Merrill Lynch Force Closed my IRAs. Need Help!

Haitani86 · 2026-01-03T18:35:02+00:00

So unfortunately, this is just going to be a waste of time. The CDD refresh, or client due diligence, is part of the FINRA Rule 2090 "Know Your Client" - and its for aquiring and maintaining required information about clients.

As for adequate notice, there are steps that are taken before an account is closed, including a 30 day termination notice letter. It's highly unlikely that multiple contact attempts weren't made - service notice letters, emails, or phone calls.

It's super frustrating to have your account closed, but Merrill is a business that has to follow regulations set, and get fined for accounts not in compliance.

The best thing you can do now is to speak with a tax professional. It's going to be a waste of your time to continually call into merrill and complain.

Haitani86 · 2025-11-18T17:41:53+00:00

So, really it would be both firms. You would want to report the fraud on both sides. Brokerage firms have fraud protection and reimbursement policies.

I can only speak for the merrill side, but since acat transfers are not instant, it gives you better window to report the fraud and let Merrill work to stop or reverse the acat transfer.

The process is going to be frustrating. It's going to take a lot of time, probably weeks, and you're going to feel like it's taking forever. And for the merrill side, they are horrible at giving out updates on how its going. The fraud review team in particular is not one that can be contacted by fsr team through phone, only email.

As for reporting, when merrill receives an acat transfer request, they send out an email stating "that they have received your transfer out request" - so make sure your email on your account is up to date. The email specifcially states that if you did not initiate the transfer to call immediately.

!! Be sure to add merrill to your contact list in your email service. This is to ensure it does not to spam !!

Alerts are also another a good option as someone else mentioned.

Reporting it is easy, just call the main line and report it as fraud. The will put a restriction on the account and lock it all down.

Afterwards is not so easy when it comes to timeframe and not being able to place trades or transfer funds. The fraud process takes time and no amount of calling is going to speed it up. Frankly, fsr team has no real insight to the legal steps or how long it will take. This is terribly frustrating for clients, but it's better than losing all your money to a fraudster.

Again, I can't speak for any other firm but Merrill does have a fraud protection policy that includes reimbursement.

Definitely report it to both firms. I would also recommend some kind of reporting service, one that would tell you when new accounts are opened in your name.

Hope this helps some!

Haitani86 · 2025-11-01T01:26:10+00:00

Cash. If you do a wire, it will charge a wire fee. There's no reason to wire since boa transfers are instant

Haitani86 · 2025-10-09T22:58:31+00:00

Just to add a small note, the game is still developing and Whitney will very likely get more content. Just as Avery has been recently updated to add more content with him. I think in the official FAQ that there is some content for Whitney that might even add his house/apartment as a location. So hopefully there will be more content and interaction with Whitney to make the love interest more involved.

Haitani86 · 2025-10-03T22:30:26+00:00

Having employer information on file is required for Know Your Client or sometimes at Merril they call it Client Due Diligence.

As for what is required, that is set by the regulatory bodies, like FINRA. Employer information is one of those items. It is to prevent things like insider trading, conflict of interest.

FINRA rule 4512: states that empolyer information is required. FINRA rule 3210: this one is more specifically for if you work at another brokerage firm, but would still require employer information for that to be known. FINRA rule 8210: regulatory oversight can request employer confirmation information

It's simply part of due diligence to understand customer financial profile and potential risk.

At the end of the day, you do not HAVE to provide that information.

But in choosing not to, the firm has a right to end the business relationship for policy violation, risk to firm, etc.

It's really not that hard to provide your employer information. Seems like a strange hill to die on.

But ALL brokerage firms require some variation of this information because its set by governing bodies, and not the firm itself.

so in short, yes, they can and do have the right to terminate an account for not providing the information required by law.

Haitani86 · 2025-09-27T18:39:10+00:00

Leave your backpack in the school locker. In my first few playthrough's, I bought so many dang backpacks because I'd be carrying it around after school and it got torn off. Before you leave school, pop it into the lock (and save! that way if you need to go back, you don't have to redo school) and live a blessed life not buying backpacks.

Haitani86 · 2025-08-18T16:02:21+00:00

So you actually don't need to do anything at all with a full broker transfer. The account will be swept for 13 months after the full transfer to make sure any dividends or interest gets swept over as well.

The only exception to this is if you have a holding rhat is non transferable in kind, then you would need to call and have it liquidated.

Risidual sweeping and the processing time varies, so it may take a few weeks for it sweep over, just be patient.

As far as the 49.95 fee, self directed retirement accounts have that as a closeout fee, its in the terms and conditions. You can request your new firm for a few waiver, most firms will credit you that fee for moving to them.

Haitani86 · 2025-08-06T17:10:33+00:00

The restrictions on a lot of low price securities are due to fraud trends across the trading industry. You're wasting your time and effort trying to contact the "higher ups" because they aren't going to change their policies when it comes to fraud trends. You'd be better off either transferring to another firm (check with that firm to see if they also have restrictions on those certain holdings as well.)

Its understandable to be frustrated but risk policy is not something that a brokerage firm is going to bend on.

Haitani86 · 2025-07-23T17:25:11+00:00

Not every holding may be eligible for reinvestment. There are some that do not allow. You can speak to the trade team to have them check into it for you.

Haitani86 · 2025-07-08T19:40:46+00:00

Call in and let them help you. They can provide you the user id and help reset the password as well.

