Comments on: Discount Broker Reviews: Scottrade, Zecco, TradeKing, Firstrade, ShareBuilder, and QQQDirect

By: becky

becky — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:33:33 +0000

When I search for discount online broker, I found Firstrade currently offers the 100 free trade promotion, and they offer this promotion to international account which is great for me.

By: Sun

Sun — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:24:28 +0000

@Josh: What Zecco did since its launch looks like a typical bait and switch scheme. They cited the current market conditions (low trading volume and low interest rates) as the reason to dump almost completely the free trades, but then swore they will never make any pricing change again. To me, it seems that they finally got the chance to get rid of it. I wonder how many small investors who went to Zecco for only reason of their free trades will stay after March 1.

By: Nick L

Nick L — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:52:26 +0000

Wow some unhappy Zecco folks. I have used them for a couple years and love it. Granted the customer service isn’t the same as my other online brokers that I have used and still use. The trades are as cheap as they get and executions have been great. I read the terms and conditions again and don’t see any abnormal hidden fees… would like to know exactly what Josh is talking about so that i can look into it. All of my ACH transfers have been smooth.. all online in a few days max. I am upset with how their price structure with the free trades has changed in that I was originally getting 40 free trades a month!! when I first started with them.. and that lasted for a year. Now they have reduced it to 10 if you have the 25k. Anyways I use them and Im happy and I also use Scottrade for their tools such as streaming quotes and such. But most of the trades are done on zecco. Also there is a site where you can rate and post unbiased opinions about online brokers you might be interested in:
http://www.nakedhedgefund.com/about/online-brokers/online-broker-reviews/

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:23:10 +0000

ZECCO SHOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS

I agree. Zecco is the pits and will rob you.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:22:13 +0000

Greetings.

My name is Josh, and I felt the need to warn traders about Zecco. It is the absolute worst online trading experience I have ever had. To start, their customer service reps and managers are woefully misinformed about SEC regulations and their responsibilities to their clients’ money. They take the longest time on ACH transfers (20-30 days). A few of mine were cancelled for no reason and I had to call the office to follow up numerous times. Many times the reps say that they will call back to resolve an issue, and they simply don’t.

Their online platform is mediocre to bad. Their trailing stops feature was down for a week during volatile market times, when my other brokerages were doing fine. Their charts lag relative to their competitors, and their executions are slow. Also, uninvited total screen refreshes put you behind the 8-ball when you have to wait, wait, wait, then make a quick move. Don’t even think about trading on 5 minute intervals.

Third, they have hidden fees on every transaction. The $4.95 is not accurate. It’s listed in their Terms and Conditions, but who reads that? (I did, and that’s how I found out.) Their accounting system is broken. I’m having my accountant look over their records because my buying power doesn’t even coincide with what their own account records say. As it is, I’m out about $500 because of a mistake they made, which I have yet to see fixed. I have complained to FINRA and the SEC. Yes, I believe it’s that bad.

Lastly, I know some people would be willing to put up with all this crap for commission free trades, but as of March 01, that competitive advantage is OUT THE WINDOW!! It now takes $25K to get the free trades, which makes their structure merely competitive, not a hands down advantage. Think about it: If you make 20 trades at $4.50 (+hidden fee) and 10 are free, it’s the same as making all 20 at a $2.50 commission. Plus you have to put up with all the above crap.

I hope you’ll find some of this info useful and will publish it to keep people from going through the same thing I did. Zecco should be out of business. Thanks. Email back with any other questions.

By: Transfer A Brokerage Account: How Much Does It Cost?

Transfer A Brokerage Account: How Much Does It Cost? — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:39:59 +0000

[...] Scottrade (reviews) [...]

By: Zecco, TradeKing, ING Direct Referral Reference Codes [Promotion Bonus]

Zecco, TradeKing, ING Direct Referral Reference Codes [Promotion Bonus] — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:05:13 +0000

[...] Firstrade: You get a $20 Amazon.com gift card*; I get $30 bonus; [...]

By: Jon

Jon — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:03:58 +0000

I signed up with scottrade.com and got 3 free trades.

I think they require a $500 minimum to get the free trades. Still a great deal.

By: ShareBuilder Educational Account Promotion: 3 Free Trades

ShareBuilder Educational Account Promotion: 3 Free Trades — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:39:12 +0000

[...] you want to use ShareBuilder (my ShareBuilder review) to open a custodial or educational savings account, you can get 3 free [...]

By: SogoTrade And MyStockFund: Planned Investment Schemes [Broker Reviews]

SogoTrade And MyStockFund: Planned Investment Schemes [Broker Reviews] — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:34:52 +0000

[...] Discount Broker Reviews: A Look at Scottrade, Firstrade, ShareBuilder, and QQQDirect If you found information on this Diary helpful, please consider subscribing to the full RSS feed (What’s RSS feed?), or enter your email below to receive free daily update. [...]

