Ally Invest Real Time Quotes
Investors at Ally Invest receive free real-time streaming stock quotes if they are non-professional
users who
have opened and funded an account.
Level II Quotes Cost at Ally Invest
If you’re an active trader of ETF’s and stocks, you might be trading off of the bid-ask spread and volume you see on your broker’s platform. This is
Level I information. Nasdaq securities also have something called Level II quotes, which provide the names of the market makers who are dealing in the particular security along with bid and ask sizes. This information can help you make better trading decisions.
For example, if you want to buy 10,000 shares of IBM at $140 or less, you need to find an ask order at that price or lower that has at least 10,000 shares. You might only be able to locate 2,000 shares at that price. Level II quotes can show you very quickly what’s available in the market.
Ally Invest offers Level II data to customers who place at least 25 stock or ETF trades per month.
There is no charge for the quotes other than the 25 monthly trades.
Comparing to Other Brokers
Ally has fairly tough requirements for Level II quotes compared to other brokers.
Charles Schwab
offers the data free on its Thinkorswim platform to all clients.
Webull charges just $1.99 per month. On the other hand, some brokerage firms don’t
offer the data at all. Firstrade is one example.
Free Level II at Charles Schwab
Open Schwab Account
Hidden Fees with Ally Invest
Ally Invest is one of the well priced brokers on the market. Below, we will provide an overview of all the fees
and commissions you’re likely to encounter with an Ally Invest account. Let’s start with where the bulk of the
costs lie – in the commission schedule.
Commission on Stocks
Ally’s standard commission for stocks is currently $0 per trade. For penny stocks (those trading below $2/share)
Ally charges a one cent per share commission. Ally Invest also cautions against investing in penny stocks as
they sometimes incur heavy settlement fees if the security is not DTC-eligible, and they will pass these on to
the investor.
Commission on ETFs
Ally’s commission schedule for ETFs is the same as for stocks - $0 per trade.
Commission on Options
For options trades, Ally charges a fixed $0.50 per contract. These fees compare favorably with much of the competition. Ally does not charge any commissions when closing out options positions priced at $0.05 or below, which is helpful when your option trade is nearing expiration and the market is moving against you.
Other Lesser Known Fees
In addition to commissions, there are some other fees Ally charges in certain circumstances that investors should be aware of, mostly involving the transfer of assets out of your account. While Ally offers to reimburse new customers up to $75 for outgoing transfer fees incurred from their current broker when transferring to Ally, when moving your holdings from Ally to another broker they will charge you a $50 outgoing transfer fee. Ally also charges a $25 fee for full IRA distributions.
This article has covered all of the common costs and fees associated with an Ally Invest account, but there are some other rare fees that could apply to a minority of investors in unique scenarios, such as fees for dealing in physical stock certificates or opting to receive paper statements instead of electronic. These fees won’t apply to 95% of investors, but if you believe you may be part of the other 5% it’s recommended you read their complete disclosure on fees before making a decision to open an Ally Invest account.
Updated on 11/9/2024.
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