Traders who are primarily interested in mutual fund investing will be disappointed with Ally, which offers no $0 commission funds. Traders may also be disappointed with Ally’s lack of futures trading or frustrated with the fact that Ally requires forex traders to open and manage a completely new account to trade. Ally’s educational offerings are also lacking, focused primarily on investing beginners. The brokerage remains a solid choice for most investors, however, regardless of skill level. Ally Invest is a good consideration for beginning investors and experienced traders alike. The brokerage has recently taken the lead of other major brokers like Robinhood and Charles Schwab and introduced $0 commissions on stock and ETF trades.

How to sign up for an Ally Invest account

You’ll be able to deposit checks, transfer money between accounts, pay bills, check tax forms, access savings tools, find ATMs and perform a number of other banking activities. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site.

Ally Invest offers all of the core trading functionality, including options, at an attractive price. Existing Ally customers will likely find it to be a great extension of their current relationship. However, those looking to trade fractional shares will need to look elsewhere. Fidelity Investments and Schwab are solid choices if a lack of fractional-share investing is a deal-breaker or if you’re looking for some of the most comprehensive brokerage offerings. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us.

Stock research features

However, Ally’s margin rates are higher on average than discount brokers like Robinhood or Interactive Brokers. TradeStation caters to advanced traders, including sophisticated trading platforms and options tools, as well as the ability to trade futures. Robinhood gives customers commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs and options, and continues to add features that move it beyond its mobile app origins.

• It offers quick trading capabilities, real-time streaming quotes and data, a customizable dashboard, and access to all of the broker’s tools.
• Ally Invest works for buy-and-hold investors and active traders alike.
• They’re provided for free by Morningstar, Zacks Investment Research and more.
• Ally Invest charges $25 for IRA account closures, $75 for full account outgoing transfers, and $50 for partial account outgoing transfers.
• Charles Schwab is a great all-around broker, whether you’re just getting started investing or are more advanced, and it can bring the heat on almost anything you’re likely to need.

Tax resource center

Ally Ally Invest is a comprehensive investment and banking platform for passive and active investors to open automated and self-directed investment accounts. Ally also provides personalized financial planning services and advisor-managed accounts. If you’re a trader interested in the cheapest possible margin trading or the best bargain on mutual funds, Ally Invest might not be right for you. However, commissions on other securities like stocks, ETFs and options are exceptionally affordable and competitive. Merrill Edge offers a solid brokerage experience with access to top-notch research and an advanced trading platform that may especially appeal to current Bank of America customers.

• The platform is easy to navigate, and while its education is geared more toward passive investors, it provides a decent starting point for those new to the market.
• New investors may be turned off by the high account minimum and fees for mutual fund trades.
• SoFi Active Investing provides commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs and options, and its fractional shares offering should appeal to new investors.
• An official SteamOS beta release is anticipated, which could address current limitations such as non-functional hardware features.
• From the landing page, it was easy to view my account summary, including current holdings, without having to dig around too much.
• The mobile app allows you to access all of your Ally accounts in one spot.

How do I get my money out of Ally Invest?

We could charge more, but we have a pay it forward, give back mentality. We want to feel good about what we do, and the results and reviews speak for themselves. What we really care about is helping you, and seeing you succeed as a trader. We want the everyday person to get the kind of training in the stock market we would have wanted when we started out. Also, we provide you with free options courses that teach you how to implement our trades as well. Ally Invest is among the leading trading companies in terms of low-cost fees and reasonable trading volume requirements to get discounted rates.

Gaming Performance

Ally Invest’s mobile platform is streamlined, with a mobile-optimized design that also maintains full compatibility with the desktop platform. Make trades, do research and create watchlists from the app using the same basic mechanisms as the desktop platform. Ally offers a number of educational resources you can use to inform your trading. Let’s take a look at a few of our favorite features offered by the broker.

Valve’s ongoing development of SteamOS is a promising sign for the future of the ROG Ally X and other handheld gaming devices. An official SteamOS beta release is anticipated, which could address current limitations such as non-functional hardware features. These updates are expected to improve functionality and encourage broader adoption of SteamOS across a variety of devices, further solidifying its position as a unifying platform for handheld gaming. When it comes to gaming benchmarks, the ROG Ally X consistently outperforms the Steam Deck OLED at 15W and 20W TDP settings.

You can also compare its offerings side-by-side with those of other brokers using our Comparison Tool. To score Customer Service, StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research firm Confero to conduct phone tests from locations throughout the United States. For this year’s testing, 130 customer service tests were conducted over six weeks, with wait times logged for each call. It should be clear by now that Ally Invest’s platform is designed primarily with passive investors in mind, a theme that runs through nearly every part of its offering, including education. The average execution quality of all brokers we review was 96.95% as of Oct. 16, 2024. That means 96.95% of orders sold for at a price that was at or better than the National Best Bid and Offer.

Ally Invest customer reviews

The watchlists I set up synced smoothly between web and mobile, displaying basic info like the last trading price, dollar change, and percentage change. When checking the markets, the app gave me major indices and volume data, plus some news and top movers by volume sorted by exchange. Switching to a different exchange felt a bit clunky, though, and I noticed that Treasurys and key economic dates were missing. The screener, on the other hand, replicated what’s on the website, so if you’re used to the web version, you’ll find it familiar. As for trading, I found the stock trade ticket straightforward, just like on the web platform. My first impression of Ally Invest’s mobile app is that it closely mirrors the Ally Invest web experience.

Ally Invest Self-Directed Brokerage Account

Options traders may also find the platform lacking in detailed analytics and advanced strategy tools. If you’re serious about day trading, you’ll likely be better off with a broker that offers more comprehensive tools. Ally Invest has no minimum balance requirement, and you don’t need a minimum deposit to open an account. This makes it a great option for investors who want to start small and gradually build their portfolio over time. Whether you’re looking to invest in stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds, you can begin with whatever amount fits your budget. The only exception is a small minimum of $100 required for the robo-investing offerings.

Ally Invest is an online brokerage known for its straightforward, user-friendly platform and basic research tools that work well for anyone taking a long-term, buy-and-hold approach to investing. If you already use Ally Bank and want to start investing, this platform provides an easy transition. If you’re just looking to trade stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds, you’ll find enough here to get started without feeling overwhelmed. Atomic Invest also shares a percentage of compensation received from margin interest and free cash interest earned by customers with NerdWallet. NerdWallet is not a client of Atomic Invest, but our engagement with Atomic Invest gives us an incentive to refer you to Atomic Invest instead of another investment adviser.

Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Testimonials appearing on this website may not be representative of other clients or customers and is not ally invest review a guarantee of future performance or success. They charge reasonable commissions and have a decent online trading platform. If you’re looking for advanced features, like Direct Access Trading, you may be best served by a more robust platform. Webull is a great pick for mobile trading, not only for no commissions on stocks and options but also for its new addition of futures.