Ally Invest Review 2024: Full service online banking and investment in USA

Founded in the 1920s, Ally Invest is an integrated online banking and investment platform that is regulated by FINRA and the SEC to provide a wide range of financial services.

In addition, it offers 3 investment methods and supports trading including stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, mutual funds, bonds and low-priced securities trading. It also offers 9 specific bank accounts with no monthly maintenance fees.

However, it lacks support for MT4/5 and its product offerings are limited in forex, precious metals, cryptocurrencies and energy.

Ally Invest Pros & Cons

Is Ally Invest Legit?

Yes, Ally Invest is regulated normally. It holds a Securities Trading type license from FINRA. In addition, it is also regulated by SEC and NFA.

It should be noted that Ally Invest is currently classified as “Exceeded” regulatory by the SEC; The regulatory status has been determined by NFA as“suspected clone”.

Regulated Country	Regulated Authority	License Type	Regulatory status	License Number
	FINRA	Securities Trading License	Regulated	CRD#:136131/SEC#:8-66982
	SEC	Investment Consulting License	Exceeded	CRD#170301/SEC#:801-79305
	NFA	Common Financial Service License	Suspicious Clone	0408077

The above regulatory situation is verified and presented by WikiFX.

WikiFX provides comprehensive reference for investors by updating real-time regulatory information, license qualifications, risk information, credit ratings, site inspections, and other multidimensional information of foreign exchange traders.

What Services does Ally Invest Offer?

Unlike most of our usual brokers, Ally Invest is better called “online banking” and offers financial services ranging from auto, banking, corporate finance, credit card, dealer services, home, and investing. It is enough to show that the range of services is wide and rich.

• Auto: Ally Invest offers 2 types of car financing, purchase and lease. Manage vehicle accounts online and support 7 payment methods including online, SMS, bank bill payment, mail, phone, debit card and in person.
• Banking: There are 9 different levels of accounts.
• Corporate Finance: It mainly provides 5 types of personalized financing, including cash flow financing, real estate financing, asset mortgage loan, Priority Revolvers and Lender Finance Facilities.
• Credit Card: There is 1 credit card available to traders, Ally Platinum Mastercard. No foreign transaction fees, no overage fees, no return payment fees. No rate increases if payment is late.
• Dealer Services: It mainly provides 6 one-stop services such as personal auto loans, special vehicle financing, commercial auto financing, dealer loans, wholesale inventory financing and lease termination opportunities.
• Home: For purchases or financing, a variety of terms and loan types (fixed, adjustable and large) are available, with down payments as low as 3%. No credit charge.
• Investing: Ally Invest offers 3 investment methods, automatic investing, self-directed trading and personal advice.

What can I trade on Ally Invest?

3 methods of investment, to a certain extent, can help traders make it more suitable for their own choice.

• Automated Investing

There are 4 types of investment portfolios, including Core, Income, Tax optimized and Socially responsible. Ally Invest takes your “considerations” into account before you choose an investment. The above portfolio is for different traders and Ally Invest has detailed instructions.

In addition, anyone new to investing, pressed for time or looking for help can rely on Ally Invest Robo Portfolio. The minimum deposit required is $100.

• Self-Directed Trading

If you choose Self-Directed Trading, you can trade in 6 instruments including stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, bonds and low-priced securities.

It's important to note, you can't directly trade cryptocurrencies with Ally, but you can invest in crypto-specific funds and stocks for crypto-market exposure. For example, you can invest in crypto trusts, bitcoin futures, and stocks of companies that trade cryptocurrencies.

• Stocks: Ally Invest says it offers thousands of stocks with zero commission and no minimum deposit requirement.
• ETFs: ETFs contain shares of a variety of companies and are traded in a diversified way, no commission and no minimum deposit requirement.
• Options: Trade options at Ally Invest, charging no commission to close short options that trade below 5 cents. There is no minimum deposit and a per contract fee of $0.50.
• Mutual Funds: You can choose from more than 17,000 funds with fund fees and service charges. Free fund $0 per transaction.
• Bonds: Bonds have standard and selective pricing. $1 per person; The minimum is $0.
• Low-priced securities: Low-priced securities charge a base commission of $4.95 plus 1 cent per share for the entire order. The usual maximum commission is 5%.

Self-trading is suitable for traders who have a lot of free time, are experienced and like variety, and can do DIY by themselves.

• Personal Advice

You can get a personalized financial plan and investment strategy from a dedicated advisor. Personal advice is required at most 0.85% annual advisory fee and at least $100,000 in investable assets.

Account Types

Ally classifies bank accounts into 4 categories: CD, Savings, Checking and Money Market, IRAs. There are 9 specific accounts in total, no monthly maintenance fee.

• CD

There are 3 CD accounts: High Yield CD, Raise Your Rate CD, and No Penalty CD.

The common denominator is that they all have no minimum deposit requirement, and the APY is fixed for the duration of the CD and subject to change upon renewal. High Yield CD and Raise Your Rate CD are subject to early withdrawal penalties.

• Savings

Savings offers 1 account. Unlimited deposits, variable exchange rates, 10 withdrawals per billing week term. The Bucket and Booster are the highlight tools of this account to help you save better and faster.

• Checking and Money Market

Checking and Money Market There are 2 kinds of accounts, Spending and Money Market.

