Overview of ZacksTrade
Zacks offers more than just stock reports. Actual trading services are available through the
affiliated Zacks Trade. Should you switch from your current broker? Our review has some answers
for you.
Investment Services
Zacks Trade offers retirement, business, and taxable accounts to both Americans and non-Americans. It is one of the few brokerage firms based in the United States to offer accounts to non-US citizens. Some of its accounts are available as either cash or margin accounts.
A simple online application form is all it takes to get started at Zacks Trade. The brokerage house does require a $2,500 deposit to open an account. Non-Americans do have to fill out Form W-8.
As for actual investment vehicles, Zacks Trade provides trading in the following asset classes:
- Fixed-income securities
- Stocks (including penny, OTC, and foreign assets)
- Option contracts
- Warrants
- Funds (mutual, exchange-traded, and closed-end)
Some of the foreign exchanges available at Zacks Trade include Singapore, Australia, Russia, Hong Kong, and Canada. There are many more.
Margin Borrowing
If you do decide to open a margin account and trade with someone else’s money, you’ll get some very good rates. Zacks Trade charges margin interest on a sliding scale:
|
Debit Balance
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Margin Rate
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$0 - $100,000
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8.07%
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$100,001 - $1,000,000
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7.57%
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$1,000,001 - $3,000,000
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7.23%
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$3,000,001+
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7.07%
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Besides taxable margin accounts, Zacks Trade does extend margin privileges to IRAs in limited capacity.
In addition to standard margin for both taxable and non-taxable accounts, Zacks Trade has something called Portfolio Margin. This service increases standard leverage figures but requires $110,000 in Net Liquidation Value.
Zacks Trade’s desktop program displays margin requirements (for both long and short positions) for every entered ticker symbol.
Pricing
Thus far, Zacks Trade has done pretty well; so you may think it charges a small fortune for its investing services. You would be wrong.
Zacks Trade has no account fees of any kind. It does not charge for the use of its software, or to
transfer an account into or out of Zacks Trade. It is one of the few broker-dealers we know of not to
impose any surcharges on broker-assisted trades.
Zacks Trade has $15/month inactivity fee for accounts under $25k that did not make a single trade.
Surely, you may be thinking, that there must be a flaw somewhere on this pricing schedule, and sure enough there is: Zacks Trade is not a zero commission broker. Here’s the schedule:
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0.01 per share with $1 minimum |
| Stocks and ETFs (less than $1 per share) | 1% of trade value with $1 minimum |
| Options | $1 for first contract + $0.75 per additional |
| Options exercise/assignment fee | free |
| Mutual funds | $27.50 |
| Corporate and municipal bonds | 0.1% * face value + $3 per bond if <= $10,000 face value; 0.025% * face value + $3 per bond if > $10,000 face value |
| Treasuries (bills, notes, bonds) | 0.025% * face value + $3 per bond if <= $1,000,000 face value; 0.005% * face value + $3 per bond if > $1,000,000 face value |
| Investments | stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, bonds |
| ZacksTrade minimum deposit to open account | $2,500 |
| Fees | ZacksTrade fees |
Exercises and assignments on option positions are free of charge.
Stocks on foreign exchanges have their own commissions, and these rates vary by country. Equities on the Toronto Stock Exchange are CAD$0.02 per share with a CAD$4.50 minimum. Equities on the London Stock Exchange are 0.3% of trade value with a £12 minimum.
Zacks Trade has a frustrating withdrawal fee, although the first one in a month is free.
- ACH: $1
- Check: $4
- Wire: $10
Zacks Trade charges for data packages on almost all exchanges. Prices range from $1 per month to over $100.
Open ZacksTrade Account
Open ZacksTrade Account
Customer Service
Zacks Trade is open for business during the weekday only. Although it offers both toll-free and local phone lines, we have discovered through our own testing that one of the quickest ways to get competent help is using the broker’s online chat widget. Located in the bottom-right corner of its website, it usually takes us just a minute to get accurate answers from a live human being.
If you have a less urgent matter, Zacks Trade can be reached via email: support@zackstrade.com.
The broker has a list of frequently-asked questions that may be of value, especially to new customers.
Web-based Trading
Zacks Trade has two platforms that are launched from its website:
Client Portal
This one has a lot of account management tools. For example, underneath the menu icon (with three horizontal bars in the top-left corner), it’s possible to download tax documents and transfer funds. Other tools here include an economic calendar, a watchlist, and a currency converter.
The client portal goes much further with a suite of trading tools that begins with charting, courtesy of TradingView. Tools include a color palette, multiple graph styles, many technical studies, and an assortment of drawing tools. A graph can be displayed the full width of the computer screen, although there is no right-click trading.
Outside of full-screen mode, a blue Trade button is prominently displayed in the top-right of the screen. Click on this and you’ll get the platform’s order form. Bracket orders (in the guise of stop-loss and take-profit orders) can be attached on the fly thanks to toggle switches. There are on-close orders (for US-listed securities) but no trailing orders.
Below the graph are convenient buttons for adding a security to a watchlist or setting up alerts. The latter includes only price and volatility notifications.
