If the amount in your new IRA is large enough, Vanguard will give you personal service and advice through their Admiral service.

Dan Wiener has a newsletter for around $100 annually with several recommended portfolios of Vanguard funds, depending on how aggressive you want to be.

Merrill does not have any no-load funds. How would your advisor get paid? There are good advisors at Merrill but he has to operate within the framework of what is available to him. A good advisor is encumbered by the restriction that you can only buy mutual funds.

Vanguard, Fidelity, T Rowe Price are all good. Vanguard was the original low-cost fund family. Indexing, rather than paying top dollar to a fund manager worked so well that other funds are also doing it now.

If the check has aready been made out to Merrill, you can't intercept it. I believe they do have a policy that if you change your mind within 7 days you can have them transfer the money elsewhere without incurring any fees. Do that. The 3-way phone call with Vanguard sounds like an excellent idea.

Best wishes, Chris