Spending supports unlimited deposits and withdrawals as well as access to bill pay and Zelle, spending buckets, checks and debit cards. The Money Market supports unlimited deposits and ATM withdrawals + 10 withdrawals per statement cycle.

• IRAs

The 3 accounts are IRA High Yield CD, IRA Raise Your Rate CD, and IRA Savings.

All three offer a Roth, SEP or traditional IRA, with deposits insured by the FDIC and no minimum deposit requirement.

Ally Invest explains which types of trading are best for each of 9 accounts, so if you're a trader on the fence, you can evaluate the characteristics of the account type.

Ally Invest Fees

Ally Invest's fees fall into 4 main categories: advisory fees, trading commissions, service fees and regulatory fees. The clearer the division of fees, the clearer your transaction costs will be.

• Advisory Fees

Advisory Fees are divided between Robo Portfolios and Personal Advice.

Robo Portfolios have 0% advisory fees and a 30% interest-bearing cash cushion.

The market-focused portfolio has an annual consulting fee of 0.30%. Ally Invest holds about 2 percent in cash and invests about 98 percent in markets. This annual fee equates to $3 for every $1,000 you invest.

Different parts of the total value of the personal advice portfolio are subject to different annual advisory rates ranging from 0.75 to 0.85%.

• Trading Commissions

Stocks and ETFs, options are all supported commission-free. The maximum commission fee for low-priced securities is not more than 5% of the transaction value.

• Service Fees

Service Fees include 5 parts: Account Fees, Trading Fees for Self-Directed Accounts, Account Transfer Fees, Cashiering Fees and IRA Fees.

1. Account Fees

14 types, for different methods of investment, fees have different requirements. The opening fee and annual account fee are not charged.

1. Trading Fees for Self-Directed Accounts

13 types of fees, option allocation and option exercise are all $0.

1. Account Transfer Fees

The DTC rejection fee for stock certificate deposits is the same for all three types of investments and is $175.

1. Cashiering Fees

Incoming Wires From Ally Bank are free of cashier fees.

1. IRA Fees

The IRA does not charge an annual fee.

• Regulatory Fees

Trading Platforms

• Ally Bank

Ally Bank is a platform that can be used on phones and tablets.

The platform is non-discriminatory, with phones and tablets getting access to the same features: deposit, transfer funds, access to cash, secure payments, and debit card protection are all available. You can use it 24/7.

• Mobile Web

Compared to the mobile app, the web version of the platform can use fewer features; Checking balances, finding ATMs, and paying bills are the main features it supports.

• Webroot® SecureAnywhere™

Webroot® SecureAnywhere™ is an anti-virus, anti-malware software that detects, removes and protects phones and tablets from malware. It supports Android mobile devices, not iOS devices.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Personal banking and investment have different requirements for deposit and withdrawal.

• Personal Banking

Ally Invest supports the following 3 types of deposits: Remote check deposit with Ally eCheck Deposit℠, Online transfers and direct deposit, Wire transfers and mail.

In addition, deposit money into the account indefinitely. With Ally eCheck Deposit℠, you can only deposit checks totaling $50,000 in one day and up to $250,000 every 30 calendar days. There is no dollar limit for mailing checks.

The withdrawal requirements are more detailed and need to be explained by account type:

1. IRA savings Account

Withdrawal requires an application for allocation, which requires login to the online bank and completion of the allocation request. Call 24/7 at 877-247-2559, or complete and mail in the Distribution Form. There are 10 limited withdrawals and transfers per month.

1. Money Market Account

ATM withdrawals are unlimited. Certain types of withdrawals from money market accounts (including online and mobile banking transfers, telephone transfers, overdraft transfer services, checks, and point-of-sale transactions) are made up to 10 times per billing cycle.

1. Spending Account

You can access your account, make payments and transfer money at any time onally.com or the app. You can also:

Use a debit card or check for purchases and payments

Pay with free online bill Pay

Get cash back on purchases made with your debit card

From the ATM

Transfer money between your Ally accounts

Transfer money from your Ally account to your account at another institution

Submit wire transfer requests online

Call 1-877-247-2559 for a free official check/cashier's check

• Invest

Withdrawl need to log in and select Transfers to request a transfer. You can also wire funds to another account for $30 or request a check for $5. You can request an overnight check by phone for a total fee of $5.

There is a personal advisory account, which can be waived from these fees. To withdraw more than 20% of the value of your personal advice account at one time, you need to call.

Education

If you are trying to learn anything from the educational resources offered by Ally Invest, it is a pity that while the topics are diverse, the content is not straightforward. Lack of valid “real thing” information.

Customer Support

Ally Invest's contact information is provided by financial services category, so you can ask for help by phone or email in a more targeted manner.

It is worth mentioning that it has also prepared the corresponding contact information for traders with hearing impairments.

The Bottom Line

Ally Invest is an “online bank” focused on providing financial services to new and existing traders, offering traditional banking services such as checking and savings accounts, mortgages, and consumer credit cards and loans.

Different from regular securities firms, they do not provide cryptocurrencies, futures and forex trading services. But Ally Invest also offers investment assets that are suitable for beginner and intermediate investors and traders.

Overall, Ally Invest is a solid choice for those looking for an integrated financial services provider that focuses on commission-free trading and wide banking products.

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