Want Your Checking, Savings, and Investment Accounts in One Place? Here Are 3 Great Choices
KEY POINTS
- It can be extremely convenient to have all of your finances with the same bank.
- It's rare to find a financial institution with a brokerage platform that also has great checking and savings products.
- SoFi, Ally Bank, and Charles Schwab are three options that have excellent banking and investment platforms.
Here at The Motley Fool Ascent, we cover some excellent banks that have competitive checking and savings account products. We also cover some excellent online brokers that make it easier and more cost effective than ever to buy stocks and other investments.
However, there aren't too many great financial institutions that have excellent banking products and a great investment platform. Here are three that do.
1. SoFi: A fast-growing financial community
SoFi started as a company specializing in private loans for education, but has evolved into a consumer financial ecosystem.
The SoFi Checking and Savings accounts are among the best on our radar. Its checking account offers ATM access at tens of thousands of locations, and the savings account offers an excellent APY for customers who set up direct deposit, just to name a couple of features.
In addition, SoFi offers both an active investing (brokerage) platform and a robo-advisor platform known as SoFi Automated Investing. The brokerage platform not only offers commission-free stock and options trading but has unique features such as IPO access for everyday investors. Its all-in-one mobile app is incredibly user-friendly and makes investing and conducting everyday banking activities easy.
There are some drawbacks to keep in mind. For example, SoFi doesn't offer CDs (yet), nor can you get an auto loan through the bank. But it offers some excellent banking products, a best-in-breed financial app, and its product offerings are likely to grow over time.
2. Ally Bank: A top auto lender with so much more to offer
Ally Bank is one of the closest things on our radar to a true replacement for a traditional financial institution. It offers a variety of loan products, including auto loans (which is the core business) and mortgages, and has excellent banking products and investment platforms.
The Ally Savings account has a competitive APY and no minimum balance requirement. The account also allows you to organize your savings into buckets to save for different goals. The Ally Spending Account (checking account) not only has tens of thousands of fee-free ATMs in its network but provides reimbursement for fees incurred at out-of-network ATMs. In addition, Ally has certificate of deposit (CD) accounts with highly competitive APYs.
On the investing side, Ally Invest has no commissions on stocks and mutual funds and an easy-to-use trading platform. There's also Ally Invest Robo Portfolios that has several options, including a no-fee account type that keeps 30% of investors' money in a high-yielding cash management account.
3. Charles Schwab: A massive broker with banking products
Charles Schwab is best known for being one of the largest and most feature-packed online brokers in the world. It has excellent educational and trading tools, low fees, and a large network of in-person branches. Schwab is one of the top online brokers on our radar, and it's tough to find another that has more to offer investors of all experience levels.
However, many people don't realize that Schwab offers some highly competitive banking products as well. The Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account is an interest-bearing account and has unlimited ATM fee reimbursement worldwide. The biggest drawback to Schwab is that while it has a savings account, it isn't a high-yielding one. But it's worth noting that Schwab makes it easy to put savings in high-yield money market funds and other high-paying instruments, including CDs, through its brokerage platform.
Are any of these financial institutions a good fit for you?
To be sure, there isn't any reason (other than convenience) why you can't keep your bank accounts and investments with two different companies. So, it's important to investigate all of your options before deciding. But these are three great financial institutions that could fulfill your banking and investing needs in the same platform.
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Our Research Expert
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
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