge mass-affluent platform, that operates more like a managed account than a self-directed account. Investors with as little as $5,000 can use the service to obtain portfolios that are based on 10 portfolios comprising ETFs from several fund families like Vanguard. As of October, Merrill Edge had more than $145 billion in client assets.

Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services, which has $47 billion in client assets, has a $50K minimum account size; Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has a $5K minimum, and has accumulated over $12 billion in assets.

The new Merrill Edge service gives investors “access to strategies that are built and managed by the Global Wealth & Investment Management Chief Investment Office, not by algorithms,” and that are based on client investment preferences, priorities and time horizons.

The human side of Guided Investing is that Merrill Edge clients have access to about 2,000 advisors working in Bank of America financial centers and bank branches. One-on-one meetings are also available. 

“Another advantage of the Guided Investing portfolios is that our Chief Investment Office can react to market events and convey messages that may calm nerves and share a ‘stay the course’ message — or make a change in the portfolios, as needed,” an executive explained.