What we'll cover
What do-it-yourself investing is
Tools available to help you do your own investing
How Ally can support you as you create your own investment strategy
Investing can be scary. There’s a lot of uncertainty and risk to overcome, but it can be done. In fact, 58 percent of U.S. households have money invested in the stock market. A large part of that fear can come from the disconnect that often exists between you — the investor — and the markets themselves.
Do-it-yourself (DIY) investing can help close that gap. After all, who knows your capacity for risk and your long-term financial goals better than you?
You might be thinking: That sounds like a lot of time and effort. But it doesn’t have to be. With a smart, streamlined approach to your portfolio, you can take the reins without taking on too much.
What is DIY investing?
Much like any other DIY project you might take on, DIY investing is investing that you do yourself rather than with a financial or robo advisor. In this case, you build and manage your own portfolio. You may have also heard it referred to as self-directed trading. While it may take more time and a little research (depending on your market familiarity), DIY investing can potentially save you money (fewer fees) and give you direct control of your financial future.
DIY investing tools
Just because you’re forging your own investment path doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of tools to help you out. Numerous investment apps are available to help you organize and monitor the market and your investments. As you consider your strategy, be on the lookout for platforms that give you a wide variety of investment choices, easy-to-use interfaces and monitoring tools, and be sure to review their fee structures.
How DIY investing works at Ally
At Ally, we’re on a mission to give self-directed traders the tools they need to get started. Investing opportunities shouldn’t be difficult to find, and the tools you need to make investing decisions should be right at your fingertips. With the Ally Invest platform, you can:
View streaming charts with drawing tools to analyze the performance of stocks, ETFs and indices
Create custom watchlists to stay on top of market data
Better understand decisions with profit/loss graphs
Get access to market stats, news and metrics on the companies you care about
Save time with the customizable Quote & Trade Ticket, which allows you to trade stocks and options with just a click or a tap
And that’s just the beginning. Here are four more ways the Ally Invest self-directed trading platform can help make a hands-on approach to investing as accessible and hassle-free as possible.
DIY investing can potentially save you money (fewer fees) and give you direct control of your financial future.
Trade at your fingertips
Not at home? Not a problem. Our web and mobile apps allow you to remain securely connected to the stock market from any device, so you’re fully in control of your trades — no matter where you are. Easily access both your investing and banking accounts with one login, making it super simple to see all of your account assets in one place.
Create a customized approach
Take your pick of:
Stocks
Options
Bonds
Mutual Funds
With lots of choices to choose from, you can craft a portfolio you’re comfortable with.
Save on transfer fees
Perhaps all this sounds great, but you’re currently trading on a different platform. It shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg to make a move, so we’ll reimburse you up to $75 in transfer fees when you make a one-time transfer from another brokerage of $2,500 or more.
Get help whenever you need it
We aim to make the investing experience simple and transparent. But you never know when you’ll have a question, so we have specialists available 24/7, just in case you need us.
Direct your financial future
Welcome to the world of building your own portfolio. It can be a little scary, but with a little time, patience and the right tools and resources to help you out, you’ll be on your way. If you’re ready to take investing into your own hands, we’re here to help you.
