Thursday, January 23rd
2025 Online Stock Trading Platform Reviews
Ally Invest
- High interest rates for cash reserves
- Great for beginners
- In business for over 100 years
- Fully integrated mobile app
- 24/7 highly rated customer service
- Robo-advisor can trade and rebalance stocks for you
Ally is a Top 25 U.S. financial holding company and is in the business of helping inexperienced investors start a positive journey into the world of stock trading. The company is over 100 years old, and its trading platform is pretty positively reviewed online. Ally lives up to its mission of trying to make things smarter and simpler through technology with their integrated mobile app.
Just the facts
- Costs
- Commission-free trading on eligible U.S. stocks and ETFs
- Wide selection of commission-free ETFs from market leaders such as Vanguard, GlobalX, iShares, and more-including a selection of socially responsible funds
- $0 commissions + 50¢ per contract fee on options
- Minimum Deposit
- $0 to start with self-directed investments
- $100 minimum to start in robo-advisor automated investments
- $100,000 minimum for wealth management investments
Targeted toward beginning investors
Ally Invest's stock trading platform is targeted toward inexperienced investors. Whether you want help in investing or feel like plunging in and doing it yourself, or maybe you've just received a large inheritance but don't know how to invest it, Ally wants newbies of all budgets and experience levels to feel comfortable. With simple explanations and a non-cluttered website, this platform doesn't want beginners to be overwhelmed. They also include an education section, which contains informative articles about the basics of investing for those who have no previous knowledge about stocks.
Three stock trading plans to choose from
Ally Invest offers three different stock trading plans to choose from: automated, self-directed, and the personal advice plan for those with a $100,000 minimum to commit. Each plan has different advantages, and Ally does a good job of keeping it simple when explaining the benefits and features of each plan.
Wealth management starts with a scheduled phone call
For the Personal Advice plan, those who are interested will need a minimum of $100,000 and will have to log in to schedule a call, which requires creating a profile and account. This is excellent if you already bank with Ally, but seems somewhat off-putting if you are not a current client. After you've scheduled a call, you will then talk to an advisor for a consultation. You will set goals and look at portfolio strategies catered to your needs. From those conversations, Ally Invest will create a personalized financial plan and review it. Finally, your advisor will open your account, and you'll get started.
Ally Invest offers an automated robo-advisor plan
For those who have no interest in or time to devote to researching and learning about stock investment, Ally offers an automated robo account. This account will be customized for you but monitored by Ally's robo-advisor. You can invest with an expertly built portfolio, and it only costs $100 minimum to begin. You can choose from a conservative cash-enhanced portfolio where 30% of your cash is set aside as a buffer or a more risky market-focused portfolio that will invest all but 2% of your cash. Both portfolios offer a comparatively high interest rate of 4% on the cash holdings, credited monthly. The cash-enhanced account has no advisory fees, while the market-focused has an advisory fee of 0.30%, charged monthly. They also offer fee-free, automated rebalancing and 24/7 access to your portfolio.
Flexible self-directed trading plan
Ally Invest's stock trading platform offers a flexible self-directed trading plan with a $0 minimum. They also provide a $75 credit to customers who transfer individual investments, cash, or entire accounts via initial ACAT from another firm. This covers any possible transfer fees when you complete an online account transfer of $2,500 or more. They also offer TipRanks Smart Score and analysis as a way to assess and analyze stocks.
All in one mobile app, slightly outdated website
Instead of having a separate app for stock trading, Ally has an app that works for all the company's accounts and activities. Checking, savings, credit cards, and your brokerage accounts are all conveniently in one place. This is a really great feature for those who already bank with Ally and want to keep everything in one place. The app has a great user interface - it's easy to deposit checks, check account balances and transfers, check tax forms, and find ATMs all in the same place that you manage your investments. You can analyze, check the latest market news, and check your portfolio anytime. It's not as robust as the trading platform, but it's still a useful tool. Reviewers noted that overall, Ally's website is slightly outdated but still functional and pretty simple to navigate.
24/7 Customer support
Brokers are available 24/7 via phone or chat, and they will quickly route you to the right representative. You can also email for help. There isn't an option to go into a physical bank location, though.
No allowance for contingent orders and other caveats
Ally Invest's stock trading platforms do not offer any way to place contingent orders. There is also no way to trade fractional shares, and Ally does not offer trading in cryptocurrency, futures, or forex.
