Zacks Trade is a division of Chicago-based LBMZ Securities founded in 1978. They are a full-service broker-dealer and a member of the Zacks Group, one of the largest diversified financial services firms in the U.S. They have clients in all 50 states and have $2.6 billion in total assets. They also have over 600 employees worldwide and they provide a full suite of financial services to individuals, as well as institutional and corporate clients.
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The Good
- Extremely low rates
- Lowest margin rates in the industry
- Three powerful trading platforms
- Zacks trader
- Mobile trading
It appears that Zacks Trade has quite a bit to offer and they are seemingly a reputable investment firm. So let's take a few minutes to go over everything they offer. Then in the next section we will cover a few of the areas we feel they could use some improvement:
Extremely Low Rates
Zacks Trade offers extremely low rates that offer an unmatched value compared to their competitors and they offer exclusive research and powerful platforms for you to use as well. Their stocks and ETFs start at $4.50 minimum per trade + $0.01 per share and broker assisted trades with a $20 service fee. Their options trades start at $4.50 for the first contract + $0.75 for each additional contract and broker assisted trades with a $20 service fee. And their bond price is $3.00 per bond + $0.1% for a face value that's < $10,000, and for a face value that's > $10,000 it's $3.00 per bond + 0.025% of face value.
No Inactivity Fees Or Trading Minimums And You Still Get All The Perks
With Zacks Trade, you have the potential of saving hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars each year with their stocks and options trades as they start from $4.50 and have super low margin rates. You will also enjoy not having to pay any inactivity fees or observing any trading minimums. They also give you access to several powerful trading platforms and the flexibility to trade globally from a single account. Additionally, you will receive free access to exclusive premium research and will get up to $150 in account transfer fees for full account transfers of at least $5,000, as well as price and trade execution savings.
Lowest Margin Rates In The Industry
Zacks Trade offers some of the lowest margin rates in the industry. Their margin rates are at 2.64% and lower. This will give you the opportunity to save loads of money per year in interest. Additionally, their margin rates on stocks are as low as 25%. Portfolio margin is available for account balances of $110,000 or more.
Three Powerful Trading Platforms
Zacks Trade gives you access to cutting-edge technology to help you reach your investment goals and they are all part of their services at no extra charge.
Zacks Trader
This is a simple, yet feature-rich trading platform with an easy to learn interface, but also allows you to use the advanced trading features and tools.
Zacks Pro
This platform allows traders, investors and institutions, trade stocks, options, bonds and other funds on more than 16 global worldwide markets from a single account. This program is a feature-rich advanced trading platform that will help you optimize your trading speed and efficiency.
Mobile Trading
Zacks Trade calls these their Handy Trader and their TabletTrader and both provide mobile solutions to help you conduct your financial business on the go. You can easily trade stocks, options and any other securities from almost any type of mobile device. These are state-of-the-art programs that provide you electronic access to your account from your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet or your BlackBerry. You can enter and manage orders, view executions and conveniently monitor your portfolio, account balances and much more all from your mobile device.
Flexible International Trading
Zacks Trade provides you with the ability to trade globally from one single account. You can trade stocks, options, bonds, warrants and more. And they have more than 90 market centers within 20 countries and you will have access to their global market data 24-7. Additionally, Zacks Trade offers lower commissions for their international trades than their competitors.
SmartRouting Technology And In-Depth Research Access And More
The Zacks Trade SmartRouting system looks for the best possible firm stock, option and combination prices that are available at the time you place your order. The system dynamically re-routes all or some of your order to search for optimal execution, it continually evaluates any quickly changing market conditions and provides you with stock and option price executions that are much better than their competitors.
You will also enjoy the Zacks Rank stock-rating system, their equity research reports that use research from Zacks' own analysts, their timely market commentary also from their team of expert analysts, Zacks Industry Rank that highlights the best industries for you, their robust screeners and more.
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The Bad
- Mutual funds are higher than their competitors
- Brokerage account minimum
Just as with every company review we like to present you with all the facts in an effort to help you make an educated decision about which company is right for you. So let's take a few minutes to go over our Zacks Trade review to cover a few of the areas we feel they could use some improvement:
Mutual Funds Are Higher Than Their Competitors
Zacks Trade's mutual funds are higher than their competitors at $27.50 on no-load mutual funds. Therefore, before you make any decisions, you will have to compare the number of mutual funds that are offered without transaction fees to determine whether or not this option is worthwhile for you. Additionally, they require a $3,000 minimum investment, but all regulatory fees and exchange fees are included.
Brokerage Account Minimum $2,500
Zacks Trade has a brokerage account minimum of $2,500; however, this isn't necessarily a negative, depending on your financial situation. If you are a new investor with limited funds, this might be a little steep for you. But if you are a seasoned investor or an investor with available funds, this brokerage account minimum will probably be a non-issue for you.