Have you ever felt like you're navigating the stock market with a compass and a crumpled map, while others are using a sophisticated GPS with real-time traffic updates? If you're an active trader or aspire to be one, Merrill Edge MarketPro is that advanced GPS system, designed to give you a significant edge. It's a powerful, customizable platform that brings real-time data, advanced analytics, and seamless trading capabilities right to your fingertips.
This guide will walk you through every essential step of using Merrill Edge MarketPro, from getting started to leveraging its most advanced features. Let's unlock its full potential together!
Understanding Merrill Edge MarketPro
Before we dive into the "how-to," let's briefly understand what Merrill Edge MarketPro is. It's an active trading platform offered by Merrill Edge (part of Bank of America) that provides:
Streaming Real-Time Data: Get instant updates on quotes, news, and market movements.
Customizable Workspaces: Tailor your trading environment to suit your unique preferences and strategies.
Advanced Charting Tools: Analyze securities with a wide array of technical indicators and drawing tools.
Integrated Account Information: Seamlessly manage your portfolio and view balances within the platform.
Robust Trading Functionality: Execute trades efficiently with various order types and quick access.
Award-Winning Research: Access Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research and other third-party insights.
It's important to note that while Merrill Edge accounts generally have no minimums, access to MarketPro may require a certain activity level or account balance, though it's typically offered at no additional cost to self-directed clients.
Step 1: Getting Started - Launching and Logging In
Ready to jump in? The first step is to access the platform.
System Requirements Check: Before you even try to launch, ensure your computer meets the necessary requirements. Generally, this includes:
Operating System: Windows 10 or macOS 10.13 or later.
RAM: 4GB (8GB recommended for smoother performance).
Internet Connection: A high-speed connection is crucial for streaming real-time data.
Browser: Ensure you're using an up-to-date browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for Windows, or Safari for Mac.
Accessing MarketPro: There are a few ways to launch MarketPro:
From MerrillEdge.com: Log in to your Merrill Edge account on the main website. You'll typically find a "Trade" or "MarketPro" link in the navigation menu that will initiate the download or launch.
Direct Download: In some cases, you might download a dedicated MarketPro application directly.
First-Time Launch & Welcome Guide: When you launch MarketPro for the very first time, you'll likely be greeted by a welcome guide. Don't skip this! It provides quick answers to common initial setup questions, such as setting up watchlists, charts, and themes. This is your initial tour guide.
Logging In: Use your existing Merrill Edge credentials (User ID and Password) to log into the platform.
Step 2: Understanding and Customizing Your Workspace
Merrill Edge MarketPro is all about personalization. Think of your workspace as your trading command center, and you get to design it exactly how you want.
Sub-heading: Navigating the Default Layout
When you first open MarketPro, you'll see a default workspace with pre-set pages and windows. These are the fundamental building blocks.
Pages (Tabs): The platform is structured with tabs at the top, representing different "pages" or layouts. By default, you might see pages for "Market Overview," "Trading," "Portfolio," etc. You can have up to 25 unique pages within a workspace.
Windows (Widgets): Each page contains multiple "windows" or "widgets," such as a Watchlist, a Chart, a News Feed, a Detailed Quote, or a Trade Ticket. These windows display specific information or functionality.
Saving Workspaces: MarketPro often prompts you to save your workspace when you exit, but it's a good habit to manually save your customized layouts regularly. This ensures your preferred setup is always there when you return.
Sub-heading: Creating and Modifying Your Own Layouts
Now for the fun part – making it truly yours.
Adding a New Page: Click the "+" (plus) sign next to your existing tabs to create a new, blank page. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Options Strategy" or "Daily Scan").
Adding Windows:
Look for a list of available widgets or tools. You can often drag and drop them directly into an empty window pane.
Alternatively, you can click on a widget to launch it as a floating window, which is incredibly useful if you have multiple monitors.
Resizing and Arranging Windows: Simply click and drag the borders of any window to resize it. You can also drag and drop windows to rearrange them within a page.
Linking Windows (Color Coding): This is a powerful feature! Notice the link icon (often a chain link or a colored square) in the upper right-hand corner of most windows.
Click this icon and select a color (e.g., red).
Then, link other windows to the same color.
Now, when you type a ticker symbol into one linked window (e.g., a Detailed Quote), all other windows linked with the same color (like a Chart or a News Feed) will automatically update to that symbol. This saves a tremendous amount of time and keeps your analysis focused.
Right-Click for Customization: A pro tip: If you're looking to customize anything in MarketPro, start by right-clicking within the workspace or on a specific window. This often brings up context-sensitive menus with various customization options, from changing display properties to setting defaults.
Step 3: Leveraging Key Features for Analysis and Research
Merrill Edge MarketPro is packed with tools to help you make informed trading decisions.
Sub-heading: Watchlists - Your Personal Market Monitor
Creating a Watchlist:
Add a Watchlist window to your workspace.
You can manually type in symbols.
