Ally Managed Portfolio Review
Ally Managed Portfolio offers automated investing. But is it worth the fees? Read this review to find out how it compares to other top robo-advisors.
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Overall Score | 4.0 | ||
Annual Fee | 4.0 | ||
Minimum Deposit | 4.0 | ||
Human Advisors | 3.0 | ||
Customer Service | 5.0 | ||
Pros and Cons
- 24/7 customer service
- Seamless integration for Ally bank clients
- Preview your strategy before signing up
- Higher fees than competitors
- No tax loss harvesting
- Higher minimum deposit
Bottom Line
Solid robo-advisor with great customer service if you have $2,500 to start
With Ally Managed Portfolio, you answer a basic questionnaire and the system determines your risk tolerance and how to help you reach your financial goals. Ally Invest then creates a portfolio comprised of ETFs from nine different asset classes.
Where Ally Invest Managed Portfolios differs is its offerings of all third-party ETFs. You'll see mostly iShares and Vanguard ETF choices, whereas other robo-advisors offer their own ETFs. This separation of funds could work to your benefit as you try to create the most productive portfolio.
How It Works
Investing with Ally Invest Managed Portfolios starts off the same way as with many other robo-advisors. You answer six questions that help Ally determine your risk level. They then create an investment strategy for you. If you choose to accept it, you open up an account and fund it with a linked checking or savings account.
Ally Invest Managed Portfolio's software then monitors your investments and rebalances them as things change. Ally Invest Managed Portfolio keeps your ETF expense ratios around 0.09%, helping you to keep more of your investments as profit rather than paying expenses.
Custom Investment Plans Created for You
Who Is It Best For?
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Ally Invest Managed Portfolios offers a valuable service for investors, whether beginners or experienced. Those who benefit the most include:
- Beginning investors who don't understand how to invest
- Investors who are too busy to manage their portfolios
- Current Ally Bank or Ally Invest customers
Anyone who would benefit from professional investment experience without paying the hefty advisor fees can benefit from their services.
Ally Invest Managed Portfolios offers options for many types of investors. Whether you want to open an individual or joint taxable account, traditional or Roth IRA, or a custodial account, Ally has you covered. This opens up the possibilities for investors of any magnitude, whether saving for a short-term goal or retirement.
Don't Have Time to Do Your Own Investing? Ally Invest Can Help
What Are the Fees?
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Ally Invest Managed Portfolios charges an annual fee of 0.3% of your assets under management. They withdraw the fee on a monthly basis.
For example, if you have $50,000 invested, you would pay $12.50 a month for the Ally Invest Managed Portfolios services.
They also provide supplemental insurance through Lloyd's of London for investors who have more than $500,000 invested with Ally Invest. This coverage is also strictly if Ally goes out of business and your investments are lost.
The Platform and App
Ally Invest Managed Portfolios' platform is basic. It's certainly not a standout point for this robo-advisor. The same is true for their mobile app, mostly because they don't have one specifically for Ally Invest Managed Portfolios.
Reasons We Like Ally Invest Managed Portfolios
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- They offer around-the-clock customer service. Sometimes it's hard to find good customer service with a robo-advisor. Some companies live up to the "robo" part of the name and only offer support online. Ally Invest Managed Portfolios takes it a step further by offering 24/7 phone and online chat support to help you when you need it.
- You can seamlessly transfer funds from your Ally Bank account. If you are a current Ally Bank customer, transferring funds is easy and instant. You don't have to wait the typical waiting period for funds to be available either to invest or to be available in your checking account after withdrawing funds.
- You can customize your portfolio. While Ally Invest Managed Portfolios does recommend a specific portfolio based on your risk tolerance, you can customize it. You are free to play with the allocations until you find the right balance between risk and return to help you reach your goals.
- Ally Invest Managed Portfolios automatically rebalances your portfolio. The market changes often, and your portfolio could get knocked off target with those changes. When that happens, Ally automatically rebalances your allocations to get you back on track to meeting your goals.
- If you are an Ally Invest or Ally Bank customer, you have one dashboard. You can log into one account and view all of your investments and deposit accounts in one place. This can help eliminate confusion and help you keep your finances straight.
- You can have a hands-off approach to investing. If investing overwhelms you or you don't have the time to manage your portfolios, Ally Invest Managed Portfolios does the work for you. Once you set your portfolio, you sit back and let them do the work while you watch your portfolio grow.
- Each portfolio contains approximately nine ETFs. With a wide range of asset classes to choose from, you can diversify your risk and lower your chances of loss. Without all of your eggs in one basket, you lower the risk of experiencing a total loss when one sector of the economy suffers.
- Ally Invest Managed Portfolios keeps a small portion of your portfolio as cash. The amount is usually equal to just 1% or 2% of your account balance. This helps to diversify risk as well as give you a little leeway when Ally needs to rebalance your portfolio (in the event that more cash is needed to purchase other investments).
- Ally offers five portfolio options. They base your chosen portfolio on your risk tolerance. They offer conservative, growth, and aggressive growth options. Ally bases your chosen portfolio on your answers in the original questionnaire, but you can change your portfolio at any time.