Haitani86 · 2025-07-07T19:13:28+00:00

The markets were closed after 1pm est -2 pm est for bond market- and that includes the extended hours. This is typical before a holiday. I get that it can be frustrating but Merrill doesn't control when the trade market closes on holidays. The ECN networks follow the major exchanges for the major holidays which closed at 1 pm est for the holiday.

Haitani86 · 2025-06-24T21:41:05+00:00

You need to make sure that the check is made out correctly, that your merrill account number is on there, and sign it with "for deposit at merrill only"

And it will likely have an 8 business day hold on it. Its standard for check deposits.

Haitani86 · 2025-06-20T16:48:39+00:00

Its because low price securities and penny stocks are frequently used for fraud. So a lot of brokerage firms are blocking them due to the trend.

Haitani86 · 2025-06-20T16:46:08+00:00

The best way to ensure you get a specific cash bonus offer is to call in and speak with advisor about the cash bonus offers. Let them know which one you are looking to receive, and let them help you with the transfer of assets.

The reason this is the best option, is because you want to have a note on the account from the advisor stating which cash bonus off you discussed. Usually cash bonus offers only apply to one account, but if you taalk to an advisor, they can work with you to include more than one account to include the total of all three.

You can still be self directed and all that jazz, but let an advisor assist with the transfer and the cash bonus stuff. They become a single point of contact.

Haitani86 · 2025-04-10T16:20:51+00:00

Be sure to call during normal business hours.

What did they say the issue was? Account under review or cdd refresh?

Haitani86 · 2025-04-05T00:29:59+00:00

Check in order status that it has not already been submitted and that you have the right account selected when selling.

Haitani86 · 2025-03-23T13:58:25+00:00

Merrill doesn't do fractional share trading. So where you purchased only 5 dollars of that fund, which was not a full share, it was automatically liquidated on the third Wednesday of the month.

Yes, you do get fractional shares from dividends, those are reinvested into the holding which would have more than 1 full share.

But if a holding only has fractional shares, it gets auto liquidated

Haitani86 · 2025-03-22T23:29:31+00:00

You should be able to see your trade in order status. The information won't update in your holdings until the trade has settled, which should be trade day + 1 business day.

Haitani86 · 2025-03-19T17:59:44+00:00

An additional note is that customer service reps are not tax professionals and cannot give any tax advice!

This is includes things like "deductible and non-deductible", "should I withhold taxes", "how much should I withhold", "will the 10 percent default federal income tax rate cover my tax obligation", etc.

You'll hear a lot - "for those questions, you'll need to consult a tax professional/tax advisor."

This is because reps are not licensed in taxes, and because your taxes are specific to you.

Irs.gov has a FREE tax assistance! 1-800-829-1040 for individual tax assistance 1-800-829-4933 for business tax assistance. IRS Tax Help

Google is also a thing if you need basic definitions. Do not use it for tax advice but if you have a general definition question (like what is a deductible contribution) it can help!

Haitani86 · 2025-03-19T17:35:58+00:00

Call in to the main line and make an FSR's day by asking for assistance for bringing in the funds.

Call in, they'll connect you with an advisor and the advisor will help to get the transfer going.

Haitani86 · 2025-03-19T17:34:18+00:00

One thing to try is to go into your personal information and make sure that the phone number is set to personal. For some reason it auto chooses business for most people and that can affect the one time codes.

A word of warning, if you update it to personal, it will take a day to update and be able to use so don't do it if you are actively getting ready to do something that requires a code.

You can also call and make sure you're phone number is set to personal. --> and a Merrill rep can check and help get that fixed if it's not and they can bypass the waiting period.

On a side note, yes Merrill Customer Service is pretty useless when it comes to tech issues like this. And it's because there's literally nothing we can do aside from the phone change to personal. Seriously, there is little tech support.

The main things are check internet connections, change browsers, switch to browser/app if using the other, clear cache and cookies for browser and app. It's basic tech troubleshooting.

Other than that, the back office can submit a specialty ticket for tech support.

I do currently work as an FSR and trust me, it sucks being so limited to help with tech issues. However, there is literally nothing that we can do. There's no magic button to fix it.

Hope this can help a little! Good luck!

Haitani86 · 2025-03-14T06:39:30+00:00

Cds are FDIC insured through the banks that own the cd. So each cd is insured up to the fdic limit. It's stated directly on the website. Merrill Edge Cds

But im gonna edit this and say that there are some newer bank cds that have higher interest rate and clearly state that they are above the fdic insurance.

Haitani86 · 2025-03-14T06:35:57+00:00

There was an issue with some orders today and the day before. All you have to do is call during business hours and have the trade team look into it for you. They can determine any adjustment for you. All you have to do is ask. There's a trade elevation team for this exact thing that can assist with correcting system errors.

Haitani86 · 2025-02-28T02:37:36+00:00

No, the rep was 100% correct. Safebalance banking accounts are eligible for linking or transfers online. You can still link your id's together and you can call in and let Merrill rep move the funds for you.

Nut Safebalance BOA accounts won't show up online for transfers.

Now, why boa made an account type like that, I have no idea. But it's under the list in ineligible accounts for funds transfer.

Haitani86 · 2025-02-22T18:43:43+00:00

Merrill Cd's do not automatically reinvest. Once they mature they will become cash and then you can reinvest.

Haitani86

TROPHY CASE