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- Stocks and ETFs: $7 for the first 25 trades, $20 for subsequent trades for account with less than $50,000
- $7 for account with $50,000–$500,000 (Voyager Services®)
- $2 for account with $500,000–$1,000,000 (Voyager Select Services®)
- Free for first 25 trades, $2 for subsequent trades for account with $1 million (Flagship Services™)
- Options: $30 plus $1.50 per contract
- Options for accounts with over $1 million: $8 + $1.50 per contract
- Mutual funds: Vanguard mutual funds - free. All others - Standard: $35; Voyager® and Voyager Select®: $20; Flagship®, $8
- Certificates of deposit (CDs): Purchase: $5 per $1,000, Minimum: $50. Sale: $35 per transaction
- Commercial paper: $50 per transaction; minimum purchase: $100,000
- U.S. Treasury: $0.75 per $1,000 face amount, $40 min–$75 max
- Mortgage-backed securities: $50 per transaction; GNMA minimum purchase: $25,000
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, foreign securities, insurance,
commercial paper, ETFs
- Minimum to open Vanguard account: $3,000
- All Vanguard fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $4.95
- Stocks and ETFs priced under $1: $6.95
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $19.95
- Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract
- Options exercises and assignments: $4.95
- Mutual Funds: $10
- Forex: spreads as low as 1-2 pips for most major currency pairs
- Bonds: $4.50 per bond, with $22.50 minimum per transaction
- Treasury: $24.50 per transaction
- Investments: stocks, mutual funds, options, Forex, Bonds, Treasury bonds, ETFs
- Minimum to open Zecco account: $0
- All Zecco fees
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- Low cost and good performance Vanguard mutual funds
- Free Vanguard ETFs
- Free dollar-cost-averaging transactions for no-fee mutual funds. $3 per transaction, minimum purchase $100, minimum two transactions, for transaction fee mutual funds.
- Free dividend reinvestment
- No ACAT fee
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- Very low commissions
- No account minimum, maintenance or inactivity fees
- Free streaming data
- Free dividend reinvestment
- Great online community
- Could open account with no money down
- No surcharge for large orders
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- High commissions in many cases
- $20 annual maintenance fee for regular accounts with balance less than $50,000
- $10 monthly Low Balance Fee for accounts with $2,500 or less
- Poor trading and research tools
- $3,000 minimum to open account is somewhat high
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- $2 per trade surcharge on penny stocks
- Extended hours trades have $0.005 per share surcharge on applicable commission
- $30 annual IRA fee
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Zecco vs Vanguard: Comparison Summary
Zecco (Zecco Review)
is one of the cheapest online brokerages,
offering $4.95 per trade commission on stocks and ETFs. Mutual funds are just $10 per transaction.
Vanguard (Vanguard Review),
on the other hand, is one of the most expensive
brokerage firms, with very high commissions on all asset classes.
The firm even has $20 annual maintenance fee for regular accounts and $10 monthly fee if account balance
is below $2,500!
Vanguard is known for poor customer service and sub-par trading tools. The only real advantage the firm has
is its own low-cost family of mutual funds.
Zecco offers free dividend reinvestment, access to Forex, live online community and $0 to open new account.
The firm, however, in 2011 lost the rating of one of the
Best Investment Companies.
The choice between these two online brokerages houses is easy - definitely Zecco!
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