Or, select from pre-saved watchlists, online watchlists (synced with merrilledge.com and the mobile app), position lists, or server symbol lists (like major indices).
Customizing Columns: Right-click on your watchlist to choose which data columns you want to display. This could include real-time price, volume, percentage change, P/E ratio, dividend yield, and more.
Sorting and Grouping: Sort your watchlist by any column in ascending or descending order. You can also group securities by product type, sector, or industry.
Sub-heading: Charts - Visualizing Market Action
Adding a Chart: Place a Chart window in your layout and link it to your watchlist or a detailed quote.
Chart Types: Explore various chart types like candlestick, bar, line, and more. Candlestick charts are particularly popular for active traders as they provide a clear visual of open, high, low, and close prices.
Timeframes: Easily switch between different timeframes (e.g., 1-minute, 5-minute, daily, weekly) to get various perspectives on price action.
Adding Studies/Indicators: MarketPro offers a wide range of technical indicators (e.g., Moving Averages, RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands). Select "Studies" or "Indicators" from the chart's menu and apply them to identify trends, momentum, and potential entry/exit points.
Drawing Tools: Utilize drawing tools like trendlines, support/resistance lines, Fibonacci retracements, and more to mark up your charts and analyze patterns.
Flags and Events: Add "flags" to your chart to mark significant fundamental or technical events, such as dividend dates or earnings announcements.
Sub-heading: News and Research - Staying Informed
News Feed: Integrate a streaming news feed into your workspace. Link it to your charts and watchlists so that relevant news articles automatically appear for the symbols you're tracking.
Research Integration: Access proprietary Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research reports and other third-party research directly within the platform. This often includes analyst ratings, price objectives, and earnings estimates.
Sub-heading: Detailed Quotes & Level II Data - Deeper Insights
Detailed Quotes: A detailed quote window provides comprehensive information on a single security, including bid/ask prices, volume, daily high/low, 52-week range, and more.
Level II Quotes (Market Depth): For more advanced traders, Level II data (especially for NASDAQ securities) shows the full order book – the best bid and ask prices from various market participants. This can help you gauge market depth and potential support/resistance levels.
Time and Sales: This window displays a real-time log of every trade for a given security, showing trade size and price. It's excellent for confirming price action and identifying large institutional orders.
Step 4: Placing Trades with Confidence
Merrill Edge MarketPro makes trade execution efficient and offers various order types.
Sub-heading: The Trade Ticket
Accessing the Trade Ticket: The Trade Ticket is your primary tool for placing orders. It's often located at the bottom of the screen or can be launched as a floating window. You can typically only have one trade window open at a time.
Equity Trade Ticket: For stocks and ETFs, the equity trade ticket allows you to enter:
Symbol: The ticker of the security you want to trade.
Action: Buy or Sell.
Quantity: Number of shares.
Order Type:
Market Order: Executes immediately at the best available price (fastest, but price not guaranteed).
Limit Order: Executes at a specified price or better (you control the price, but execution isn't guaranteed).
Stop Order: Becomes a market order once a trigger price is hit.
Stop-Limit Order: Becomes a limit order once a trigger price is hit.
And other advanced types like Trailing Stop, OCO (One-Cancels-Other), If-Then, Bracket Orders.
Time in Force (TIF):
Day: Expires at the end of the trading day if not filled.
Good 'Til Canceled (GTC): Remains active until filled or canceled (typically up to 60 days).
And others like Fill or Kill (FOK), Immediate or Cancel (IOC).
Options Trade Ticket: MarketPro offers robust options trading capabilities, including single and multi-leg option trades (e.g., spreads). It often integrates with tools like OptionsPlay to help you evaluate strategies.
Sub-heading: Customizing Trade Defaults and Hotkeys
Trade Defaults: Right-click within the Trade Ticket or a general empty space to access "Trade Defaults and Properties." Here, you can set your preferred default order type (e.g., always a limit order), a fixed number of shares, or even default the limit price to the bid, ask, or last. This can significantly speed up your trading.
Hotkeys: For ultra-fast execution, explore setting up hotkeys for common actions like "Buy Market," "Sell Market," or "Cancel All Orders."
Sub-heading: Monitoring Orders and Positions
Orders Window: This window displays the status of all your open orders. You can typically right-click on an order to amend, extend, or cancel it. You can also group and color-code orders based on their status (e.g., filled, open, canceled).
Holdings Window: Monitor the real-time price and value changes of your portfolio holdings. Group them by product type, sector, or security and sort by various criteria like dollar gain, percent gain, or market value.
Balances Window: Get a convenient overview of your account balances, available funds, and gains/losses.
Step 5: Advanced Features and Optimizing Your Experience
MarketPro goes beyond the basics to provide powerful tools for serious traders.
Sub-heading: Screeners and Idea Generation
Stock Screener: Use the integrated stock screener to filter the market for securities that meet your specific criteria (e.g., P/E ratio, revenue growth, technical indicators, market cap). You can save your custom screens for future use or set up alerts for new matches.
