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TradeStationAlly Invest Review
Written by Blain Reinkensmeyer, Chris McKhann
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis
For current Ally customers looking to invest in stocks, Ally's universal-accounts experience and easy-to-use website offer a convenient solution.
-
Minimum Deposit:
$0.00 -
Stock Trades:
$0.00 -
Options (Per Contract):
$0.50
Ally Invest pros & cons
Pros
- As far as banking and brokerage combinations go, Ally delivers with universal account access, instant money transfers between accounts and $0 trades, winning it a Best in Class spot for banking services in our 2022 Annual Review.
- The broker offers $0 stock and ETF trades alongside a $0 minimum deposit; options trades are $0.50 per contract.
Cons
- Ally Invest struggles to compete as a stand-alone broker. Ally Invest trails industry leaders TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab in most areas, including trading platforms, tools, investment research, and education.
- Usability and banking synergies aside, if you have no ties to Ally, Ally Invest does not provide enough value to warrant a recommendation.
Overall summary
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Overall |
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| Investment Options |
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| Commissions & Fees |
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| Mobile Trading Apps |
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| Platforms & Tools |
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| Research |
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| Customer Service |
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| Education |
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| Ease Of Use |
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Ally Invest Trading Platform Screenshots
Website:
Mobile app:
Customer service
To score Customer Service, StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research firm Confero to conduct phone tests from locations throughout the United States. For our 2022 Broker Review, 159 customer service tests were conducted over six weeks. Here are the results for Ally Invest.
- Average Connection Time: <1 minute
- Average Net Promoter Score: 8.2 / 10
- Average Professionalism Score: 6.9 / 10
- Overall Score: 7.9 / 10
- Ranking: 6th of 13 brokers
Is Ally Invest good for beginners?
For beginners looking to bank and invest from under one roof, Ally Invest could be a good place to get started, especially if you already have ties to Ally. For anything more than casual investing, Ally Invest trails industry leaders.
Is Ally Invest safe?
Given that Ally Invest also offers banking services, Ally Invest is a member of both FINRA and SIPC, offering protection on customer accounts in the event of a broker’s bankruptcy. It’s important to understand that, as with any broker, such insurance does not protect against market losses — investing is a risky endeavor.
How does Ally Invest make its money?
Ally Invest makes money in the same way that other banks and brokers do. On brokerage accounts, Ally makes money from the practice of payment for order flow, or PFOF, as do nearly all other brokers in this age of $0 trades. Read more about PFOF.
About Ally Invest
Ally Invest is the online brokerage arm of Ally Financial (publicly traded, "ALLY"), which also operates Ally Bank. Ally Financial is best-known for its FDIC-insured banking services through Ally Bank, which includes online banking, auto financing, and home loans. Ally Invest services more than 500,000 brokerage accounts and $16.3 billion in assets.
Compare Ally Invest Competitors
Select one or more of these brokers to compare against Ally Invest.
Show all2022 Review Methodology
Our mission at StockBrokers.com is simple: provide thorough and unbiased reviews of online brokers, based on an extraordinary level of hands-on testing and data collection. Our ratings and awards are based on this data and our experts’ deep authority in the field; brokers cannot pay for preferential treatment. Here’s more about trustworthiness at StockBrokers.com.
For the StockBrokers.com 12th Annual Review published in January 2022, a total of 3,075 data points were collected over three months and used to score 15 top brokers. This makes StockBrokers.com home to the largest independent database on the web covering the online broker industry.
As part of our annual review process, all brokers had the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones and complete an in-depth data profile, which we hand-checked for accuracy. Brokers also were offered the opportunity to provide executive time for an annual update meeting.
Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test.
Ally Invest fees and features data
The data collection efforts at StockBrokers.com are unmatched in the industry. The following tables show a deeper dive into the offerings available at this broker. You can also compare its offerings side-by-side with those of other brokers using our Comparison Tool.
In addition to meticulous annual data collection by our in-house analyst, every broker that participates in our review is afforded the opportunity to complete an in-depth data profile. We then audit each data point to ensure its accuracy.
