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Stocks, Bonds, ETFs

Comprehensive Investments

Banc of America Online Investing, Powered by Merrill Lynch offers investors complete access to the stock, bond and ETF markets and the ability to select investments using online tools and research to make well-informed choices for your portfolio.

Stocks, Bonds & ETFs

Stocks, bonds and ETFs provide the opportunity to build a diversified portfolio of investments to help meet your risk tolerance and investment goals.

Stocks

Banc of America Online Investing, Powered by Merrill Lynch offers comprehensive access to the stock market so you can be confident you'll find investments to help meet your investing style and goals.

Stocks are a riskier investment than bonds, but in exchange for risk, they offer the opportunity for capital appreciation and can potentially boost total return in a portfolio of stocks and bonds.

Historically, despite their higher risk and volatility, stocks have delivered higher rates of return over long holding periods¹. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Bonds

Banc of America Online Investing, Powered by Merrill Lynch offers access to a broad universe of individual bonds (treasury, corporate, municipal, etc.). Bonds are generally considered a more conservative investment than stocks, and are often used to diversify a portfolio of stocks, or to generate regular income.

A bond is an investment vehicle representing a loan to a corporation, government, or municipality. Generally, bonds pay a fixed interest rate and return the principal investment at maturity. Bonds issued by the U.S. government are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest if held to maturity; other bonds are not guaranteed and carry varying degrees of credit risk.

Exchange-Traded Funds

Exchange-traded funds¹ (ETFs) are designed to track a market index similar to an index mutual fund, but they trade on an exchange like stocks and tend to have relatively lower management fees than actively managed mutual funds.

ETFs offer diversified exposure to a portfolio of securities based on the index that the ETF is designed to track. They offer the added benefit of liquidity because they trade like a stock, while mutual funds trade only at certain times of day.

This chart demonstrates the growth in popularity of ETFs, introduced in 1993. There are currently more than 600 ETFs with a total market capitalization of over $600 million.



Powerful tools and resources

Our online investing service offers sophisticated resources to help you select the products that may meet your needs:



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Brokerage IRAs (non-FDIC insured) are available through Banc of America Online Investing, Powered by Merrill Lynch. Bank IRAs (FDIC insured) are available through Bank of America, N.A.

¹ Exchange Traded Funds are subject to risks similar to those of stocks. Investment returns may fluctuate and are subject to market volatility, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed or sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing in this product. This and other important information is included in the prospectus, which should be read carefully before investing. Prospectuses can be obtained from your investment professional or through the investor's sign-in area of bankofamerica.com/investments.

© 2009 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is a registered broker-dealer, member FINRA and SIPC (www.sipc.org) and a nonbank subsidiary of Bank of America N.A. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is a registered trademark. Please note that the Information provided is obtained from sources deemed to be reliable, but Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information or make any warranties with regard to the results to be obtained from its use. Reports provided are for information purposes only. Under no circumstances are they to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Because of this Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated does not guarantee or make any representation as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information provided. Therefore, we will not be liable for any loss caused directly or indirectly, by your use of the information. From time to time, affiliates of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated may act as a market maker, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, including any of its affiliates may, as principal or agent, buy and sell such securities. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, including any of its affiliates and/or its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, may have a long or short position in the securities mentioned and may make purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise.

Stock prices will fluctuate with changing market conditions. Some stocks involve more risk than others.

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