Name: Ally Invest
Brand: Ally Invest

Ally Invest might be for you if: You're looking for a brokerage with a wide selection of investments and low fees. Ally Invest offers some of the most competitive pricing on stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and mutual funds. Zero-dollar commission fees make this one of the best stock brokers we've seen. In this Ally Invest review, we'll cover everything you need to know to decide whether this brokerage is for you.

Ratings Methodology

2024 Award Winner

Ally Invest

Our Rating:

Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.

4.5/5

Bottom Line

Ally Invest impresses with $0 commissions and no account minimums. It's a great choice for those looking for an intuitive platform from which to make cheap trades.

Fees:

$0 stock and ETF trades

Account Minimum:

$0

Alternatives to Consider

We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.

Account	Fees	Account Minimum
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5 Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.	$0 for stocks, $0 for options contracts	$0	Open Account for SoFi Active Investing
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5 Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.	$0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; $5 monthly for Robinhood Gold	$0	Open Account for Robinhood
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5 Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.	Commission-free; other fees apply	$0	Open Account for E*TRADE

Full Ally Invest review

We like that Ally Invest has no account minimum and offers $0 stock, mutual fund, and options commissions. Despite having limited trading tools, Ally Invest's low pricing, reasonable margin rates, and user-friendly platform makes it one of our top choices for budget-minded brokers.

Our brokerage rating methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and user experience; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and customer service. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.

My investing experience

The quality I value most in a brokerage is a willingness to educate people like me who really have no idea what they're doing, but want to. When I was ready to ask questions, I needed a human to explain the basics, like "What is a mutual fund and how do I choose one?"

I have a lot of love for brokerages that make it easy for people of all financial backgrounds to invest, because I'll never run out of questions. I'm conservative now. I don't play with money. I minimize risk by investing mainly in mutual funds, and I allow myself to have some fun by dabbling in riskier investments like crypto.

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Table of Contents

We tried it: Our team's experience

Here at The Motley Fool Ascent, we pride ourselves as real users of most of the products across our site. VP of Marketing Allyson Wines uses Ally Invest -- here's her take on this broker.

Allyson's review

I've used Ally Invest for five years, and the Ally interface is easy to use, with helpful shortcuts to tasks and customizable dashboards. One of the features I like the most is the research section with a Screener that includes Analyst Top Stocks, Market Movers, Value Stocks, and Money Makers. I also like that you can find ETFs by Morningstar Rating, Price, Asset Class, and more.

Investment offerings

Ally Invest offers a solid selection of investments and brokerage accounts.

Investments

Bonds
ETFs
Margin account
Mutual funds
Options
Stocks

Brokerage accounts

Automated investing
IRA
Rollover IRA
Roth IRA
Self-directed trading

Ally also offers a variety of additional financial services:

Auto financing
Banking
Credit cards
Mortgages

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Commissions and fees

While the cost of making a trade isn't everything, it is an important consideration when deciding which broker to use. Ally Invest has some of the lowest commissions on stocks and mutual funds of any discount broker we've seen.

Ally Invest is in line with much of the industry in offering $0 trades for stocks, options, mutual funds, and ETFs. However, stocks priced less than $2 per share are charged a commission of as much as $4.95 plus $0.01 per share. Bonds trade at $1 commission.

Product	Cost
Stocks and ETFs	$0
Stock options	$0 per trade, $0.50 per contract
Mutual funds	$0

Data source: [brokerage slug=ally-invest field=offer_name]

Ally Invest has joined most of the industry in dropping commissions for online stock trades to $0, but keep in mind that it still charges a commission on lower-priced stocks. For customers buying large blocks of sub-$2 stocks, this broker can get very expensive.

As for fees, it's good practice to fully read any broker's fee disclosures before opening a brokerage account, but we did some of the homework for you. After reading through Ally Invest's list of fees, there were a couple of fees that stuck out as necessitating further discussion.

Paper statements: Most brokers charge some kind of fee for paper statements, so be sure to opt-in for electronic statements when you can. Ally Invest charges a paper statement fee of $4, though like all brokerages, it encourages customers to opt in for electronic delivery.
Penny stock fee: Ally Invest's commissions can be higher for low-priced stocks. For stocks priced under $2 per share, Ally Invest charges $4.95 plus $0.01 per share, per order, with the commission not to exceed 5% of the trade value. Thus, to buy 5,000 shares of a $1 stock, the fee would be $54.95.

Also keep in mind that while Ally Invest offers more than 17,000 mutual funds, some of them come with a load to buy them (a fee as a percentage of what you invest).

