Are you an active investor who sometimes needs some expert guidance and support in your online trades?
If so, then you might want to try investing with Zacks Trade, a discount broker that offers a variety of valuable trading tools and features.
Take a look below to see some of Zacks Trade’s key features, fees, and pros and cons to decide whether or not you should invest your time and resources with the platform.
Zacks Trade Overview
Zacks Trade is a subsidiary of Zacks Investment Research, a reputable investment research firm. It is an online discount brokerage company that is accessible to investors in over 200 countries across the globe.
Zacks Trade makes trading available in at least 91 exchanges in 19 countries worldwide. This brokerage firm was born out of a partnership between Zacks Investment Research and Interactive Brokers committed to offering top-of-the-line investment tools at affordable prices.
It is thus driven by the cost-effective trading capabilities of Interactive Brokers and the robust research tools of Zacks Investment Research.
Zacks Trade Platforms
In fact, Zacks Trade has some of the lowest trading fee schedules in the brokerage market. It offers four different special trading platforms:
- Client Portal
- Online Platform – Zacks Trader
- Desktop Platform – Zacks Trade Pro
- Mobile Platform
You can choose the best platform for your needs at no extra cost. Moreover, Zacks Trade offers live support from human brokers, as well as broker-assisted trades at no additional cost.
With broker-assisted trades, beginner investors can get guidance on the trading processes until they are experienced enough to stand on their own.
Zacks Trade Pricing Plans
Zacks Trade offers some of the most competitive prices in the industry. ETFs and stocks that trade for at least $1 per share cost $0.01. You’ll need to spend a minimum of $3.
ETFs and stocks that trade for less than $1 per share go for 1 percent of the trade value. You’ll need to invest at least $3. When it comes to options trading, the first contract will cost you $3, and every additional contract costs $0.75.
Zacks Trade charges no on-going fees on investment accounts. However, you will need at least $2,500 to open an account. You won’t pay a dime to use any of the brokerage company’s platforms.
How to Invest with Zacks Trade
Choosing an Account Type
Zacks Trade offers two types of accounts:
- Margin accounts: A margin account will enable you to borrow funds over and above your account balance for investment purposes.
- Cash accounts: With a cash account, you’re only allowed to trade with the funds you’ve deposited in that account.
Getting Started
You can get a feel of how Zacks Trade works by trading on a demo account. This allows you to start with $1 million in virtual funds to trade stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other securities. Once, you understand the ins and outs of trading, you can start trading with real money.
While Zacks Trade is designed for self-directed investors, it gives you access to live brokers in case you need some form of guidance with your trades. These brokers are, however, available only during regular business hours.
Get started with Zacks Trade>>
Benefits of Zacks Trade
Zacks Trade Key Features
Zacks Trade offers a variety of features to ensure you have an excellent trading and investing experience. Let’s look at some of the most remarkable features:
- Basket Trader: You can get this tool on Zacks Trade Pro. It’s designed to import baskets of stock order and execute them quickly.
- SpreadTrader: This tool allows you to create and manage complex options orders. The tool makes it easy to close or reverse spread positions.
- Market Scanners: This feature helps to evaluate investments based on your desired parameters.
- Rebalance Portfolio: This tool makes it easy and quick to rebalance your entire portfolio to suit your investment goals and risk tolerance.
- Options Strategy Lab: This tool can help you find potentially profitable strategies once you provide your price or volatility forecast for the underlying stock.
- Volatility Lab: This is a collection of volatility tools that give you an overview of previous and future readings.
- Probability Lab: This tool provides simple options probabilities that completely adjust according to your forecasts.
Zacks Trade Research Tools
You can access research tools on any of Zacks Trade’s trading platforms.
However, you may not get some features on the mobile trading platform, thanks to its limited functionality. One of the most remarkable research tools that this brokerage firm offers is the stock scanner.
With the stock scanner, you can search a particular exchange for various parameters, such as most active and top gainers in terms of percentage. You will get a list of stocks after running the tool.
Other powerful research tools geared to help you make more informed trading and investment decisions include:
- A bond scanner
- A volatility lab
- Options chains with a strategy builder
- Level II quotes
Zacks Trade Security Features
With Zacks Trade, you don’t have to worry about the security of your personal information and investments. The company employs a number of strategies to ensure the safety of your data.
For example, it uses 128-bit SSL encryption to secure the connection between your device and the platform.
Moreover, the company has dedicated security personnel that uses cutting-edge monitoring technology to detect suspicious activities and notify you of any potential threats. You will also be logged-off automatically after a given period.
Likewise, you’ll be denied access to your account after a given number of unsuccessful login attempts. These measures ensure that no unauthorized persons can access your account. Your investments are also protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
If Zacks Trade gets into trouble and closes down, you will get your investments back up to $500,000 in securities and cash. As if that protective is not enough, Zacks Trade offers extra insurance coverage through private insurance firms to ensure the safety of your account.
Is Zacks Trade Ideal for You?
If you are an equity trader who usually places plenty of orders of less than 500 shares, Zacks Trade’s commission schedule and technology will benefit you in a great way.
This platform can also be a great option if you are an active options trader.
If you are a day trader, however, Zacks Trade may not work well for you. The platform is not explicitly designed for day trading, so you might be better off with one of the platforms on our list of top online brokers.
Nonetheless, Zacks Trade offers an enticing per-share commission schedule and can also be a good choice if you are looking to trade on the global markets.
The Pros and Cons of Zacks Trade
The Advantages
- Access to foreign stock exchanges
- Great pricing on bonds
- Great commission schedules for equity trades below 500 shares
The Disadvantages
- No commission-free ETF’s
- No cash management features
Bottom Line
With three powerful trading platforms, Zacks Trade offers high-end trading tools at cost-friendly prices.
If you are looking for a platform that provides cost-effective trading, you can’t wrong with Zacks Trade. The platform is ideal for self-directed, active traders.
However, it may not be a good option for an active day trader, as the commissions can get expensive with frequent trades.
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