"We continue to listen to clients and develop services that make managing their financial lives easier," said Paul Fox, head of Merrill Lynch Online Platforms. "Now they have access to their account information and have the ability to perform transactions anytime, and from anywhere."

Using the mobile apps, clients can:

* View their portfolio, holdings, and account activity.
* Move money between linked Merrill Lynch brokerage and Bank of America N.A. banking accounts.
* Trade, stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and options in approved accounts.
* Track the latest market news and headlines.
* Customize their watch lists, alerts, and other online features.

The iPad app offers even more compelling features, including personalized dashboards and access to the latest research reports from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

"Our mass affluent investors have consistently told us that they want to interact with us at their convenience and want multiple, coordinated access and entry points," said Alok Prasad, head of Merrill Edge. "These new applications will give them the control and flexibility they seek and help them make confident financial decisions."

"The delivery of these new capabilities reflects our ongoing commitment to create value for our clients through the strategic, innovative use of technology," said Chris Randazzo, head of Global Wealth Management Technology.

The release of the mobile applications marks the latest step in the evolution of Merrill Lynch's brokerage offerings on the web, which began with the launch of MyMerrill.com in 2009 and continued with the unveiling of MerrillEdge.com last year. These new brokerage applications complement the existing banking apps available through Bank of America.