Top perks
Low or no management fee
Ally Invest Robo Portfolios offer two account options: cash-enhanced and market-focused.
Its cash-enhanced account has no management fee and is a good fit for conservative investors. It keeps 30% of your portfolio in an account similar to a high-yield savings account (though not FDIC-insured or liquid like a savings account). The other 70% is invested in a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The underlying investment funds in your portfolio will have small fees (known as expense ratios), but that's it.
The market-focused portfolio option invests about 98% of your account's value, and it charges a 0.30% annualized advisory fee. This isn't the lowest fee in the industry, but it's certainly competitive with many of the best robo-advisors. This option is better for more aggressive investors who want to give their money the best chance at growth and are willing to pay the accompanying fee.
Low minimum investment
Ally Invest Robo Portfolios requires a $100 minimum investment to get started. It doesn't stand alone in that low minimum, but it is relatively low for managed portfolios. Some competitors require a $500 minimum investment or more to open an account, while some robo-advisors let you invest with as little as $1 (usually with higher fees).
Automatic rebalancing
All robo-advisors we know of rebalance portfolios over time, but some only do it at certain time intervals, such as annually or quarterly. Ally Invest rebalances portfolios as needed in response to market fluctuations, so your investments are more likely to be optimized for the investment goals your portfolio is designed to achieve.
24/7 customer support
Many robo-advisors have dedicated customer service hours, and others only provide support through chat or email. Ally Invest has a customer support line that lets you speak with a person 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Strong return on cash
Ally's cash-enhanced option keeps 30% of the portfolio in cash, instead of securities, at a higher yield than you're likely to get on cash held with most other brokers.
Portfolio types
Ally offers four made-for-you portfolio options:
- Core: highly diversified
- Income: for investors at or near retirement
- Tax optimized: a traditional or Roth IRA
- Socially responsible: invested in businesses that actively practice sustainability, energy efficiency or other eco-friendly initiatives
You'll select one of these four options when you set up your account, and you can adjust to customize your allocations to get the mix of risk versus reward that's right for you.
Ally integration
Your Ally Invest Robo Portfolios account will be integrated under the same login and managed through the same website or app if you have one of the following: