Bank of America has launched Merrill Edge select portfolios, designed specifically for mass affluent and emerging investors, offering access to actively managed and diversified portfolios through a lower balance requirement.

Select portfolios presents investors with a choice of ten diversified portfolios - ranging from conservative to aggressive - to align with their risk tolerance, investment time horizon, liquidity needs and individual targets. 

Customers require a minimum investment of $20,000 and pay an annualized 1 per cent management fee, the firm said. 

Investments are allocated within mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, invested primarily in stocks, bonds and international investment products. Investors can also monitor their portfolio performance in real-time via Merrill Edge.

In November last year, BofA increased the number of Merrill Edge financial solutions advisors to more than 1,200, hitting a target it has set itself of doubling the number of such advisors in 2011. The hiring goal was part of a wider strategic intiative to increase the bank's product and service offering to its "preferred clients".