Ally Invest Review 2024

Stock Trade Fee:N/A

Account Minimum:$0

Promotion:N/A

Open Account

Trading involves substantial risk of loss

Eric Rosenberg

Last updated: Jul 28, 2020

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Ally Invest offers pricing on-par with some of the lowest in the industry. It is an excellent choice for passive investors and casual traders. Advanced and active traders may find that the web trading platform at Ally doesn’t offer all they need. However, the average investor should find everything they need for long-term success.

Pros:	Cons:
Low trade costs that compete with the lowest prices in the industry Simple and easy-to-use online investing and banking Support for most popular securities for active traders including options and futures	No no-trade-fee mutual funds and limited no-trade-fee ETFs No desktop trading platform and the web-based platform offers limited features for active traders No physical branch locations

Ally Invest Overall Rating

3.9

Here's how we rate brokers

Cost & Fees

4.5

Banking

5.0

Account Types

4.0

Customer Support

4.0

Tradable Securities

3.5

Promotions

2.5

Account Opening

4.5

Regulations, Reputation & Security

5.0

Trading Platforms

4.0

Research & Education

3.0

Order Types

3.0

Trading Specs
General Information
Trading Features

Official Site:www.ally.com/investDemo Account:Open Demo AccountAccount Minimum:N/AStock Trade Fee:$0Promotion:N/AETF Trade Fee:$0Mutual Fund Trade Fee:$9.95Options Base Fee:$0Options Per Contract Fee:$0.5Bonds Trade Fee:$1Futures Trade Fee:N/AForex Trade Fee:N/A
Phone Trades:N/ABroker Assisted Trades Fee:$20Annual Account Fee:$0Account Transfer Fee:$50Account Closing Fee:$0Account Inactivity Fee:$0IRA Annual Fee:$0IRA Closure Fee:$50Tradable Securities:Stocks, Options, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Bonds, FOREXCommissions Free ETFs:116Commission Free Mutual Funds:N/A
Number of Mutual Funds (Total):14000Complex Options Max Legs:4Account Types:Taxable, Joint, Custodial, Retirement Accounts, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, Simple IRA, Coverdell, Trusts, Business Accounts, PartnershipsOS compatibility :N/AWeb Platform:YesMobile Trading:N/AOrder Types:Market, Limit, Stop, Trailing Stop, Contingent, OCO, OTO, Algo

Introduction

Ally Invest is a good brokerage for passive investors looking to keep fees low. While pricing is tempting to day traders, its platform isn’t quite up to par with some competitors in that space.

Ally Invest is the investment arm of Ally Bank, a popular online-only bank known for low fees and great interest rates. Ally Invest started out as TradeKing. Ally purchased TradeKing in 2016 and turned it into Ally Invest.

This brokerage offers among the cheapest trade fees in the brokerage industry as well as a competitively-priced managed portfolio product. It offers web and mobile trading to manage your portfolio on the go. While it offers great pricing, it is best for passive investors. Its active trading platform is decent but doesn’t stand up to the power of some competing brokerages targeting day traders.

Cost & Fees4.5

Ally Invest fees are among the lowest in the industry. There are no recurring account fees and trade commissions are very competitive. However, no-trade-fee ETF options are not great and there are no no-fee mutual funds.

Costs and fees are the biggest reason to choose Ally Invest. Pricing is on par with the cheapest in the industry. Stock trades are $4.95 each. Mutual funds trade for $9.95, which is significantly cheaper than most competitors. Options cost $4.95 plus 0.65 cents per contract. Bonds cost $1 per bond with a $10 minimum fee per order.

Ally offers over 100 commission-free ETFs but no commission-free mutual funds. That can be seen as a drawback. Of the commission-free ETF list, most come from WisdomTree and charge reasonable but not cheap expense ratios. A handful of commission-free ETFs are available from iShares with fees around 0.20% or less.

If you trade 30 times or more per quarter or keep a daily balance of at least $100,000, you qualify for lower $3.95 trade fees on stocks, ETFs, and a $3.95 base fee for options. That pricing is quite good if you qualify.

