I've had pretty good luck with these folks. If you use a broker, they are only as good as the people you work with so maybe I've been lucky. Good reporting. Decent research. Solid long-term financial advice from my advisor. OK returns.

Merrill Lynch charges fees for everything imaginable. There are fee’s for IRA’s, fee’s for cash management accounts, even fee’s for the postage for sending you your trade confirmation. These are like hidden taxes and make it more difficult for a small investor to profit. All this stuff is free with the online brokers.

Merrill Lynch is the one-top shop, but it is expensive. They have on-line trading, but it is better to an online brokerage house.