We believe that Ally Invest's low commissions and fees combined with its status as a true no-minimum discount broker --you can open an account with as little as $1 to start -- makes it a good online stock broker for beginners who plan to add to their account balance over time.

Margin rates

Margin trading allows you to borrow from your portfolio to buy into other opportunities. Your account becomes the collateral for a loan from the brokerage. You can then use that money to invest, or withdraw it for another purpose. You'll repay the loan with interest.

Although Ally Invest's margin rates aren't the lowest available, they are competitive, especially if you compare them to other forms of borrowing like personal loans. Ally Invest is in the middle of the pack for margin rates, offering rates lower than the larger players, but more than at least one of the low-cost leaders, Interactive Brokers. It is most competitive for investors who use large amounts of margin. Ally Invest's rates are lower than many of its peers for investors who have a margin balance of $500,000 or more.

Margin Balance	Interest Rate
Up to $9,999	13.00%
$10,000 to $24,999	13.00%
$25,000 to $49,999	12.75%
$50,000 to $99,999	12.00%
$100,000 to $249,999	10.75%
$250,000 to $499,999	9.75%
$500,000 to $999,999	9.25%
$1 million and up	8.50%

Data source: [brokerage slug=ally-invest field=offer_name]

Some people use margin loans to leverage their portfolio (invest with borrowed money), which can increase the profits if your investments rise in value at a rate higher than the cost of borrowing money. That said, using margin also adds more risk to your portfolio, as it multiplies losses if your investments fall in value.

Other investors use margin differently, using it instead as a way to be able to immediately reinvest the proceeds from selling stock. Stock sales are "settled" in two days, which means that if you sell a stock in a cash account on Tuesday, you won't be able to use the money until Thursday. Investors who have a margin account can borrow the money for two days, so as to be able to immediately reinvest the proceeds from the sale of an investment.

Research and education

Discount brokers may not offer the same assistance of full-service brokerage firms, but that doesn't mean they leave clients in the dark. Many offer research and screening tools that can help investors find suitable investments.

There are two notable research and news solutions available to Ally Invest customers:

CFRA Research: Ally Invest clients get access to in-depth research from CFRA on individual stocks and themes.
News: The web interface offers real-time updates from a variety of content providers, including MT Newswire and Zacks Investment Research.

RELATED: See The Ascent's complete Zacks Trade review to see how it combines trading and research.

Interface

Ally Invest doesn't have a sophisticated platform for active investors like many of its competitors. This can be both a pro and a con, depending on how you use your brokerage account.

The company's web-based trading platform works well on large and small screens. Its features include screeners, market research and analysis tools, streaming charts, and the ability to create customized watchlists.

While Ally Invest is well-suited for most long-term investors, those who like to do lots of research and make frequent trades could be better off with a more tech-heavy competitor.

As long-term investors ourselves, we don't put much emphasis on trading platforms, given that virtually any broker makes placing a trade as easy as entering a ticker symbol and making a few clicks.

App

Mobile traders may prefer to download Ally's mobile app (available on iPhone and Android) for an experience that is tailored for smaller devices.

The Ally: Bank, Auto, & Invest app enables users to use the following features via their mobile devices:

Robo Portfolio: Users can either choose the cash enhanced option to avoid an advisory fee, or pay a fee to invest in a market-focused portfolio.
Self-Directed Trading: This option allows users to engage in commission-free trading.
Personal Advice: Users looking for guidance on making sizable investments may benefit from this option.

The app is free to use and is highly rated on the App Store. Google Play ratings are substantially lower.

Customer service

Reviews of customer service are mixed. While some customers praise Ally's ease of use and excellent customer service, others complain about its lack of physical locations and issues regarding the responsiveness of customer service agents.

There are a few ways to contact customer service:

Phone line open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. EDT and Saturday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EDT
Online chat
Email

Security

Ally Invest is a reputable financial institution and takes security seriously. It implements a multi-layered approach to protect your accounts and information. This includes:

Two-factor authentication
Fraud monitoring
Encryption
Security education

Overall, Ally Invest's security measures are comparable to those of other well-established online brokerages.

It should go without saying that as the customer, it's your responsibility to do your part. Protect your account with strong passwords, always be on the alert for phishing scams, and regularly review your account activity.

If you have specific concerns about security, review Ally Invest's security FAQ for detailed information about its practices.

About

Ally started out as an auto financer in 1919. It helped auto dealers buy large quantities of cars, and offered car loans to customers through dealerships.

Today, Ally still provides auto loans, but has expanded its offerings to include banking services, credit cards, mortgages, and investment services.

Learn more about Ally Invest

Keep reading about Ally Invest and how it stacks up to the competition on these pages:

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Ally Invest Review: All the Basics for Cheap