In her free time, she enjoys reading, walking, playing bocce and attending concerts and plays. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is a great pick for your next robo-advisor, with low costs and tons of features, including unlimited access to advisors. Vanguard Digital Advisor continues the company’s tradition of low costs and brings that to a managed portfolio with some premium features and strong Vanguard educational content. Here it’s also worth pointing out Ally’s “cash-enhanced” portfolio option, which is its standard way of constructing a portfolio. Ally Invest also has a slightly higher management fee compared to some other robo-advisors. On top of that, you won’t find any tiered levels or discounts when you reach a higher balance.

Where Ally Invest Robo Portfolios shines

Ally informed customers about the breach the following month, but customers filed two class action lawsuits later in the year arguing that Ally failed to protect sensitive information adequately. These low-priced securities aren’t penny stocks, but rather over the counter securities and pink sheet stocks that do not report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these firms’ unwillingness to adhere to SEC requirements as well as the reduced disclosure requirements on the OTC market, these securities can be extremely volatile and risky.

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Bond trades are competitively priced at $1 per bond, with a $10 minimum and $250 maximum per transaction. Additionally, there are some incidental fees for account transfers and certain transactions, so it’s always good to check the fine print before making a move. Our mission at Investopedia is to supply investors with reviews and rankings of robo-advisors which might be comprehensive and unbiased. As a part of this evaluation, we extract critical data points which might be weighted by our quantitative model that produces a robust star-scoring system. Merrill Guided Investing offers a credible investing service for Bank of America customers, but its high management fee makes it less attractive among a competitive field of robo-advisors. Merrill offers several positives, including access to human advisors and low-cost investment funds, but premium features such as tax-loss harvesting are missing.

Pricing: How Much Does Ally Invest Cost?

As sectors go in and out of favor, it’s expected that robo-advisor return positions will wax and wane. As would be expected, The Ally robo-advisor returns vary based upon the type of portfolio selected. The conservative portfolios are expected to yield lower returns, with less risk. While over the long term, it’s expected that higher risk portfolios will offer higher returns. Automatic rebalancing is key feature of all robo-advisors, including Ally.

For this year’s ally invest review 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. With the person investor in mind, we’ve designed a comprehensive rating methodology to search out the most effective overall robo-advisors and the most effective robo-advisors across nine key categories. Each advisor is then scored across multiple variables to rate performance in every applicable category.

Wealth Management

• 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 Ally Invest product line covers content like bonds, stocks, and options.
• Many traders spend more time doing research than they would trading the equity.
• While they give you access to the same tradable securities, Ally Invest’s options tools far exceed those offered by Robinhood.
• I’m a conservative investor and nearing retirement and even I don’t hold that much cash in my investment portfolio.

That means 96.95% of orders sold for at a price that was at or better than the National Best Bid and Offer. Executing at or above the NBBO means you may receive a price improvement or a better share price than you were originally quoted. Ally says its execution quality is approximately 92%, which is on the lower end of brokers that we review. Ally has a solid selection of bond products, including corporate, municipal, agency, Treasurys and bond ETFs. Personally, I’m not a fan of day trading nor do I talk about it much. If you want to know more about day trading on Ally, read their disclosure here.

• If you want to be more hands-on with your portfolio, you can open a Self-Directed Trading account.
• Because Ally Invest is an online-only service (there are no brick-and-mortar offices you can visit), some potential users are concerned about online safety.
• Ally routinely reviews your portfolio to see how much (or how little) risk you’re taking and whether you’re on track to meet your goals.
• The compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear, but it does not influence the recommendations the editorial team provides.
• Ally Invest Robo Portfolios offers clients a solid choice for online banking and investing, with options for investors of all experience levels, including self-directed and managed accounts.

If you venture into lower-priced stocks, though, you’ll run into an extra penny-per-share fee for those priced under $2. Keep in mind there’s also a $4.95 minimum commission up to a 5% maximum of the value of the trade on these stock purchases, so you’ll want to do the math before diving into penny stocks. There isn’t any dedicated mobile app for Ally Invest Robo Portfolios.

Online chat with a human can also be available, but this requires logging in first. Customer feedback on Ally Robo Portfolios shows a mix of appreciation and frustration. Many users value the simplicity and automation, noting that steady dividends and the interest earned on cash holdings can help offset fees. One investor even highlighted that the built-in cash feature was enough to cover most of their costs. Investors can choose from individual, joint, custodial, or retirement accounts (Traditional, Roth, and Rollover IRAs) once the minimum deposit is met.

Ally Invest joined a number of other online brokerages in eliminating commissions on most stock, ETF, and options trades. This was big news and the culmination of a long price war among brokers. Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time.

It also charges $0 commissions on most U.S.-based stock and ETF trades and has excellent customer service. You can open an Ally Invest account within the Ally mobile app and trade stocks, ETFs and options for $0 commissions. For instance, like many competitors, Ally makes money on its $0 commission trades through payment for order flow, a practice where brokerages accept payments for placing investors’ trades with certain market makers. While light traders probably won’t notice any impact, active traders may notice differences in price and the speed of trade execution compared to brokerages that don’t accept PFOF, such as Fidelity. Ally Invest’s prices are low across the board, with lots of fee-free U.S. stocks and ETFs to choose from, plus thousands of mutual funds without transaction fees or loads. However, its margin-trading rates and its fees for certificates of deposit are on the higher side.

Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.

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While our articles may include or feature select companies, vendors, and products, our approach to compiling such is equitable and unbiased. The content that we create is free and independently-sourced, devoid of any paid-for promotion. When you log in to your mobile account, all you can see is a summary of your portfolio showing your balance and holdings. You can easily track your portfolio’s performance over time and see at a glance your returns and what you’ve paid in fees over time. With Ally Managed Portfolios, rebalancing happens automatically so you don’t have to worry about your investments getting thrown off-kilter.

Our research team meticulously collected data on every feature of importance to a wide range of customer profiles, including beginners, casual investors, passive investors, and active traders. While Ally Invest offers commission-free stock trading, it lacks many of the features that active traders rely on. There’s no Level 2 market data, limited chart-trading capabilities, and higher-than-average margin rates compared to brokers that cater to frequent traders. Options traders may also find the platform lacking in detailed analytics and advanced strategy tools.

Market education

First, you must decide if you want a cash-enhanced or a market-focused account. Please disable your adblocker to enjoy the optimal web experience and access the quality content you appreciate from GOBankingRates. Although Ally Invest reviews are mostly positive, the investment platform may not be the best fit for everyone. Ally Invest is a FINRA regulated broker and all accounts are insured.