Zacks Trade is an online broker oriented to self-directed investors who want to trade U.S. and foreign stocks, bonds and funds. The platform provides robust trading tools and a bundle of no-fee (and paid) research. However, unlike many competing brokers, you still pay per-trade commission fees.

The main selling points of Zacks Trade are that it offers sophisticated, feature-rich trading software; broker-assisted trades for no additional fee; and easy trading of foreign assets. Clients in more than 200 countries can trade on this platform, and traders can buy and sell assets on more than 90 international exchanges. Zacks Trade allows investors to open individual or joint taxable accounts, as well as retirement accounts.

The downside to Zacks Trade is the $3-per-trade minimum commission fee ($1 during the first year). If you want expert help developing a portfolio or no-fee trades, Zacks Trade isn’t the best fit for you.

Who should consider Zacks Trade ?

If you want a choice of full-featured trading platforms, you’re interested in trading on international exchanges or you prefer broker-assisted trades, Zacks Trade might be the right fit.

Zacks Trade’s per-share pricing is low, but it isn’t $0, as it is with competitors. Plus, after the first promotional year, trades go back up to a $3 minimum from the $1 introductory fee. That said, the margin rates are lower than are competitors’ rates, and foreign trading is easy and relatively affordable. Commissions when trading foreign stocks are steeper at Charles Schwab and Fidelity.

Zacks Trade clients also benefit from a massive amount of market insight: Clients have access to more than 20 subscription services for free. But if you’re hands off and won’t use the research and tools available—or you seek more guidance, as with a robo-advisor, or zero-commission stock trading—Zacks Trade probably isn’t what you want.

Zacks Trade commissions and fees

Most of Zacks Trade’s fees are related to trades. Zacks Trade has no inactivity fee, no fee for automated customer account transfer and no fee for order cancellations. Clients also get one free withdrawal per month. (All withdrawals after the first one cost $1 for an ACH, $4 for a check and $10 for a wire.)

The fees for trading are low—a penny per share for stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) worth $1 or more per share and 1% of trade value for those worth less than a dollar, with a $3 minimum. Also, Zacks Trade will allow new clients to trade for $1 for the first year, with a minimum balance of $2,500. These aren’t the lowest fees, however. Charles Schwab and E*TRADE have $0 trades.

Zacks Trade also has steep charges for mutual fund trades: $12.55 per trade for those valued at $1 or more per share. You can trade certain mutual funds for $0 at E*TRADE and Fidelity.

It’s notable that Zacks Trade provides broker-assisted trades for no extra charge, including for foreign stocks. Compare that with E*TRADE, which charges an additional $25 for broker-assisted trades, as does Charles Schwab. If you believe that you’ll require a broker’s assistance on a regular basis, Zacks Trade would be a good place for you.

Margin trading also is a good deal at Zacks Trade, with margin rates starting at 5.06% as of November 2019. The site even has a Margin Rate calculator, so clients can see how much they’ll save compared with other firms. Charles Schwab charges 9.325% for debit balances under $25,000, although Interactive Brokers charges just 3.06% for loans under $25,000. (Nevertheless, Interactive Brokers also charges a $10 monthly fee if you don’t pay at least $10 in commissions each month or if your account falls under $100,000. So you’ll pay at least $10 a month there in fees regardless.)

Real-time quotes cost money. Regular clients of Zacks Trade see data on their platforms on a 15-minute delay. If you want live, streaming data, you’ll have to pay at least $9.95 per month plus $3 per month to cover all exchange fees for Zacks Real Time Quotes Gold. Schwab provides real-time data for free.

Foreign Stock Commissions:

• Broker-assisted trades: no extra charge
• Canada ($1 or more CAD per share): $0.02 CAD per share ($4.50 CAD minimum)
• Canada (less than $1 CAD per share): 1% of trade value CAD ($4.50 CAD minimum)
• Mexico: 0.3% of trade value MXN (180 MXN minimum)
• Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain: 0.3% of trade value EUR (12 EUR minimum)
• Norway: 0.1% of trade value NOK (150 NOK minimum)
• Sweden: 1% of trade value SEK (100 SEK minimum)
• United Kingdom: 0.3% of trade value GPB (12 GPB minimum)
• Currency conversion from USD: $2 to $2.50 estimate

Commissions for Asian and Australian transactions are here.

Trading platforms and tools

At Zacks Trade, clients can trade stocks (including penny stocks and OTC stocks), options, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds. The platform doesn’t support futures, commodities or Forex for purposes besides currency exchange.

Zacks Trade has three trading platforms, plus their mobile platform:

• Zacks Trade Pro: This is the company’s flagship trading platform and meant for active, high-volume traders. The layout is customizable, and clients can trade stocks, options, bonds and funds in 19 countries. Charting and technical analysis is available, and useful tools include SpreadTrader to handle complex option orders or Basket Trader to import baskets of stock orders and execute them quickly. This platform must be downloaded and installed on your computer.
• Client Portal: This is a console meant for placing and managing simple trades, reviewing your statements and adjusting account settings.
• Zacks Trader: This operates like a light version of Zacks Trade Pro, providing a simpler interface along with trading features and tools. If you work behind a firewall, you still can access this platform, which provides order execution, market data, charts and customization.
• Handy Trader: This mobile app, available for iOS and Android, allows users to trade stocks, options, bonds and mutual funds from their devices. You can route orders using the company’s SmartRouting technology, and you can access trade reports, and portfolio and account information.

When routing orders on any Zacks Trade platform, you can use either SmartRouting, which searches for the best price and dynamically routes and reroutes all or part of your order for maximum benefit, or you can choose the exchange you want your order to be sent to.

Trading options is easiest on Zacks Trade Pro, where you can click on the bid, or ask of an option chain. You can use Zacks Trade’s Strategy Builder feature to create spread orders or option orders that have multiple legs. Options tools, including Options Trader, Rollover Options and SpreadTrader, help you analyze and manage options orders.

Research is one area in which Zacks Trade shines. The company gives users free access to more than 20 sources, including 24/7 Wall Street, StreetInsider.com and The Motley Fool. For an additional cost, dozens of other research subscription products are available, including international ones, such as the Euronext All Indices Real-Time Data (EUR $17 per month).

Is Zacks Trade safe?

Zacks Trade requires clients to log in using two-factor authentication—the username and password on the account plus a unique code that’s generated to a free device that clients receive or to their Handy Trader app. The site also uses industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption and has a dedicated security team monitoring for suspicious activity. Zacks Trade Pro customers also can restrict account access to specific IP addresses.

In terms of insurance, Zacks Trade is a division of LBMZ Securities, which is a member of the Securities Investment Protection Corporation (SIPC) and carries insurance on investments up to $500,000. Under Zacks Trade’s clearing firm’s excess SIPC policy, investments are insured up to an additional $30 million (with a cash sublimit of $900,000).

Final thoughts about Zacks Trade

Zacks Trade is something to consider for investors who have at least $2,500, want to trade foreign stocks and believe that they might require access to broker-assisted trades. The available research and choice of trading platforms give you flexibility and a wide pool of investments to choose from. Zacks Trade’s margin rates also are extremely competitive.

However, Zacks Trade doesn’t provide any guidance (this isn’t a robo-advisor), and you can execute nonbroker-assisted trades for $0 at other companies. Also, if you want to invest in mutual funds, other companies allow investments in no-load funds for much less.

Rates & Fees mentioned in this article are accurate as of the date of publishing.