Account Types4.0

Summary: Ally Invest offers most popular forms of taxable, retirement, and entity investment accounts. These include individual and joint accounts, IRAs, and others.

Ally Invest offers two primary types of accounts. First is a self-managed account where you choose all of your own investments and enter your own trades. Second is a managed portfolio account, or robo-advisor, where Ally chooses investments for you based on questions you answer when opening the account. Forex is available through a separate account as well.

Taxable accounts available include individual, joint, and custodial. Several types of IRAs are available including Roth, Traditional, Rollover, SEP, SIMPLE, and beneficiary IRAs. You can also open a Coverdell education account, trust, and entity accounts.

There are no minimum balances or recurring fees for the self-directed account. Managed portfolio accounts charge 0.30% per year and have a $2,500 minimum starting balance.

Tradable Securities3.5

Ally Invest gives customers access to most major popular asset classes. Outside of futures, you can trade just about anything you want at Ally.

Ally Invest gives users access to stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, foreign exchange (forex), and options. Between that menu of investment choices, most people should find their needs covered.

The biggest shortfall for many long-term investors is its selection of funds with no trading fees. There are about 100 no-fee ETFs and no fee-free mutual funds. Many large competing brokers with similar commissions offer their own funds or specific funds with no trading costs. That puts Ally customers at a slight disadvantage if funds are a major part of their investment strategy.

Account Opening4.5

Opening an account at Ally is easy and straightforward. For existing Ally Bank customers, adding an Invest account is particularly quick and simple.

Ally is an online-only financial institution, so the easiest way to get started is online. Plan to supply your name, contact information, and Social Security number or US tax ID. There are also questions about your employment, investing and trading experience, and your goals.

Accounts are only available for people living in the United States unless you are a military member on deployment.

The new account application asks questions about your investment objectives

Margin and options trading require additional steps. Level 2, buying long calls and puts, requires an investment objective of “speculation”.

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Demo Account

Trading Platforms4.0

Ally offers trading on a web platform and the Ally mobile app. There is no desktop platform.

The web and mobile trading platforms allow you to handle most of your account needs. The average casual trader or long-term investor will find these to be sufficient. Advanced traders, however, should look elsewhere if they care a lot about having a powerful active trading platform.

The platform is arguably the biggest drawback of Ally Invest for active traders. Beginner to intermediate traders may find it a good place to learn and gain experience.

The basic trade entry screen allows you to trade stocks, options, and mutual funds without launching the full online platform. This is as easy to use as a feature that transfers cash from one Ally Bank account to another.

All other screens have a QuickTrade button at the top. Clicking there pops out a new right panel that allows you to enter stock and options trades in a jiffy.

The web-based trading platform has a light and dark mode and some flexibility in the columns and what modules you see. The platform runs on HTML5, so there is no need to download any third party software or tools or enable Flash. In my testing, everything loaded quickly and worked flawlessly.

The downside is that it doesn’t do as much as many competing trading platforms. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work well for users who don’t care about active trading. It does allow for some advanced and expert trading strategies, including multi-leg options. Trades

The options trading page includes a probability calculator and profit/loss graph to help you make the best trade decisions.

You can also set up investment alerts for specific securities and conditions.

If you are a very advanced trader who wants to user algorithms, Ally Invest does support this through an API. API access requires an additional application.

Ally Invest does not offer a demo account or paper trading. You need a live account to access Ally Invest’s platform and tools.

Order Types3.0

Ally Invest supports most types of trades including some types of advanced orders.

Ally Invest offers the standard types of trades including market, limit, stop, and stop limit. You can put conditions including market on close orders, day orders, good till closed, and some other advanced options.

Account holders can trade options with multiple legs. Not all conditional order types are allowed, but you can enter one triggers others, one cancels other, contingent, and trailing stops.

You can’t exercise options on the web, but if you call in you are able to exercise options in your account.