By: Scottrade Launched Improved Mutual Fund Center [Broker Reviews]

Scottrade Launched Improved Mutual Fund Center [Broker Reviews] — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:51:02 +0000

[...] Scottrade Launched Improved Mutual Fund Center Posted by Sun on December 27, 2007 Post viewed 1525 times, 3 so far today Advertisements I have been a loyal customer for Scottrade for more than 5 years. Though I have opened a number of brokerage accounts during that time period, Scottrade remains my primary broker holding most of our investable assets. There are reasons for me to stick with Scottrade. [...]

By: Switch To Scottrade And Get Up To $100

Switch To Scottrade And Get Up To $100 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:01:24 +0000

[...] for stocks listed in Hong Kong, and QQQDirect to buy QQQQ without commission (find out more in my brokerage firm review). Though essentially I can get all I want from Zecco which offers both commission free trading and [...]

By: Scottrade Promotion: Get Seven Commission Free Trades

Scottrade Promotion: Get Seven Commission Free Trades — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:28:18 +0000

[...] reviewed the broker briefly before and have talked about their customer service and platform. Though not the cheapest [...]

By: Gerry

Gerry — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:54:44 +0000

Have you heard of SogoTrade? $1.50 per trade.
http://www.sogotrade.com
The other sibling is SogoElite.
http://elite.sogoinvest.com

By: Scottrade Launched Improved Mutual Fund Center | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:53:53 +0000

[...] I have been a loyal customer for Scottrade for more than 5 years. Though I have opened a number of brokerage accounts during that time period, Scottrade remains my primary broker holding most of our investable assets. There are reasons for me to stick with Scottrade. [...]

By: Switching from Firstrade to Tradeking | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:02:06 +0000

[...] Scottrade: Primary stock broker, $7 per trade; [...]

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:20:32 +0000

Whatever you do, don’t go with Firstrade. They lured tons of people in with no transaction fee no-load fund trades. Then they dropped that feature and now charge people $50 per account to transfer out. Classic bait and switch.

By: Get Up to $100 When Switching to Scottrade | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:51:02 +0000

By: sheila

sheila — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 14:20:52 +0000

I have been using ShareBuilder for about 6 months, at the basic plan which charges only $4 per trade. I do not “batch” my orders but rotate it each month, buying stock in only one or two companies. As soon as the trade is made, I switch my automatic investing plan to the next two stocks on my list. This way I can have a portfolio of 12 stocks I like, making a purchase of each stock every six months. This is long-term investment (for retirement), and so I will not be selling the stocks any time soon. The ShareBuilder account is great for stocks held directly, but I am looking to invest more money elsewhere.

By: james jenkins

james jenkins — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:48:35 +0000

does anyone have personal experience with optionsXpress?

Jim

By: ShareBuilder Getting Flexible? | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 14:00:45 +0000

[...] One of the problemsI have with ShareBuilder, also one of the reasons I decided to leave ShareBuilder, is its lack of flexibility when it comes to choosing when to invest and how to invest. For instance, at the time when I joined the program, I could only select to invest on the first Tuesday of the month from my basic plan (one that without subscription fee) and the longest interval between two consecutive investments is one month. [...]

By: Sun

Sun — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:50:03 +0000

Zeronimo: I called Zecco last month about their promotion ($1000 to open an account) and was told, at that time, it will end on April 30. I am not sure if that promotion is still available. I also got an email from Zecco today that they have removed all the paperwork when opening an account. That’s definitely a good news. I haven’t made up my mind whether to get an account or not. The free trading is a big plus, but I wonder they can keep offering that or not. Do you have a Zecco account? If you do, do you like it?

By: zeronimo

zeronimo — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:01:01 +0000

Zecco is a new brokerage company. You get free trades of 10/day with a maximum of 40/month. Although they require you $2500 to open an account but since there is no maintenance requirements you can take them out if you wanted. They had “secret” promo that you can open for only $1000. I don’t know when that expires.

Prior to May 10, 2007 they require you to submit paperwork by email/fax or regular mail. So first time registrants had experienced rough times because they got really backup processing applications.

By: Sun

Sun — Tue, 08 May 2007 21:55:39 +0000

Steven: QQQDirect is a division of MyStockFund, which is also a discount broker. The main difference between QQQDirect and Sharebuilder is that with QQQDirect you can buy QQQQ without paying commission. But that's only for QQQQ. If you want to buy other stocks, then you will have to pay commissions. I have another post that compares MyStockFund and Sharebuilder that you can find at here.

By: Steven

Steven — Tue, 08 May 2007 21:25:11 +0000

How does QQQDirect compare to Sharebuilder?