Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing: Which Is Better in 2026?
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Empower and Merrill Guided Investing are often compared, but they are built for different jobs. Empower is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) (aggregates accounts and analyses them), best for free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. Merrill Guided Investing is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) (automates a research-driven model portfolio), best for bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. Neither is universally better: pick Empower if you want free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision, Merrill Guided Investing if you want bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app.
Both Empower and Merrill Guided Investing get grouped under “AI investing tools,” which is why people compare them, but they sit in different categories and answer to different needs. Below is a balanced, 2026 look at what each one does, whether it reads the brokerage you already use, how each is priced, and who each fits, so you can tell which job you are actually hiring a tool for. Where relevant, we note where Walnut sits in its own category: chat-driven management of your own broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing at a glance
| Empower | Merrill Guided Investing | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) | Hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) |
| What the AI does | Aggregates accounts and analyses them | Automates a research-driven model portfolio |
| Connects your broker | Yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts) | No (holds your money at Merrill) |
| Read vs trade | Only in accounts it manages | Automated |
| Cost | Free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current) | Percentage of assets, higher with an advisor (verify current) |
| Best for | Free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision | Bank of America customers who want managed portfolios in the same app |
| One limitation | The free tools are a lead source for a high-fee managed service, and the sales contact is persistent. | Priced above the cheapest automated services, and the portfolios lean on Merrill's own research and funds. |
Figures and features are point-in-time and change; treat the table as a starting map, not a live quote.
What is Empower?
Free account aggregation and portfolio analysis tools, alongside a percentage-fee wealth management service for larger balances.
How it works: You link accounts from across providers and Empower shows net worth, allocation, and a fee analyser that surfaces expense ratios you may not have noticed. That tier is free. Separately, Empower runs a managed wealth service with human advisors at a percentage of assets, with minimums, and the free tools are the funnel into it.
In practice, Empower’s AI aggregates accounts and analyses them. It falls under hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors), which makes it best suited to free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. On connecting an account it is “Yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts)”, and on execution it is “Only in accounts it manages”. It is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current).
One honest limitation: The free tools are a lead source for a high-fee managed service, and the sales contact is persistent.
What is Merrill Guided Investing?
Merrill's automated investing service, built on Bank of America research, with an optional tier that adds an advisor.
How it works: A questionnaire sets a goal and risk level, and Merrill invests in model portfolios built by its investment office, rebalancing automatically. A higher-priced tier adds access to a financial advisor. Preferred Rewards status at Bank of America can reduce the fee, which is the main reason existing customers choose it.
In practice, Merrill Guided Investing’s AI automates a research-driven model portfolio. It falls under hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors), which makes it best suited to bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. On connecting an account it is “No (holds your money at Merrill)”, and on execution it is “Automated”. It is priced as percentage of assets, higher with an advisor (verify current).
One honest limitation: Priced above the cheapest automated services, and the portfolios lean on Merrill's own research and funds.
Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing: how they actually differ
The core difference is category. Empower focuses on free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision (aggregates accounts and analyses them), and Merrill Guided Investing on bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app (automates a research-driven model portfolio). On broker connection they differ too: Empower is “Yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts)” versus Merrill Guided Investing at “No (holds your money at Merrill)”. That shapes everything downstream: how personal the answers are, where trades settle, and how much control you keep over individual positions.
Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing: strengths and trade-offs
Every tool gives something up for what it does well. Here is the honest give-and-take on each, so you can weigh the specific strengths against the limitations that come with them rather than judging on the headline category alone.
Empower
Where it is strong
- Genuinely useful free aggregation across accounts no single provider sees
- The fee analyser routinely surfaces fund costs people did not know they were paying
- Managed tier includes access to human advisors rather than software alone
What to watch out for
- Expect sales contact after linking accounts. The free product exists to source clients for the managed one
- The managed service is priced at the higher end of the market for what is largely ETF portfolio management
Merrill Guided Investing
Where it is strong
- Integrated with Bank of America, including reward tiers that cut the fee
- Portfolios come from a large in-house research operation rather than a pure algorithm
- An advisor tier is available without moving firms
What to watch out for
- More expensive than the cheapest automated services unless rewards tiers apply
- Portfolios lean on Merrill's own funds and research, which is a narrower opinion than an open comparison
The key divider: does it read your real holdings?
For AI investing tools, the distinction that matters most is whether the tool works from your actual, connected positions or reasons from something else: a separate account it manages for you, or the tickers and numbers you feed it. It decides how personal the answers can be, and where your money physically lives.
- Empower: manages a separate account it holds. Empower does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Empower.
- Merrill Guided Investing: manages a separate account it holds. Merrill Guided Investing does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Merrill Guided Investing.
On this specific question the two land on the same side, so the deciding factors between them are elsewhere: category, cost, and who each is built for. This holdings-aware angle is the one Walnut is built around: it connects the brokerage you already use and reasons from your live positions, read-only by default, with any trades left for you to approve.
Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing: which should you choose?
There is no universal winner here; the right pick depends on the job you are hiring the tool for. Match the category to your intent rather than chasing a single “best.”
- Choose Empower if you want free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. Its AI aggregates accounts and analyses them, it is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current), and it fits hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors). It is built for someone who wants a free, honest view of accounts spread across providers and is comfortable declining the follow-up call. Keep in mind that the free tools are a lead source for a high-fee managed service, and the sales contact is persistent.
- Choose Merrill Guided Investing if you want bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. Its AI automates a research-driven model portfolio, it is priced as percentage of assets, higher with an advisor (verify current), and it fits hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors). It is built for an existing Bank of America customer whose rewards tier makes the pricing competitive and who values everything in one app. Keep in mind that priced above the cheapest automated services, and the portfolios lean on merrill's own research and funds.
Because both sit in the same category, the choice comes down to the finer details above rather than a fundamental difference in approach.
Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing: pricing and cost model
Cost is easy to misread when two tools charge in different shapes, so compare the model, not just the number. Empower is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current), while Merrill Guided Investing is priced as percentage of assets, higher with an advisor (verify current). A percentage-of-assets fee scales with your balance, a flat subscription does not, and a “free” tier usually earns elsewhere (on cash, order flow, or premium upgrades), so the cheapest headline is not always the cheapest outcome for your situation.
Pricing and tiers change often. Confirm the current numbers on each provider’s own site before you decide; the framing above is point-in-time.
Where Walnut fits
If neither quite fits, Walnut sits in a third category: chat-driven management of your own brokerage. It connects the brokerage you already use through SnapTrade, lets you analyze and manage it by talking through Claude or ChatGPT, build thematic portfolios around a thesis, and place trades you approve. Read-only by default. See Walnut vs Empower and Walnut vs Merrill Guided Investing. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Try Walnut on top of your broker
Walnut is the AI that knows your portfolio: ask anything in plain English, research any fund, and get an honest second opinion. On the broker you already use, read-only, and you approve every trade. Walnut is not a registered investment adviser.
FAQ
Is Empower or Merrill Guided Investing better?
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Neither is universally better, because they are built for different jobs. Empower is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) and suits free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. Merrill Guided Investing is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) and suits bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. Pick the one whose job matches what you actually want to do.
What is the difference between Empower and Merrill Guided Investing?
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Empower is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors): aggregates accounts and analyses them. Merrill Guided Investing is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors): automates a research-driven model portfolio. They solve different jobs, so the better choice depends on whether you want free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision or bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app.
Is Empower or Merrill Guided Investing better for beginners?
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Empower is generally the more beginner-friendly of the two (free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision). The other is better once you know what you want from it. Neither replaces understanding what you own.
Does Empower connect to my brokerage?
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Empower: yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts) (manages a separate account it holds). Merrill Guided Investing: no (holds your money at merrill) (manages a separate account it holds). If keeping your current broker matters, that distinction is often the deciding factor.
Does Empower see my real holdings?
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Empower does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Empower. By contrast, Merrill Guided Investing manages a separate account it holds: Merrill Guided Investing does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Merrill Guided Investing.
Empower vs Merrill Guided Investing: which is cheaper?
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Empower is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current); Merrill Guided Investing is percentage of assets, higher with an advisor (verify current). The models are not always comparable (a percentage of assets is different from a flat subscription), so weigh cost against the job each does. Pricing and tiers change, so verify the current numbers on each provider's site before deciding.
Can I use Empower and Merrill Guided Investing together?
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Often yes, because they do different things. Many investors use one for free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision and the other for bank of america customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. Just watch for overlapping subscription costs and remember that trades ultimately settle in whatever account actually holds your money.
Who is Empower best for, and who is Merrill Guided Investing best for?
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Empower best fits someone who wants a free, honest view of accounts spread across providers and is comfortable declining the follow-up call. Merrill Guided Investing best fits an existing Bank of America customer whose rewards tier makes the pricing competitive and who values everything in one app. If you see yourself in one description more than the other, that is usually the clearer signal than any single feature or price.
What are the main trade-offs between Empower and Merrill Guided Investing?
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Empower's main thing to watch is that expect sales contact after linking accounts. the free product exists to source clients for the managed one. Merrill Guided Investing's is that more expensive than the cheapest automated services unless rewards tiers apply. Neither is a dealbreaker on its own; the right call is whichever trade-off you can most live with given what you actually want the tool to do.
Where does Walnut fit between Empower and Merrill Guided Investing?
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Walnut is a third option in a different category: chat-driven management of the brokerage you already use. It connects your real account, lets you analyze and manage it by talking through Claude or ChatGPT, build thematic portfolios, and place trades you approve. Your login stays with your broker and the connection is read-only by default. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Related comparisons
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Competitor features and pricing are point-in-time and change; verify the current details on each provider's site before deciding. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any particular product or security.