Banking5.0

Ally Bank is one of the best online banks and regularly tops “best bank” lists around the web. It is a great complementary bank for Ally Invest account holders.

Ally Bank offers among the very best checking and savings accounts available from any bank today. You can reach both bank and brokerage accounts from the same login at Ally.com.

Ally’s checking account charges no regular fees, charges no ATM fees and will reimburse you for up to $10 per month in fees from other banks, and pays an impressive 0.60% APY. That is about 6x time typical savings account interest rate, and from a checking account!

Ally Savings offers one of the best rates in the US. As of this writing, it pays 2.20% APY. That is over 20x the national average. Like the checking account, it charges no monthly fees and has no minimum balance.

Even if you don’t use Ally Invest, Ally Bank is an excellent choice for anyone looking to go online-only for their banking needs.

Customer Support4.0

Ally’s customer support is available 24/7 by phone. Online chat is available, but not on the same 24/7 schedule.

Ally’s banking and investing tools are easy enough to use that most people probably won’t need to reach out to customer support. If you do need help, the easiest way to get it is via phone. You can call 24/7 for help or head to the website for online chat support.

While the bank and investment products get great reviews overall, customer support gets average reviews. Most negative reviews are related to Ally’s auto loan business. For the bank and investments, reviews are more favorable.

Promotions2.5

Ally Invest has a bonus for new account holders to get 90 days of commission-free trading and up to a $3,500 cash bonus. You must deposit at least $10,000 in a new account to qualify for any Ally Invest bonus.

New account holders who deposit at least $10,000 within 60 days will get 90 days of commission-free trades up to $500. Cash bonuses are available from $50 to $3,500 per the schedule below, via Ally:

Regulations, Reputation & Security5.0

Ally Invest has a great reputation and strong security.

Ally Bank is a member of the FDIC and Ally Invest is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. Those give it the standard regulatory coverage and insurance coverage for any US brokerage.

In addition, Ally Invest is a member of the National Futures Association. You can view Ally’s financial details as it is a publically traded company. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol ALLY.

Research & Education3.0

Ally Invest offers middle-of-the-road education and research tools. It gives most investors enough to make good decisions but does not offer a great depth coverage compared to some other brokers that charge similar fees.

For research, Ally Invest offers a basic view of market news and events. Stock details come with Morningstar and CFRA reports. Options trading views include a look at current options chains. Like the trading platform, the research available is good but not great.

Education resources are a little better, with articles and videos on a wide range of investing and other personal finance topics.

Trading experience

Ally Invest is best for beginner to intermediate traders. Some experts will be happy but may find the platform limiting.

While Ally Invest offers some advanced trading, including algorithmic trading through an API, it is best for those with less demanding investment needs. The platform does a great job of providing information and resources that meet the needs of the average investor.

If you have typical needs, and even a bit more, you are plenty covered. It is just the most active, advanced, and expert traders who will find the platform does not have the features they may be looking for.

FAQ

Is Ally Invest regulated?

Yes

Where is Ally Invest based?

Detroit, Michigan

When was Ally Invest founded?

2005 (Acquired by Ally Financial in 2016)

How does Ally Invest make money?

Trade commissions, margin interest

How do I deposit in Ally Invest account?

ACH/check/wire

How do I withdraw money from Ally Invest?

ACH/check/wire

How do I open an account with Ally Invest?

Online at Ally.com

Does Ally Invest offer margin accounts?

Yes

Are funds at Ally Invest secured or insured?

Yes

Overall3.9

Ally Invest is a great brokerage for low costs and easy self-service online. However, some expert traders will find shortcomings in Ally’s online trading platform.

Ally Invest is a great brokerage for the average investor. Beginner to intermediate active traders will find Ally Invest meets most of their needs as well. The most active traders may find the trading platform at Ally Invest missing some features they want.

Overall, the low prices and great integration with Ally Bank make Ally a potential fit to keep all of your finances under one login. Very advanced traders may find a better fit elsewhere, but most people would do just fine with Ally Invest.

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Ally Invest Review 2024

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