Import guides / Merrill Edge
Merrill's export is not a button on the activity screen. It is a separate tool called Download Account Data, tucked under Account Resources, which asks you a few questions before it produces the file. Once you know the answers it takes a minute.
Export your transaction history
Start here rather than with the positions file. A list of holdings tells FolioBright what you own today; the transaction history tells it what you paid and when, which is what real cost basis, time-weighted return and money-weighted return are built from.
- Sign in to Merrill Edge.
- Open Accounts, then Download Account Data under Account Resources.
- Choose the account you want.
- For the application format choose Spreadsheets and Text.
- For the data type choose Activity, and set the activity filters to All.
- Set the settlement date range as far back as it will go.
- Choose CSV and download.
Export your current positions
Optional, and useful mainly as a check: import the transactions first, then compare the share counts FolioBright shows against this file to confirm nothing was missed.
- In the same Download Account Data tool, choose Holdings as the data type instead of Activity.
- Keep the CSV format.
- Compare the share counts against FolioBright once your transactions are in.
What FolioBright reads
The importer matches your header row automatically, so normally you do not have to think about this. These are the columns it looks for in a Merrill Edge export.
| Column in your export | What FolioBright does with it |
|---|---|
Trade Date | the trade date, not the settlement date the filter used |
Description | Merrill carries the action in the description, along with option contract detail |
Symbol | ticker — often just the underlying on option rows |
Quantity | shares or contracts |
Price | execution price |
Amount | net cash |
Things it handles for you
Options are described, not symbolised. Merrill does what Fidelity does: the contract lives in the description while the symbol column holds little more than the underlying. FolioBright reads the strike, expiry and call-or-put out of that text so a contract is booked as a contract.
Trade date versus settlement date. You filter by settlement date on the way out, but the file carries the trade date, and that is what FolioBright uses. Set your range a few days wider than you think you need so nothing at the boundary is lost.
The action is in the description rather than a separate column, and is read from there.
Bringing it into FolioBright
- Open FolioBright and choose the account the file belongs to, or create one with Add account.
- Click Import transactions and drop the CSV in.
- Check the column mapping. FolioBright reads the header row and fills it in for you; the preset for this broker is below if you ever need to set it by hand.
- Review the preview. Anything it could not read is listed separately rather than imported quietly.
- Import. Prices, returns and allocation update as soon as it lands.
Other brokerages
Nothing to install
FolioBright reads the file in your browser and stores the result in your own account. There is no brokerage login to hand over, no read-only credential, and no third-party aggregator sitting between you and your holdings.