Mixed reviews
Ally Invest's stock trading platform generally ranks above average with reviewers, rating especially high in customer service and affordability. It also gets positive reviews regarding its cash management options and the fact that you can have an integrated financial platform. However, it gets terrible reviews as a bank and loan institution, so even though it offers integration, it might not be ideal if the customer service you're getting on the banking side of your finances isn't great. Ally Invest is really designed with beginners in mind, so if you're an experienced investor, this stock trading platform would probably not be a good fit. However, we can't ignore the high interest rate on cash holdings, so we gave Ally Invest a slightly above average rating.
More Online Stock Trading Platform Reviews
The 12 Best Online Stock Trading Platforms
Which Online Stock Trading Platform is the Best?
This can be an overwhelming question for beginning investors - but that's a great place to start. First, ask yourself what level of skills or knowledge you have in investing and what your purposes for investing are. Are you brand new to the financial world of stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, and options? Are you trying to manage a large amount of wealth? Are you looking for a safe place to grow your savings over the next few decades?
Or, are you someone who has had a lot of experience in investing and wants to get back into the game or take your game to the next level? Are you wanting to take high risks, or are you more conservative in your approach? There are plenty of options out there and there are some who focus on everything and some who specialize in one or two niche markets.
Online Stock Trading Platform FAQ
Continued from above...
For beginning traders, there are platforms that have devoted a big part of their online presence into education. Some have partnered with banks so you can do all of your investing along with your banking.
For active traders, the best platforms will have advanced charting capabilities, responsive customer service, robust toolkits, and they will also offer high-quality research resources. We highly recommend those platforms that allow for backtesting - a way to put in a particular strategy simulation and see how it might play out before committing to the trade in real life. Be sure to ask questions and double-check that whatever stock trading platform you use, they will have the tools that fit your particular needs.
For example, if you are going to be trading mostly on your mobile phone, you will want to make sure the stock trading company you choose has a strong mobile platform. Some companies do a bare-bones mobile app, and that would not be a suitable fit. Be sure to check if software platforms have a history of outages or glitches, too.
Are you the kind of investor who doesn't want to actually pull the trigger on choosing which stocks to buy on your own? You might want to look into robo-advisors or a dedicated financial advisor or team of advisors. These accounts usually come with fees as a percentage of the total amount invested, but it can be well worth the cost if you don't want to be involved in the day-to-day management and strategy on your account.
Most advisor accounts (robo or personal) involve you completing a questionnaire and/or a phone call that considers your time frame, financial goals, and risk tolerance. From there, the company will create a portfolio matching the information you gave. This portfolio will be rebalanced automatically, and you don't have to do a thing. On those types of accounts, you can find options with no fees, and the ones that do charge fees are usually much less expensive than working with a human advisor one-on-one.
Keep in mind that most of today's online stock trading platforms very proudly advertise that they charge "$0 fees." That usually just refers to a $0 commission fee. There will definitely be at least one or two fees for most accounts. Whether it's for withdrawal or broker-assisted transactions, there are going to be some extra costs associated with your account.
So, which online stock trading platform is best for you? Here are some of the criteria to keep in mind:
- Intended investment strategy. Are you an active day trader? A buy-and-hold investor? A conservative investor taking the slow and steady way to build a retirement? Are you willing to take risks? Are you a natural researcher or do you want someone else to do that for you?
- Ease of use. Is the website difficult to figure out? Is it easy to open an account, or do you have to go through a lot of extra hoops? Do you prefer to talk to someone on the phone, or is live chat your go-to way to communicate? Are there tutorials and online help for learning how to use the platform?
- Tools. Do you want lots of tools, or do you just want someone else to worry about it? Do you want to have an app that is integrated with your bank? Is there a mobile app? Is it web-based or downloadable? Can you connect with research resources that match your level of expertise?
- Customer service. What do other clients say about their experiences with the company? How are issues handled by customer service? Are the financial advisors helpful?
- Reputation. Is this a service with a long history in the financial industry or a relative newcomer? Is the company insured or backed by government or private agencies? Do they have a history of litigation or being fined by FINRA or other agencies? Are they transparent?
To help you make the most of your investments, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular online stock trading platforms. We hope this information helps you reach your financial goals!
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