The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) monitor the broker Ally Invest, a U.S. brokerage (FINRA). Ally Financial Inc. is an NYSE-listed company with a registered bank called Ally Bank.
Basic brokerage account holders cannot trade in the forex market, and you can only trade in U.S. markets. Trading and non-trading costs are both minimal at Ally Invest. Two-factor authentication could potentially make the login procedure more secure. Ally Financial Inc., its parent business, was incorporated in 1911, the same year as its predecessor, General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC).
Because the firm has a long track record and is well-regulated by top-tier financial regulators, Ally Invest is regarded safe. In addition, the procedure of opening an account is simple and entirely digital. There are also numerous high-quality educational resources available.
Ally Invest review: Pros and Cons
Pros
- All kinds of market analysis for various investment strategies
- No commission on the U.S. listed stocks and ETFs
- Low trading fees
- Instant money transfer between accounts
- No minimum initial deposit
- Easy account opening process
- A broad range of investment options
Cons
- Weak investment research resources
- Trading allowed in the U.S. markets only
- Need to open a separate account for forex trading
- Margin rates are slightly higher
Is Ally Invest a Scam: Check Regulations
Because Ally Invest is situated in the United States, it is governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and, in the case of Ally Forex, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The extent of investor protection and the regulator may vary from one business to the next. For example, Ally Invest is a legal entity with multiple legal entities. However, all customers (excluding F.X.) are covered by SIPC, a U.S. investor protection plan. Ally Financial is a bank holding company that was created by General Motors in 1919 to provide car financing.
In the event that a broker goes bankrupt, the SIPC investor protection system protects investors from losing their money and securities.
Who is Ally Invest owned by?
Ally Invest is owned by the financial services provider known as Ally Financial. It is a holding company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
The company offers services in various sectors like car insurance, corporate lending, online banking, loans, and trading brokerage services for investing in stocks and different asset classes.
Is Ally Bank the same as Ally Invest?
Ally Bank and Ally Invest are different subsidiaries of the same firm or the parent company Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Invest Group Inc. owns many subsidiaries such as Ally Forex LLC, Ally Invest Securities, and Ally Invest Advisors.
Trading account types
Ally Invest provides multiple trading account types. According to traders’ experience and risk appetite, they can choose their preferred account type. Also, Ally Invest offers two choices of investment approaches. One is self-directed trading, and the other is Robo portfolios.
Self-directed trading is for investors who want to manage their portfolio by own. On the other hand, Robo portfolios or automated portfolios are handled by a team of fund managers and specialists. No minimum fee is required for self-trading, but Ally Invest charges $100 for Robo portfolios.
Here are the different account types.
Brokerage accounts
Ally Invest is a wonderful choice for active traders as well as passive investors who want to grow their money at a cheap cost. At Ally Invest, you can open a brokerage account for free. Individual, joint, custodial, standard IRA, Roth IRA, and Rollover IRA accounts are among the account types offered by the company.
Commission-free stock, ETF, and options trading are also available through Ally’s self-directed brokerage accounts.
Retirement accounts
There are no annual fees, transfer fees for rollovers, or commissions for US-listed stocks, ETFs, or options in any of its retirement accounts.
Account transfers and closures, on the other hand, will incur fees.
Automated investing accounts
Robo Portfolios provided by Ally Invest are available in four categories: core, income, tax optimized, and socially responsible. If you’d rather invest passively, Ally Invest’s automated portfolios can take care of everything for you. In addition, Ally Invest claims that its income portfolios have a lower risk profile and higher dividend yields.
You can invest in companies that have strong ethical and environmental standards if you have a socially responsible portfolio.
Ally Invest Account Opening Process
The account opening procedure is entirely digital and simple to complete. Although the online application is quick, account verification can take a lengthy time. After three business days, our account was validated.
Here are the simple steps to open an account with Ally Invest.
- Fill in your details such as name, phone number, and email address. Select an account type. Continue with more personal information and details, such as your Social Security Number, for further account verification.
- Choose a security question and provide your phone number, which will be used during the registration process and as your default contact.
- Give the information about your job. Choose an investment profile and trading preferences that are right for you. Include some investment goals as well as your margin and choice preferences.
