Ally Invest Review: Low Commission Fees
What does Ally Invest offer as an online brokerage?Ally Invest, Ally Bank’s brokerage and wealth management division, announced in August that its customers can now trade more than 100 commission-free exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on its online platform. This will help customers further diversify their portfolios and save money on strategic ETF investing.
Read this review to learn what else Ally Invest can offer traders.
| Ally Invest at a Glance | |
| Self-Directed Trading |
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| Managed Portfolio |
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| Investment Tools |
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| Information accurate as of Sept. 13, 2018. | |
In This Review:
Related: ETF vs. Mutual Fund — How to Choose Your Investments
What You Need to Know About Ally Invest
Ally Invest’s online trading can serve either budding Buffetts or veteran traders, though the low commission fees and commission-free ETFs under Ally’s self-directed trade component might be most attractive for the latter category.
Best for:
- Beginning traders seeking to expand their portfolio while saving money on trades
- Intermediate traders comfortable with either independent trading or a brokerage-managed portfolio
- Advanced traders looking to take advantage of premium discounts contingent on high trade volume
Ally Invest lets traders choose from a variety of investment products including:
- Stocks
- Options
- ETFs
- Bonds
- Mutual Funds
- Forex
- Futures
Note that Forex and Futures trading is usually recommended only for experienced traders. Ally also offers IRAs with its Managed Portfolio option.
Read: 10 Stocks You Can Feel Good About — Ethically and Financially
Best Features of Ally Invest
No account minimums, low commission fees and even commission-free ETFs sound attractive to beginning traders who might not have as much to invest. However, experienced traders can also take advantage of Ally Invest Select’s $3.95 commission fee, available if you can maintain a more than $100,000 daily balance and make more than 30 trades per quarter. Options trades are available for both Ally Invest and Ally Invest Select at 65 cents and 50 cents per contract (on top of the base commission), respectively. Learn more about options trading.
| Pricing for Self-Directed Trading at Ally Invest | |
| Stock and ETFs | $4.95 |
| Stock and ETFs with Ally Invest Select | $3.95 |
| Options Trading | 65 cents per contract plus $4.95 base-commission |
| Options Trading with Ally Invest Select | 50 cents per contract plus $3.95 base-commission |
| Commission-free ETFs | $0 |
| Bonds | $1 per bond |
| Mutual Funds | $9.95 per trade |
| Information accurate as of Sept. 13, 2018. | |
On the other hand, you could entrust Ally entirely with your trade. The bank offers managed portfolios for a minimum of $2,500. Once you’ve applied, the bank creates a portfolio of ETFs based on what you tell them about your financial goals. This option comes with an annual advisory fee of 0.30 percent of your account balance, but that’s still lower than the industry average of 1.02 percent.
Ally Invest also offers useful services to help you ascertain your financial goals. The trading platform comes equipped with the following:
- Streaming charts: Six types of charts to help you track performances of stocks, ETFs and indices
- Market and company snapshots: Receive information on market stats and company news
- Watchlists: Set up different lists to keep up to date on different securities
- Profit/loss calculator: Understand your trade’s profit and loss potential before placing it
Check Out: 21 Stock Perks That Will Blow Your Mind
Ally Invest Has Options for Many
Whether you enjoy self-directed trade or prefer to let your bank manage your securities, Ally Invest reviews show that it offers ways to take advantage of both. However, Ally’s services might best suit self-directed traders. Its $4.95 commission fee for stocks and ETF trades — with the option to get a lower commission of $3.95 — is useful for offsetting potential losses incurred during trades. Plus, investors who move their funds from a pre-existing account should note the $150 credit on transfers of $2,500 or more.
Click through to learn why Ally is one of the best discount brokers.
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Editorial Note: This content is not provided by Ally Bank. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been endorsed by Ally Bank.
