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Ally Invest vs Charles Schwab (2023)
Compare Charles Schwab versus Ally Invest—which is better in 2023? IRA/Roth accounts, online
investing fees, stock broker mutual fund rates, and differences.
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Overview
Charles Schwab and Ally Invest are two low-cost brokers that provide many similar services, and so they tend to attract the same types of clients. While Schwab
advertises more heavily, Ally Invest offers breaks to active traders. Let’s try to find out which company is the better value - Charles Schwab or Ally Invest?
Pricing
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Ally Invest
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0.50 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
Promotion Links
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Ally Invest:
Get zero commission on stock and ETF trades.
Fees and Commissions
Ally Invest customers pay $0 for stock and ETF transactions.
Option contracts cost 50 cents.
Equity trades at Schwab are also $0. Derivatives cost an additional 65 cents per contract.
An account at either brokerage firm has no on-going maintenance fee. There are no surcharges for minimum
balances or inactivity. Ally Invest has no minimum deposit requirement to open an account, while Schwab
customers must deposit $1,000 to open an account. This requirement can be waived by opening a checking account
with Schwab Bank.
Ally Invest wins the first category.
ETF’s and Mutual Funds
Schwab’s mutual fund screener generates more than 5,000 securities that are open to new investors. Over 3,000
of these funds are no-load, no-transaction-fee funds, which Schwab calls OneSource funds. The broker charges
$49.95 for the purchase of a fund that isn’t on its NTF list. The charge is not applied to sales. An NTF fund that
is sold in less than 3 months after purchase carries a $49.95 charge.
A larger list of mutual funds will be found using Ally Invest’s screener. There are roughly 12,000 securities
available for purchase, with 1,700 having no load. The broker doesn’t offer any funds that carry neither load
nor transaction fee. Ally charges nothing for funds.
Ally wins this category.
Customer Service
An Ally Invest representative can be reached 7am-10pm ET, 7 days a week. Besides phone service, the broker also provides a chat function on its
website. Customers who travel outside the US also can use an international phone number. The broker does not have any physical offices.
Schwab provides 24/7 support over the phone and through its convenient on-line chat feature. The broker has customer service agents certain times
of the day who speak foreign languages, and there are international phone numbers available. Unlike Ally, Schwab has a nationwide network of branch
locations; the broker even has offices in Puerto Rico and the UK.
Schwab is the better choice here.
Trading Technology
The Ally Invest website is contained within ally.com, although it has a different interface than the
banking side of the company. The bank’s interface is actually more user-friendly, although there’s nothing specifically wrong with the brokerage software.
Investors who want to use a trading platform have access to Ally Invest LIVE, a browser-based
program that is fairly simple. Charting comes with technical studies, comparisons, and multiple
graph styles. There is no desktop platform here. The broker does provide a trade bar, and orders
can be placed on it. Of course, the web site also has order tickets for all securities.
Like Ally, the Schwab website has a trade bar that sits at the bottom of the browsing window. But trades cannot be placed on it. It does display bid and ask prices, along with trade volume. A handy chart pops up after clicking on ‘Chart.’ Clicking on ‘Trade’ takes you to a web page where an order can be submitted.
Where Schwab really excels is in its advanced desktop trading system named StreetSmart Edge. This platform is free for all clients, and it comes with some very handy features, such as color customization, in-depth Nasdaq data, and sophisticated charting tools.
StreetSmart Edge gives Schwab the victory here.
Mobile Trading
There is one Ally mobile app, and it can be used for both banking and investment purposes. The brokerage side has watchlists, positions, market news, and option chains. Charts are also available, and the software has some technical indicators. There is no video news, unfortunately, nor does the broker provide a platform for Apple Watch.
Schwab does have an app for Apple Watch. It also has a platform for Kindle Fire, which Ally lacks. Ally, however, has an app for Windows, which Schwab
lacks. There are useful features on the Schwab app, such as bill pay and live streaming of CNBC free of charge.
The availability of CNBC and an Apple Watch app gives Schwab the nod here.
Promotion Links
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Ally Invest:
Get zero commission on stock and ETF trades.
Research & Educational Resources
Traders at Schwab will find a website with loads of resources. There are free equity reports available that come from several analysts. The broker provides a lot of educational materials on a variety of financial topics, such as estate planning and tax implications of investing. These resources come in both video and article formats.
The Ally Invest site has fewer resources. There are short articles on different types of investments, including bonds and options. There are fewer videos at Ally Invest, and the broker only offers stock reports from CFRA.
Schwab is a much better choice here.
Ally Invest vs Charles Schwab - Outcome
Ally Invest succeeded twice, and Schwab won four categories. Schwab wins by a
good margin.
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Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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