- To verify your date of birth (DOB) and Social Security Number SSN, upload a copy of the appropriate papers.
- After the complete verification, fund your account and embark on your trading journey.
Ally Invest Available Trading platform
Ally Invest provides three types of trading platforms. Traders can take benefit from this diversity of trading platforms on Ally Invest. The three different kinds of trading platforms are Ally Invest, Ally Forex, and MetaTrader 4 (MT4).
You can trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and options with Ally Invest’s trading platform. To invest in the forex market, you need to sign up for the Ally Forex or MetaTrader 4 platform. You can use Ally Forex via webtrader, mobile app, and desktops. But Ally Invest is not available on the desktop.
Ally Invest Trading instruments
Ally Invest offers trading in various asset classes. For example, you can trade stocks, bonds, ETFs, and options. But the significant disadvantage is that you cannot invest in crypto, commodities, and futures with Ally Invest.
Stocks of mega-companies like Apple, Google, AIG, McDonald’s, Netflix listed in NASDAQ, and NYSE can be traded with the brokerage firm. You can also earn huge profits by investing in options but be aware of the associated risks as Ally Invest does not provide negative balance protection.
Commission and spreads of Ally Invest
For most investment kinds, Ally Invest charges relatively minimal commissions. However, while the broker has competitive commissions and costs for investors, it is not suitable for day traders. Standard pricing, for example, is $0.00 per stock or ETF trade. This feature has made the platform even more appealing to active investors, who frequently regard Ally Invest as one of the top brokerages for active traders.
Options markets are also covered, with typical pricing of $0.50 per contract + $0.00 per turn. This decision is based on objective criteria such as the items offered, the client profile, the pricing structure, and so on.
Ally Invest review on Leverage
Ally Invest’s margin rates are quite lower than those charged by similar U.S. brokers, although they are significantly more than those charged by other brokers like Modmount, which is 1.6 percent. This is because the stock margin rate in Ally Invest is volume-tiered. The lower the margin rate, the bigger the sum.
Ally Invest review: Deposit and withdrawal
There is no deposit cost with Ally Invest. Clients can deposit funds via cheque, ACH, or wire transfer. Electronic wallets and credit/debit cards are not accepted.
Of course, if you already have an Ally Bank account, you may quickly transfer funds to your brokerage account. However, you can only make deposits and withdrawals from your accounts.
If you use ACH withdrawal, Ally Invest will not charge you any fees, but wire transfers will cost you $30. Alternatively, for a $5 fee, you can request a check.
Educational and research support
The platform’s educational content covers a wide range of topics and is often of high quality.
The instructive films and articles are user-friendly and include useful information. The written content is available in the ‘Do it Right’ section. It’s fantastic that instructional resources are divided into categories such as stocks and bonds. There is also weekly live streaming; the series currently contains dozens of episodes, all of which are preserved on the site for future watching.
The platform tutorial videos in the ‘How to’ section are connected to the relevant portions of the platform. In addition, ally Invest’s webinars cover a wide range of topics, with a focus on beginners. Finally, you can also take an introductory financial education course through the Ally Wallet Wise website.
Ally Invest’s research tools for stocks and options are excellent, but they could be better. ETF screening is also available at Ally Invest.
Customer support of Ally Invest
Although the speed of service was average, the Ally Invest phone assistance gave pertinent answers. In addition, we received pertinent responses via email, although it took a few days to receive a response. Unfortunately, the customer support representatives speak only English.
The live chat service provided by Ally Invest may be enhanced. However, the response time was average, and the answers were just mediocrely relevant. Despite this, the fact that the Ally Invest support team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is a huge plus.
Verdict
Ally Invest is one of the largest stockbrokers in the United States, and it is regulated by top-tier regulators. Ally Bank’s retail clients will appreciate how nicely its banking and brokerage platforms are connected, making it simple to transfer money across accounts.
In the United States, Ally Invest features minimal trading and non-trading costs and a decent product selection. The procedure of opening an account is simple and entirely digital. We were also impressed by the great quality of its educational resources.
Only US exchanges are available for trading. In addition, only a separate Ally Forex account sponsored by GAIN Capital (Forex.com) is available for forex trading. Finally, for further protection, there is no option to use two-factor authentication.
