IRAs

We don’t charge an annual fee for maintaining an Ally Invest IRA account. There’s a $25 fee for terminating an Ally Invest IRA account, which is charged when all funds are removed from the IRA. There’s both a $50 transfer fee and a $25 termination fee for a full transfer out of your Ally Invest IRA account, while partial account transfers have a $50 transfer fee.

You can fund your IRA using either of our Ally Invest accounts:

• Self-Directed
• Managed Portfolio

If you’re closer to retirement, you may want to consider one of our Ally Bank IRA options instead. They’re FDIC-insured and better suited for the shorter term with more consistent returns.

We offer the following Ally Bank IRA accounts:

• IRA High Yield CD
• IRA Raise Your Rate CD
• IRA Online Savings Account

Open the account you’ll use to fund your IRA. You can choose between Ally Invest Self-Directed Trading or Managed Portfolio or choose an Ally Bank IRA. While opening the account, select Rollover IRA when prompted. Then, with your IRA account number on hand, contact your plan provider and be sure to request a “direct rollover.” Ask your provider to complete a paperless wire transfer or mail us a paper check made payable to Ally Invest. Your funds are ready to invest as soon as they’re rolled over. Though it varies, this typically takes up to 2 weeks. They’ll appear in your account the same day we receive the check or wire.

The easiest way to fund an IRA is through a bank (ACH) transfer. Once you open an account, you can link your bank account to your Ally Invest account by selecting Transfers and then Linked Bank Accounts. After you link your bank account, you can make contributions any time you want or set up an automatically recurring contribution.

You can also fund your IRA through a bank wire or by sending us a check. When funding by these methods, please be sure to indicate the contribution year on your wire or check so we can properly label your contribution.

Lastly, you can contribute to an IRA by performing a transfer of cash from an existing individual or joint Ally Invest account. If performing a journal from a joint account to an IRA Account, the original IRA Contribution Form will need to be notarized and mailed to Ally Invest. Download the journal request form (PDF)

Traditional IRA: An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) allows investors to deposit income, up to a specific annual maximum, toward investments that can grow tax-deferred (no capital gains or dividend income is taxed). Individual taxpayers are allowed to contribute 100% of compensation up to $6,000 ($7,000 for those 50 and over) to their Traditional IRA. Contributions to a Traditional IRA are made with pre-tax dollars and may be tax deductible depending on the taxpayer's income, tax-filing status, and other factors. Ally Invest has no annual fees or maintenance fees for Traditional IRAs. Please review IRS Publication 590 for more information on Traditional IRAs

Roth IRA: A Roth IRA is a retirement account in which contributions are not tax deductible (contributions are made with post-tax dollars). Roth IRAs do allow for tax exempt distributions. Typically, funds must have been held in the account for a minimum of 5 years, and you must be over the age of 59 ½ to make a qualified distribution. There are, however, exceptions to these rules depending on your specific situation. There are also income requirements which must be met to be eligible for a Roth IRA. As of 2020, if you file individually and earn $139,000 or more, you would not be eligible for a Roth. If filing jointly, those earning $206,000 or more would not be eligible. Ally Invest has no annual fees or maintenance fees for Roth IRAs. Please review IRS Publication 590 for more information on Roth IRAs.

Rollover IRA: A rollover IRA is a retirement account designed to facilitate the movement of holdings from a corporate retirement plan such as a 401(k) plan. The rollover IRA is interchangeable with a Traditional IRA. Contributions may be tax deductible depending on the client's income level, and the same $6,000 ($7,000 age 50 and over) contribution limit that applies to Traditional and Roth IRAs applies to rollover accounts as well. Ally Invest has no annual fees or maintenance fees for rollover IRAs. Please review IRS Publication 590 for more information on performing a rollover.

Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA): A Coverdell Education Savings Account is a tax-privileged account designed for saving for education expenses. When the account is established, the beneficiary of the account must be under 18 or be a special needs beneficiary. Annual contributions to Coverdell ESAs are limited to $2,000, and those contributions are not tax deductible. Distributions are tax free as long as they are used for qualified education expenses and don’t exceed the amount of those expenses. Please review IRS Publication 970 for more information pertaining to Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.

In an IRA, you can trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and fixed income products such as bonds or CDs. Because industry regulations prohibit IRA accounts from having margin, short selling and selling naked options aren’t allowed.

You may also be able to make up to Level 3 option trades in your IRA. Depending on your approval level, you may be able to use strategies such as: covered calls, cash-secured puts, long puts and calls, spreads and other multi-leg strategies. Review our Option Account Agreement and Application (PDF)  to learn more about our requirements for trading options at Ally Invest.