Ally Invest Review: Low Commission Fees

What does Ally Invest offer as an online brokerage?

By Sean Dennison September 19, 2018 Investing 101

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	Stock, ETF trades for $4.95 with no account minimum, $3.95 with Ally Select Invest Commission-free ETFs with WisdomTree, iShare and others $150 credit when you transfer $2,500 or more
Cash-Enhanced Managed Portfolio	$100 to start No annual advisory fee
Investment Tools	Streaming charts Investment calculators Market analysis and more
Information accurate as of Sept. 13, 2018.

In This Review:

What You Need to Know About Ally Invest
Best Features of Ally Invest
Ally Invest Has Options for Many

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.

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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 Cash-Enhanced 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.

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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 Cash-Enhanced Managed Portfolios for a minimum of $100. 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 no annual advisory fee.

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

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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.