Trading fees
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 |
| Stock Trades | $0.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $9.95 |
| Options (Base Fee) | $0.00 |
| Options (Per Contract) | $0.50 |
| Futures (Per Contract) | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trade Fee | $20 |
Account fees
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $25.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $50.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $50.00 |
| Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 |
Margin rates
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Margin Rate Under $24,999.99 | 10.75% |
| Margin Rate $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 10.50% |
| Margin Rate $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 9.75% |
| Margin Rate $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 8.50% |
| Margin Rate $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 7.50% |
| Margin Rate $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 7.00% |
| Margin Rate Above $1,000,000.00 | 6.25% |
Investment options
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Stock Trading | Yes |
| Margin Trading | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| OTCBB / Pink Sheets | Yes |
| Options Trading | Yes |
| Complex Options Max Legs | 4 |
| Futures Trading | No |
| Forex Trading | Yes |
| Crypto Trading | No |
| Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 0 |
| Mutual Funds (No Load) | 13500 |
| Mutual Funds (Total) | 15000 |
| Bonds (US Treasury) | Yes |
| Bonds (Corporate) | Yes |
| Bonds (Municipal) | Yes |
| Advisor Services | Yes |
| International Countries (Stocks) | 0 |
Order types
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Order Type - Market | Yes |
| Order Type - Limit | Yes |
| Order Type - After Hours | Yes |
| Order Type - Stop | Yes |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop | No |
| Order Type - OCO | No |
| Order Type - OTO | No |
| Order Type - Broker Assisted | Yes |
Beginners
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Education (Stocks) | Yes |
| Education (ETFs) | Yes |
| Education (Options) | Yes |
| Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes |
| Education (Bonds) | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes |
| Retirement Calculator | No |
| Investor Dictionary | Yes |
| Paper Trading | No |
| Videos | No |
| Webinars | No |
| Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
| Progress Tracking | No |
| Interactive Learning - Quizzes | No |
Stock trading apps
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Apple Watch App | No |
| Trading - Stocks | Yes |
| Trading - After-Hours | Yes |
| Trading - Simple Options | Yes |
| Trading - Complex Options | Yes |
| Order Ticket RT Quotes | Yes |
| Order Ticket SRT Quotes | No |
Stock app features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Market Movers (Top Gainers) | Yes |
| Stream Live TV | No |
| Videos on Demand | No |
| Stock Alerts | No |
| Option Chains Viewable | Yes |
| Watch List (Real-time) | Yes |
| Watch List (Streaming) | No |
| Watch Lists - Create & Manage | Yes |
| Watch Lists - Column Customization | No |
| Watch Lists - Total Fields | 21 |
Stock app charting
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Charting - After-Hours | No |
| Charting - Can Turn Horizontally | Yes |
| Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes |
| Charting - Technical Studies | 17 |
| Charting - Study Customizations | No |
| Charting - Stock Comparisons | Yes |
Trading platforms overview
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Active Trading Platform | N/A |
| Desktop Trading Platform | No |
| Desktop Platform (Mac) | No |
| Web Trading Platform | Yes |
| Paper Trading | No |
| Trade Journal | No |
| Watch Lists - Total Fields | 21 |
Trading platform stock chart features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 117 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 36 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes |
| Charting - Historical Trades | No |
| Charting - Corporate Events | No |
| Charting - Custom Date Range | No |
| Charting - Custom Time Bars | No |
| Charting - Automated Analysis | Yes |
| Charting - Save Profiles | Yes |
| Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis | Yes |
| Charting - Study Customizations | 5 |
| Charting - Custom Studies | No |
Day trading features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Streaming Time & Sales | No |
| Streaming TV | No |
| Direct Market Routing - Stocks | No |
| Ladder Trading | No |
| Trade Hot Keys | No |
| Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | No |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting | No |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | No |
| Short Locator | No |
| Order Liquidity Rebates | No |
Investment research overview
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Research - Stocks | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes |
| Research - Mutual Funds | Yes |
| Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | No |
| Screener - Stocks | No |
| Screener - ETFs | Yes |
| Screener - Mutual Funds | No |
| Screener - Bonds | Yes |
| Misc - Portfolio Allocation | No |
Stock research features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Stock Research - PDF Reports | 2 |
| Stock Research - Earnings | Yes |
| Stock Research - Insiders | Yes |
| Stock Research - Social | Yes |
| Stock Research - News | Yes |
| Stock Research - ESG | No |
| Stock Research - SEC Filings | Yes |
ETF research features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| ETFs - Strategy Overview | Yes |
| ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date | Yes |
| ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio | Yes |
| ETF Fund Facts - Net Assets | Yes |
| ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings | Yes |
| ETFs - Top 10 Holdings | Yes |
| ETFs - Sector Exposure | No |
| ETFs - Risk Analysis | Yes |
| ETFs - Ratings | Yes |
| ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap | No |
| ETFs - PDF Reports | Yes |
Mutual fund research features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Performance Chart | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Prospectus | No |
| Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation | No |
| Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation | Yes |
| Mutual Funds - Country Allocation | No |
| Mutual Funds - StyleMap | No |
Options trading overview
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Option Chains - Basic View | Yes |
| Option Chains - Strategy View | Yes |
| Option Chains - Streaming | Yes |
| Option Chains - Total Columns | 8 |
| Option Chains - Greeks | 1 |
| Option Chains - Quick Analysis | Yes |
| Option Analysis - P&L Charts | Yes |
| Option Probability Analysis | Yes |
| Option Probability Analysis Adv | No |
| Option Positions - Greeks | Yes |
| Option Positions - Greeks Streaming | No |
| Option Positions - Adv Analysis | Yes |
| Option Positions - Rolling | Yes |
| Option Positions - Grouping | Yes |
Banking features
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Bank (Member FDIC) | Yes |
| Checking Accounts | Yes |
| Savings Accounts | Yes |
| Credit Cards | No |
| Debit Cards | Yes |
| Mortgage Loans | Yes |
Customer service options
| Feature |
Ally Invest |
| Phone Support (Prospect Customers) | Yes |
| Phone Support (Current Customers) | Yes |
| Email Support | Yes |
| Live Chat (Prospect Customers) | Yes |
| Live Chat (Current Customers) | Yes |
| 24/7 Support | Yes |
About the Author
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.
Chris McKhann has been in the industry for more than 20 years. He has worked for many of the top names in the online trading space, including TD Ameritrade and optionMONSTER, which later became part of E*TRADE. His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC, Nasdaq.com and Nikkei. He has also been an advisor and outside trader for several hedge funds. He was one of the first traders to delve into the VIX tradable products and to write about them (back in 2006). Chris is also an educator who teaches high school statistics, finance and computer science.
Carolyn Kimball is managing editor for Reink Media and the lead editor for the StockBrokers.com Annual Review. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.