- You can see your chosen portfolio before signing up for an account. You answer Ally's basic questionnaire and let them put a portfolio together before you enter any personal information. This gives you a chance to decide if Ally is right for you before ever signing up.
Automated Investing to Help Save Your Time
Reasons You May Want to Look Elsewhere
- You need at least $2,500 to start investing. Although Ally Invest Managed Portfolios doesn't have a minimum investment requirement to open an account, you cannot start investing until you have at least $2,500 in the account. Compared to other robo-advisors on the market, this is a rather high minimum that could exclude many investors.
- They don't offer tax loss harvesting. Tax loss harvesting helps minimize your tax liability while offsetting your capital gains with losses. This isn't a service that Ally offers, but one that several other robo-advisors do offer. If taxes are of a concern to you, Ally may not be the right option.
- The fees are a little on the high side. While there definitely are robo-advisors that charge more than Ally, the average robo-advisor fee is around 0.25%, putting Ally a little on the higher side and taking away from your potential profits.
How It Compares
Ally Invest Managed Portfolios vs Betterment:
Betterment offers similar services as Ally Invest Managed Portfolios. Both companies invest in low-cost ETFs and automatically rebalance your account. Betterment only charges 0.25% and they offer tax loss harvesting, which could give them the edge over Ally.
Ally Managed Portfolio | Betterment | |
|---|---|---|
Automated Investing to Help Save Your Time - | ||
Benefits and Features | ||
| Annual Fee | 0.25% for accounts under $100,000; 0.40% for accounts $100,000+ | |
| Minimum Deposit | ||
| Phone Support | ||
| Live Chat Support | ||
| Email Support | ||
| Human Advisors | ||
| Assets Under Management | ||
| Tax Loss Harvesting | ||
| Goal Tracker | ||
| Automatic Deposits | ||
| Online Platform | ||
| iPhone App | ||
| Android App | ||
| Fractional Shares | ||
| Taxable Accounts | ||
| 401k Plans | ||
| IRA Accounts | ||
| Roth IRA Accounts | ||
| SEP IRA Accounts | ||
| Trust Accounts | ||
| 529 Plans | ||
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Ally Managed Portfolio: Pricing information from published website as of 06/14/2018 Betterment: Pricing information from published website as of 04/04/2018 | ||
Ally Invest Managed Portfolios vs Self-Directed
If you prefer to manage your own investments, including buying, selling, and deciding when the time is right, Ally Invest Self-Directed is a better option. You can trade stocks, bonds, options, ETFs, and mutual funds, all for a higher fee.
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Ally Managed Portfolio | Ally Invest | |
|---|---|---|
Automated Investing to Help Save Your Time - | Get Up to $3,500 Cash Bonus and Commission Free Trades for 90 Days - | |
Benefits and Features | ||
| Minimum Deposit | ||
| Stock Trading | $4.95 per trade ($3.95 per equity trade special pricing for high-volume/high-balance traders) | |
| Options Trading | $4.95 base + $0.65 per contract (50 cents per options contract special pricing for high-volume/high-balance traders) | |
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Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Ally Managed Portfolio: Pricing information from published website as of 06/14/2018 Ally Invest: Pricing information from published website as of 09/18/2017 | ||
Ally Invest Managed Portfolios vs Wealthfront
Wealthfront is another frontrunner when it comes to robo-advisors. Wealthfront charges a lower fee (0.25%) than Ally and they offer tax loss harvesting. Wealthfront also has a robust retirement calculator and goals tracker to help you stay on pace with your goals.
Ally Managed Portfolio | Wealthfront | |
|---|---|---|
Automated Investing to Help Save Your Time - | ||
Benefits and Features | ||
| Annual Fee | ||
| Minimum Deposit | ||
| Phone Support | ||
| Live Chat Support | ||
| Email Support | ||
| Human Advisors | ||
| Assets Under Management | ||
| Tax Loss Harvesting | ||
| Goal Tracker | ||
| Automatic Deposits | ||
| Online Platform | ||
| iPhone App | ||
| Android App | ||
| Fractional Shares | ||
| Taxable Accounts | ||
| 401k Plans | ||
| IRA Accounts | ||
| Roth IRA Accounts | ||
| SEP IRA Accounts | ||
| Trust Accounts | ||
| 529 Plans | ||
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Ally Managed Portfolio: Pricing information from published website as of 06/14/2018 Wealthfront: Pricing information from published website as of 04/04/2018 | ||
Bottom Line
Ally Invest Managed Portfolios offers similar services to other robo-advisors with the exception of tax loss harvesting. If you are already an Ally customer, it may make sense to throw some money towards their robo-advisor.
If you aren't an Ally customer, there are many options out there. Make sure you weigh the pros and cons of each before choosing the robo-advisor that is right for you.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the author's alone. Please support CreditDonkey on our mission to help you make savvy financial decisions. Our free online service is made possible through financial relationships with some of the products and services mentioned on this site. We may receive compensation if you shop through links in our content.
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