ETF/Mutual Fund/Options Screeners: Similar screening capabilities are often available for other asset classes, allowing you to discover new investment opportunities.
Sub-heading: Risk Management Tools
Risk Calculator: Some versions of MarketPro may include a risk calculator that helps you determine appropriate position sizing based on your account balance, risk per trade, and stop-loss levels.
Bracket Orders: These are advanced order types that automatically place both a profit-taking order and a stop-loss order simultaneously with your initial trade, helping you manage risk and reward from the outset.
Sub-heading: Performance Analysis
Portfolio Analysis: Delve deeper into your portfolio's performance by product class, sector, or industry. Customize the data displayed and visualize it with histograms or historical charts.
Activity Window: View detailed transaction history for your accounts or portfolios over various timeframes, filtering by quantity, price, symbol, and more.
Sub-heading: Alerts - Never Miss a Beat
Setting Alerts: Configure various types of alerts to notify you when market activity meets your criteria. This could include:
Quote Alerts: When a stock reaches a certain price.
News Alerts: When news breaks for a specific company.
Conditional Alerts (Chart Events): When a technical indicator crosses a threshold.
Time Alerts: At a specific time.
Trade Alerts: For order fills.
Alert Delivery: Alerts can appear as pop-ups within MarketPro, or you can configure them to be sent via email or text message through your Merrill Edge online account.
Step 6: Continuous Learning and Support
Merrill Edge provides resources to help you master MarketPro.
Built-in Help: Almost every window within MarketPro has a dedicated help icon. Click it to access a comprehensive guide to that specific window's functionality.
Online User Guides and Tutorials: Merrill Edge offers extensive online user guides, video tutorials, and FAQs on their website. These are invaluable resources for deepening your understanding.
Customer Support: Don't hesitate to reach out to Merrill Edge customer support if you encounter any issues or have specific questions about the platform.
Provide Feedback: MarketPro often includes a "Feedback" button. Use it to share your thoughts, suggestions, or report any bugs. Your input helps improve the platform for everyone.
By following these steps, you'll go from a novice to a proficient user of Merrill Edge MarketPro, empowering you to make more informed trading decisions and potentially enhance your trading experience. Remember, consistent practice and exploration of the platform's features are key to truly mastering it.
10 Related FAQ Questions
How to customize my Merrill Edge MarketPro workspace?
You can customize your workspace by adding, resizing, and arranging windows (widgets) on different pages (tabs). Use the "+" sign to create new pages, and drag-and-drop widgets into place. Right-clicking on any window or empty space often reveals customization options.
How to link windows in Merrill Edge MarketPro for real-time updates?
Click the "link icon" (often a colored square or chain link) in the upper right corner of windows you want to connect. Select the same color for all linked windows. Now, when you enter a symbol in one linked window, all others will automatically update to that symbol.
How to set up a watchlist in Merrill Edge MarketPro?
Add a Watchlist window to your workspace. You can manually type in ticker symbols, or import from pre-saved watchlists, online watchlists, or server symbol lists. Right-click on the watchlist to customize the displayed columns (e.g., price, volume, P/E ratio).
How to place a stock trade using Merrill Edge MarketPro?
Open the Trade Ticket window. Select the "Stock/ETFs" tab. Enter the symbol, choose "Buy" or "Sell," specify the quantity, select your desired order type (e.g., Market, Limit), and set the Time in Force. Review your order and then submit.
How to add technical indicators to charts in Merrill Edge MarketPro?
Open a Chart window. Look for a menu option labeled "Studies," "Indicators," or similar. Click on it to browse the available indicators (e.g., Moving Averages, RSI, MACD) and select the ones you wish to apply to your chart.
How to access Level II quotes in Merrill Edge MarketPro?
Add a Level II Quotes window to your workspace. Link it to your other symbol-linked windows. This will display the full order book (bid and ask prices from various market participants), providing deeper insight into market depth.
How to set price alerts in Merrill Edge MarketPro?
Navigate to the "Alerts" tool or window. Select the type of alert (e.g., Quote Alert). Enter the symbol and define the criteria (e.g., price reaches X, volume exceeds Y). You can often choose how you want to receive the alert (e.g., pop-up, email, text).
How to use the stock screener in Merrill Edge MarketPro?
Open the Stock Screener tool. Define your desired criteria (e.g., industry, market cap, P/E ratio, specific technical indicator values). Run the scan to generate a list of stocks that match your criteria. You can save these screens for future use.
How to manage open orders in Merrill Edge MarketPro?
The "Orders" window displays all your pending or partially filled orders. You can typically right-click on an order within this window to modify, cancel, or re-submit it. Orders are often color-coded by their status for easy identification.
How to optimize Merrill Edge MarketPro for multiple monitors?
Utilize the "floating window" feature by clicking on widgets to detach them from the main workspace. You can then drag these floating windows across your multiple screens to create an expansive, customized trading environment. Remember to link windows by color for seamless symbol updates.
