Bank of America’s Merrill Edge discount brokerage unit is the latest to jump into the fast-growing robo-advisory business.

The bank outlined plans for Merrill Edge Guided Investing, a new service meant to combine Merrill Edge's online brokerage platform with Merrill Lynch's human advisers' wealth-management expertise. The unit of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank was formed six years ago and has amassed $132 billion in assets, currently serving clients online, through hundreds of domestic Bank of America branches and through centralised call centres.