Zacks Trader
The second browser-based trading system Zacks offers is Zacks Trader. This platform has fewer features on it, which means it is ideal for traders who prefer an uncluttered environment.
Charting is very elementary on this platform. But the order ticket is quite sophisticated with the ability to trade warrants and other instruments across nearly a hundred international markets.
Mobile App
Zacks Trade calls its mobile app Handy Trader. Whatever you want to call it, the software delivers a very good trading experience. During our scrutiny, we really liked the wheel order ticket. This is a ticket that sits in the phone or tablet horizontally with four columns that have selectable buttons pre-filled. They are limit price, trigger point (such as bid or ask), share amount, and dollar amount. This last number is automatically converted to a whole share amount.
A regular order ticket is available that has more order types than the client portal has; these options include trail limit, relative, and market if touched. Besides stocks, ETFs, and options, other instruments can be traded on the mobile platform. These include CFDs and warrants. Swiping from right to left on this ticket reveals a vertical chart, which can be hidden again.
Yes, the order tickets are quite advanced. Charting hasn’t been left out of the picture, however. A graph can be rotated horizontally and displayed in one of three display styles (mountain, candlesticks, or OHCL bars). Technical indicators can be overlaid, and live orders can be, too.
Unlike the two browser-based systems we looked at above, Handy Trader has a demo mode, which is a huge help in learning this advanced piece of software. There is also an app for Apple Watch in the App Store.
Although there are some great features on Zacks Trade’s app, we did not find mobile check deposit, any type of funds transfer, or live video news.
Desktop Platform
For a more advanced trading experience, Zacks offers Zacks Trade Pro. As with the other platforms we have seen in this review, the software is borrowed from Interactive Brokers.
Pro, as the name suggests, delivers some very advanced features. These include Level II quotes, time & sales data, and so much more.
The order ticket on Pro has some really sophisticated orders, like OCO (one cancels other) and hedge. There is a routing menu and an adaptive feature for smart routing.
iBot makes an appearance on the desktop system. This is an artificial intelligence that is able to answer many (although not all) questions, posed in either written or verbal format. (iBot is also on the client portal and mobile app.)
Perhaps best of all, there is a demo login that provides free practice for guests and account holders with zero risk.
Options Trading
Although options can be traded on all platforms, the most advanced experience will be found on the desktop system. For example, a probability lab and a volatility skew tool will only be found on Pro.
Perhaps the best place to begin on the desktop platform is with the OptionTrader window. Found under the New Window tab, this widget creates a platform within the desktop system that can perform many functions, including building strategies and generating profit-loss diagrams.
Day Trading
Because Zacks Trade is based in the U.S., the $25,000 pattern day-trading requirement is in full force and effect. In return, the broker provides these services:
Shorting: Zacks Trade’s client portal displays how many shares of a security are available for shorting (look for the green circle underneath the buy and sell buttons). There’s also a web-based tool that displays the same information without a login.
Level II quotes: These are available from multiple exchanges around the globe, and Zacks Trade charges for the data.
Direct-access routing: Available on Pro and Zacks Trader. We counted 23 destinations on Pro for US markets.
Routing fees and rebates: Orders that remove liquidity qualify for small rebates.
Education and Research
Zacks Trade’s client portal delivers a ton of information on most stocks and ETFs, including those trading outside the United States. For AstraZeneca trading on the London exchange, for example, we found 11 analyst ratings on the stock, generating an overall moderate buy.
Other data points on the client portal include:
- News articles
- Forecast EPS
- Ownership numbers
- Details on competitors
- Dividend history
- Key ratios
- Details from a company’s financial statements
- Analyst ratings from TipRanks and Refinitiv
- Ratings history in graphical format
- ESG scores
- Social sentiment, including Tweet volume
- Earnings histories with surprises (in bar chart format, too)
And that’s just the client portal. Zacks Trade Pro delivers more tools, including an advanced stock screener that can look for investment opportunities inside the U.S. and outside of it.
Other Services
IRAs: Zacks Trade customers can open Roth, SEP, and traditional IRAs. An employer’s plan can also be rolled over into an IRA. The broker-dealer does not charge a yearly or closeout fee, although it does have the same $2,500 opening minimum for retirement accounts.
Fractional-share Trading: Zacks Trade offers whole-dollar investing in ETFs and stocks at no additional cost.
Dividend Reinvestment Program: DRIP services can be established on stocks and ETFs, but Zacks Trade does charge for this.
IPO availability: Surprisingly, Zacks Trade does not offer access to upcoming IPOs before they hit the secondary market.
Extended Hours: Zacks Trade customers can start trading at 4 in the morning, and they don’t have to take a break until 8 in the evening.
Automatic Mutual Fund Investing: Unavailable at this time.
Awards
ZacksTrade Review Verdict
Zacks Trade does a good job of providing a wide range of good-quality trading services. Its global program is one of the best in the business, and its software is well known. But without $0 commissions, the broker may be too pricey for frequent traders.
Open ZacksTrade Account
Open ZacksTrade Account
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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